Plum Clothing Makes The Grade!

Ever since I started writing this blog, people have asked me, “Where can I shop then?” “What should I do instead?” Well, today I’m going to point you in a direction that may give you some answers.

One of the companies that has caught my attention on this search is Plum Clothing. The first time I saw a Plum Clothing store was their location in North Vancouver which was on Lonsdale and I passed it every day on my commute to work.  I liked it instantly. It was my kind of clothes. I liked too, that back then (in 199-y-something) it was entirely made in Vancouver.  But back then, I didn’t have such a heart for things made locally or fairly or anything of the such. I just wanted to work in the industry, and I thought their price point was too expensive for me.

4th Ave. Location in Vancouver

Fast forward a decade or so…and they are still here. They have locations throughout BC including one in Kelowna (happy dance to those in K-town) and I believe in Calgary, Alberta as well. Now, in growing with the times, it has become increasingly difficult for them to manufacture everything in Vancouver, but they still do for a great number of items. But more important than their manufacturing is the philosophy they are following. And this is what’s caught my attention. Their motto is: ‘Dressing with purpose”! Don’t you love it? Don’t you want to find out more about what that means? I did! So I read a couple of their blogs which I get with my email subscription to their sales.

The first one talks about how every woman is an individual and as such we must not conform to what fashion dictates to us! That follows the theme of what I was trying to explain in my last post. The author explains that their vision is for each woman to follow a ‘functional’ wardrobe that works with their lifestyle. Sooooo great! A functional wardrobe immediately says to me less clutter and more intentional items. Stuff you love to wear, stuff that looks good on you, less throw-away fashion.  Check out the article yourself and tell me what you think…Dress with purpose -Fun, Function and both?

The second post is about how we view value and whether we know it or not, what we place a priority on.  It explains three ways we can place value on something, by simply following economics, by its emotional/physical benefit or by its versatility. I especially like the part where she destroys the notion that fast fashion is cheap because you actually end up spending more in the long run!  Dress with purpose - Value Isn't Always Economical

Let me be very clear that I am trying not to be preachy or bossy and say that one must or must not do this and that. I am simply looking for alternatives to the way I do things that will make me a more conscious consumer. And so this is one of them.  Although I would love anything from their store Plum is not giving me anything to talk about them. I may not know everything about Plum, but I know this: at least on the forefront they are attempting to be different by expressing a vision and value that does not conform to the norm. And for that, in my books,  Plum gets an ‘A+’

Design vs. Fashion

One of the greatest things that have come from investigating the slow movement is the feeling of comfort that I’ve gotten the more I dive into it. As I read more about slow cities, slow food, slow education, there is a common thread that gives the sense that enjoying the process almost is as important as the end result. I really like this. 

When I think of it in terms of clothing I realize that for me, making clothes has always been about the challenge of creating, of falling in love with a texture or a colour, and finding the shape I want the design to take.  Then   drafting the pattern in a two-dimensional form and finally seeing it take shape in 3-D by completing the garment.  I just realized that I’ve actually always been more about the design than about the fashion. 

Preliminary sketches for a client, c. 1990

Design elements translate to all forms of art, things like lines, textures; colour and shape are all used to create a unified piece that is pleasing to the eye. Fashion as we know it nowadays is dictated by a select number of corporations that decide what is in or out. They do use all kinds of forecasting tools, to guess what the consumer will buy, but in the end, they get to decide what’s available to us. Fashion before the dawn of mass production was ‘trickled down’ from the elite, but each person had a say in what their garment eventually looked like because everything was made to measure. We had a say in the design. I think this is the part that I love, the craftsmanship of the trade. It’s in the details and in the small personal touches that each piece comes alive. One of the websites I have come across talks about how slow fashion embraces personal expression, encourages education, promotes conscious consumption and values quality. The part about embraces personal expression is most encouraging to me, because I feel that in our constant search to be on top of fashion we have lost our sense of personal style.

