Vintage Clothing Sale

July 8,9,10

337 RT 1, Gouldsboro ME

I spent the winter watching reruns of Project Runway and challenging my beliefs about fashion, textiles, waste and love.  I’m not a “fashion addict” but I have always loved textiles and for me any kind of needle work is calming and reduces my stress.  I’m often knitting or hand sewing after particularly horrible news. 

I’m also fascinated by the story fashion and textiles tell.  I was home sick for a few days right around the death of Mary Tyler Moore.  Laying on the couch with a runny nose,  I streamed all the seasons of the Mary Tyler Moore show.  She was one of the first women to wear pants on TV!  It’s seems quaint and slightly ludicrous now but at the time she was a fashion and equality rebel.  In the series, when she first wears pants, it’s almost a costume and really imitated menswear, often with a tie as an accessory.  Towards the end of the series she is wearing pants into the newsrooms and its no big deal.

While I totally enjoyed Project Runway- drape, construction, fabric choice, design, the philosophies and personalities of the various designers I couldn’t help but think how wasteful fashion is.  That’s what got me interested in thinking about love and waste.  Fashion and style plays into the consumption narrative that our society struggles with.  According to REMAKE, an average American purchases 16 new items of clothing every 3 months!  Often the clothing purchased does not have a real value.  A garment might only be worn a few times or simply for a special occasion.  Textile waste is a huge problem.  Many of the items we purchase are considered fast fashion.  These garments are based on “trends” that come and go quickly- so we can buy more!  They are inexpensive, non-durable and for the most part exploit both workers and the environment.

With all of these thoughts churning in my mind I came up with a collection called “you are loved”.  It’s a circular idea of garments and people being loved.  My collection is all repurposed or upcycled clothing.  I’ve been thinking creatively about waste and to move towards zero waste in my creative process.  I’m even saving thread snips for an abstract project.

Our Vintage Sale and Fashion Show will be July 8,9,10 at our Gouldsboro studio/shop.  We have a LOT of clothing we want to get out of storage and onto bodies. We also want to inspire you to look at your current wardrobe differently.  We are also thinking creatively about how we can offer our creations to folks who can’t travel to the “edge of nowhere”, also known as Gouldsboro, ME. 

Instead of buying a new garment,  think about transforming a garment by adding a bit of personality and love.  The creative act of transformation turns a “meh” garment into a loved garment.  This is for real, it’s a bit of textile magic.   We have a lot of inspiration and techniques for you on our blog along with some video tutorials. 

You are loved!  Claire