The intelligence of elegance: sustainable clothing

We've been talking a bit this week about the ethical side of vintage clothing - the movement against mass worldwide production of clothes, and our throwaway attitude towards them that belies our progressive knowledge of food consumption and its monumental environment impact.
Reducing the huge human footprint, and ensuring a safe and enjoyable for our scions, must eventually involve addressing the ways we cater to all human needs. This is just starting to happen with clothing; events like the collapse of the Bangladesh garment factory highlight not only the long-discussed working conditions, but ultimately, human sacrifice.

Currently, we approach clothes with flippancy, and it'll soon be as uncouth to walk into an H&M or Primark, as it will be to drink a flat white from a takeaway cup, buy non-free-range eggs, or not keep a goat on your urban property.
We are on the cusp of accepting self-sustainability as the only moral and responsible way of living, and at some point this will change how we dress ourselves.
There will always be a place for middle and high-end, well-made fashion. Sourcing and production values are continuously addressed by designers and the industry. They're not the problem. A new $3 cotton-poly blend tanker dress is the problem.

Not to mention the credibility and glamour of vintage clothing. It's not all doomsday and being at one with the land. Garments from bygone eras are interesting, encourage conversation, are elegant (and if not - 80's prom - can be made so.)

The man with stretchy skin

Some people don't like the past. My mother, for one, prefers to live in the immediate now - there are valid and emotional reasons for this - and as a result, my siblings and I have little connection to who we were as children, and almost no knowledge of our family beyond two generations. She has the same attitude towards clothing, finding no joy in vintage garments, preferring new untouched items, seeing pre-loved as perhaps a little grimy. She shops well, and thoughtfully - but would never buy vintage.

My sister and I are avid thrifters; we do not hoard, but can whip through a high-end vintage or Salvation Army stores with ease and precision. I dress classically, and focus on fabrics - and will find it difficult not to buy anything in rayon, silk or linen. She is younger, and more contemporary and thus will buy more on trend styles, cropping and tailoring to suit.
I rue my contempt for history as a teenager. I'm sure I couldn't think of anything more benign, at the time.
I now read about historians with great envy, most recently Fitzhugh Brundage, a professor and Civil War historian. How extraordinary to make a career of digging around the past.

The horse vacuum cleaner - retronaut.com

Retronaut is without a shadow of a doubt my most favourite corner of the internet. They've saved you hours of time poring over the microfiche, so you can spend hours of time poring over their website.

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