In my History of Fashion class, I teach about how it is a general consensus among scholars that the main reason humans started to wear clothes was for decoration purposes. Modesty, protection and status are also reasons, but even though the jury is out on what came first, most historians agree that all forms of societies have developed some form of decoration to their appearance. This indicates to us that no matter what we wear, be it a loincloth or a gown, it is meant to express our personality and therefore become a form of art. So it is only logical that our fashion should be an extension of who we are and what our lifestyle is. Slow fashion allows for this.

Samples of princess style line variations.
Pattern making for Fashion Desing, by
H. Armstrong.

The problem is that many of us have forgotten how. I have encountered so many people who have said to me “I just don’t know how to put outfits together, or I just don’t know what looks good on me, or I just don’t know what’s in”.  If we were to learn about the craft, about how clothes are made and how they are put together, then those questions could slowly be answered. You would learn about princess seams and empire waists, and how those could help make your shape slimmer or wider. You would learn about colour combinations that are complementary, you could learn that prints are a form of texture because they create an optical illusion. 

The process of making clothes has always been slow. It is like building a house or creating a painting, it should take time and thought and in the end the final product will be a piece that not only fits your shape but also matches your personality from the inside out. But what we forget is that the process - that time in which creativity is king- is one of the most rewarding parts of designing.

Finders Keepers

Look what I found:

To you it may just look like a bunch of shirts, but to me it’s the end result of months of searching and restraining to buy the first long T-shirt I find. I used to get my ‘basic’ long sleeve T’s from Smart Set, and then when they changed the quality I went to a few varied sources, but was not totally convinced. Then I got onto this bandwagon (my sustainability quest) and it seemed almost impossible to not buy ‘cheap fashion’ when it came to basic items. It felt they are just too basic to warrant a higher price point. So when I found these “Made in Canada” with imported Merino Wool, washable, long sleeve T shirts on sale for $9.99 it was almost too good to be true! And then I remembered where I was: Costco.

Now, don’t worry, I’m not going to go into a rant against Costco. I can be the biggest hypocrite when it comes to filling my need to buy in large quantities for what I deem the best price at the time. I understand why it certainly has a hold in the modern consumer. But the bottom line is that it’s a Big Box company! And according to my buying compass, big box companies have ruined small enterprise, correct? The problem with being hard nose on this concept is that big box companies are not going away any time soon (not all of them anyway) and one person boycotting them is like a little ant trying lift an elephant. One thing big box companies are good at is giving the masses what they want. And Costco definitely knows how to do this. I’ve worked with companies that had to fill Costco orders, and believe me they don’t deal in small numbers, but they are very specific about their items. So if Costco is selling Made in Canada, merino wool, washable t-shirts, then, that means there’s a consumer base that expects, needs and wants this type of product.

I know that just because a company is selling one good thing does not always take away from the rest of their product. I think of H&M’s efforts to produce line of clothing with organic fabric –that doesn’t take away their fast fashion practices!  So we have to be careful not to be fooled by their marketing campaigns.

But, and this is a big but, in my opinion if the company is making an effort to provide a product that is sound it’s doing two things:

      1. It is changing what they provide as a status quo and therefore changing the perception and expectations of the consumer. Ie. If the buyer sees that it is possible to get a good quality t-shirt at Costco, made in Canada then they might continue to expect it.

       2.  It is providing the small business that produced the item with a large enough number to continue their operations. And as long as they pay a fair price for this product the manufacturer will be able to continue to produce it. 

So this story ends with me keeping my T-shirts and hoping that more Big Box companies start to make small, even tiniest minuscule changes to help the little people. –Hey, one can dream!

Back in Business

I’m back! In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t blogged in a while. I know, I know, you all missed me…but the reality is I missed this more. I didn’t realize how much of a burst I got by writing about sustainability until I didn’t do it for a while. It truly is my passion.

Another hobby of mine. Above,
pillow with hand printed and embroidered tapestry. 

