I have this gorgeous coat . Its red cord , knee length with beautiful rose buttons. Thing is the buttons keep coming off due to them being metal and perhaps a little sharp. This has resulted in me losing 2 buttons. I filed down and sewed the 3 remaining buttons onto the coat and am now on the look out for similar buttons that I can sew on . Thing is I mentioned to someone that I had done this and they said to me ..what a waste of time I would just toss the coat.
Really? Have we come so far that perfectly good coats are" tossable " just because we cant be bothered to sew on a few buttons.
I am breaking out against this behavior. This disposable society I live in. I love vintage clothing and have items of clothing that are 60 years old that I wear. If a top gets a hole in it. I sew the hole! It was not that long ago that clothing and food was rationed and you had to darn that pair of socks. I am not suggesting you darn your socks because that would just be silly , but I do think we should think twice before chucking things out. perhaps we can reuse or change the item to be useful again thereby not filling the worlds rubbish dumps with last years presents.
I had a top with this very tight arm band..and I hate a tight arm band . But the rest of the top fitted well and I liked it. So I had a think and went and got a bit of ribbon. I intend to cut off said tight armband and put the ribbon there and transform the top. these are just small sewing jobs that anyone can learn to do.
One step up from that is other household goods As the saying goes. one mans meat is another mans poison and just because you don't like something does not mean that no one will. A perfect example of this was a wardrobe I found on the side of the road.You may laugh but it was so perfectly timed. We had just moved into our new house that did not posses a linen cupboard, or any cupboard actually. I was looking for a small wardrobe with shelves at the bottom to put my linen and towels in. This wardrobe had to be a certain size however to fit on the landing. I came back from work one evening and on the pavement someone had put a wardrobe all ready for someone to take. I measured it and now its recycled in my home. I recently did the same thing with Lily's old car seat and someone recycled that within the hour.
Now don't get me wrong I am not being all condescending, I love shopping. really love it. everyone who knows me knows my love of pretty things and clothing but I guess I just want to live a less wasteful life and I want to learn how to use what I have. I want to sew buttons , I want to grow my own herbs . In between I intend to shop and buy beautiful things and new clothing but only things of quality. Not disposable chuck away things. I think in that respect our ancestors got it all right.
10 comments:
I completely agree.
We live in such a disposable world now, it is sickening.
Have you checked out "freecycle"? It is awesome, you would like it I think.
Bob came home from work today with some big bags of old toys from a client.
Old fisher price toys, games etc. Bayden played with them for hours and hours. Inside was a huge bag of play kitchen things, perfect to go with the kitchen he has made for the dayhome. They used to make toys so well. Sometimes older is better.
You are so right. I hate sewing on buttons, I'd rather make a whole garment but the fact is we make an effort. In Perth they have what Susan calls "bring out your dead" and you can dump anything on the pavement to be collected by the council trucks, as you know we don't have to wait here in SA. I remember seeing a vintage cookery show where Delia exclaimed triumphantly "and I managed to get a tin of pineapple". Lucky us.
I totally agree with you weds, I mean dont get me wrong, i too love buying new nice things, but im just as happy with second hand ! People are surprised as all the things i buy second hand, and i often sell things that i dont need anymore online and then use the money to buy secondhand goods. We have great thrift stores here and yesterday we actually bought a car seat for Josh for 10 euros, one that looked just fine and if had to be bought in the store would have been 75!!!.
Some people think that its just a hassle, but actually, i get a kick out of saving alot of monies!!
You hit the nail on the head!
For years Chuck and I have gone to the Salvation Army thrift store to find his sport coats. We have often found beautiful Harris Tweed jackets. Once we find one that fits, I go over it carefully. Sometimes it's just a button, occasionally I've replaced an entire set after a trip to a button store. I've caught up hems and even done a bit of reweaving and patching, using a patch from the inside seams. Chuck looks great in the jackets and we both have a sense of pride in the projects.
I also love vintage purses. I've found beautiful, functional bags in consignment shops and on eBay. The prices, compared to brand new, cannot be beat!
Our town has a "Swap Shed" located at the recycling center and dump. It's so cool to drop off something we no longer need or want, which is still in good condition and watch someone walk right out with it like they found a treasure!
Keep up the good work!
;o)
- Lee
Great post and I totally agree with you!! The planet needs us to be wiser and more ecologically responsible and perhaps if nothing else this recession will help force people into changing their way of thinking. I think that wardrobe was meant to be yours and was the universe responding to your thoughts.xxx
So true! And well done!! It's all the little things added together that make a huge difference! Jake & I are so excited at the prospect of making our home as environmentally friendly as we can (over time)...
Sue x
Hi Wendy,
I love reading your post. I like the way you think. The way you, improvise and not to waste. It also brings out the creative side of the individual. Thanks for the lovely post.
Sumayah
I couldn't agree more with you. My sister, Eleanor, who went off on a great big adventure to America could tell you a thing or two about how her daughter-in-law uses other people's throwaways.
I really wish we could do the same here. We sort of do, but we don't do it properly.
I have a post 'in the saving' called ' the past is a foreign country' in which I address this very subject. But it's so much more meaningful coming from a younger person. Makes me feel that there's hope yet!
I couldn't agree more with you. My sister, Eleanor, who went off on a great big adventure to America could tell you a thing or two about how her daughter-in-law uses other people's throwaways.
I really wish we could do the same here. We sort of do, but we don't do it properly.
I have a post 'in the saving' called ' the past is a foreign country' in which I address this very subject. But it's so much more meaningful coming from a younger person. Makes me feel that there's hope yet!
thanks for all the comments. this is why we all read each others ramblings. because we are like minded.
Mari freecycle is so great ! will be using it in future
Sumayah you are spot on when you say it brings out people creative side. I have so many things I have put together from boot sale finds.
and Lee chucks tweeds sound divine. I have a prized black velvet jacket that belonged to my nana. its a wee bit small for me at the moment but I have worn it for years. never seen something as good anywhere.
thanks everyone..
xxx
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