June 2021 | Monthly Wrap Up

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Wednesday 30 June 2021

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AD – PR product, some books mentioned in this post were sent to me by publishers. These are marked with **. A referral code is also used, which is marked with *.

I have actually had a lot of fun in June. Here’s hoping that continues this summer!



Favourite part?

 

I’ve been seeing a lot of friends actually in person this month! I’ve been trying to cram in seeing as many people as possible before a lot of my friends move away next month. It’s been great and I didn’t realise how much I missed seeing people in person until we were doing social things in person again. 

 

I’ve been for lots of great lunches, drinks, and barbecues – I even managed to get a barbecue to light properly and successfully cook, sauasages, tofu, and sausages on it. Genuinely proud of myself for that.


 

I competed an internship doing supply chain research this month with Goodstrangevibes, a small business who seek raise awareness around body positivity, mental health and LGBT+ issues through art. It’s been great working with them this month and putting a lot of what I talk/write about relating to fashion into practise. Please go check them about, and if you want to hear in more detail about what I’ve been doing for them, sign up to their upcoming newsletter!

 

I also applied for and was offered a place on a Master’s course! I’ll be doing a research Master’s in English Literature, looking at Golden Age British detective fiction. I am so excited!

 

Best read?

 

At the beginning of the month I read Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy and the first volume of Aurora Floyd by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. These were my priorities as I needed to get them back to my uni library by the middle of the month. I enjoyed them bot and am hoping to read the next two volumes of Aurora Floyd soon!

 

I then finished reading Sex and the Citadel by Shereen El Feki, which was so interesting. One of the main messages of the book I would say is that so many issues relating to sexual and gender repression in many countries around the world are a result of colonisation.

 

I then read This Modern Love by Will Darbyshire for probably the fourth time. This is such a quick yet impactful read for me, and every time I read it I feel like I get something different from it. It’s like a comforting blanket in book form.

 

I also read How to Love Your Laundry by Patric Richardson with Karin B Miller**. Although I did have to remind myself a few times of the American-British translations of some of the things mentioned, this book

 

I have also started reading Sex & Rage by Eve Babitz** and A Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister, both of which I’m really enjoying so far. 


 

Favourite listen?


I’ve not listened to much music this month, but I did have a throwback to 2012ish listening to Eliza Doolitte and Gabrielle Aplin while I’ve been working. 

 

Favourite watch?


I finished Bones, binged the second series of Feel Good in one night, rewatched the first four series of Doctor Who revival and am now rewatching New Girl! A lot of rewatching…

 

After getting into the latest series of the Great British Sewing Bee, I’ve started to catch up on the old series from the beginning. 


Picture credit


What did I learn?


That honest to god I need to learn to have for faith and confidence in myself. Easier said than done but I’m trying. 

 

What’s happening next month?


Seeing more of my family and friends, including my grandparents who I’ve not seen in-person in maybe two years now!

 

What’s been on my mind?


What the hell I’m doing in the next few months. Not that much specifically other than making sure I get some things done so I don’t have much to do in July!

 

Favourite post?

 

What Happens to Garment Workers If We Stop Buying Clothes? is my favourite post this month. I’ve not written a longer post like that in a while and it was great to do! I’ve got a lot of plans for my blog content coming up, including a few new series on deconstructing key terms relating to slow fashion, deep dives on mainstream brands, and features for small slow/ethical brands (let me know some cool brands you think deserve a feature, especially if they are BIPOC and/or LGBT+ owned). Watch this space! 


 

Biggest inspiration?


This is not an inspiration, but I feel good about my skin for maybe the first time in my life. Maybe it’s because I think I have a skin routine that works for me again for the first time ever. That’s thanks to a Superdrug cleanser I got last month that makes my skin feel incredible, and an SPF-moisturiser I’ve been using every morning. I also tried a few samples of products from Upcircle* from Demi Colleen's collaboration with them (the eye cream, toner and face moisturiser) and I’m hoping to get the toner and moisturiser in their full products soon (not the eye cream though, it was a bit more of a rogue one in the sample pack and made my skin react. Not here for that. The rest was great though!).


*this link is a referral link, which means that you get £10 off at Upcircle, and when you use that I get £10 off too.

Any other favourites?


This section isn’t food related for once! Although it easily could have been… My other favourite this month is my cropped black velvet jacket! I bought it on Depop several years ago, and mostly used it on nights out, but no more! That jacket is not just for nights out, even though it’s very convenient for them. I’m wearing it with more casual outfits, and I forgot how many outfits it goes with.



If you like my work and have learned something from it, please consider helping support me (so I have more time to write posts and articles like these!) by buying me a virtual cuppa! 


If you liked this post you might like: May 2021 | Monthly Wrap Up

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What Happens to Garment Workers if We Stop Buying Clothes?

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Wednesday 23 June 2021

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But what will happen to garment workers’ jobs if we all stop buying fast fashion? This is a question that gets asked time and time again to people in the slow fashion movement, often by people who are genuinely concerned and don’t want to perpetuate even further harm. However, the slow fashion movement is not just about boycotting fast fashion – it’s about building a better world founded on the principles of intersectional equality and anti-capitalism. It’s about uplifting the voices of garment workers rather than stopping the production of clothes altogether. 



There are so many ways to maintain and create jobs for garment workers whilst also slowing down production and improving workers’ rights. 

