Slow Hat Day
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LOCATION: VIBORG, DANEMARK
For all the therapeutic benefits of shopping ethically, consciously, sustainably, there is nothing quite like wearing something made from your own hands.
"Slow fashion" is a budding term in an increasingly environmentally-aware industry, touted by manufacturers and consumers alike. But in a world of digital orders and short attention spans, even those participating in the "trend" have a markedly skewed understanding of what it truly means. The product still beckons from the tap of a button; admittedly, the customer may wait extra weeks for delivery or pay a few dollars more than the latest high-street hot ticket, but the end result is still the same. Little transparency, false accountability, no real understanding of the mammoth scale of change we still need to push into a higher gear.
That being said, it is a step in the right direction.
That being said, it is a step in the right direction.
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Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion in this industry (allow me the perhaps), but I envision a future so far post-Industrial Revolution that we wonder how this current wasteland of garbage islands and racks of ill-fitting poly-blends ever came to pass. In this imagined future, long gone are the days of mass-production, where selling 50% of units can classify an item as a best-seller and excess clothing is disposed of, not donated or recycled. Clothing is made for real, not projected, demand; made with skill by workers paid living wages; cared for throughout its lifetime instead of tossed by the time next season rolls around; disposed of consciously (maybe even repurposed – quelle idée!).
What a world that would be.
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And, of course, there's a good short-term solution.
Snag a pair of 50¢ needles at your local charity shop, unravel an old scarf, and YouTube away. Basic crochet – and even simple sewing – are equally easy to pick up. Yes, that's right: I'm suggesting you make your own clothes.
Hear me out. There is nothing like holding something that is both beautiful and functional in your hands and knowing that those fingers crafted that work of art. There is nothing like being complimented on a garment and being able to say, Thanks! I
made it myself! With these!
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And then flapping your hands about in their general direction.
No, seriously. Try it sometime.
(Until then, at least satiate your retail-therapy cravings with something slow and steady.)
As for this hat? Not bad for a free pattern and secondhand yarn.