Wearing History: Ethical Fashion by Mia
Chae
Why This Topic? Vintage fashion and second-hand clothing have had a big inuence on my style and interests over the past few years. My goal with this zine is to educate readers on, what are in my eyes, the three most important aspects of vintage fashion and second-hand clothing: history, sustainability, and personal style. My hope is that readers gain a newfound appreciation for vintage and second hand clothing, realizing positive eects it has. I want readers to feel more inclined to buy clothing second-hand rather than contributing to the enormous and growing clothing waste that results from fast fashion.
What’s It All About?
Back in high school I was a loyal visitor to a local vintage shop
called Lost and Found. It was the first real vintage store I had ever been in. I remember feeling a sense of excitement and interest I had never felt in any other clothing store; it was unlike any feeling the stores at the mall had ever given me. Going through the dozens of racks of old clothing felt like a treasure hunt. There were stories behind these clothes; most were not manufactured in enormous quantities, nor were they poorly made like the trendy fast fashions sold at TopShop and Forever 21. I could spend hours in Lost and Found; with every tag stating the decade each piece was from, it made shopping there feel like I was in a beautiful museum— but I could buy things, and my wallet was not empty! This is when I first realized and became interested in the rich history behind some of the most iconic fashion decades. With my growing interest in second-hand and vintage clothing came realizations regarding the ugly ecological and ethical truths behind the clothes I had been purchasing at fashion chains. For example, conventional cotton, which is used in most every piece of cheap clothing, requires copious amounts of pesticides and fertilizers to grow; while harming the soil and plants themselves, these chemicals also harm humans. Between 26 and 77 million cotton agricultural workers suffer from pesticide poisoning each year and the average life expectancy for non-organic cotton farmers in India is in the mid 30s. Not to mention most of the 40 million workers employed in the garment industry around the world today are making only 18% of a monthly living wage. Taking all of this into account, I figured: “If I prefer shopping at thrift and vintage stores, why even give fast fashion chains business?” I made this decision about a year and a half ago and have made it a point to only purchase my clothing second hand, or from small, ethically produced brands.
continued. . . My interest in fashion as an overall hobby and art form sparked from the initial appeal of vintage clothing. Like any other interest you may have, to fully appreciate fashion as an art form, it is important to have a general understanding of the rich history behind it. It is an incredible privilege to have books and the internet to help us look back at some of the most revolutionary decades throughout fashion history. While evaluating past fashions and trends, one must dissect the historical events of each decade to recognize the causes of why past trends came to fruition. Often times what women were wearing throughout history had a lot to do with what was going on in the world at the time, whether it was WWI, WWII, or the jazz movement, there have always been parallels in the fashion world. Fashion is ever-changing, and it is important to look back on why certain changes took hold and to make each decade independently recognizable. Even if someone has an interest in today’s fashion industry, it is still very important to be educated on its history. Fashion is a cyclical system that recycles trends from the past, and trend forecasters often look back at fashion’s rich history to predict upcoming trends. You can walk into a Zara and Urban Outfitters and see clothes inspired by 70s and 90s trends that have made their way back to present day. Sustainability is at the head of what keeps me shopping slow fashion. What is slow fashion? In the simplest understanding, it is the direct opposite of fast fashion. Slow fashion is the choice to purchase clothing that is recycled and environmentally/ethically conscious, as opposed to buying mass quantities of currently trendy pieces that will later contribute to the world’s excessive clothing waste.
Since making the conscious decision to only buy slow fashion, I have not only become more educated about the rich history and how much better it is sustainably, but it has also helped me develop my own sense of personal style. I highly encourage everyone to try to thrift shop more often and experiment with different styles. It has become the only way I shop and it is immensely fulfilling to know I am bettering the environment by doing so.
ion Ethical fash is so cool!
A Look Into History The 1920s The 1920s are one of the most iconic and recognizable decades throughout all of american history. The  apper trend makes this roaring decade stand out amongst the rest. Flapper style emerged around 1926 and became widely popular due to its art nouveau, modern aesthetic, it was unlike anything anyone had seen before. Although beloved by many, the new  apper trend for women was also seen as controversial and an act of rebellion. Flappers were known to be young girls who would shave their hair short, apply their makeup quite heavily, and wore dresses hitting just below the calf that did not accentuate the waist whatsoever. Women said goodbye to the corset and hello to challenging the boundaries between men and women. The fashion industry in the 1920s was being marketed to a crowd that would be attracted to this modern style. The industry was targeted towards the consumer market of the jazz age. After the post-World War I economic boom, the consumer market expanded greatly and the fashion industry, among many others, responded to the demands of the rising American youth culture; and jazz music lent much in uence and inspiration to this young and fresh culture.
History Continued. . . The 1940s Silhouettes of the the 40s lost the softness of the 20s and 30s. 40s fashion is not considered as iconic, because it acted as a sort of transitional decade in terms of trends and silhouettes. As World War II took hold, clothing became rationed and it became diďŹƒ cult to obtain typically fashionable clothing. Because of clothes being rationed, dress lengths were shorter than they had ever been before, cutting just below the knee, and it was not considered scandalous because it had to be done. The 1940s silhouettes were inspired by utility clothes, with square shoulders, narrow hips, high V neck lines, small waistlines, and just below the knee skirts. This was the shape of the everyday dresses and even suits for most women in the 40s. It was all about the hourglass fi gure, while highlighting a padded, broad shoulder look. Towards the end of the decade, there were more fabric options available for use. In a means to forget the depressing war, cheerful, bright patterns with contrasting trims were embraced in women’s fashion. Rayon was the new synthetic material that was used in a lot of clothing throughout this decade.
History Continued. . . The 1960s Throughout the entirety of the 1960s, women’s fashion took on a whole new identity that consisted of more style and attitude than ever before. This was also the fi rst decade of fashion that we are able to recognize the female icons that greatly infl uenced this decade that was considered a revolutionary one. In the early 60s women looked up to Jackie Kennedy, with her put-together chic look of tailored dresses and suits accompanied by bright white pearl earrings. As the decade progressed, young british icon Twiggy inspired women to express themselves more through clothing without putting much thought or eff ort. The fashion trends of the 60s went from modestly chic to funky mini skirt looks, it’s safe to say that the styles that made up this decade were pretty diverse. For the fi rst half of the decade, trends of the 50s lingered but were a bit more sleek and chic thanks to the infl uence of Jackie O. It was not until the mid 60s that the mini skirt was introduced and became widely popular.
History Continued. . . The 1970s By the time the 1970s came around, the boundaries for women’s fashion almost completely vanished. Women chose who they wanted to be and it was no longer questioned. It was considered normal for women to choose to wear short mini skirt with a bra top one day and a t-shirt with fl are pants the next. Similarly to most iconic fashion decades, the trends of the beginning of the 70s were diff erent than the trends of the mid to late 70s. For example it can be said that early 70s fashion was very reminiscent of late 60s fashion, and late 70s fashion resembles trends of the early 80s. In the beginning of the decade, styles were fl amboyant and consisted of bright colors and fl owing skirts and pants. The bottoms of pants became wider and wider as each year of the 70s progressed, the bell bottom pant became a hugely iconic trend. Another trend that was apparent in the late 60s and became widely available in the late 70s were pant suits. Pants were normalized for all women by the time the 70s rolled around. The main theme throughout the entirety of the 70s was that women were unapologetic about their clothing choices and it became expected that they would wear whatever they felt like wearing. Gender roles were without a doubt still apparent in women’s clothing choices, however, compared to past decades the boundaries became blurred and the fashion market had more of a feminist agenda.
Personal Style Over the past couple of years I have cultivated a wardrobe that I feel truly encapsulates who I am. This might sound dramatic, but, I believe personal style is a big part of anyone’s identity and can say a lot about a person. That doesn’t mean everyone has to be “fashionable” and “trendy,” or even care about fashion in general, it simply means you are able to see what a person’s character might be like by how they choose to dress themselves. And we all cannot help but have first impressions of people based on how they are dressed. Buying second hand has allowed me to experiment with my wardrobe and try a multitude of quirky pieces without breaking my budget. And most times, if I do not end up liking something, I will hand it over to a friend. It has become something so fun and fulfilling in my life that has helped me become confident in what I wear.
