A post from my sister (I-L) got me thinking something I have thought over and over before. Why don't we take more pride in the quality of our appearances and the products of our time? It didn't help that I have some family members visiting Europe right now and sending pictures of beautiful old cathedrals. Clothing and buildings used to be incredible works of art. The vast majority of clothing nowadays, meh.
I know there's a billion factors. The blurred distinction between classes and necessity for functional clothing on a daily basis. The introduction of automobiles and their continual downsizing slowly banished hats from the list of proper social dress (and thanks a lot Kennedy for being the first president to not wear a hat during your inaugural address). The emergence of ready-made clothing. Blah blah blah.
Everything today is made to be disposable. Instead of creating landmarks to last centuries, we use cheap materials to build structures that may or may not even appear impressive or appealing. It's like we stopped trying. We don't even bother to wear out clothes most of the time. Instead, we just get tired of them or they don't look brand-new anymore so we donate them to the nearest thrift store. There is no kind of effort that goes into making them, acquiring them, or maintaining them, so who cares? In our economy it seems to make more sense to me to invest in fewer, but better made items that would inspire careful preservation and perhaps alteration and updates through the years. But of course, that would likely require home sewing and clothing construction to once again become at least as cost-effective as buying clothes ready-made, instead of more costly in both time and supplies.
I dream.
Easier Done Than Said: Attempts at blogging by a girl who doesn't like writing.
