Cheap clothes
If I were not a deeply-concerned, morally-responsible person who fights for social justice and the equality of all humans, I would be a fashion designer.
Within my serious self lives an artsy girl who loves clothes. The feel of a woven or knitted textile, its colors and shapes, its emotional qualities and historical significance, its manufacture and distribution--all of these things interest me deeply.
And I have a secret love--cheap clothes. These clothes combine a bit of social conscience and love of beauty with utility and a desire not to spend money. And where do I find cheap clothes?
1. Made in sweatshops and sold under a dizzying number of brand names, in wildly different kinds of stores.
Yes, sweatshops they are for the most part, but these factories in places like Romania, Belize, Honduras, Cambodia, and China also make it possible for people to live. They pay a miserable wage, but they are often the only local means of making any money for people with little education or resources to move to a place with better opportunities.
When I lived in Prague from 2010-2103, I shopped in the tiny neighborhood stores run by Vietnamese immigrants. There I found (for about half the price) clothes identical to those sold at Tesco downtown. It was obvious that all the clothes were made in the same factories--the difference was that Tesco got all the profits when I bought in the big shiny store with three levels and a cafeteria, while the Vietnamese shop owners got all the profits when I bought in the neighborhood shops.
So although the clothes were made under conditions that took advantage of the workers, at least I could contribute to the living conditions of my neighbors when I bought them. Not a perfect situation, but better than it might be.
2. Thrift shops and people's cast-offs
I was for years the beneficiary of many people who wanted to clear their closets. I gladly received clothes for me and my family--for free. I also shopped in thrift shops, mostly the little ones run by churches where the negligible profits went back into the church.
This was my preferred way to get cheap clothes--I was an active recycler and spent so little money that I could afford to get my clothes dirty when I did gardening and chores. No need to treat my clothes like an investment!
So I love cheap clothes, although my mother taught me to love well-made, classic clothes that were not cheap. I shopped at good department stores like Stewart's in Louisville all through my teen years, but when I decided to live to the margins of consumerism in the 1970s, I changed my habits and went cheap. These days, I still buy good clothes on occasion (especially shoes, but that's for another blog), but I really do like the cheap stuff!
Within my serious self lives an artsy girl who loves clothes. The feel of a woven or knitted textile, its colors and shapes, its emotional qualities and historical significance, its manufacture and distribution--all of these things interest me deeply.
And I have a secret love--cheap clothes. These clothes combine a bit of social conscience and love of beauty with utility and a desire not to spend money. And where do I find cheap clothes?
1. Made in sweatshops and sold under a dizzying number of brand names, in wildly different kinds of stores.
Yes, sweatshops they are for the most part, but these factories in places like Romania, Belize, Honduras, Cambodia, and China also make it possible for people to live. They pay a miserable wage, but they are often the only local means of making any money for people with little education or resources to move to a place with better opportunities.
When I lived in Prague from 2010-2103, I shopped in the tiny neighborhood stores run by Vietnamese immigrants. There I found (for about half the price) clothes identical to those sold at Tesco downtown. It was obvious that all the clothes were made in the same factories--the difference was that Tesco got all the profits when I bought in the big shiny store with three levels and a cafeteria, while the Vietnamese shop owners got all the profits when I bought in the neighborhood shops.
So although the clothes were made under conditions that took advantage of the workers, at least I could contribute to the living conditions of my neighbors when I bought them. Not a perfect situation, but better than it might be.
2. Thrift shops and people's cast-offs
I was for years the beneficiary of many people who wanted to clear their closets. I gladly received clothes for me and my family--for free. I also shopped in thrift shops, mostly the little ones run by churches where the negligible profits went back into the church.
This was my preferred way to get cheap clothes--I was an active recycler and spent so little money that I could afford to get my clothes dirty when I did gardening and chores. No need to treat my clothes like an investment!
So I love cheap clothes, although my mother taught me to love well-made, classic clothes that were not cheap. I shopped at good department stores like Stewart's in Louisville all through my teen years, but when I decided to live to the margins of consumerism in the 1970s, I changed my habits and went cheap. These days, I still buy good clothes on occasion (especially shoes, but that's for another blog), but I really do like the cheap stuff!
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