If you've shopped for clothing in recent years (and let's face it -- we all need clothes from time to time), you may have come across the phrase "slow fashion". It sounds like it's a new buzzword or marketing gimmick, and like any claims of sustainability, it could certainly be twisted in this way, but at its core slow fashion is just an alternative and solution to "fast fashion".
You've probably heard about the issues with fast fashion: the toxic chemicals involved, the wastewater dumping and microplastics, the human rights violations, and the billions of pounds of clothing being sent to landfills every year. It's all deeply depressing and existentially horrifying stuff, which we probably don't need to beat you over the head with, metaphorically speaking. Feel free to explore the subject at your own pace -- we bring it up now in order to provide context to the aim of slow fashion.
Consumer culture has gotten to this point because in recent decades the push to chase after rapidly shifting trends has spawned a side of the fashion industry that quickly pumps out clothing based on these trends, and in turn these companies have started generating more and more microtrends to push the sale of more clothing. The clothes are usually cheaply made from low quality materials, and are less expensive than better quality items. Keeping up with new trends means buying new clothing more frequently, so if that's one's aim, it's easy to end up spending just as much, if not more on fast fashion, despite the lower price tags.
Often these styles go from design to production very quickly, are sold for a season or less, and are never made again. So, if you fall in love with a piece, once it wears out, you probably won't be able to replace it. And because it's made with cheap materials and often in working conditions that demand quantity over quality, these pieces tend to fall apart faster than items made with more care.
Of course, not everybody who buys clothing from fast fashion brands are just trend chasing. Many continue to wear their fast fashion favorites for many seasons or years -- essentially until they fall apart. If you don't have a lot of money to spend on clothing, it just makes sense to buy whatever's the least expensive. Not everyone is equally responsible for textile waste -- those with higher incomes tend to discard 76% more clothing than their lower income counterparts.
Enter slow fashion...
Rather than generating new trends that demand constant wardrobe updates, slow fashion companies are focusing on creating high quality pieces that will last longer, and remain wardrobe staples for years. Quality workmanship and working conditions are usually prioritized. It follows that these items do tend to cost more, but for those who can afford the initial investment, their durability and general quality is an investment that pays off.
Natural fibers tend to be more comfortable, while quality construction means that garments hang right (You ever buy a pair of cheap jeans with one leg that wants to twist? Yeah, me too.), and seams don't unravel as soon as you wash them a few times.
"Slow fashion" wasn't a term that was on anyone's radar when Sock Dreams began (as I publish this, we're currently celebrating our 24th birthday!), but the concept aligns with what has generally been our own philosophy when it comes to developing our product line.
Every item created for us is made in the USA, mostly at small mills, which helps to minimize the environmental impact of shipping them long distances. It also means we know about the labor laws and conditions under which they were produced.
We aim to create perennial favorites that we love to wear year after year, and which last for many, many wearings with proper care. It's true that some of our items cost more than you might be used to paying for a single pair of socks, but many of our customers agree that the quality and durability is worth the investment! However, we do want our socks to be accessible to as many people as possible, which is why we don't charge the sort of retail markups that fast fashion brands often do.
Part of the joy of these timeless wardrobe staples is that once you've loved your socks until they're falling apart, you can often come back for a new pair years after the initial purchase. In fact, some of the items we carry today, such as our M Stockings and M Stripes, have been in our catalogue since 2004!
The fact is that most of us are not constantly reinventing our style every week or two, but rather dialing in an aesthetic that gradually evolves over the years. Great pieces, like our flagship Extraordinary Thigh High Styles, stay relevant year after year, which is why they've been some of our best selling items since we introduced them 14 years ago!
As we celebrate 24 years in the sock business, we plan on keeping these styles around for many years to come! Of course we still enjoy the process of creating fresh new designs, and when our customers love something, to us that just means that we should keep making it. After all, true style is timeless!