Weekend Reading: The purpose of fashion, textile design, and the power of stress
We’ve had quite a week around here. After an incredible snowbound weekend, my workload this week has left me feeling a bit frayed at the edges. Lucky for me, the whole team is heading out of town for a work-cation next week. Can’t wait to get some of that desert sun, and I’m even more excited to talk about the reason for the trip in a week or two.
In the meantime, enjoy some of these great reads this weekend:
- If you read one of these links this week, make it Cathy Horyn’s piece for the NY Times on the rise of comfortable fashion. My favorite quote:
“Notions like taste and practical chic are way too complex to sell today, when much of the world’s population is consumed with either acquisition or basic survival. For that reason it’s tough to talk about comfort and a moral economy of style without sounding grim or like one is trying to promote a car with three wheels (hey, but it drives!).”
- On the other side of the spectrum, this rebuttal asks the question, What is fashion for?
- I’m still working on focusing myself and my work, and this post by Rena Tom made me think a little harder about all the things I’m so busy with right now.
- Check out these five amazing textile designers on designworklife. So inspiring!
- Fast Company asks whether your brain may be chemically dependent on stress. What an eye opener. Stress is addictive, enhances productivity… and can kill you over time.
- How materialism eats us from the inside, via The Guardian. I’m so fascinated by the link between materialism and the way people display themselves online.
- Love these 10 creative rituals you should steal.
[image: some carnations from the grocery store, from my instagram feed]
Comments
Christine
February 14, 2014 #
Great links as always! Enjoy the desert :)
Brenda
February 14, 2014 #
Your links are one of the posts I look forward to each week. They are engaging, diverse and thought-provoking. Thank you!
francesca
February 16, 2014 #
Thank you for putting my thoughts into words!
Denise Dooley
February 14, 2014 #
I just bookmarked your page, so I can read all the articles on vacation next week.
Thanks
maddie
February 14, 2014 #
I really liked Rena Tom’s post about keeping the why in mind throughout the creative process. I’m not the type of seamstress to whip something up in a day. Okay, maybe I did that once this New Year’s Day, but overall, that’s not the type of seamstress I am. I like the process of chipping away at a project piecemeal. I feel that at each step, I’m able to concentrate, learn, be in the moment, and in the end, learn. But even I get frustrated at my slow pace, especially when other bloggers post what they’ve made so frequently. When I get these feelings, I not only remember the seamstress I am and the seamstress I want to be, but why I’m doing – my purpose. Holding onto that helps me produce a beautiful garment.
Laura
February 15, 2014 #
I love these rounds up each week – really good food for thought and always at least 3 I’m intrigued by and click through. Thank you for sourcing such great articles for those of us who don’t always have the time to find them on our own!
Julie
February 16, 2014 #
This has become a Sunday night ritual for me. Your picks for weekend reading are always so interesting and really good. Thank you.
Sarai
February 17, 2014 #
I am so happy to hear that.
Beth
February 16, 2014 #
I look forward to these every week, thank you for finding such thought-provoking articles! A thought I had reading the one about materialism: I think making comparisons goes right in hand with it. Whether it’s STUFF or SKILLS (ahem…in the sewing world!) it’s so easy to get caught up in comparisons. It really can eat you from the inside.
Sarai
February 17, 2014 #
So true, Beth!
Estelle
February 25, 2014 #
This video on stress completely changed my approach to it. We cannot always avoid stress but we can change our approach toward it, tame it vs. fighting it: http://new.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend