How an internet trend encouraged me to gain more confidence in my wardrobe.
By Ava Van Hofwegen
Noticing the white threads tearing loose from the side of your favorite pair of jeans is never fun. Nor is washing them and realizing the rip has grown three times as big. The obvious solution might be to mourn the loss and continue the never-ending search for perfect denim.
I decided to go a different route. I got out my sewing kit and put aside some time to fix what I could. Those jeans ended up lasting me years longer than I initially anticipated since I found them at a second-hand store.
Learning to use a sewing machine for the first time felt like learning to ride a bike. The initial frustration was there, but I felt determined because I knew it would benefit me and my bank account in the long run.
When I was younger, my dad ran an upholstery business from our basement. It was there that I first learned how to sew by drawing heart shapes with thread on loose scraps of vinyl.
Even just that basic knowledge, has gotten me far with working on my own clothes, whether it’s quick work with a needle and thread or occasional larger projects with a Singer sewing machine.
Through sewing, I have taken items of clothing that I previously might not have identified with and turned them into something personal. It doesn’t have to be a revolutionary design either, items I transform that I could wear on the day-to-day are what I value the most.
The seam ripper is my best friend. It reminds me that nothing is permanent until the scissors come out. It takes patience to redo ruined stitches, but to me, it is completely worth it. When I am happy with the finished product, it makes me feel much more confident to wear the garment. I rework clothing to achieve a better fit. Especially if it’s secondhand, it might not fit the way I had hoped.
The phenomenon of shopping for secondhand clothes and redesigning them at home is called a “#thrift flip.” According to TikTok analytics, the hashtag has over 100,000 posts and acquired 4 billion views on the platform. Over recent years, it has been a trend on social media for people to shop at used clothing stores.
Awareness of fast fashion and its environmental impacts has spread rapidly through social media. I see it in my own values as a consumer as I avoid certain brands and mainly shop locally at thrift stores.
Sewing expands my options significantly. It also makes fashion more affordable, as a college student, it is difficult for me to afford brand-new clothing, especially if it is from a sustainable brand. One example is the brand Reformation, which sells jeans at an average of $150. While shopping second-hand jeans have an average cost of $15 and a spool of thread $2. Being able to rework clothes I already own or those from charity shops has saved me from going over budget too often.
The skill was considered necessary for many women to know in a traditional household and is easily rejected because of the history of being such a gendered chore. Nowadays, with fast fashion, clothes are produced at a rapid rate and 80% of workers in these factories are women.
Sewing detaches me from the incentive to overconsume clothing. Rather than throwing out those torn jeans, I saw a chance to make them more my fit. This possibility liberated me from the consumer culture that is often encouraged. It gives me more assurance in my wardrobe that after putting effort into the design, I will re-wear the jeans.