Loved Clothes Last: How the Joy of Rewearing and Repairing Your Clothes Can Be a Revolutionary Act

by Orsola de Castro

Overview

'It's important that everyone with an interest in fashion reads this book so we can live on a healthier planet' Arizona Muse

'The most timely book you'll read this year' India Knight

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Running out of space for the clothes you can't stop buying? Curious about how you can make a difference to the environmental challenges our planet faces? Join Orsola's care revolution and learn to make the clothes you love, last longer.

This book will equip you with a myriad of ways to mend, rewear and breathe new life into your wardrobe to achieve a more sustainable lifestyle. By teaching you to scrutinise your shopping habits and make sustainable purchases, she will inspire you to buy better, care more and reduce your carbon footprint by simply making your loved clothes last longer.

Following Orsola's practical tips to lavish care and attention on the clothes you already own will not only have a positive environmental impact, but will be personally rewarding too: hand wash, steam and spot clean your clothes, air dry instead of tumble drying, or revive your clothes by sewing or crocheting.

Fast fashion leaves behind a trail of human and environmental exploitation. Our wardrobes don't have to be the finish line; they can be a starting point. We can all care, repair and rewear. Do you accept the challenge?

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'An incredibly thoughtful, must-read guide' Kenya Hunt

'A must read for anyone who wants to understand the fashion industry as an outsider and wants direction as to where we go next' Aja Barber

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780241461167
Publisher:	Penguin UK
Publication date:	02/11/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Orsola de Castro is spearheading a global movement calling for change in the fashion industry. After founding Fashion Revolution in 2013, she pioneered a global campaign in response to the Rana Plaza factory collapse and became an internationally recognised opinion leader in sustainable fashion.

Orsola is an Associate Lecturer at UAL, Visiting Fellow at CSM and a keynote speaker, educator and mentor. She is a leading speaker on fashion and sustainability. She has partnered with individuals like Lily Cole, Stella McCartney, Lauren Laverne and Emma Watson at Fashion Revolution.

Read an Excerpt

The Internet and the Rise of Craftivism 

Today the Internet and social media have been a catalyst for craft- ers and makers worldwide, creating new opportunities to learn, showcase, sell and connect. Knowledge transfer occurs at the click of a button. Type whatever into your search engine, press Enter and there you are – only one step away from your desk and into any reality you wish to discover. It has never been easier to share, and makers the world over have been utilizing this visibility to learn from each other as well as to sell their wares, ensuring that artisanal techniques remain relevant. There are millions of online conversations happening right this minute about yarns, sewing, crochet and knitting, tatting and pattern-cutting. In 2019 the international social networking site for knitters and crocheters – Ravelry.com – boasted eight million members and growing.

When it comes to a blueprint for a future fashion industry, one where monopolies are limited and original creativity and innovation are celebrated, supported and replicated, there is nothing more modern than the history and the development of artisanal skills and artisanal products. Crafts were the original open-source, which is why I find it so inspiring that with the rise of the Internet we have also seen the rise of a huge community dedicated to making, with the World Wide Web providing ways to revive skills and embed them in entirely new systems.

The Internet has also facilitated crafts to become a symbol of protest. In January 2017, as more than four million people participated in women’s marches around the globe to protest at the inauguration of a misogynistic American president, handmade pussy hats from an open-source crochet pattern became the inter- national symbol of opposition.

Activism—which evokes a loud, crowded and often draining form of resistance—has been subverted by the maker movement in the advent of craftivism. The term was introduced by the maker and writer Betsy Greer at the beginning of the millennium, and was later championed by the activist Sarah Corbett as a movement of its own – and as the introvert’s agent of change. Craftiv-ism affects change first by subverting the ‘domestic arts’, long relegated to the home and dismissed as ‘women’s work’. It takes   a quieter, more personal approach to activism. Occasionally the concept has been employed for specific and goal-orientated campaigns, such as in 2015 when Corbett and her Craftivist Collective used embroidered, handmade handkerchiefs to successfully lobby for a living wage at one of the UK’s largest retailers. It doesn’t need to be that pointed, though. Journalist Jake Hall writes of craftivism in the fourth Fashion Revolution Fanzine:

“Taking the Time to Make Something From Nothing is a Political Act in a World Driven by Overconsumption” 

This is incredibly powerful. I believe there is a cosmic energy, an invisible thread that telepathically connects us as we simultaneously channel similar thoughts, and millions of people united in making are the perfect example of what needs to happen now:  a gargantuan amplification of positive thoughts that lead to positive actions. In my opinion, makers are the modern-day heroes, the guardians of an important legacy: in an industry that produces hundreds of billions of garments every year, those advocating and practising a conscious slowdown are the ones pioneering change, using needles and social-media platforms as tools to fight this modern illness.

Editorial Reviews

"Orsola's writing is musical and I hear her song through every word. It's important that everyone with an interest in fashion reads this book so we can live on a healthier planet." —Arizona Muse, model

"An incredibly thoughtful, must-read guide to future-proofing our wardrobes and most importantly the planet [...] Loved Clothes Last will change the way you see your wardrobe and how our day to day actions impact the environment." —Kenya Hunt, Fashion Director, Grazia UK

"The most timely book you'll read this year. We all know that the people who make our clothes are mistreated and underpaid, and we all feel a free-floating anxiety about it. But what to do? This brilliant, witty, eye-opening book will tell you." —India Knight

"This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the fashion industry as an outsider and wants direction as to where we go next. The industry is often shrouded in mystery and this book breaks it down in bite size pieces." —Aja Barber, writer, activist and fashion consultant

From the Publisher