OKT 2021
Tailor your way out of the fast fashion dead end!
While there are many great reasons for taking up a new hobby, some also have a positive impact beyond the pure joy and feeling of accomplishment that comes with learning a new skill. Sewing and tailoring your own clothes is such a multi-benefits pastime!
For one, it lets you express your tastes and personal styles in a way that no store-bought piece ever could. On the other, many people are feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the staggering amount of CO2 wasted along the value chain of global fast fashion – and decide to act on it by picking up a thread and needle! We’re convinced that the movement is here to stay – and here’s why:
1. Slow fashion: in good company
One of history’s biggest fashion icons, Vivienne Westwood, once said: “Buy less. Choose well. Make it last. Quality, not quantity. Everybody’s buying far too many clothes.” We believe she’s on to something, and so are others in the world of the rich and famous: stars like Hollywood A-lister Eva Longoria and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin & band are strong proponents of the fine craft of tailoring. After all, you can’t get more unique than crafting your own outfits. And what could be more rewarding than your personal hand-made piece to keep you warm and fashionable?!
2. Lowering your environmental impact
The number of newbies and long-standing enthusiasts wanting to make an impact on their own wardrobes and the environment is constantly growing – for good reason! With a humongous carbon footprint that’s responsible for around 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, the fashion industry is at the center of a lot of scrutiny. As a result, more and more people are jumping on the slow fashion train and embrace sustainable lifestyle choices like buying fewer new clothes, opting for second hand, upcycling and mending used fabrics, and – you guessed it! – sewing from scratch.
FREE E-BOOK
12 Pro Tips For Sewing Beginners
Did you know that there’s a right direction for fixing pins? And that you need to cut top layers and lining fabrics in different ways?
In this eBook, you’ll learn why – and much more! Save time and nerves with our 12 sewing tips for beginners.
Fill in the form and the eBook is already on its way to you! 100% free. 100% expert tips.
3. Creating your forever pieces
Did you know that until relatively recently, clothing items were so valuable that people used pass them on to the next generation in their testaments? That’s the OG hand-me-down! What sounds like a piece of odd pub trivia to 21st century readers, has been a fact for most of human history before fast fashion: clothing was scarce, made to last, and highly valuable. Before the rapid industrialization of the textile industry in the 19th century, most people didn’t have access to a large wardrobe with dozens or hundreds of pieces. Instead, they needed to take much better care of the few pieces they owned.
For those who could afford it, clothes were usually produced from scratch by local tailors and seamstresses, and fitted perfectly to the wearer, according to changing seasonal fashions (remember Bridgerton?!). In general, people used to be much more attached to their clothes and that only changed in the second half of the 20th century due to broad availability of cheap, mass-produced clothes.
4. Human rights aspects
You might still remember the tragic 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh, an H&M factory, killing more than 1100 workers. Tailoring your own clothes at home won’t end unsafe labour conditions and poverty in the world, but it can help reduce inequalities. By choosing fairly traded, high-quality fabrics for your long-lasting creations and opting for your own time and resources over cheap labour in horrible conditions, you add your voice to the millions asking for change. By saying NO! to unfairly produced mass-market products and unsafe labour conditions, you increase the pressure on multi-national fashion retailers to support the creation of better working conditions for people in low-income countries.
5. Build your skills on experience
For a lot of people who are – in general – on board with the ideals of tailoring their own clothes, the biggest hurdle is how to find the right training. Discouraged by YouTube tutorials promising free, easy, and lifechanging experiences, but delivering little more than half-finished Frankenstein-style pillowcases, many end up pulling the plug of their sewing machines for good because they didn’t get the instructions needed for success. Sound familiar?
So, what if there was a course that offers detailed instructions straight from a master tailor, sharing trade skills and knowledge going back in the family until 1741? Stefan Wimmer II, Austrian master tailor and head of one of the oldest still active tailoring companies in the world, has created just that: motivated by his passion for the art of tailoring and the wish to pass on the wealth of knowledge that’s been preserved in his family for many generations to people across the world, he and his family created Tailor Academy, a world-wide unique course that teaches sewing, tailoring and custom fitting at a professional level.
In step-by-step tutorials, course participants learn the techniques, material knowledge, and skills to make bespoke creations to wear with pride and for many years to come. A dedicated help-desk led by real-life Wimmer tailors working at the Salzburg headquarters is available for course participants to ask questions and expert advice. Try it and see for yourself! >
FREE E-BOOK
12 Pro Tips For Sewing Beginners
Did you know that there’s a right direction for fixing pins? And that you need to cut top layers and lining fabrics in different ways?
In this eBook, you’ll learn why – and much more! Save time and nerves with our 12 sewing tips for beginners.
Fill in the form and the eBook is already on its way to you! 100% free. 100% expert tips.
