Mending is an essential tool in personal style
Starting with the sashiko patch I put in my thrifted 13MWZ Wranglers, after spilling acid on them at work, I quickly became hooked on the possibilities mending clothes allows. Specifically, the center of the Venn Diagram between anti-consumerism, vintage clothing, and (in)visible mending.
The removal of the public's attention from material, quality, and construction of clothes has caused an ignorance towards clothing like we have never seen before. The hyperconsumerism starting in the 90s paired with the transition to cheaper and cheaper manufacturing processes has lead to the perfect storm of nearly unrepairable clothing produced and sold for cheaper than ever before. Why would someone take the time and resources to repair a $10 shirt from TJ Maxx when they can go get a brand new one?
The availability of hyper-cheap clothes has moved the public's attention away from "is this a good investment for me" to "I dont care how long it lasts, its only $10." Along with the removal of many standard home-ec courses in public schools due to slashed funding, and we have the perfect storm of a generation (my generation) who is all but forced to either spend the time and money to self-educate on the value of decent clothes and mending techniques or continually buy more and more cheap plastic clothing. Which one is the easier path?
Further example, I went to a $15 fill-a-bag thrift sale and found a pair of genuine 1950-60s wool Korean War army surplus pants. Very surprising seeing as the sale had been going on for hours and nearly everything was picked through. They were my size so I looked them over trying to find why the pants were still there. Surely there must have been a massive stain, huge hole or tear? No, the zipper was off its track and thats it. Took the pants home and within 10 minutes I had a perfect pair of 60 year old trousers again that I could wear on my honeymoon.
Spending the few hours it takes to learn how to handstitch or even better yet, dusting off that old sewing machine in your parent's closet, will take your style to the next level. Lived in, worn in, repaired and mended jeans look infinitely cooler than brand new, off the rack acid washed/stone washed jeans. The trope of 'Is that a stylishly clad old man' or is that just an old man wearing the same clothes for 15 years is a trope for a reason. Clothes are meant to be lived in and especially in this day and age where everything is marketed to you as authentic, real or genuine, the authenticity of wearing your clothes is unmistakable.
More importantly to me, is the removal of oneself from the Hedonic Treadmill that is the clothing industry. I realize I might be preaching to the choir in this sub but not only is buying and fixing secondhand clothes one way to customize your style, but its more ethical. There is enough clothes left on Earth to clothe everyone on the planet for years to come. That isnt to say that buying new clothes makes you a bad person, but thinking about the longevity and repairability of your clothes will shift your mindset to one that is more beneficial for the earth as a whole.