Loved Clothes Last: Mended and thoroughly worn

[Spinster Jones]

Over the past decades we, as a culture, have gone from buying consciously to mindlessly buying whenever, wherever, and whatever.
As advocates of slow fashion, bespoke tailoring, solid cloths, reselling, and taking your time to make the right decision, people of this forum is hardly in need of a lecture. Rather should you often be commended for your efforts.

Albeit, when posts of shoe collections totaling 200-300 pairs pop up, I can't but help to think of the environmental implications. The clothing industry is one of the biggest polluters on the planet; tanneries aren't the cleanest bunch, neither are the shipping industry. And a lot of fast fashion is centered around exploiting countries with weaker labor laws. Clothing production has more than doubled since 2000, and we usually don't wear about 40% of what we own.

We're so far from actually wearing out our clothes, that brands like Kapital make a fortune selling pre-distressed clothing. I'm not creating this to belittle you on your extravagance, rather I think we should honor the clothes we love, and be inspired by clothes having a history, a meaning, and a connection.

I hope this thread can inspire posts of clothes you love or have a special connection to. Your grandfathers coat? A hand-me-down tie? A t-shirt from your first crush? Or do you own something you have sewn, knitted or created yourself? I also hope to see clothes that have been mended, items that have been restored, or clothes having been worn thoroughly. And it wouldn't hurt with a fruitful discussion around consumation, quality of clothing and cloths, environmental brands, and tips of taking care of what you already have in your wardrobe.

I will post a couple of photos to start it off.

 

[1969]

There is an existing similar thread The Contentedness Thread.

 

[jack webb]

Less stuff but better stuff.

 

[double00]

so often consumption is sold as a kind of ersatz production , whether self-aspirational or proxied virtue or social exchange or whatever . so i appreciate the rigor of retrospection that you've introduced here .

i've done the thrift exchange a few times , one year i ended up drawing a reseller . rather than send stuff that he could pick himself ( these guys are often swimming in material ) i remade a pair of thrifted sweaters (polo hand knits !) into something hopefully more personal and unique


i have no idea if my guy has kept this but it was a fun afternoon project . fwiw thrift culture is a great basis for thinking through material meaning , highest-and-best-use , equity , environment , etc etc

 

[celery]

This is the oldest thing I own and use (in fact just used it on Monday!)
It's my mother's schoolbag from her college days, it's close to 50 years old. It was quite beat up, coming apart at the seams towards the top, and the straps were coming loose. I treated all the leather (it was very dry if you can imagine) and restitched the entire bag.

Before:

After:

Neat little bag, still going strong and makes my mother happy to see it when I bring it around.

 

[Spinster Jones]

Put this on just published an article befitted to this thread.

They've interviewed a couple of guys, Mark Cho - among others, about what they're still wearing from the #menswear-era.

Less stuff but better stuff.

"Magazine editorials and short blog entries breathlessly repeated the same phrases, such as “buy less, buy better,” encouraging men to be more thoughtful about their wardrobe purchases."

 

[jazerad]

I don't know if this counts. I wore these religiously for a while. I bought them raw

 

[Spinster Jones]

I don't know if this counts. I wore these religiously for a while. I bought them raw

Great stuff. I see that you've even mended the crotch. The crotch blowout might be hard to mend, but have anyone tried mending by using sashiko- or boro-methods?

Haven't seen it done with more expensive clothing, suits and such, but it's common with jeans and chambray. I think it could bring a new life and a new aesthetic into the pants.

Visvim does a lot of this, so they might be an inspiration as well.

 

[Spinster Jones]

Came upon this great little video:



An elderly japanese woman living in the countryside, weaving her own clothes and selling some of them. "Her clothes have a timeless quality that transcends fashion", a patron comments.

She has a youtube-channel as well.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Great stuff. I see that you've even mended the crotch. The crotch blowout might be hard to mend, but have anyone tried mending by using sashiko- or boro-methods?

Haven't seen it done with more expensive clothing, suits and such, but it's common with jeans and chambray. I think it could bring a new life and a new aesthetic into the pants.

