the shockingly high cost of cheap fashion

The intense competition drove department stores to consolidate and others to close. By the 1980's department stores continued to markdown prices, training the consumer to buy only when there were sales. In the 1970's malls opened in suburban areas and began offering cheaper clothing in competition with the big department stores. Clothing was produced by independent businesses that sold their clothing through the department stores. It wasn't until after World War II when incomes began to increase, that Americans began to follow fashion and purchase their clothing rather than make it. It was very expensive however, so people continued to make their own where possible. Clothing was initially made in the home until approximately 1900 when factory-made clothing became available. Clothing discounters like H&M, Zara, and Forever 21 all produce poor quality clothing that sells cheap.Ĭline gives a fascinating historical account of fashion in America - which of course also is mirrored in Canada.

This has been stunningly profitable for the company and is the industry standard now for how clothing is made, marketed and sold. Originally a Levi's shop in the 1960's, GAP changed how it operated and brought in designers to create its own cheap clothing line. GAP changed the way people shopped for clothing. It seems that GAP has done to the garment industry what McDonalds did to fast food production. The latter is sold by stores such as H&M, Forever 21, WalMart and Target.Ĭhapter 1, 'I Have Enough Clothing To Open A Store' explores the transition in fashion retail from the production of quality garments that are expensive to mass production of cheap, poor quality clothing. The trillion dollar fashion industry is now divided into two camps high end expensive clothing and cheap, poorly made clothing.

The United States makes only 2 percent of the clothing sold in the country China makes 41 percent of clothing sold in the US.

Cline found herself buying clothing simply because it was cheap and trendy. She owned more clothing than anything else AND she had no idea where the clothes were made or what brands they were. After gathering every single piece of clothing she owned and sorting through it all, she discovered that she had 354 pieces of clothing, excluding undergarments and socks. After purchasing SEVEN pairs of flats from KMart in 2009, Cline decided to take a hard look at why she, like so many other Americans (and Canadians), buys so many clothes. In this revealing and thoughtful look at clothing and consumerism, author Elizabeth Cline sets out to reform how we look at fashion and how we shop for clothing.

The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion