A Short Lesson in Modern French Slang

Bon Chic Bon Genre. Observe the first letter in each word and say them as one word. "Baysaybayzhay." Say that more quickly and there it is, "Baisebeige!" Translated, it refers to people who think they're all that. I am exploring the changing values of world culture and expressing through dress the evolving image of the pillar of our modern society.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Vintage Clothing and Textiles Are The Best Green Thing!


Although I do feel especially fortunate to be living in the 21st century and to have the particular set of skills and values I have, I am still a bit hesitant about jumping on the sustainable textile bandwagon just yet. Like any aspect of "greening" lifestyle, clothing and textiles certainly have their points of compromise. I feel like I am reliving the earliest days of nuturing my passions when synthetic fabrics and fibers were flooding into the market in the late 1960's and early 1970's. I see the same problems emerging.

I'm like any human and prefer the avoidance of drama, and, for that reason, will focus my work for awhile on vintage and salvaged materials. I expect the things I make to last forever and I think there's a lot of competition for the "green" greenback right now. I'm going to wait until I see some proof that materials are better. I want assurance that textiles are produced with respect to human rights. I want to see standardization in labeling and identification of fibers.

I will reuse and recycle and repair for awhile. I will buy new materials with caution. I use a lot of cotton muslin fabric. It's the workhorse of my studio. I do have a bolt of organic muslin fabric and am glad the obscene amount of agricultural petrochemicals typical for cotton production was avoided. However, I am displeased that organic cotton production uses significantly more water. And, I do not rest easy that the fabric was made in Pakistan not known for positive human rights policies and practices.

Lucky for me, I live in the United States of America where there will never be a shortage of junk. A lot of the junk is textile in nature. So while industry is becoming saner, I will make use of what's already here. This is the happiest way for me to work because I will get great exercise stretching my creativity and imagination. On the downside, profit is in replicable product and that's not possible from random supply. Lucky for me I can measure true wealth and worth in terms other than dollars and cents!