Visvim does a lot of this, so they might be an inspiration as well.

It's called 'boro' and it has nothing paricularly to do with Visvim, unless you think that charging about 5 times more than is necessary for it is somehow innovative! You can find this kind of detailing / distressing from a lot of Japanese manufacturers, including Kapital, Blue Blue Japan, Koromo / KRM, FDMTL and many others.

There are also quite a few small Japanese makers doing real boro - i.e. actually selling vintage clothes that have been restored and remade using boro and overdying techniques etc. rather than the largely superficial and fashion boro that the bigger manufacturers do, although of course they also go way further than is strictly necessary to make things look cool. And their stuff isn't cheap, but real craftsmanship costs! And, unlike Visvim, we are actually talking about a level or workmanship that makes it worthwhile. For example Sasakiyohinten https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SASAKIYOHINTEN

 

[Spinster Jones]

It's called 'boro' and it has nothing paricularly to do with Visvim, unless you think that charging about 5 times more than is necessary for it is somehow innovative! You can find this kind of detailing / distressing from a lot of Japanese manufacturers, including Kapital, Blue Blue Japan, Koromo / KRM, FDMTL and many others.

Harsh.

My goal is to bring it forth as something one could possibly take notice of, and do oneself. Thus avoiding paying handsomely for a finished garment with that aesthetic. Sasakiyohinten looked great for inspiration, for example, thanks. We're in the classic menswear section, and I think it could be interesting to redo a beaten up 3roll2 to a "boroed"/patchwork" one. Tweed jackets with leather elbow-patches are a classic, for example. So it wouldn't be unheard of to push that aesthetic further.

Have anyone actually tried sashiko-techniques or creating boro, is my question? It seems that boro is the finished garment you get when using sashiko - but translating between three languages is hard, okay? Or patchwork, for that matter? How would a sashiko-mended 3roll2-look?

There's a reason Bode went from 400$ jackets to 1200$ in a span of a couple of years. People seem to love this asethetic.

 

[double00]

i've looked into boro but i don't really do traditional technique as-such . i know enough to pilfer a bit haha .

the tools are pretty different if you are used to western-type sewing , the needles are longer and held with a palm thimble . the thread is distinct . iirc the basic system seems attuned to *shooting* running stitch .

 

[dieworkwear]

Have anyone actually tried sashiko-techniques or creating boro, is my question? It seems that boro is the finished garment you get when using sashiko - but translating between three languages is hard, okay? Or patchwork, for that matter? How would a sashiko-mended 3roll2-look?

Not sure if this counts because I didn't make the boro myself. But I bought a length of early 20th-century boro from a Japanese antiques dealer in NYC and used it as a lining for a Schott Perfecto jacket

The back of the jacket is autographed by Colossus of Roads, a folk art legend that I grew up admiring when I was young.

Colossus of Roads used to write his moniker on trains in the 90s. At the time, he covered what seemed to be every boxcar in America. The style is known as hobo art, which comes from the early 20th-century practice of hobos communicating through pictograms. Since many were illiterate, they would put up coded drawings around train yards to communicate things such as “this town has work” or “you can sleep in this hayloft.” Basically, things to make a illegal passage safer. Today however, like with any graffiti, it’s mostly done for fame.

 

[jazerad]

Great stuff. I see that you've even mended the crotch. The crotch blowout might be hard to mend, but have anyone tried mending by using sashiko- or boro-methods?

Haven't seen it done with more expensive clothing, suits and such, but it's common with jeans and chambray. I think it could bring a new life and a new aesthetic into the pants.

Visvim does a lot of this, so they might be an inspiration as well.

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That looks pretty cool. I really like that repaired style look.

 

[Spinster Jones]

Not sure if this counts because I didn't make the boro myself. But I bought a length of early 20th-century boro from a Japanese antiques dealer in NYC and used it as a lining for a Schott Perfecto jacket

You kidding? Jeez, combining reuse and a travelling legend? Might just be the nicest leather jacket I've seen.

Hits all the spots for this thread I think. Something with a soul - and a history. You've both repaired it and it bears the hand of others.