Loved Clothes Last Longer
Ten ways to upgrade what you've got: where to go for visible and invisible mending, plus some creative ideas for mistakes and accidents.
Hello everyone, and happy weekend to fashion’s most committed crew (IMHO). Have you had a chance to tackle your wardrobe audit yet? It’s a great way to spend a January weekend. Get it all out and work out what’s working, what’s not ,what’s missing. More details here.
Done that? Then you’ll need this week’s post: how to mend, care for and upgrade any broken, timed out pieces. There’s some ten ideas to get you started below, but let this post just be the start.
Please share the Rule of 5 campaign if you are enjoying it, it’s easier - and more fun - if you do it with a friend. All posts are free to read, but if you feel like committing, then look on the subscription as a down payment on your future wardrobe!
Consider this: 82% of textiles that are considered waste could be cleaned, repaired and resold again. And this: Globally, customers miss out on up to $460 billion each year by throwing away clothes that they could continue to wear. What happens when you put some love into something, (sorry for stating the obvious) is that that thing starts to become more valuable to you. You’re invested in it. You saw past the drawbacks and focussed on what was right. Like in a good relationship, you didn’t dump them at the first sign of trouble.
If you’ve put aside some things to mend or alter, you’re not alone. Cool mending services are springing up everywhere and the biggest fashion brag right now is not your Phoebe Philo MUM necklace, but what you’ve had mended. Whether it’s a leather patch on a moth-eaten scarf, Sashiko embroidery on a stained white shirt, (it’s a thing) or upcycling old jeans into brand new ones, the new seamstress services are next level creative - and some of them fully digitised.
This is a lovely example. When her pet rabbit attacked her silk Prada dress, tiktok influencer Andrea Cheong refused to give up on it. For her “biggest designer garment makeover”, she called in Save Your Wardrobe, the app spearheading the repair trend (hard recommend to UK and EU Rule of Fivers.
Anyone recommend something similar in the States or Australia?). Using an overlock stitch, interfacing panels and Andrea’s measurements, Save Your Wardrobe turned the ravaged dress into a skirt - even moving the Prada label down to the waistband to retain its designer integrity. “I’ve not only got a new piece of clothing, but now it’s actually customised to my size!” she realised.
Save Your Wardrobe is one of a new generation of digital services making it easy: check out also SOJO, (dubbed the ‘Deliveroo of tailoring’), or The Seam, (which undertakes all Net-a-Porter’s tailoring) who can connect you with all sorts of specialists in your area, from leather cleaners to shoe restorers. Or try popping into a good vintage store nearby: ask them who they use locally, (vintage sellers tend to be plugged in to the best network).
Then you need to decide what you want. Two routes to take - invisible mending, where you restore you garment to its former glory, or you could try (for real kudos) some of the increasingly popular visible mending techniques, such as sewing on patches, or heavy threaded Japanese mending such as Sashiko. After all, if you’re having it mended - why hide it? Surfwear brand Finisterre, who offer a Lived, Loved Repair service, say their customers like to patch up a jacket that’s fallen in a campfire with different coloured material - the repair becomes a badge of honour on a jacket that has travelled so many adventures with them.
Another option is to do it yourself. I’m going to give darning a go this weekend as I have so many moth holes in my knitwear, I might as well learn myself. The Fixing Fashion Academy on Patreon offers video workshops in everything from needle felting to edge mending.
Watch out for in store services too: brands like Mulberry, Barbour, Uniqlo, Toast and Veja all have mending stations. Quite apart from its anti-fast fashion status, mending is not just about ‘making do’, “It’s about giving a beautiful new journey to something that's already had a story,” says ELV Denim founder Anna Foster. As menders like to say: loved clothes last longer.
