One of my favorite parts about being a student at UCSB is the cool sense of style that is prevalent around campus. I often find myself impressed with the outfits I see around Isla Vista. Recently, whenever I have asked someone where their clothes are from, they very proudly look back at me and tell me they made it. How cool right?
The production of homemade garments is on the rise. Whether it be through recycling old clothing into something new or making something from scratch, it has become apparent that buying new clothes is not the only option anymore.
This past fall, I decided to take up a new hobby: sewing. I then began thrifting clothes and altering them into something more my style. I actually just wore one of the pieces I altered as a mini dress in Las Vegas and received so many compliments. I was finally feeling that proud moment I had been on the other end of many times. I felt great, I felt… cool.
What inspired me to take up this creative hobby was my friend. During our junior year together as bunkmates in our little blue beach house, my friend Paige Wood, decided to dedicate her free time to learning how to crochet. At the time, crocheting clothing was viral online and she had been inspired.
As months passed, I watched her hone her skills. She then began elevating her creative ideas by mastering new stitches, textures, and styles. This is when her new hobby became fun for everyone.
Paige, now addicted to crocheting, was very generous with the different items she was experimenting with. With a backstock in crochet purses and beanies, they became a staple in all of our wardrobes.
It was not until this year that her hobby started to become a business.
I watched this business grow by watching her make custom-designed beanies for our housemates as well as their friends. These beanies being paraded around campus created quite a buzz via word of mouth. Soon she was crocheting beanies and gifts for buyers’ family members and boyfriends, further growing the reach of her business.
As her self-proclaimed Chief Marketing Officer, I have had a lot of fun giving her new ideas of styles to try out. Dayge-couture has been my favorite style she has been producing. Making cover-ups, tops, sweaters, and micro shorts, every time Paige steps outside in one of her creations she receives compliments and questions almost instantly.
In my opinion, and I know I’m biased, I would recommend getting your hands on a Paige Wood original while you still have the chance. You won’t regret it.
Not only is creating your own clothes an opportunity to showcase your individual creative vision, but it is also more environmentally and financially conscious.
Reducing the consumption of unethical garment materials and shipping processes is better for the environment as it lessens the overconsumption of mass-produced items that are built to be worn once and thrown away. This can be due to the poor construction and quality of the garment or the garment not being on trend anymore. Consuming to take part in the trend is the mindset that fast fashion empires rely on. For the sake of the environment, this mindset must be negated and forgotten.
The creation of handmade garments aids in eliminating harmful consumption as well as providing creators with more financially conscious options as these pieces can be made to be exactly what they want, eliminating their need to participate in trends proven to not be timeless.
Besides the environmental and fiscal benefits, making your own clothes is cool. Plain and simple. Making something original that no one else has truly puts you into a league of your own.
Being surrounded by an environment of creative and cool kids at UCSB inspires me to up my outfit game and continue to repurpose my old clothes into something new, and I highly recommend that you try the same.