For People On The Fence About Buying A Custom Garment

I write this post with love, and I write it to help you understand my work and my mission.

If you've ever been curious about a Bespoke Hogaboom piece, please keep reading.

So: most of you know I am a custom couture designer. That is to say I make garments one-at-a-time, made for the specific customer and their super hot bod. I design, draft, cut, baste, fit, press, cut, print and finish all myself. I don't mass produce in any way. About half my clients are in Washington, Oregon or California - the other half could be anywhere around the world.

My garments are vegan, they are mostly plant-based (no fossil fuels), they are long-lasting and usually biodegradable. They are created in a (near-)zero waste studio: my waste rate is audited at 2.5%, whereas mass manufacture's waste-rate is 15%+.

Best of all: my clothes fit well, are made of superior materials, and are made with couture methodology - they last longer than goods produced by industrial methods. My garments deliver a very low cost-per-wear, although the initial investment is higher than retail.

I offer interest-free payment plans to make investment easier.

I have never missed a deadline for a client.

Mass manufacture clothing will continue to deteriorate in quality. My quality will only go up.

I am not hurting for orders or business.

But:

I'd love to design something for you, if you're ready.

If you're worried about cost - or feeling uncertain - please read on.

My goal is not to get you to buy from me specifically, but to help you feel better about your clothing and your relationship with your clothing.

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Clearly, my garments are a superior choice to retail. They fit better, last longer, are made of better fabrics, have a lower carbon footprint, and deliver comparable cost-to-wear compared to buying cheap.

You may be surprised to know I don't think about or worry about retail very much. Retail fashion continues on much as it ever has, although garment quality continues to plummet as ultra fast-fashion brands like SHEIN, TEMU, and H&M continue to claim record profits. This abysmal race-to-the-bottom doesn't appear to be winding down any time soon.

As clothing quality drops, more and more people turn to thrift stores - including resellers, a growing market of folks who quickly spot the superior items and purchase them to sell them on. If you shop at outlet shops and second-rate retailers you will notice larger amounts of fossil fuel fibers (nylon, spandex, polyester, etc) on garment labels. Garments that used to be made of cotton and linen, are increasingly becoming plasticized as the oil industry pumps out as much product as possible and receives government buy-outs to do so.

As a result over the last few years the garment quality in the clothes people bring me to mend or alter, has diminished a great deal.

Believe it or not, this sharp downward trend has been a shock to me. Ten years ago I'd have said fast fashion was going to crash any minute. How wrong I was! And while things continue to get worse (especially for the planet itself and for garment workers), the industry is still staggering along, racking in billions in profits, belching carbon from the planet's interior and into our skies and landfills, polluting rivers and even garment workers and wearers themselves. (Oops!)

We are seeing increasing public dissatisfaction with retail clothing and - bizarrely - more and more demands for even cheaper clothes despite the fact Americans purchase and throw out clothing at a rate TWICE that of the two countries in second pace for both categories.

All these factors and more have led me to more or less ignore retail garments and build systems outside of retail. Don't get me wrong: I am glad good people are working on these systemic issues, because this work is important (resources in the link in the last paragraph).

But personally it's near impossible for me to think about or care very much about retail clothing because I'm busy designing and creating quality clothing - for myself, my family, my friends, my clients.

I am too busy doing things right - and trying to do them better - and I don't have time to engage much with a bloated, horrific and literally criminal system.

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My solutions to these problems above do not start and stop in my studio, however.

Because even with the clear superior quality and comparable cost-per-wear I offer, I understand why someone wouldn't want to purchase a custom zero-waste t-shirt from me when they could get a semblance of a t-shirt from GAP for $25 or Walmart for $7 or whatever.

I used to be kind of bitter about this, but I really have changed over the last few years.

For a while I thought people don't care about the environment and about climate crisis - and many frankly, do not.

But for others, they don't know how to take the first step. WHAT should they repair? WHAT should they buy? Why struggle to buy ONE pair of ethical jeans if we can't afford to convert our WHOLE closet to sustainable clothing?

And those are fair questions!

