Hello everyone (I KNOW! It hasn’t been long, but as I said, I’m trying to be more present).
Today’s class is going to be about the perfect clothing items to avoid freezing to death during the colder seasons while maintaining a certain swag AND avoiding ending up looking like Bibendum. I told you last lesson that tights have caught my attention.
Even though it is quite a cool piece of clothing, it is also quite expensive for something we tend to scratch within an hour of wearing it… I personally dropped the willingness to buy tights a long time ago, which is why you see me bare-legged most winters (-2°C won’t stop me from wearing shorts, the most flattering items I own in my wardrobe).
First of all, have you heard of « planned obsolescence »? If not, let me introduce you to the bestie of capitalism. Planned obsolescence is literally giving a limit of lifespan to a product ON FREAKING PURPOSE. It all started in 1924 with the Phoebus Cartel. They decided to put a limit on the light bulb lifespan of 1000 hours. Light bulbs used to last more than DECADES. If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself the Centennial light bulb in California whose been shining (bright like a diamond) since 1901. Anyway, planned obsolescence started to get everywhere, not only in our lamps. Car manufacturers started to release new models and encouraged consumers to change cars even though their own still worked (which is psychological obsolescence rather than technical). Then television, radios, printers, phones (not APPLE honestly admitting to slowing down IPhones). On top of this, in 1932, Bernard London suggested that the government legally require the obsolescence of products during the Great Depression. Planned obsolescence became the main strategy for companies to make more profit, but at what price?
Coming back to our stockings, here is a bit of history and how planned obsolescence impacts them. Before our common Nylon-made tights, there were stockings made of silk (slow and expensive to make, status of wealth, blablabla, we know the story). Then our dear Wallace Carothers created the « polymer 66 », mostly known as « Nylon ». In 1939, Nylon tights entered the market, and they went viral. It was cheap and resistant. It was an advance in science and a freedom from silk import, which gave hope after the Great Depression. Skipping the importance of Nylon in WWII, manufacturers decided to produce tights thinner with less textile and softer with chemicals to increase sales through planned obsolescence. WARNING, super statistics coming!!! Nowadays, in France, around 10-11 tights are bought per person over winter (I’ll be broke if it was my case). Which means around 130 million pairs of tights are bought during the cold season. Guess how much are thrown away??? Around 100 million… Yes, 100 000 000 tights are thrown away. (Climate change has left the classroom).
Why would I want to make a class about such a disaster? Well, I believe that trends will get to you, so I might just explain my thoughts on it. First of all, I gained my excitement back and decided to buy some tights this winter, but colorful ones (reds, olive greens, whites, argyle patterns, and I wish for baby blue ones). I personally felt hard on this trend and really love it. What can I say? Capitalism got through me, I’m just human. Being perfect in your own values won’t make you a better person. Failure and imperfection are parts of humanity. AND, you know what makes me more fullfil then fighting my capitalism demons? Acknowledging that my imperfections in some values fill the gaps for other ones. I was able to try something new. To be myself. To boost my self-confidence. I highly believe that what you wear reflects your inner self. Therefore, if you decide to wear what you truly desire, you will definitely open yourself up and be more confident.
Aside from those wise words, I’ll give you some brands I’ve found that produce some pretty (and apparently strong) tights. I have not tried them myself, but if you do, let me know your thoughts (do they really last longer than a night out?).
- « Berthe, aux grands pieds », very fun tights, made in France, quite expensive, but they promise to last around 10 years thanks to « a double protection that makes it resistant ».
- « YADE », classic black tights with a twist sometimes, quite fair pricing, made in Europe.
- « Cygnes », made in France (partially handmade), are supposed to last longer than usual tights thanks to the ultra-resistant yarn normally used for climbing. They also have « Consygnes », to give a second life to damaged tights, #sustainabilityiscool?
Those brands have advice on how to take care of their products to extend their lifespan a bit more. My personal tip (my mother’s, if I can admit) is to put some hairspray all around them to avoid any run in it.
I hope you will try to be a bit more yourself every day.
See you next class,
Fanny ;))