One of the great blogs that I've stumbled upon recently is Male Pattern Boldness by Peter Lappin.
It's full of great (and humourous) posts on Peter's adventures into sewing. Today's post on "The Quantity vs. Quality Clothing Conundrum" I thought was particularly good and reminded me about why I started this blog.
Peter points out many of the issues with trying to achieve 'quality' vs. 'quantity'. For example, he points out that with more clothes, you don't have to do the laundry as much and you can play with more colours. While those are good arguments, I think I am more in favour of the 'quality' side. I am trying to be an ethical consumer and not ignore the impact my consumption can have on the environment and labour conditions, etc.
What do you think out there? What are your opinions on 'quality' vs. 'quantity'?
It's full of great (and humourous) posts on Peter's adventures into sewing. Today's post on "The Quantity vs. Quality Clothing Conundrum" I thought was particularly good and reminded me about why I started this blog.
Peter points out many of the issues with trying to achieve 'quality' vs. 'quantity'. For example, he points out that with more clothes, you don't have to do the laundry as much and you can play with more colours. While those are good arguments, I think I am more in favour of the 'quality' side. I am trying to be an ethical consumer and not ignore the impact my consumption can have on the environment and labour conditions, etc.
What do you think out there? What are your opinions on 'quality' vs. 'quantity'?
One of the many blogs I like to follow is Sociological Images. They have many great posts on the things we see in day to day life and what those things mean when looking at the wider picture.
A recent post that might interest you sewers and knitters out there was "What Was in the 1941 College Woman's Closet". Check it out for yourself.
A recent post that might interest you sewers and knitters out there was "What Was in the 1941 College Woman's Closet". Check it out for yourself.
Here is another great blog for sewers: Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing. The blog has great tips for sewing and how to mix in some vintage flair. It's all put together by sewing enthusiast Gretchen Hirst.
I've also ordered her book, "Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing". I can't wait to get it. Once I do, I will review it here and make posts about any patterns I use.
I stumbled on another great blog: A Fashionable Stitch. This blog has a great page called 'The Everyday Wardrobe'.
It explains how to approach your closet full of clothing. Instead of going out to buy new clothes, you have to review those pieces you never wear. And, it also explains how to mix into your wardrobe all the stuff you are sewing. You don't want to spend hours making something that you are just not going to wear.
Perfect! It's just what I plan on doing and it has great tips.
It explains how to approach your closet full of clothing. Instead of going out to buy new clothes, you have to review those pieces you never wear. And, it also explains how to mix into your wardrobe all the stuff you are sewing. You don't want to spend hours making something that you are just not going to wear.
Perfect! It's just what I plan on doing and it has great tips.
Another day and another great blog. I've just found Coletterie - a sewing blog by a pattern designer.
There was a great discussion on consumerism. Mainly, how we can be distracted by all of the pretty things we see. We buy when we have no need for new clothes (we often already have too many). And we buy without thinking about how ethically the clothing was produced.
I recommend reading the comments. Someone even quotes William Morris:
I recommend reading the comments. Someone even quotes William Morris:
“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”Again, it's so awesome to see that there are so many like minded people out there.
Today, I stumbled on a really great sewing blog called Sewaholic. It has great patterns and sometimes interesting discussions. Like this post on the book "Overdressed" by Elizabeth Cline. I'm definitely going to check this book out.
The discussion on the post is great. It makes me so happy to see that there are so many other people out there that are interested in the larger societal effects that the way we buy clothing can have.
One comment also reminded me that of a discussion I had with my husband the other day:
One comment also reminded me that of a discussion I had with my husband the other day:
"... One thing I have learned is to never try and change my shape to fit into rtw clothes. If I exercise it is because I want to. I don’t diet.
Since I started sewing more and buying less I have become more comfortable with my measurement, less aware of my rtw size but I have also gotten bigger. I am not saying that sewing makes you fat I am just pointing out that my growing size no longer depresses me they way it used to because I know that I can still dress myself no matter what. That is not a feeling I get when I shop." - KateIt's pretty sad that we live in a world where we have to change ourselves to fit into the clothing we wear. We have to work out, diet, lose weight, etc., not for good health, but to fit in the clothes we buy (and often at the expense of good health). I get depressed about my body shape whenever I try on most clothes. We should be working on the clothes to make the clothes fit us and not the other way around. I think I'll be much happier if I do that instead.