 

Garment workers are key to a circular economy. In this system, the materials and fabrics already in existence as part of garments would be reworked into new items or enhanced versions of their previous selves. The skills required to do this successfully are those owned by the millions of garment workers worldwide. Not only would this involve reworking old clothes, it would also mean a shift to a focus on repair and revival. One brand that is known for doing this well is Patagonia (I’m not linked with Patagonia in any way, they’re just a brand who are well known for being all round pretty good). Not only do they resell their secondhand items in their ‘Worn and Wear’ collection, they also run a repair system. You can simply bring an item into one of their shops or post it to their repair based in Reno, and they will return it to you all fixed! They also have tutorials for various kinds of self-repair on their website, if you want to give it a go yourself. In addition to these initiatives, in non-Covid times, Patagonia also run repair tours across the US, where they go to towns, set up for the day and repair people’s clothes. In a recent episode of Emily Stochl’s Pre-Loved Podcast, Patagonia’s Head of Secondhand Alex Kremer discussed these processes in more detail and the joy when he discussed the garment workers who go on tour with Patagonia was infectious. If you want to learn more about how it all works, I would highly recommend listening to that episode! Granted, Patagonia are based in USA and as far as I’m aware you can only take part in their repair scheme or tours if you’re also in the USA (or it will at least be much more difficult to take part if you live anywhere else), but their business model is something I would love to see replicated by brands across the globe. 

 

While the focus in a circular economy should be on reusing and repairing, we will always need new clothes. Let’s be frank here, there are some items that we just shouldn’t buy secondhand. Name me one person who would happily wear secondhand underwear (also read as: socks and tights, and personally I wouldn’t want secondhand swimwear although I have seen some in charity shops.) It’s a no from me. So yes, garment workers will still have new things to make in addition to work on repairs and reusing old items.

 

While moving away from the fast fashion model, all aspects of the supply chain have to be considered and all aspects of the supply chain will benefit. Garment workers will be paid at least a living wage if not more (brands can certainly afford it, they have no excuse) and will be able to spend more time on one garment without the pressure to reach extremely high quotas every single day. This will not only be better for their physical health but also their mental health, as they will be able to eat properly, have time to sleep the hours and socialise with friends and family, and will be less likely to suffer abuse at the hands of supervisors who are in turn pressured by brands. A move away from harmful chemicals (like many dyes) and trend-based processes such as sandblasting (the literal blasting of sand particles onto denim to give jeans a ‘worn’ and bleached look) will be better for the health of garment workers, the environment, and consumers alike. Slow fashion is by no means passive, it is a holistic vision of a better fashion future, actively pushing for the increased welfare, wages and job security of garment workers, of better treatment of the planet, and of better relationship between us and the clothes we wear. It is not simply ‘not buying clothes’, it is pushing back against the capitalist system and demanding change.

 

As was noted in a recent Remake Community Call discussing the #NoNewClothes campaign, not buying clothes, or at least heavily reducing our consumption of them, is a way to free up our time (and our wallets) so that we as consumers and citizens can focus more on creating change by lobbying the brands who hold power within the supply chain. I know at least for me, slowing down my consumption has lifted some of the pressure I felt to keep up with trends and ‘fit in’, as well as a created a closer link with my own personal style and identity, and appreciation of the work of the people who made the clothes I love.

 

Degrowth in fashion is a good thing for everyone on all ends of the supply chain and brands need to be held to account and forced to slow down. And the supposed justification for fast fashion that it ‘provides jobs’ will never be valid so long as the jobs in question are highly exploitative and often amount to little more than slave labour. 



If you like my work and have learned something from it, please consider helping support me (so I have more time to write posts and articles like these!) by buying me a virtual cuppa! 


If you liked this post you might like: 50 Questions to Ask Your Favourite Fashion Brands

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Sustainable OOTD // Old Fast Fashion in Summer

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Friday 18 June 2021

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It's the summer we've all been waiting for (and not just because the new series of Love Island is about to start). With restrictions easing (at least in the UK) and in-person social events actually able to happen, old habits and anxieties creep in. We've hardly been seen by our friends, family, and just random strangers for the past few year, so obviously we're doing to want to look nice now that we're out and about again. I don't know about you, but I've seen so much talk of what everyone's going to here on their first night out after lockdown, and, unsurprisingly, many fast fashion brands jumping on this moment to market us our new post-lockdown look. All of those new outfits being marketed to us are completely unnecessary. Looking good and, more importantly, feeling good about ourselves does not require us to buy new things. Especially when those new outfits are produced in a system that damages the women who are at its core in addition to the environment. 

Instead of buying from brands who are encouraging you to buy new for the sake of newness, have a root around in your wardrobe and see what old garments you have that you absolutely love. Try making new outfits with what you already have and find joy in doing so! These items are ones I've had for ages, and I've worn this outfit a lot in the recent heatwave. Whenever the sun comes out, I love cracking out some old favourites and reminding myself why I love them. Here's to old clothes and saying no to the pressure of new!



Top - old fast fashion (H&M), had for at least 4 years but probably over 5
Skirt - old fast fashion (H&M), had for a long time, probably similar time to the top I'm wearing
Tote bag - merch of my uni's Feminist Society, had for about 6 months (made voluntarily with sustainable materials)
Necklace - from Women in Hebron, a Palestinian women's collective, bought about 18 months ago
Earrings - had for so long I can't remember, wear them all the time
Sunglasses - not so old, got from M&S about a month ago
Sandals - vegan Blowfish, bought in Schuh 2-3 years ago, can't remember exactly. If anyone has any tips on sustainable and ethical shoes please let me know, I don't buy them very often but it's an area I don't know much about.





If you like my work and have learned something from it, please consider helping support me (so I have more time to write posts and articles like these!) by buying me a virtual cuppa! 


If you liked this post you might like: Sustainable OOTD // May the Fourth Be With You




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