They are still going strong!
After several years of purchasing vintage clothing as well as clothing from modern brands around the world, I’ve taken inventory into my wardrobe and took a closer look at what I’ve got.
The majority of what I got left is the pieces that I bought second hand and are dated at around 1930-1950. That means that some have a life span of more than 90 years. Just thinking of that makes one wonder, how come the vast majority of my clothing is doubling my age, if not more? I then took a closer look into the trousers that I have. Most of the modern ones are worn out or simply don’t fit me anymore, while the 90 years old
trousers are still working just fine.
Why can I still use them?
I’m of the belief that the simple answer is time, thought and quality. So what does that mean? I brought a few of my vintage trousers to our tailor and told her my train of thoughts.
After taking a look into the garments we came to a conclusion. There were three core things that made it possible for the garments to last such a long time. Two of them were the time and thought that went into creating the garment. Tailors at that time (90 years ago) made sure to create a piece that would stay with the customer a long time, due to it being a big economic investment for people at the time. The third thing was the quality of fabric, as well as using fabrics and colors that work in
several occasions and environments.
What could we learn and apply from the past?
What we at Förbli have learnt from previous eras is that quality takes time and thought. We have added features inspired from the past in order to create garments that will be able to stay with you for a foreseeable future.
One thing that I’m found of is a feature that we’ve added in the Ture trousers and Enrico shorts. Both of the garments have extra fabric inside of the center rear seam. This brings the possibility to add width to the waist or of course have them taken in.
Well Nils, why is this a big deal?
My answer to this is that life is vibrant and constantly changing and having clothing that can follow alongside throughout my journey is to me both fascinating and wonderful.
I find going to a seamstress/ tailor very rewarding and exciting
…I know, I guess I’m one of few, but I truly enjoy it.
Taking a trip to your local seamstress/ tailor to adjust your favourite trousers instead of throwing them away or needing to buy new ones is a little action that can make a huge difference in terms of sustainability and giving worth to a garment. The Ture trousers and Enrico shorts have the feature to be adapted to you and your vibrant life.
Worth considering
Time and thought is something that is very precious these days as well but it is a lot of time overlooked when it comes to clothing in my opinion. We settle for the look but not always for things such as versatility,
quality and environment.
Clothing itself might not be worth investing a considerable amount of time compared to other things in our everyday lives but I believe that clothing can be a way of reflecting ourselves and ourselves
is something worth investing in.
/ Nils Andrén