What I've come to realize is that most people really would like a quality piece - or would like their clothes mended - they just really don't know how to best go about divesting from the system they've been buying into. Mass industrialization and global slave-trade labor practices (hidden from view) have conspired (intentionally or not) to create a buying population less and less in touch with the realities of clothing. Most people don't know the first thing about how clothes are designed or constructed (ALL clothes are handmade), most people don't know how to mend or repair (or how to find a quality practitioner who can), and very few people will seriously consider making their own (which is far more useful and beneficial than they may realize)! Most people have a ludicrously low estimation of how much clothing really should cost - if it were made fairly and sustainably.

You'd think that the huge world of crafting and home sewists would provide respite from the industrialized option - but a very sinister trend dominates that world, too. The hobbyist sewing groups that run numbers on Instagram etc. resemble Capitalist consumption modalities more often than not; many (not all!) of these sewists have disposable income to just churn out a new look day upon day. Many are seeking corporate sponsorship and to have that, they have to churn out lots of new looks and products. For instance: I've not yet any other single-sewist - professional or hobbyist - who audits their waste rate.

I don't have time to address ALL the above - but I am nothing if not helpful!

So I thought I'd offer a tiny helpful primer to help you make a choice as to whether to work with me or not.

Most the solutions and practices I've provided here have nothing to do with me really - but this is what I'd advise to get you happier in the clothes you have, and feel better about your participation (or renunciation) in the systems available to you.

You are not powerless, and you don't have to do what "everyone else" is doing.

(It's not "everyone else", but yes it seems like it!)

Here is my advice:

Think of ONE piece that would make you happier.
This might be a pair of socks, or a simple dress trouser. This may be a winter coat even if you don't need one now - because you remember how miserable last winter was. This could be a basic tee so you can get your mind around how custom (or ethically-made) will work in your wardrobe. This could be a small piece, or a grandiose piece. What single piece would give you the most joy? Make a short list. Don't overthink it. And on that note:

Be patient!
When I say "pick one piece" to convert to an ethcial, well-made garment I know this can feel discouraging. But please trust I have thought about this a LOT and interviewed SO MANY clients, supporters, and well-wishers - and this really is my advice.

It's so easy to throw a bunch of cheap clothes in the online shopping cart because the truth is - you don't need just ONE item. And I know this!

But let's think that option through. What happens is you now have another glut of poorly-made garments that will clutter your closet (and your headspace) and leave you as dissatisfied as ever. Furthermore you levied what funds you had into cheap fashion - instead of a payment into quality clothing. And the cycle will continue!

I know of which I speak! I replaced my fast fashion ONE PIECE AT AT TIME, with investments in better quality retail and by painstakingly making myself clothes. I had a lot of misses but increasingly more and more hits. Interestingly the clothes I've made get the most wear AND last the longest. Within about a year, the samsara of mass manufacture - repeating the cycles of buy and throw out/donate, over and over - no longer had a grip on me.

My closet is now bangin' and I don't experience dissatisfaction of any stripe. I would never have arrived here if I hadn't been patient.

Research and find an ethical, sustainable option to get your one piece. YES they exist! I am proof!
Clothes can look great on a website - and have a high price point - but that does not mean they are quality. Read reviews (here are mine! - here too!). One of the things that sucks about mass manufacture, is many smaller brands soon sell to corporate interests and outsource garments and fabrics as surreptitiously as they can. That's not me and won't ever be me but I will tell you, they are sneaky about it. Make sure to vet your clothing companies carefully! (There are a variety of influencers and authors who maintain very good lists on this account!)

Enjoy your luck when you can.
Sometimes you'll find a quality piece at a low price at some bargain outlet (or fake bargain outlet) - a few years ago I found a pair of sweatpants from Ross Dress For Less that lasted and lasted and lasted. Lately of course the quality at bargain outlets/fake bargain outlets has been so poor but - you never know. REALLY check the labels (especially for plant-based fibers). The higher synthetic content - the more likely it's not a quality garment (and obviously it won't biodegrade).

Thrift stores are getting the squeeze too - they are FLOODED with poor-quality clothes, and resellers are finding the good stuff. Either buy from a reseller, or adjust your expectations for thrift hauls. And when you get lucky - enjoy it!

Mend and repair (or find someone who can)
I could write a whole treatise on mending - maybe I will some day! I used to hate it. I love it now! With every garment I mend, I am saving loads on land use, water use, air pollution, carbon footprint - and I'm boycotting inhumane labor practices.

