Week 4

Week 4
Fara Suiza
ASA141
May 19, 2019

Week 4 hasn't been a struggle for me. I did not buy anything this week in terms of clothes, but I did buy food, but take-out and groceries. I feel like the only thing truly hard about this challenge is trying to find new ways to say that I didn't buy anything or that I didn't feel the need to buy anything.

This week's reading was about the Hmong people and their use of story cloths to tell their story as a people through textiles. I think that this form of expression is very special because it talks about how this way of expression is used to convey the hardships during the Vietnam war. Not only is their story told through textile, but the process of sewing actually bonded the community closer during their times in the refugee camps. It further goes on to show that clothes can be a way of expressing who you are in an outward way to the world, but it is not limited to what one wears, but the context of the clothing. It also goes on to show that perhaps my choices inn clothing should be more meaningful, which fast fashion lacks. In contrast, fast fashion doesn't really have meaning behind it because it is mass-produced, cheap clothing that, unlike the Hmong clothes, have no heartfelt labor or story behind each woven thread. Not only is this way of thinking more sustainable, but if we learn to be more thoughtful in what we choose to buy and be more conscious as shoppers, significant changes can be made.

McCall, Ava L. "Speaking Through Cloth: Teaching Hmong History and Culture Through Textile Art" 1999. 

"SUSTAINABLE HAUL 🌿 reformation, re/done, vintage." Youtube, uploaded by bestdressed, 8 November 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvp50gSvVNw