Free shipping on orders $100 and up!
The Slowness of Custom Garments is a Sneaky Plus
NEWSLETTER
6/25/20262 min read
When it comes to custom garments, the time it takes is usually framed as a downside. But I think it's actually a sneaky upside.
Let me explain.
Let's zoom out from clothing for a second. Think about the things in your life that have been a slow burn:
Growing out your bangs until your hair finally looks the way you wanted.
Spending hours on a really ambitious cake that turns out beautifully.
A weekend house project — a new light fixture, a freshly painted room.
There are efforts with longer timelines:
Months of workouts until slowly you recognize your body becoming stronger.
Then there are endeavors that take years:
The years that go into getting to know your partner and preparing for your wedding.
Watching your kid grow into the complex human being they become in the world.
Now tell me that the level of effort and time it took didn't change how you feel about the outcome of those things.
It did. The slow burn makes the result feel more impactful. Like a bigger deal. Something you'll savor — sometimes forever.
Hold all of that in your mind (please) and shift back to clothing.
Many of us want to consume clothing more sustainably. We see the problem. We understand what's happening. But we can't figure out how to get out of the whirlpool of fast fashion.
This is partly because we're living — even outside of fashion — in a world built on instant gratification. We're chasing quick pulses of dopamine rather than deeper, more lasting satisfaction.
A handmade piece strikes a cord we didn't know was aching to be plucked. It creates a bond with a garment that can last a lifetime.
When I gave Madison her corset a few months ago, she said I'm going to have this forever. I'll be wearing this when I'm 80. I believe her. We went through an entire process together to create something she now feels deeply attached to. Something made with slowness and intentionality. Something she knows, every time she looks at it, was made with deep care just for her.
That changes how you relate to your clothing.
It's the difference between excitedly pulling something out of a shopping bag on day one and by day 3 haphazardly throwing it into the wash, versus a piece you carefully wash and carefully hang back up every single time — not because it's a chore, but because you have a genuine attachment to it. That's a more sustainable closet. But more than that, it's a more connected way to live.
In a world of constant hits of instant gratification, that deep attachment is unfamiliar and difficult to wait for, but feeds an unrealized need when it happens.
The slowness of custom fashion isn't just good for the world's sustainability. It's sustenance for our lives too.