Mending isn't quick or easy to learn for most; it involves minimal equipment, but it DOES involve time resources.

It can be hard to find a good mending/alterations specialist, because many undercharge and are underdeveloped as professionals. If you find someone who's good - pay their rate and tip them. You want them to stay in business!

Mending is what we'll all be doing more and more of as Capitalism thrashes about in its dying moments, so get a head start!

Resist conspicuous consumption.
Capitalism isn't any one person's fault, but we each play powerful roles in supporting its illusions - and we can opt in or out.

Thrifters: would you still thrift as much if you couldn't show off your fits for Likes? Hobbyist sewists - I ask the same. Do you really need more makes? Could you convert your Maker energy into the common good rather than your own closet?

I am no one's life coach on this, but it's obvious we need new behaviors and better examples. Many Americans compulsively shop (or shop-and-sew) - this is the norm or at least, this lifestyle is aspired-to. As a conspicuous consumer (or maker) you will ALWAYS get plenty of positive social reinforcement by constantly showing off new makes and new clothes. I know that sweet social nectar hard to resist but I'm asking you to consider it. Our energies can be better spent and there's a lot of power in that liberation!

Responsibly rehome what you no longer use.
Nothing will bring to light our participation in an unsustainable system more than refusing to either hoard, throw out, or "donate" (landfill) clothes. Those are all convenient ways to avoid our complicity.

Here's how I think of it: anything I purchase or sew I now own for its whole life cycle. If I grow out of it or no longer need it, sure it may be tempting to "donate" or Freecyle it. However dumping garments into a Freecycle or Buy Nothing usually only encourages hoarding (something Americans don't need help with) - which means, guess what? - next-stop landfill.

One of the best ways to really determine whether your closet is truly full of value, is to host a good ol' fashioned garage sale and put some prices - even low prices - on your garments. If you're left with a huge pile after the event is over, it may be time to get real about purchasing and discarding habits. Those clothes really are going into the garbage and we gotta face that.

Remember that "be patient" I advocated? This is what it's like to get real about consumption. Don't beat yourself up about it - let's just stop dumping the problem on someone else's lap!

Finally:

Give yourself a break.
Hard as I am on Capitalism and over-consumption, I don't hold myself to a standard of perfection and I don't encourage anyone else to.

Really.

So while I want us to get real about climate crisis and exploitation of garment workers and eco-systems - I don't think we need to drag guilt and shame into it. Remember that talking about "guilt and shame" around consumption practices just centers the emotional experience of wealthy empire/colonizer mentalities and speaking as an American I'm a little over that narrative.

No one reading here CREATED it or is SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for Capitalism and the Western exploitation of the global south. But liberating ourselves from buy-buy-buy, post-for-Likes, chasing corporate sponsorships and affiliateships, shop-shop-shop - please believe me when I tell you the benefits from these behaviors are far, far outweighed by the costs. A liberation process, though not always easy, is one that yields far more benefits than any sale designer item, Instagram sewing challenge, or thrift store "score" ever could.

You just gotta commit instead of sitting on the fence.

And yes I know these sentiments don't make me popular at parties (or anywhere much on social media). I am very aware. :)

But what I can tell you is this: you don't need to shop to fill the void, and you don't need to run away from the realities of Western over-consumption and climate crisis. You can't run away in any case. Better to face the music.

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So I no almost nothing I said in this piece is "selling" Bespoke Hogaboom - but did you expect anything else?

Of course I would love to create a piece for you - the piece you really need, the one that will make you smile when you reach for it.

But what I really want more than to make another garment, is for us to change the way we live.

We have that power. We really do.

We don't need to just sit around demanding that OTHER people make changes.

Now -

if you do want to partner with me, my prices are clearly listed here, and due to requests I now have a consultation booking link on the same page.

If there is anything in my Pricing and Policies that is not covered, I absolutely welcome questions, and I will be a soft smiling space for those! I am not perfect and perhaps I've neglected to make something clear.

So if after reading these documents you still have questions - please do reach out.

But please respect my time - I promise, I will respect yours.

If we do work together, you will be satisfied.

I join you in solidarity, refusing to turn a blind eye to "business as usual".

We deserve better, and we can BE better.