Week 41

I’ve been thinking about next year as it gets closer and how my experience this year will inform my purchasing next year. Early this year I listened to the designer Paul Smith on the radio,predicting that the high street would suffer in the pandemic. This would lead to a return to less new collections which would filter to a slower turnover on the high street. That of course would be excellent for landfill. We have all seen photographs of the massive clothes mountains assigned to binning. Many of the items are made from environmentally unfriendly materials ( plastics ) made in processes that use huge amounts of water by slave labour. All the high street shops purport to be more environmentally friendly than they were but the constant sales and shear clothes wastage says it all. So I guess we should all be thinking more carefully before we buy.

I guess the problem is that unless we are buying preloved, ethical fashion costs much more. But then one statement dress should bring as much enjoyment and far more meaning than ten purchases from H and M. That’s why I’m so interested in my daughter in laws website Lone Design Club. I’ve been particularly taken by the designs of Gung Ho. The pesticide shift dress looks great and what a talking point ! 10 percent of the profits return to charity and the material is tencal ( see the link). It’s also made in the uk and supports local businesses. It’s not cheap to buy so I’m waiting for a sale! I guess that’s the problem people are so used to buying such cheap clothes, but this is a very modern phenomenon, our parents and grandparents bought quality over quantity and we should be returning to that. Hard to do I think as our shopping habits of today tie in with the Facebook generation, celebrity fashion, and the desire for all of us who aren’t in the category to buy expensive clothing to have the opportunity to buy those very good designer copies.

However I’ll be saving up and hoping for the sales for that statement shift i love. Perhaps one of those more expensive GungHo dresses will also be suitable for a wedding next year!