Why hadn’t I blogged in a while? Well, I can give many lame excuses like, it started to take over all my waking hours, or I could do this instead of work, but it wouldn’t fly for too long. However the main and most painful truth is that I got overwhelmed. I found that in this quest of becoming sustainable and transparent in your purchasing one is going against the grain of pretty much the status quo. The project started to become bigger than what I felt I could handle, especially while I chronicled it along the way. So in true form to my past experiences, the best thing to do when bogged down: put your head in the sand. NOT! Yes, I’m afraid that’s what I felt like doing, so the result was: no blog.

That doesn’t mean that I gave up on my sustainability motto, I just couldn’t write about it at the same time. In this past year I have learned a few things and moved closer towards my goal.  In my past posts, I mentioned I wanted to practice 10 ways to becoming more sustainable in 10 months. Well, even though I didn’t follow each in order I can say I have covered quite a few in the past year.  For starters, I abstained from buying fast-fashion, I have resisted the urge to shop for clothes at the grocery store! Second, I’ve shopped more at consignment stores. Third, I’ve shopped less, investing in pieces that were maybe more expensive but I knew would last longer. Fourth, I’m still learning about corporations and their practices and other options. This by far is the hardest hurdle in the whole thing. I still don’t have answers as to where or who is better to buy from if everything is still made overseas, but I am getting closer to finding solutions. Fifth, I’ve actually started to make more clothes again! It is truly awesome to be able to receive a compliment on something you’re wearing and say ‘why thank you, I made it’. It’s so funny that when people hear that, they immediately start to stare closer at it, as if in disbelief that something that looks store bought could be hand sewn (that’s essentially what the operators in factories are doing, remember, clothing is and always will be a man-made product)!

I haven’t had much luck with the upcycled stuff, I had a very sad outcome with one attempt I made that resulted in what I now call ‘the ugliest dress I’ve ever made’; which proves to me that upcycling is actually a lot harder than it looks.

So in hindsight it seems like I’m right on track in my journey. I’ve decided this is how I’m going to move forward. As I start up this new chapter of ‘In good fashion’, I am not going to follow a timeline. I’ll just write about what I find when I find it, I promise I’ll make the posts shorter too!  And as I start documenting it again, I hope to be able to bring more insight and concrete solutions to these challenges. As well as provide resources and tips for any of you who might feel inspired to follow this road with me! 

Buying hand-made ROCKS!

I write this as I sit on the bus on my way home from what has become (to my family’s dismay) my ‘yearly’ trip down to “Circle Craft, Christmas Market”, in Vancouver.

CircleCraft Cooperative is a BC Artists cooperative that is dedicated to helping artisans reach the community and be able to sell their goods in a professional and inviting setting. It has grown enormously since its humble beginnings in 1972 and is now a driving force in the arts and crafts sector providing scholarships and other resources.  You can find their product year round at their Granville Island shop. But every November 11 weekend, they put on one of their biggest events: their yearly Christmas Market.  And for me, this is number 3 – as a spectator.

The first time I went, I was dragged down by my friend M. M and I go back to Fashion School days and we’ve been through lots of things together including being roommates in Vancouver, and now having kids almost the same ages.

I say ‘dragged’ loosely because it really didn’t take much convincing. After all, it was a girl’s weekend away with no kids! What’s not to like? And although she had shown me some of the artists stuff online, I really had no idea of what to expect.

The truth is, I was half anticipating to find the usual array of grandma’s doilies and badly made scarves such as you can find at a small bazaar. But what I did find nearly blew my mind…

I still remember getting off the Greyhound and taking the Sky train with our suitcases in tow because we didn’t want to waste time unpacking where we were staying. Instead we simply planned to ‘check’ our luggage in with the ‘parcel check’ at the fair and spend the first evening there.  So as we stood on the escalator going down towards the Convention Centre, it really hit me that this was a craft fair like I’d never seen before. 

