Have you ever looked closely at the inside construction of your favorite garment? How the seams and hems are finished and whether or not the garment features any hand stitching tells a lot about how much love has gone into the creation. The construction of a fine garment is not just about sewing the seams; an important portion of the work is also about finishing the seams.
Today, most garment seams are finished by running the edges quickly through an industrial overlock machine that binds the raw fabric in a series of interlooped threads to prevent it from raveling. This is a cheap and economical finish that reduces the cost of production. Even clothing pieces by top designer brands produced en masse regularly feature this technique.
But it's certainly not the most aesthetically pleasing finish, or even the most durable.
In the world of haute couture for example, you would never find a machine overlock stitch on a seam. Rather, chances are you could turn your garment inside out and the details inside would rival the outside in terms of beauty and finishing.
Garments that were constructed in the middle of the last century or earlier tell a similar story of love. It wasn't unusual to see numerous hand stitches and creative seam binding techniques. The hours of work that went into finishing a garment by hand were readily apparent. Sometimes seamstresses even sewed a strand of their own hair into the hem of an important dress: a testament to the labor of love and the intimate nature of the work that was literally blood, sweat and tears. Naturally, the ratio of garment price to income used to be significantly higher than it is today. Closets were also significantly smaller.
I often wonder why we have stopped valuing this labor of love as we did in the past and opting for the cheapest option. Most industries, not just fashion, have followed similar cost-minimizing trajectories. The construction techniques behind most ordinary products are dictated by keeping costs down. In some cases products are even designed to break down after a period of time, forcing us to buy a new one. From an environmental and human rights perspective, we should be paying more for many things including clothing.
Paying more for items that we depend upon is worth it. There is a different feeling with wearing -- or residing within, or using, or exhibiting -- something that is created with the love of craft and the value of hand work that requires focus, energy, and skill. It's difficult to put into words, but I suspect you know the feeling: the pleasure, the awakening of the senses, the additional moment we take to enjoy a thing that brings aesthetic delight.