The more I hear and read about the fast fashion industry these days (in particular, I am so inspired by The Conscious Closet right now), the more I am determined to avoid it as much as possible. It is much easier to do this with my own wardrobe since I already have plenty to wear and I rarely have a true need to buy new clothing. (Which doesn’t mean I don’t want to sew myself all the things!) But apparently toddlers are prone to not only moving up in sizes every few months but also to regularly embellishing their clothes with stains and tears and other unsightly features. They also seem to prioritize comfort over style and will not hesitate to say, “I take it off” while yanking an item of clothing from their little bodies if they do not approve. Or maybe that’s just my little stinker.
I already find a lot of my kiddo’s clothes in second hand stores but that does limit my options – mostly to button down plaid shirts and not-my-taste T-shirts. T-shirts with characters and mascots and brand names emblazoned on them are just not my thing (and therefore, for the time being, they are not his thing either — ha!).
I have picked up several button downs and sweaters that he wears on weekends but they’re not really appropriate for “school” (a.k.a., daycare; a.k.a., The House of Mud, Paint and Orange Food Stains) – mostly because it panics the teachers to see him looking “so NICE today!”
I have grand visions of creating a cute, comfy, and sustainable wardrobe for this kid. I know it’ll never be perfectly “green” or perfectly adorable but I’m going to see what I can come up with. My goals are to use secondhand materials where possible and to find organic or other more sustainable options when I do buy new materials. This means I need practice with turning thrifted finds into new garments. And I definitely need to learn how to sew knit fabrics – something I had zero experience with until very recently – if I’m going to create those super comfortable, play-appropriate items that my kidlet needs.
Stay tuned for my first experiment!
~Emily