Embracing Slow Fashion I

Part of the experience of quarantine, at least for me, has involved a great deal of reflection on the way that we live. I grew up in a fairly middle class family; I wouldn't say we were particularly excessive, except for when it came to clothes.

Aside from new school clothes every year, we also had special holiday outfits, and it became a habit to buy new clothes or shoes whenever I was struggling with something. Boyfriend broke up with you? New shoes. Having a bad day? A new dress. Buying clothes became a way to gloss over emotional pain, stress and anxiety - not a particularly healthy coping mechanism and one that I am still (and probably always will be) working on.

Through the lens of adulthood this seems like a fairly common problem amongst people my age; part of the American cultural embrace of cheap, disposable fashion coupled with acceptance of stressful, overworked lives that too easily become obsessed with the perfect Instagram or TikTok moment. I'm not saying social media is evil - it helps us stay connected - but after some introspection I'm much more cautious about how I approach my participation in social media, and I try to think about how it influences my decisions and why.

Instead of letting myself get draw into the clutches of trendy clothes that look cool and fun, but which are completely impractical for my lifestyle, I am trying to embrace the tenets of slow fashion. For me that means buying clothes with intent - the strawberry dress is super cute, but would I actually wear it? - purchasing second hand gently used items if I can, repairing or improving existing pieces of clothing I already have, and donating anything that I know I won't use.

Luckily, I love making things. For a few years I've been wanting to try my hand at kimono wearing - but it is very involved and takes a great deal of practice - so I started looking into the world of 'kimono remake.' Taking old kimonos and turning them into modern and easily accessible clothing pieces and accessories has been growing in popularity in Japan, with several designers specializing in the process. Recycling has always been popular in Japan; temari (folk art balls of thread with interesting designs) and my favorite craft form - tsumami zaiku - began as a way to recycle old kimono fabric into art and gifts.

Even though I'm not particularly skilled at sewing, I decided to sew some old second hand kimonos into new pieces of clothing and accessories. This dress is one of my first kimono remake pieces - made from a 100+ year old silk Taisho-era kimono with a ho-ou (phoenix) motif. I decided to position the design on the back of the dress; it just felt like the right choice, and I don't regret it. Taisho era kimono also often had bright red lining - which is why I chose a red zipper for the back. The piping and bias tape around the collar are made from the red liner of the kimono. The only new fabric used for this project is the sleeves; I didn't have any large enough single pieces of cloth from the kimono to make the sleeves so I added some purple chiffon.

To keep the dramatic effect of the back of the dress intact, I chose to keep the front very simple; the only real design element is the paulownia kamon (family crest) on the front. Kimono are very expensive to buy new, and are not as popular as they once were for every day wear. Since many people buy kimono second hand now, they often don’t display the ‘proper’ crest on their kimono, or pay to have kamon added to their kimono as it's an additional expense. Since this is a kimono remake, I decided to honor the history of this antique kimono by keeping one of the kamon intact.

After completing the dress, I realized I had quite a bit of extra fabric left over in varying sizes. So, I decided to use some of it to make a matching clutch purse. I had a hard shell clutch frame that I had nebulous ideas for doing an embroidered design for, but this was much easier - no sewing involved at all.

I actually made two of these; one I plan to keep, but the other I intend on using as a raffle prize for my World Builders 2020 End-Of-Year Fundraiser team. In fact, a number of pieces I've been making this year will be going toward World Builders, so if you're interested in procuring one of these pieces, keep an eye on the World Builders website! :)

I still have some leftover fabric from this kimono that I plan on doing other small projects with, but for now I am pretty satisfied with how this dress and clutch turned out. I actually bought this kimono because I thought it would work really well with my Ho-Ou Fascinator; I intended to wear it as is, but it was just a little bit too small to wear comfortably - I could have worn it as it was, but I think it will be much more comfortable as the dress it is now.

Here's the whole 'set' for reference - dress, clutch purse, and fascinator. I think it would be perfect with a pair of red heels or maybe some black tights with pointy red flats. What do you think?