Last week I got to hear Cindy Conner speak about her new book, Homegrown Flax and Cotton. One of the questions she got from the audience was, can I buy garments from you. The answer was no. People have no idea how much time it takes to breed cotton for colour and good spinning qualities, grow flax and cotton, process it, spin it, weave it, and sew it into garments.
It got me thinking about places where you can buy ready-made garments or lengths of fabric that have one or more qualities that are like the qualities of homegrown, handspun, hand-dyed or naturally-coloured handwoven clothes.
As I post this, Maiwa in Vancouver carries some yardage that is handspun, naturally-dyed, and/or handwoven. Some of their scarves are handwoven. Their website lists some scarves and shawls in the clothing section and others in the fiber arts supplies section. There is some clothing suitable to eco-print or dye. Some of their regular clothing is handspun, naturally-dyed, naturally-coloured, un-dyed, and/or handwoven. They carry linen and wild silk, along with cotton and wool. I own an un-dyed, naturally grey woven wool scarf from Maiwa.
J.Crew had some items about five to eight years ago that were dyed with real indigo. Sometimes you can find these in good second hand condition or new with tags on resale sites like eBay and Poshmark.
Rawganique sells some un-dyed clothing.
I recently found Poetry. Haven't bought anything from them but as I write this, they have some clothes dyed with real indigo. They are based in England and ship to other countries. The website is showing the Summer collection, which has a lot of linen.
Some Etsy sellers sell yardage or clothing that is un-dyed, naturally-dyed, eco-printed, handwoven, or handknit.
Of course, all of these clothes cost more than most people think of spending. The styles are limited and are often made of woven fabric cut with a lot of ease in a boxy shape. That is, there is a lot of extra fabric. To my eye this makes the models look shapeless and larger than they are. The colour selection is limited and tends to be mostly colours that flatter redheads. Some of the sizes can be out of stock, which makes it tough to shop. On the bright side, the items tend to have better pockets than most women's clothing does.
