What is Fast Fashion, and Why Should You Care?

In 1950, most American clothing was designed to last.  Fabrics were chosen for durability, and attention was given to the construction of a garment. There was no concept of a dress being purchased only to be worn two or three times, then discarded.  Silhouettes changed slowly which gave women a chance to invest in quality pieces, or sew them at home. 

Currently in America, a typical 21 year old will purchase more clothing in one season than she would have in an entire year in 1950. Not only will the modern girl purchase more, she will purchase more frequently.  Stores such as Forever 21 and H&M want us to stay “on trend” in order to sell us more.  In the past, there were two seasons: summer and winter.  Eventually, spring and fall also emerged as actual fashion seasons.  There were only four distinct times of the year most women shopped for clothing, and styles took years to completely transform.

Now, companies that produce “fast fashion” want us to always be looking for the next trend.  They rush to produce pieces seen on the runways during fashion week, and in doing so, produce low quality products that can be cheaply purchased.  Their goal is to keep us wanting more for less.  

If you have ever purchased clothing from these stores, (and most of us have) you know that even after the first washing, most items will either look a bit worn or begin to fall apart.  Seams will have small holes, and knit fabrics will begin pilling. When the item is worn and washed again, the damage continues.  By the third time you wear it, you see advertising from the store telling you what you “must have” now.  The worn item in your closet is pushed aside to make room for the latest piece, and the cycle begins again.  That is fast fashion.

Why should you care? Fast fashion is bad for the environment.  From overloaded landfills to dyes running into rivers, fast fashion creates enormous amounts of textile waste.  Fast fashion is bad for the health of the people who manufacture it.  Garment workers across the globe are barely paid, work long hours, and most work in hazardous factories.  Fast fashion is bad for our culture.  It can create a consumer who seeks to find a false acceptance in a world of selfies and status.  It encourages consumers to never feel satisfied.  Fast fashion is bad for the traditions of workmanship.  It places value on quantity instead of quality.  

What can you do to help?  Buy quality products that will last from stores that are environmentally friendly, shop resale and vintage, learn to sew and up-cycle your clothes.  It will be hard to stop shopping at stores that mass produce cheaply made garments, because the prices are so low.  It is a habit, and habits are hard to break.  We want to challenge you to shop only resale for three months. If you would like to learn more about fast fashion and how you can make a difference, please email us at ecologielove@live.com.  Ecologie Resale & Vintage is dedicated to helping you be “on trend” without fast fashion!

Welcome to a Vintage Adventure

By Rachel Reese

It’s the first day of summer, which we’re pumped for of course, but it’s also the first day of our brand-new, online shopping experience!  And what’s a website without a blog?  Here you can stay in touch with and experience Ecologie like never before. Perfect for times when hectic schedules keep you away from the store, or if you live in another state or country.  We’ll be here to fill you in on crazy trends, street styles, easy DIY projects, ways we’re working on being green, interviews with local artists, and so much more!  If there’s anything you’d like for us to blog about, let us know!  Shoot your ideas on over to us at ecologielove@live.com.

Let us introduce you to five of our favorite looks this summer.  Not only are they hot in the fashion world, they’re all a piece of who we are, creating a unified, yet diverse whole – in a realistic, wearable way. In fact, we loved them so much we ended up shooting look books for all of them!  Want to know the details?  We’ve got it covered.  Let’s start with one of the looks we basically built our style on almost five years ago.

BOHO

This is so much of who we are, and the bohemian vibes are catching like wildfire everywhere in the fashion world.  Spread in part by the huge music festivals during spring and summer, it’s heading back to the 1970’s with this one. Head pieces, sweeping skirts, worn-in boots, off-the-shoulder tops, and statement necklaces are must-haves.  It’s a little bit like a gypsy soul borrowed some Native American inspiration then rummaged through their mom’s old chest of treasures. We love it. It’s also a different bohemian look than even five years ago, so we’re constantly evolving and refining what “boho” means right now. 

SOUTHERN GOTHIC

Here we have a sister look to the boho style, but with cultural differences.  Let’s start with fringe on everything and anything!  There are also loads of hats, Victorian-inspired blouses and skirts, and of course, horses everywhere.  It’s a look that’s a little darker and dirtier than boho.  This girl will probably be lost in thought on a front porch somewhere in the Deep South with a book in her hands by Faulkner or Flannery O’Conner.  Some of us born in the South seem to wear it in our bones.

SWEET & LOVELY

On the other extreme exists Sweet and Lovely.  The name is a dead giveaway to what you can expect, taking its dreaminess and doll-likeness from the styles of The Virgin Suicides.  Frail like porcelain and frocks as fragile as your grandmother’s china, we have lace and satin and chiffon in the prettiest of pales. Expect us to fall asleep in a field of flowers while wearing one of these pieces.

SUMMER GRUNGE

Yet another polar opposite exists in the bold, sunny, and reckless Summer Grunge.  If Sweet and Lovely is demure, think of grunge as diametrically opposed, finding brights in all patterns, wacky hair styles, loads of careless layers, and accessories meant to indulge the sweet tooth.  It’s like a pre-teen dream, revisiting middle school trends when looking and acting like a teenager seemed a lot cooler than it did when we grew up to be one.  We’ll be entertaining this one all summer long.

MINIMALISTIC 

Lastly, we turn to a much more basic approach: minimalism.  It’s a classic look, going  undercover to be cool again. We see black, white, and gray teamed up in such clean lines that we might never go back.  It’s also anything but boring.  Minimizing excess leaves us to make a refreshing statement in whatever we’ve got on.  We might even acquire a few hints from menswear, seeing how their simple and more relaxed lines leave us feeling calmer without ever doing a single downward dog or sun salutation.

We’ll be updating you again soon with what we find enjoyable and interesting.  So, Keep getting your Ecologie fix here, and thanks for reading!

Written with love, the Ecologie girls