Proceeding this page is a lookbook of fully vintage outfits styled by me featuring my best friend Marina Enright (who also loves vintage)!
LookBook
The history and fun of vintage fashion is what first intrigued me, but I soon discovered how shopping second-hand is much better for the environment . . . But why are most people still shopping fast fashion? The truth of the matter is, fast fashion is easy. Stores like H&M, Zara, and TopShop make buying on trend, affordable clothes easy, and the problem with that is consumers will feel okay about disposing these clothes once the trends become stale. A huge problem that results from this industry is the mass production and over-consumption. Studies show that, with the rise of fast fashion chains, people are buying over 400% more clothes since the 1980s. Even if people donate their old clothes, most of it, over 85%, ends up in landfill. In North America alone, it is estimated that over 25 billion pounds of clothing waste is produced per year. One of the biggest issues with clothing waste is that most garments are comprised of mixtures of synthetic fabrics that do not biodegrade easily and cannot be broken down. This results in dangerous chemicals and dyes that are released into our rivers and which pollute rich soils, making fashion one of the world’s top polluters. But pollution is only half of the issue created by the mass production of fast fashion. Oftentimes people do not think about who is putting in the demanding labor to produce the clothing that is constantly being put out in fast fashion retailers multiple times a week. Every aspect of the fast fashion business model has to be optimized, and one of those aspects, the one that involves human rights, is the labor process. In order to produce the 12-24 collections fast fashion companies put out every year, they must pay their workers as little as they possibly can to remain the corporate giants they have become. This means most workers, which work out of developing countries, are getting paid at most, $10 a month. This is under the living standard, and most of these laborers are women and children. These aspects and more make buying clothing from slow fashion businesses the smarter option.
Thrift store overstock clothing going to landfill
Fast fashion factory
Employed are mostly women and children
THE TRUE COST The True Cost is an eye-opening documentary on the secrets of the fast and high fashion clothing industries. This film uses a very effective juxtaposing tactic to make viewers aware of the horrors behind the fast fashion industry. There is a strong juxtaposition between the production and product, at one moment showing glamourous clips of models going down a runway or beautiful brightly lit stores and at the next moment moving to the Indian slums where these ‘beautiful’ clothes are produced with working conditions are far below the standard. The film follows a 23 year old garment factory worker in Bangladesh named Shima who makes around $10 a month. To try and attempt to protest the harsh working conditions and below living standard wage all the factory workers had to tirelessly deal with, they started a union of workers. In response the factory workers were beaten by the factory owner. This scenario just further illustrates the horrific working conditions caused by the constant rapid production of the thousands of fast fashion chains around the world. This film is so important for everyone to watch. We cannot turn a blind eye any longer, people need to become educated and take responsibility for where their clothes are coming from and this documentary is the perfect place to start.
The Los Angeles Times article, “Behind a $13 shirt, a $6-an-hour worker: How Forever 21 and other retailers avoid liability for factories that underpay workers to sew their clothes”, by Natalie Kitroeff and Victoria Kim, exposes how laws designed to protect garment workers in Los Angeles fail them. These workers, usually undocumented Latinos, are employed by small Korean manufacturing and sewing contractors in LA who owe their existence to Forever 21, and other companies like TJ Maxx. These retailers, to meet consumer demand, sell their clothing at ridiculously low prices. While people will pay a premium for local organic food, they won’t pay fair prices for fast fashion clothing. California has a $12 an hour minimum wage but a Department of Labor investigation found that 85% of factories had labor violations. A Forever 21 dress that costs $24.90 should cost $30.43 if workers were paid a lawful wage. Instead, most are paid by the piece. California’s state law that was meant to get rid of sweatshops falls short because it cannot touch retailers like Forever 21. The law only reaches to the factories themselves and to middle-men who contract with them. Workers can receive back-pay from these entities if violations are found, but not from retailers like Forever 21, who drive the whole system. Factories and middle-men typically have such small profit margins that they would shut down if they paid the legal wage because they are forced to sell their garments to the retailer at such a cheap price. The giant retailers are the ones who profit on the backs of the under-paid workers. As explained by David Weil, former head of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, “This whole problem devolves from the retailer . . . They force the production costs to as low as they want because of their power in the supply chain, with the result of ultimately the workers bearing the whole cost and risk of the system.” This article explains the big picture of fast fashion’s ethical problem: mega-retailers profiting from underpaid, illegal labor. It shows that the retailers should be the target for laws that are meant to protect workers. It also illustrates the problem of consumerism’s thirst for cheap, fast fashion. Until we change the mind of the consumer and make them realize that cheap clothing hurts real workers, the system will not change. We need to make it fashionable to pay fair prices for the clothes that we wear.
