MakerS as innovaTors Chapter 1 Thrifting for Denim a re you a fashion hacker Do you want to shorten dye fringe cut or change clothes to make them your own If so this book is for you We live in the era of fast fashion Clothes are cheaper and more abundant than ever before On the one hand this is great news We have endless fashion choices at low prices But there are disadvantages too Sometimes cheap clothes don’t hold up well over time Most of the clothes we wear are also made in You can find tons of great clothes and materials at low prices by shopping at thrift stores 4
Hacking FasHion Denim Shopping at thrift stores is a great way to cut down on the amount of clothing that gets thrown away distant countries This means natural resources such as gas and coal are used to transport the clothes halfway around the world to your local mall Worse much of the world’s clothing is made in places where working con ditions are poor People work long hours for little pay Meanwhile more new clothes mean more dis carded clothes Sometimes old clothes even end up at landfills This adds to the huge amount of garbage we already have It’s better when people donate old clothes 5
MakerS as innovaTors to their favorite charities These groups then resell the clothes at low prices The funds raised support causes such as homelessness reduction and medical research These stores are known as thrift stores or charity shops Many fashion hackers shop at thrift stores because they are inexpensive Thrifting also cuts down on the amount of new materials you need to buy for your projects Perhaps best of all thrifting gives you the joy of discovering something you didn’t expect In this book we’ll convert thrifted denim dresses jackets and pants into new accessories costumes containers and playthings So let’s go thrifting You can find local thrift shops by checking the phone book libraries have them asking friends or searching online Read the shops Web sites and social media feeds to learn about upcoming sales This will help you buy clothes to hack at the lowest prices If you buy a one-dol lar pair of jeans to try a new fashion hacking project and it doesn’t work out you’ve only lost a dollar But if you buy a 15-dollar pair of jeans and it doesn’t work out that might be the end of your creation budget Experienced thrifters visit stores frequently and stock up over time Be patient It may take a few visits 6
Hacking FasHion Denim to create a stash of denim for your projects Browse the men’s women’s and plus-size departments even if they aren’t your typical size Bigger clothing means more fabric you can use Sometimes clothes get hung in the wrong department too Some thrift stores are the size of supermarkets so don’t shop if you are hungry tired or thirsty You’ll only get cranky instead of inspired It takes time and energy to sort through the racks to find the perfect items Thrift a variety of material and gather other supplies before starting on your hacking projects 7