The next few hours kind of flew by as M and I talked to exhibitors and admired every detail of their work.  What is really different about this fair is the sheer caliber of talent and skill in the products being offered. In order to be an exhibitor, you must be approved by a panel, so no “Michael’s DIY” need apply. Every artwork here is an original and many are one of a kind.  Did I mention there are over 300 exhibitors? There are painters, ceramic artists, woodwork and metal craftsmen, jewelry and of course, my favourite: fashion. 

Here’s the sustainable bit about Circle Craft: all of the designers featured must bring product that is hand crafted in order to be part of the show. So you’ll find a variety of small scale designers from Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and sometimes remote areas in Victoria or Nelson. Their angle is: Made in Canada. But it doesn’t stop there, many also incorporate recycled or environmentally friendly materials, so they’ll use organic cottons or up-cycle something from vintage clothing.  There’s a lot of original silk-screening and the weavers are in a whole different category! IT IS AWESOME.

I can’t help but be inspired every time I go. These designers are making a go in a very cutthroat industry by going against the grain. Choosing to make things in Canada is choosing to remain small scale and unfortunately to have a higher price point, which is –I know- not affordable to the masses. The thing to keep in mind here is that their price point is closer to the ‘real’ cost of producing clothing and if one values quality and originality, then this is the place to buy.

New 'old' jeans

Well, I know I’m supposed to move on to another of my Top Ten challenges, but I just had to share my finds today. Last post I told you I had to go out and buy a new pair of ‘old’ jeans. The thing is, I really need to replace my jeans and since I just cut up two of my old pairs to do a new project I was really down to the minimum when it came to bottoms.

My search started by looking into a Canadian label. There are not many jeans that are still made in Canada, but Second Denim is. I knew that Plum carries them, so I tried them. And I really want to emphasize here that I did tried them –I had about ½ dozen in the change room with me. But here’s the thing about jeans: once you find a cut you like, it’s really hard to change. You see, I’m pretty petite (which is just a really nice name barely tall enough to drive!), at five-one and a very important half, I need to make sure that my legs don’t become stubs. Also, when most rises in pants reach ‘regular’ people at a comfortable level, they are too long on me. And believe me I do not want ‘mom’ jeans even though apparently they are coming back in style. So I need to have a mid-rise jean so that on me they are just below the belly button. And I need a boot cut or a straight jean, not a skinny jean (because whom am I kidding, I’m not really skinny). I should actually be buying in petite stores, but there is a really low selection for that.

So to my disappointment in trying to support Canadian made, the Second ‘yoga’ jeans were not a good fit for me. Having said that, they are really comfy because they have a fair amount of spandex in them, and they feel almost like yoga pants –hence the name! Feel free to check them out, they are worth exploring.

Moving on in my search I headed down to ‘Frock’ on Pandosy downtown Kelowna, this is the consignment store I mentioned in my last post.  To my delight, I found a whole rack of designer jeans in many sizes! I tried just about everything in my size range and found about 4 pairs that fit the bill. They had a lot of brand new pairs, some by ‘Cult’ and other brand names including the two pair of ‘Guess’ jeans that I ended up buying. My jeans would have been over $100 brand new, and I ended up paying $50 for one and $40 for the other. I know that some people will gasp at the thought of paying more than $39.99 for a pair of Kirkland jeans, I know my husband does! But even before I was on this challenge I learned that when it comes to jeans, the cut and the fabric are what make the difference and I’ve had the cheapie version of jeans that I can get at the grocery store, they really do not feel the same as the brand name jeans I have bought. I have to give it to the jean designers; some of them do know their stuff. In the end by buying consignment, I ended up paying the price of one pair of jeans and got two!  Not bad for ‘old’ jeans…

Up next in my challenge for November: Buy local. Will keep you posted. 

