KEY POINTS:
We investigate slow fashion - the latest sector of the ever-growing slow living movement which has devotees thinking before they buy.
You may have heard of the slow-food movement - you know, the culinary movement that is anti-fast food, pro-environment and all about preserving local products and tastes.
People who prefer slow food are the ones who shun takeaway joints to spend seven hours making a stew and then five hours savouring the result.
But now another example is emerging from the ever-growing sector of what you might call slow living - slow fashion.
Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, says a lot of clothes now have all the "disposability of fast food" and a trip to a chain-store can be "as instantly fulfilling as a Big Mac and the thrill will last about as long".
Here in New Zealand there's no doubt that a lot of clothing consumers are feeling a bit like Shulman. They feel like they've just got, well, too much stuff. They've stopped worrying about fashion trends because trends seem to move so fast that no one can keep up. And for many, the thrill of retail therapy has gone. Like the Rolling Stones, we just can't get no satisfaction.
If you are one of the not-so-dedicated followers of fashion that feels this way then you may wish to try our recipe for slow fashion. It could revitalise your taste and encourage a whole new, stylish relationship with your own clothing.
Three cups of skill, attention to detail and overall devotion
Slow fashion isn't the sort of thing that's whipped up overnight in some overseas sweatshop. It's the kind of garment made by little old men and women who have been making clothes for years using tailoring skills passed down by their fathers' fathers' fathers.
As Godfrey Deeney, the European correspondent for the influential American website Fashion Wire Daily, wrote after the last lot of menswear shows: "Just as slow-food fanatics enthuse about sustainable seafood, as the Paris season drew to a close last week designers were
waxing lyrical about time-consuming production processes.
"The emphasis was on clothes made to last, which meant clothes that cost a lot and had a timeless yet quirky style: exceptional pieces where the craftsmanship, finish and quality are what counts, not the flashy first impression."
Ten tablespoons of classic with a twist
One of the biggest disadvantages of fast fashion is the fact that everyone's got it. For instance, if the look on Parisian runways and in celebrity weeklies is boho then you can bet that embroidered kaftans, crocheted lace tops and tiered skirts will be on sale down the road from your place within a week.
And within a month, you, all your friends, your mother and the people next door will be dressing in that distinctive style. At which stage, you'll be so sick of the look that you'll chuck that tiered skirt and peasant blouse straight into the closest garage sale.
Slow fashion involves the opposite. It means buying fewer clothes and making better purchases. These are clothes that ignore seasonal trends, clothes that you can wear right now and next year.
But, you may well ask, "If I'm buying so-called classics or basics, doesn't that translate directly to boring?"
Not necessarily. It comes down to the classics you choose. It's down to your own individual style, which is why the ingredient is classic with a twist. And after all, one woman's classic frock is another woman's outrageous party dress.
A few drops of pure satisfaction
Let's face it. Our consumer society is predicated upon boredom and dissatisfaction with what we've already got. That's why we keep wanting new stuff all the time. Fast fashion is particularly good at making us want new stuff because there's always something novel, the next must-have in the latest colour, the one that Lindsay Lohan was carrying yesterday, to inflame our desires.
As you've probably realised by now, slow fashion works in the opposite direction by suggesting that maybe we could be satisfied with a lot of the things we already have. As one writer on the subject puts it: "You can go shopping in your own cupboard, to mix and match unlikely items in search of a look less predictable and the feeling of having something new without actually buying anything".
The zest of at least half a dozen treasured memories
Anyone who has ever chucked a bunch of clothes out knows that there are some things you just cannot part with. Those cute leather sandals you wore to trek through France. The jeans that made your butt look so hot the day you fell in love. That jacket you almost lost at the best rock concert you ever went to.
It doesn't matter if those clothes no longer fit or if they're not ultra-fashionable. You won't throw them out because they manifest memories in fabric. They make you feel a certain way - thin and gorgeous, maybe ... or perhaps wild and adventurous? And for that reason you won't be listing them on TradeMe any time soon.
Fast fashion cannot hold those sorts of memories because you already threw that cotton top out yesterday.
Four cups of thoughtful fashion philosophy, sifted carefully, at least twice.
The slow foodies are all about educating others on the risks of fast food, both in terms of individual physical health and the environment. Slow fashion advocates tell us similar things. They suggest we should be looking for more than just the latest thing when were out at the shops. We should be thinking about where our clothes come from, everything from how the fabrics were made, who put the clothes together and even how they got to the store (by more eco-friendly boat? By plane?).
And although, once again, it sounds a teeny bit worthy, this isn't about wearing drab green, brown and hemp everywhere. It's simply about thinking more carefully how you engage with fashion.
For example, in the future one study by British university researchers into this area suggests that different fashion items will be consumed according to our different requirements.
For instance, rather than buying something glitzy to wear to a big party, then pushing it to the back of the wardrobe never to be worn again, the study suggests we rent that fancy one-off. Whereas for such garments as the jeans we might wear several times a week until they fit comfortably and hold a dozen good memories, they think it will be fine to spend up large on the perfect pair which will just get better with age.
This is already happening overseas, where it's possible to rent, rather than buy, the season's celebrity It bag, then return it when you've had enough.
Swap meets, where the fashionable trade clothes and accessories, are another means to change your habits.