1. Moth eaten knitwear
It’s that time of year. In a cold snap, our beloved knits come out of the drawer - and we find them decimated by moths. Depending on the hole, seamstresses can invisibly darn the damage, but why not have knitwear designer Alex Gore Browne embroider over a heart, a planet and stars, your initials or something from your own imagination? Alex loves the process so much, she now dedicates herself to upcycling a rather than designing something new. She offers bespoke embroidery to cover up holes, and will even customise necklines and sleeves with different coloured thread or ribbons. “It comes down to a love of stitching,” she says. “It’s a real joy of to reunite a customer with her much loved sweater. We offer the service on any jumper, not just our own - if your sweater needs some TLC, we will jazz it up!”
2. Ripped jeans
ELV denim is offering a service where you can transform two pairs of your existing jeans (damaged or undamaged) into a new pair. Take your jeans along to the ELV studio in Walthamstow (or post them) where you can also choose from ELV’s huge library of vintage denim. The team there will design a completely new pair - fitted to you bespoke or in their own excellent straight leg or flare styles.
3. Stained white shirt?
Embroider over it. Tiktok Influencer Rosie Brain advocates silk appliqué and embroidery services to cover stains. Her custom made patches are a sell out at markets, and can be sewn on to everything from handbags to jeans. Try embroidery on stained white denim too - ELV recommends white on white embroidery as “it gives a beautiful texture”.
4. Dirty or broken trainers
Professional cleaning or even painting over stains on your trainers is possible with Save Your Wardrobe or in store at any Veja cobbler. The biggest issue with worn out trainers is the inside of the heel, as customers often buy shoes in the wrong sizes, say Veja: an easy mend for their cobblers.
5. Badly fitting garments
We change size but our clothes don’t - until now. SOJO can upgrade or alter dresses, tops and trousers to fit, while Save Your Wardrobe have people who can turn blankets into cardigans, jumpers or even a twinset. Tatty charity shop coat? Why not get a new lining, or upgrade the sleeve lengths. Save Your Wardrobe even turned a trench coat into a jacket and skirt. Left over fabric can be turned into hair ties or scrunchies. Book a video appointment to brainstorm your options.
7. Scratched leather?
Specialists can polish and repair. Find a local one via The Seam, or check out SOJO’s partnership with alternative leather brand Nanushka: a limited edition collection of previously damaged garments all creatively repaired by SOJO, where Sashiko mending, patchworks and refreshed contrast panels all feature.
8. Frayed hem or cuff
Learn how to cover it up with a contrasting buttonhole stitch, one of the many tutorials offered on Fixing Fashion, a membership platform on Patreon and Discord. Annie Phillips and Nerissa Pratt’s Instagram mending classes are also worth a watch.
9. Heal your jacket, heal yourself
Katie Young (who makes uniforms for everyone from Buckingham Palace to Soho House) offers Sacred Sewing Circles that promise to connect you to your inner goddess. All whilst transforming a denim jacket.
10. Broken sleeping bag, or old blanket?
It was a long festival season, right? No matter, rental company Tentshare are offering a service for your broken sleeping bag - making it into a duvet coat. In fact, why not turn an old blanket into a coat?
Ok, maybe these last are a bit out there, but all you need is a bit of imagination, courage and some skills. You’ll enjoy the journey - I promise.
So, hope that’s a start, I’m sure you will have even more inventive ideas. Good luck with finding a good seamstress, or even learning yourself. Let me know of any successes you’ve had in the comments below - I loved the coats that became chic waistcoat gilets that were shared after the last post. Not to mention the DIY white t-shirt!
The other newsletter in this Substack family is It’s Not Sustainable where I write every week on fashion. Last year we looked at the purpose, mission and values behind companies like Veja, examined the climate impact of Phoebe Philo’s new brand and saw what happened when Asos crashed a climate summit. I also confess all my dirty laundry from the time I was a fashion editor in Rupert Murdoch’s world.
See you soon and good luck with the challenge,
Tiff
I’ve had a checked flannel shirt of my mums in a box since she died 8 years ago, not my style but didn’t want to part with it, you’ve just given me the idea to replace the lining of a leather jacket with it (not me, I’ll send it off, I know my limits!) thank you 😊
Darned a beloved jumper myself that I fortunately found a moth hole in - not a perfect job by any means, but I’ve worn it more this month than the past two years and it feels good to be back wearing a favourite piece!