Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas

FASHIONOPOLIS by Dana Thomas is subtitled “The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes” and it is clearly a topic of interest to millennials and their younger counterparts in Generation Z. In fact, I have two students who independently chose to explore fast fashion for Junior Theme so far this year. Thomas is a best-selling author and frequent contributor to a number of publications on topics related to style.  In this new non-fiction work, she begins by describing the problem and noting that “in the last twenty years, the volume of clothes Americans throw away has doubled – from 7 million to 14 million tons. That equals 80 pounds per person per year.” Thomas continues, offering numerous examples to illustrate the “creative thievery, indifference to others, corruption [and] pollution” which she argues categorizes the industry. Later in the book, Thomas shares interviews with innovative practitioners and points to more efforts towards sustainability, like exploring the use of organic cotton or more natural dyes.  She also outlines efforts by Amazon (now a major player in retail apparel) to manufacture clothing on demand – after it has been ordered.

Although less practical and action-oriented than The Conscious Closet, FASHIONOPOLIS is an intriguing blend of social issues (working conditions, NAFTA, environmental impact), fashion and technology (robots who sew, new bio-fabrics, and 3D-printing). Thomas has included almost thirty pages of notes, a selected bibliography and a helpful index for researchers. We will be purchasing and pairing FASHIONOPOLIS with other relevant titles like Inconspicuous Consumption or the much older The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy when we make book recommendations on this topic.

 

Making Space, Clutter Free and The Conscious Closet

MAKING SPACE, CLUTTER FREE by Tracy McCubbin is a wonderful and rather unique resource. McCubbin has spent a decade working with clients of dClutterfly, an organizing and decluttering company based in Los Angeles, as well as writing and being interviewed about ways to reduce clutter. Her book is filled with vignettes concerning various clients and she writes in a comforting, personal tone. An entire chapter is devoted to seven emotional clutter blocks (e.g., my stuff tells me who I am or being trapped with other people’s stuff).  For each one, she lists a few clues to see if it pertains to the reader, then describes a bridge and helpful phrases to transition from the clutter. The emotional aspect is very interesting and actually liberating in a way.  In addition, subsequent chapters generally break down the clutter into room by room issues, including a clutter freedom quiz which should help most readers be more objective as they assess their personal situation. Similar to Marie Kondo’s question of whether an object sparks joy or not, McCubbin offers five questions to consider (frequency of use, income generating, cost to replace, ease of storage, and whether you truly love it) when evaluating items.  Always practical, some of her later chapters offer systems for organizing after a purge and a downsizing guide. Another resource on this topic, Simple Organizing Wisdom (edited by Laurie Jennings) is filled with images and offers 500+ quick & easy clutter cures, but often advocates buying more stuff (baskets, furniture, etc.) to help with storage and organizing. While it would be more appealing if there were some images in MAKING SPACE, CLUTTER FREE, McCubbins subtitles her text “the last book on decluttering you’ll ever need,” and that could very likely be true. Starred review from Booklist.

THE CONSCIOUS CLOSET by Elizabeth L. Cline is subtitled “The Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good” and deals with ways to reduce fashion waste and thereby have some positive impact on climate change, pollution, and poor working conditions in the fashion industry.  Cline has been raising awareness since she wrote Overdressed and is certainly an expert in an area which is drawing increased interest from corporations and retailers. For example, Macy’s and JC Penney just announced plans to work with ThredUp, as reported by various media outlets, including NPR and The Wall Street Journal.  Cline divides her newest book into six sections (each with multiple, short chapters), beginning with a “closet cleanout,” then offering tips on wardrobe building and how to follow styles more consciously by exploring resale and renting.  She later explains ways to choose more eco-friendly fibers, how to take better care of clothing you do have, and how to “link up with like-minded others.”  I can see aspects of this book (e.g., gauging quality by looking for serged seams) being incorporated into a Practical Arts or Business budgeting class.  There is definitely more interest in vintage clothing, too, so this topic would likely be popular for a student-centered seminar day. While most of the readers for THE CONSCIOUS CLOSET, whether students or older, will already be pretty heavily invested in fashion, there is still much to learn from the tips, lists, and diagrams included in this title which received a starred review from Booklist.

Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen

I read Nine Women, One Dress (by Jane L. Rosen) on a recent trip and it was the perfect airport read.  Light, fluffy, and at times romantic with clever characters, Nine Women, One Dress is basically a series of short, often humorous, vignettes so the reader does not even have to try too hard to keep track of an overall plot. The stories, though, do feature overlapping characters, many involved in New York’s fashion industry, including a fashion runway model or a Bloomingdale’s sales girl who has just lost her boyfriend or a retiring dress pattern maker. Called “a pure pleasure to read,” “charming” and “adorable” in professional reviews, Rosen’s Nine Women, One Dress is most certainly a “feel good” book – pick up a copy and enjoy!

Nine Women, One Dress received a starred review from Library Journal.