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On Shopping My Closet's avatar

Here’s just a small prayer and comment to what you write here:

“Others write much more eloquently about the state of fashion and its massive, world-destroying ecological footprint. So here I am, apologetically writing about the grimy antique shirt and how the Lemaire dress just felt soulless in comparison, and I can’t explain it. More importantly, it doesn’t feel like it’s worth sharing. Nothing quite does.”

Tiia, we don’t need others! We need you! We need your writing! Your perspective! 🙌🏻

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Patience's avatar

Hi Tiia. I've been reading your newsletter for a while now and remember enjoying the Do Not Buy Or Wear piece very much last year (both the post itself and the comment section). But my favourite piece of yours is the one you wrote about the Finnish men's morning suit, with the pictures of the fabric and the seams, and the meticulous research you did of its origins!

When you mentioned the Lemaire dress in this post, I conjured up a vague picture in my head of what it might look like and mentally agreed with you when you left it behind. But when you found that grimy antique shirt and saved it -- my curiosity was seriously piqued!!! Would you consider writing and photographing more of this old stuff that you are finding? I'd even love to see the cleaning and restoring process, I mean, just how greenish yellow was that rinsing water (bit gross, but I'm not sorry for wondering) and what did the shirt look like after cleaning? Are you planning on wearing it?

I find your eye for and knowledge in identifying, caring for and analyzing these older garments so fascinating. You share it in a way that also makes the idea of having those garments modern (I'm not an antiques collector or really even an appreciator, but I really do hang on to every word you write about these antique clothes). Maybe it's because you have shared how you incorporate antique things into your outfits before, and it still looks beautiful and practical?

I really do hope you'll continue to share with us, but I do also understand that keeping some aspects of dressing private feels good. Thank you for writing this piece!

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