before i moved to the rain forest, i sold the majority of my vintage clothes collection i had gathered for decades from thrift shops to friends and on eBay. just couldn't justify or imagine wearing a "marilyn monroe" wiggle dress from the 50's in the jungle. so off they went to new homes, while i had an extra 2000 dollars in my pocket from the proceeds of my life long collection!
i guess i'll blame it on "barbie"...but i have always been a clothes hound, specializing in fabulous thrift store finds. why pay retail? still, part of my intent, upon moving to the jungle was to "curb my consumerism"...so i was content to leave the thrift store/clothes habit behind me.
well, low and behold! i found FABULOUS thrift stores in La Ceiba. who would of guessed, that Honduras is the FOUNTAIN of really good brand "used" clothes from the states? i almost fell over backwards when i discovered a Vera Wang blouse hanging demurely at "Mangeys" on San Isidro Ave! (i bought it, $4!!!)
these clothes are sent here in huge bundles in crates and containers from Good Will and Close- Out stores from the states at a fraction of their original costs. Perry Ellis, St John's Bay, Gap. Aeropostale. Abercrombie and Fitch, Eddie Bauer...
and while the clothes are in great condition at great prices...just did not want to create another crammed closet of barely worn used apparel. but...i DO love fabrics, love the hunt and LOVE the find!!! what to do?
i got the inspiration to "re-purpose", "deconstruct" and "upcycle" these great clothes and made myself a "shirt-skirt". I bought a cool men's shirt XL...cut it up and made a skirt! im not a sewer mind you..but fancy myself as a designer...pinned it how i wanted and then brought all the pieces to a local Honduran woman who sews. TAA DAA...
well, it turned out adorable. now the cuffs are the half the waistband, the sleeves half the body of the skirt, the front of the shirt and buttons the other half and the collar the other half of the waistband. oh yeah....i cut out the yoke and placed it over the buttons. so you can wear this thing frontwards, backwards and sideways....versatile and cute cute!
i showed the skirt to my friends on FB, and local gringas...and received ORDERS! so now i'm on FIRE! Back i went into La Ceiba and fished around in many hot dark thrift stores, searching for the perfect used men shirts, to create shirt skirts.
It is estimated that more than 1 million tons of textiles are thrown away every year, with most of this coming from household sources. According to the EPA Office of Solid Waste, Americans throw away more than 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per person per year, and clothing and other textiles represent about 4% of the municipal solid waste. But this figure is rapidly growing. At least 50% of the textiles we throw away are recyclable, however, the proportion of textile wastes reused or recycled annually is only around 25%.
(why go to a mall and buy something new when 70% of the world wears used clothes? the environmental impact from growing cotton and polyester (petroleum based) manufacturing is staggering. )
A BUSINESS is born. figure i help quite a few folks out with this project...the lowly thrift store sellers, the local ladies that sew, the happy receivers of their shirt skirts made with love, me of course and the PLANET. so i have decided on a name RAIN FOREST RAGS...will start an Esty Store, sell on Ebay and in Local tourist lodges. win/win/win/win!
let us make a "rainforest rags" shirt-skirt for you! send your measurements (i pick the shirts..i like/use STRIPES) and i will get on it right away!
