Weekend Review: The Endless Garment

The Endless Garment / Marguerite Pigeon
Hamilton, ON: Wolsak & Wynn, c2021.
118 p.

Today's book is an unusual find, a collection of poetry all tied to fashion: its impact, history, past and future. I had to order this one as soon as I saw it mentioned in a library catalogue. It's told in epic style, and like the cover says, in Five Collections. 

It's an interesting concept, and the author's obsession with fashion comes through, with ghostly appearances by Alexander McQueen, the Comte D'Orsay, Coco Chanel, Gypsy Rose Lee, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, even Elizabeth Barrett Browning who leads the narrator through the last section, a Dante-like circle of hell: a sweatshop in the basement of a metaphysical department store that she's been making her way through. 

There's commentary on fast fashion, on consumerist shopping frenzies, on fashion figures, designers and models (one description of a Vogue shoot was so clear I knew exactly the image and model she was talking about). However -- this does mean that if a reader is not already quite conversant with fashion and the system from the last few decades, they might be lost while reading this. The references are plentiful but there's no explanation, you've got to catch them yourself. 

Otherwise, there is still a lot to gain from reading this. Lots of social critique and some commentary that anyone, not just a fashion nerd, will catch. And the language is great. She uses so many terms that sewists will appreciate, from techniques to fabrics, and it makes you realize how rich the language of textiles is. I enjoyed seeing those words used and shaped in these poems. 

The language and style is also formally epic. It echoes Dante's style, and also reminded me of another collection I once read that was informed by Dante, Seth Steinzor's To Join the Lost (only in tone and style). I think it's a brilliant idea, and one that shows that fashion, clothing and our desire for ornament are all part of the human experience; they don't sit apart. While I found it a little obscure in parts on first reading, I know it's one I can go back to and get more from each time. 
 

Weekend Review: Inconspicuous Consumption

Inconspicuous Consumption / Tatiana Schlossberg

NY: Grand Central, c2019.

277 p.

This book, found in my local library, was a very quick read. It is intended as a primer for people who want to know the unexpected ways our impact is spread across everything we do in our modern lives. Chapters investigate four main topics: technology, fashion, food, and fuel.

It's a short book so it really just skims over the main points of these areas -- but it is deep enough for those who are new to these topics. Schlossberg is good at drawing together the ways in which consumer actions have direct effects in all these areas, and does give a few suggestions on how to mitigate some of these. The main focus is on explanations and info on the situation, however.

Schlossberg is a journalist and as such writes in a direct and accessible way. She has a habit of making personal asides, though, I imagine to make this more 'relatable', but it really irritated me as a reader. The tone was off in comparison to the subject, and I'd rather have the author a little more distant from the essay -- the personal commentary felt self-deprecating in a cutesy way that came across as inauthentic to me.

Aside from that, I was obviously most interested in the Fashion chapter. She does expose many of the issues of fast fashion from making to disposing, textile choice to recycling potential, shipping, wages, and more. I feel that if you have any interest at all in this subject and have read anything else on the topic, you'll already know 95% of what is shared here. But if this is a first glimpse of how fashion plays a role in sustainable living as a whole, and a reader hasn't considered this before, this is a great intro. I think anyone new to this area might be inspired to investigate further after finishing this book.

Weekend Review: The Conscious Closet

The Conscious Closet / Elizabeth L. Cline

NY: Plume, c2019.

348 p.

This is a great book to start a new year with! Elizabeth L.  Cline is well known for her 2012 book Overdressed, about the effects of fast fashion. It made quite a splash when it was published. And now she's followed it up with The Conscious Closet, which is also about fast fashion but goes further into sustainability issues and activism, reflecting the growth in awareness of these issues.

What does she cover? The book is broken up into six themes.

1. Fast Fashion: The industry & background. Clothes are not garbage!
2. Art of Less: buying less, mimimalism
3. Art of More: thrifting, renting, resale
4. Sustainable Fashion Handbook: big brands, fabrics & chemicals
5. Make it Last: laundry, mending
6. Fashion Revolution: politics, activism

I've tried to give a sense of what is covered in each section. If you follow this topic, some of it will be "old news" to you; I feel like I knew everything that is covered in this book, but I still enjoyed reading it.

For those who aren't as familiar with these topics, and are just starting to get interested in this area, this book gives a great overview into many facets of the bigger picture which readers can then explore further. There is a nice list of resources at the end, so if a reader has a particular interest in one theme they can explore some organizations who are involved in that area or read some recommended books that cover specific topics in more depth. Cline also mentions that she is keeping updated lists of information and resources on her own blog.

I was glad to see some of my own favourite things mentioned -- mending, home sewing, the Fashion Revolution org, among many others. And one thing I thought was unusual about this book (and really useful) was her approach at the beginning recognizing that people are different and have different goals for their wardrobes. She breaks it into three "fashion personality types" -- the Minimalist, the Style Seeker, and the Traditionalists. She then directs various chapters to the needs of these types: the Minimalist will be happiest with less (Ch. 2), the Style Seeker who still wants lots of variety can be more sustainable through new ways of obtaining clothing (Ch. 3) and Traditionalists who are a mix can use ideas from anywhere that suits them. I like the recognition that everyone will have different levels of expectation for their wardrobes.

Overall, a book I would recommend to those wanting to know how to tackle fast fashion both in their own closets and in the wider world.