Scan this QR code to read the article
Favorite NYC Vintage
Dusty Rose Vintage
’s imi gM
in
eam
Scr
The B reak
o o-G G -a- Relation ags No
Beaco
Vinta
ge
n’s Clo s
R
Fox a n Awo ke
Stella Dalla s
10f
Hamlet’s Vintage
t Si
oE
n
Vinta
ge
ngl
e
Bu
ffa l
et
d Faw
L Train
xc
ha
Vintag
e
ng
e
Screaming Mimi’s 240 W 14th St New York, NY 10011
Dusty Rose Vintage 251 Greenpoint Ave Brooklyn, NY 11222
10ft Single 285 N 6th St Brooklyn, NY 11211
Rags-a-Go-Go 218 W 14th St # A New York, NY 10011
The Break 82 Dobbin St Brooklyn, NY 11222
L Train Vintage 1377 Dekalb Ave Brooklyn, NY 11221
No Relation 204 1st Ave New York, NY 10009
Beacon’s Closet (fav. location) 74 Guernsey St Brooklyn, NY 11222
Buffalo Exchange 504 Driggs Ave Brooklyn, NY 11211
Stella Dallas 218 Thompson St New York, NY 10012
Fox and Fawn 570 Manhattan Ave Brooklyn, NY 11222
Hamlet’s Vintage 146 W 4th St New York, NY 10012
Awoke Vintage 688 Manhattan Ave Brooklyn, NY 11222
Ever thought about representation in the vintage world? Scan this QR code to read the article
This Harper’s Bazaar article entitled “The Vintage Girls of New York City,” written by Zoe Beery highlights the perspectives of four vintage loving women in NYC. They speak on the importance of wearing and collecting clothes that hold so much history. Shopping for vintage is a whole other realm of consumerism. The article points out, “ [vintage] Shopping becomes a form of conservation, saving historical objects not just from the ravages of age but also from the clutches of fashionistas who see a long skirt and feel compelled to cut half of it off.” This mentality of preserving clothing and re-imagining old pieces helps prevent from over consumption of clothing which is better for the environment and causes one to be more creative with their wardrobe. Wearing vintage is a fun privilege for this circle of stylish NYC vintage collectors. One of the women, Vanessa Gualdron says “My favorite thing about wearing these clothes is that doing so writes a new chapter in this otherwise sad history: When these pieces were made, women couldn’t open their own bank accounts, but 60 years later, I’m buying their clothes with a debit card that has my name on the front.” It is powerful and liberating. The main reason I was attracted to this article was how transparently it speaks on underrepresentation in the vintage fashion world. After highlighting the fun and importance of vintage fashion in these women’s lives, the article changes climate. It is made known that not everyone is able to collect this kind of “true” historical vintage, because finding pieces above a size 14 is close to impossible, the stock of plus size vintage is super scarce, and the small stock that does exist has a far higher price tag. This “shuts women of size out,” states Vanessa. Another concern with representation is amongst people of color. While pointing out that these clothes make women feel confident and invincible, Vanessa makes sure we remember, “as progressive as they make some women feel, or as progressive as the politics appear to be, almost everyone in this scene is white, straight, and cisgender.” Vanessa, raised in queens, is colombian herself, and was often asked by her Latinx friends why her vintage event photos rarely included POC. She says, “Every time I walk into a party or an event, I look around and I’m the only one, or one of very few. I’m not thinking about it constantly, but I do notice it, and I’m sort of mentally prepared for it.” Although she has never experienced explicit racism in the scene, it is still important to question the status quo and make it a point; “Especially since what we are celebrating comes from a cultural history that is no exclusively white.”