Consignment vs. Thrift store

I thought I could explore the differences between consignment and thrift stores, and just in case some of you don’t know I will start with the basics. A consignment store is a private business, run by the owner who ‘consigns’ clothing from clients. The process is simple and if you ask me, quite brilliant, there’s no investment in inventory, it almost works like an art gallery where the gallery picks the pieces and gets a commission for showing the work. So in the consignment model, the owner gets to decide what garments she’ll take from the client, and then gives the items a determined time period. In some stores, the longer the item sits on the floor, the cheaper you can get it for, as the price decreases per week. If it’s sold the store keeps a commission and the client gets the rest. It usually works on a 60/40 split with the store keeping the 60 percent –hey they have the overhead right?

A thrift store is usually run by a charity such as the Salvation Army or Good Will. They depend on donations of clothing that gets dropped off to their door and then sorted through in order to go on the floor.

Here are some of the pros and cons of Consignment vs. Thrift stores:

Consignment store Pros:             

1.       Quality: Because the store owner wants to get the best bang for her buck, they are generally quite picky about the quality of the garments she takes in.  Garments that are soiled or worn out won’t be accepted and in some cases they won’t even accept garments that are cheaper made sources. So you are assured that what you buy will be well made and in good condition

2.       Designer brands: Often a consignment store will focus on providing only higher end designer brands. They won’t accept fast fashion sources such as George or JOE. The designer brands that they provide will be available at a fraction of the cost that they would be brand new, so you are getting great quality and fit at a bargain.

3.       Merchandising: Some consignment stores pride themselves in their merchandising and style, their focus is in making the experience feel more like a regular retail boutique. Some great local examples are ‘Frock’ and “The wardrobe” both these stores cater to a funkier clientele and also carry some new items that complement their consignment side.

Consignment store Cons:

1.       Price: Because the point of the consignment model is for both the client and the store owner to make a profit, the price point of consignment is higher than a thrift store. Even at second hand prices you may have to pay $50 for a jacket or a dress, but if you consider that the dress originally may have sold for $200 then it’s still a deal. This is where you need to make a decision of whether or not the item is in fact worth the 50 dollars. Often I hear people say ‘Well for $50 I could go to the mall and get a new dress”. What you need to remember is that a 50 dollar brand new dress is more than likely not made with the same quality as the 200 dollar dress so in fact you’re not comparing apples to apples.

Thrift store Pros:

1.       Price: Because thrift stores rely on donations they can set their prices really low in order to move more merchandise through the floor faster.

2.       Surprise: Often during the sorting of the garments that make it to the floor, certain ‘gems’ get mixed in with the regular clothing, which means that you may find some designer piece marked at $5. Usually these pieces are marked the same price as anything else in their category so whether it was a pair of True Religion jeans or a pair of Reitman’s jeans, they would still be the same price because they are both jeans.

Also, Depending on the location of the thrift store you may get better garments than in other areas of town, simply because a higher income neighborhood will result in higher end donations.

Thrift store Cons:

1.       Merchandising: In a thrift store the main purpose is to get volume so the floor is often overcrowded and hard to go through. It is also not usually well merchandised either because the volume of items is overwhelming or because the workers are often volunteers whose job is mainly to keep things tidy and run smoothly.

2.       Unrealistic pricing: Some thrift stores, (who will remain nameless) have upped their prices so much that they are now competing with places like Wal-mart. The problem with selling a used t-shirt for $7 is that people automatically compare it to brand new. Again you have the question of ‘well, for that price I could get it brand new at Wal-mart’. And you know what? In this case, yes, you could. Because another thing that thrift stores do is they take any clothing as long as it is wearable, so yes it is very possible that the very t-shirt in question did in fact come from Wal-mart and it probably cost $7 to begin with!

So there you have it, I think I can sum it up like this: Consignment gives you the assurance that you get better quality and value every time, but you pay a higher cost. In a thrift store you pay a bargain price but you never know what you will find. You need to be able to make the time investment.

And on that note, I need to make some time investment and check out some of these second hand establishments… I need a new pair of ‘old’ jeans!