It’s too bad all photos aren’t date stamped like this one from 1946. It sure takes the guess-work out of evaluating a vintage photo, but then it takes some of the fun out of it as well.
This weeks news:
- I have always thought of leather as a byproduct of beef, but this article points out how crazy our consumption of cows has become.
- What is the life of a Cambodian garment worker like?
- “It’s not magic. It’s just exploitation.”
- The Business of Fashion did a three-part series on the fashion copying issue.
- Trump has profited from foreign labor he says is killing U.S. jobs. I do not talk politics here, as I feel we all have an opinion that cannot be swayed by anything I’d say. This is fashion related, and relevant.
- I like this new approach Ferragamo is taking to fashion piracy.
- And here is an interesting article on why fashion start-ups are relying more on American manufacturing.
- Remember when shopping at Banana Republic was an adventure?
- Why is history important?
- Joe Corré, the son of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, is going to burn his collection of Punk memorabilia, estimated to be worth $7 million.
- Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago will have a sale of fashion on April 7. Included is a Yves Saint Laurent dress from the Mondrian collection.
- How about a photo of David Beckham sewing?
- I need a mannequin that automatically adjusts its size to fit the garment.
- And finally, a great video from the Rijksmuseum showing mannequins being dressed for an exhibition.
The Vintage Traveler 
Dear Lizzie–
Thank you for posting the Guardian’s article about LEATHER. Who knew..?Although i could not read the whole thing because it made me gag, i am passing the word to any who will listen.
LikeLike
I very good place to start is to refuse to buy any cheap leather product.
LikeLike
No need to avoid leather fully–we are animals that require a certain amount of Vitamin B12, especially when young. So we need a certain number of animals out there for meat and dairy, really–unless we want to get all our B12 from brewer’s yeast or something!. Also, many of the great grasslands of the world require being grazed to be ecologically healthy. There is no inherent contradiction between leather and a sound environment.
Leather also does not require cruelty; the trick is that good leather does not have blemishes that need to be covered by a coat of varnish (how patent leather is made, BTW). Those blemishes we call “scars” and imply a hard life or deliberate cruelty to the animal. It’s also worth noting that if the butchering process is done correctly–standard in the U.S. or kosher slaughter worldwide–the animal is unconscious in about 5 seconds or less. Contrast that with dying of disease or starving to death; it’s not a subtle difference, really.
So if we choose good quality leather products–yes, this would exclude a LOT of mass market stuff and put us into a higher price point–we will end up with products that are better for the environment and less cruel to animals to boot.
Really, the same applies for any garment–quality engineers note that abused workers don’t make good products because quality requires thinking.
LikeLike
I agree that as long as we eat beef, there are going to be by-products and there is no need to avoid them entirely. Cows are big, and consume lots of resources, and it is the over-production of leather that is disturbing, all to fuel the present human desire for new things.
LikeLike
Sigh, Banana Republic! I grew up in Mill Valley, California, home of the first store. I loved going in there — into the ’80s it was a crazy mix of worldwide army surplus, slightly preppy new-made safari looks, and theme park.
Even the reinvented Banana Republic was useful to me as an adult clothing shopper, since they had classic and retro clothes in nice fabrics that were more stylish than most stores for actual grownups, but their latest overhaul a year or two ago alienated me so much I didn’t even care when the store in the Asheville Mall closed — it was all a bunch of depressing gray sacks with no waists. I haven’t bothered with the outlet.
LikeLike
I didn’t even know the Asheville mall store closed! And I can only imagine how great the Mill Vallry store was. I loved to go to the stores in Atlanta and Charleston. It was like being plopped down in a 1940s movie based on a Hemingway novel!
LikeLike
Always comprehensive food for thought, thank you!
LikeLike
You are welcome!
LikeLike
Great collection of articles! The leather piece was very interesting, but also a disturbing. I have always thought much of leather was the product of the beef industry too. I feel as if it is a catch-22. Because the alternative to leather would be pleather or “vegan leather” which is plastic…which isn’t great either. So the the look of leather would have to disappear from the fashion front entirely.
The Trump article is one that needs to be discussed further in the public on this political front.
And THANK YOU for that “Why is History Important” piece.
LikeLike