I was doing some research for a project on Twiggy and came across an amazing Prada advertisement in which she posed upside down in what was at that time, a brand new television (and probably a fascination). I started to think about the speed of production and delivery in this digital age and began to think back to the time when ready-to-wear was not as popular. My grandmother was a master seamstress and knew how to make gorgeous garments because back in those days, they would teach women “Home Economics” at school. The topics? Manners, sewing, cooking, and cleaning. We just might need a class like this again! But in any case, I thought to myself why didn’t I spend more time watching and learning from my grandmother in the sewing room?

And then I remembered. As a child, I was absolutely afraid of the needles that would pop out of her “strawberry” cushion and the speed to which the needle would pound the fabric on the sewing machine. Yes, I remember, I was terrified as a child! Now I look back and say, yes it could be very painful if you slip up with the needle but sewing is absolutely worth it. Why? Well, you can control your fabric choices, cost of production, quality and if you’re creative, you can design your own masterpiece.

That’s all well and good but let’s get real. How many of us have time in our daily lives to sew our own clothes for ourselves and our families? It’s so easy to shop ready-to-wear online, run to the store or buy off the street if you live in New York, so why sew? As I do all my homework in preparation for producing some of my own product, I ask myself if anyone will ever really sew again in the United States? And that, my friends, in the wake of an ever increasingly interdependent global economy, will remain a question to be answered.

Sincerely,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda Knowles