Want to Perform an Intervention in Your Community? End of the year
clothing swap ! come with a bag of unwanted clothes promote sustainability get some great new clothes from fellow stuypark residents bring friends everyone welcome
Sunday, May 6th 2-4 PM
free snacks!
where: outdoor courtyard here at stuy
What Do You Need to do to Hold a Successful Clothing Swap? 1. Have the background knowledge on why clothing swaps are so great for the environment. Without the knowledge, you will not be as driven and excited about successfully executing one. 2. Make a flyer to advertise your event and make sure to include the sustainability component somewhere on the flyer. 3. Know your intended audience. This is important, you don’t want to hold a clothing swap if you know the community you’re a part of might not be interested or participate. I knew there was a large group of people at The New School who enjoy thrifting and are into sustainability, thus I had an idea a clothing swap would be successful. 4. Hold it in a space where a lot of people will be passing through. Any intervention will be the more successful if it is in a space where lots of people will be coming in and out. 5. Contribute some of your own pieces so that there will already be clothing there to swap for the first visitor. 5. Try to make it as organized as possible. Have a few bins that are designated spots where people can put their shirts, bottoms, outerwear, etc. This will make it easier for people to find pieces they are looking for, and it will make the whole thing less stressful. 6. Have a piece of paper sitting out where people can leave their email so you can formally thank them and remind them that by participating in the clothing swap, they are making a positive impact on the environment. More people will appreciate it than you think.
Annotated Bibliography Thomas, Pauline. “Fashion-era Contains 890 Content Rich, Il lustrated Pages of Fashion History, Costume History, Clothing, Fashions and Social History. Sitemap.” The 1960s Mini Skirt Fashion History - Mary Quant. Accessed May 07, 2018. http://www.fashion-era.com/. Fashion-Era is a wonderful source to utilize to examine and study the trends and styles of any fashion decade of your choosing. I enjoyed this website because all the information is in its own categorized tab.
“Vintage Inspired Clothing & Costumes.” VintageDancer.com. Accessed May 07, 2018. https://vintagedancer.com/. I used this site to help with the research I did for the 40s and 60s history description. It is a very useful and descriptive site that covered important historical aspects such as icons of the decade and cultural references.
Person. “Inside the Old-Fashioned World of New York’s Vintage Girls.” Harper’s BAZAAR. October 11, 2017. Accessed May 07, 2018. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a17311/ inside-the-world-of-new-yorks-vintage-girls/. I used this article for one of two of my outside texts. I liked how informative and personal this article is, it shines a light on the inside of the vintage loving community of NYC. I was drawn to this article due to how transparently it covers the lack of representation in the vintage community.
Continued. . . “Scary Fast Fashion Facts.” Soul Flower Blog. April 03, 2018. Ac cessed May 08, 2018. https://www.soul-flower.com/blog/scaryfast-fashion-facts/. This very well organized blog post highlighting several of the negative effects of fast fashion. The sections highlight both the lack of ethical and sustainable practices within the industry.
“Behind a $13 Shirt, a $6-an-hour Worker.” Los Angeles Times. Accessed May 08, 2018. http://www.latimes.com/projects/ la-fi-forever-21-factory-workers/. This is the other article I used for the outside texts. I was drawn to this article because it provides a personal insight into the unethical practices into the fast fashion industry. It provides a first-person account of the unfair treatment. I found it very insightful and informative. The True Cost. Directed by Andrew Morgan. May 29, 2015. The True Cost is such an important documentary and I knew it was necessary that I include it if I were to be touching on the unethical treatment of fast fashion factory workers. It really opens your eyes to the horrific reality behind clothes from some of the most popular fashion chains all over the world.