# Do you make your own clothes?



## Linus (Apr 27, 2010)

*Do you make or personalize your own clothes?*








If yes, what's the reason --and are you after something in particular, like an ideal or icon when you're creating? What is your approach to dress that you can't get with clothes you buy? Please post your MBTI type


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## Solace (Jan 12, 2010)

I was born Jewish but try to play that down, mainly because “my best friend is black” and that makes me seem cooler. But when I’m in a pinch I play the poor Jew angle, which is how I got my first gig selling clothing.

When I was in eighth grade I started spray painting clothing and giving them as gifts (while the family sat around eating "bagels and lox"). I continued on through high school, meeting more and more rich friends who would shell out lots of cash for my shitty, non-washable clothing. At the time I was making $600-700 a week selling shirts on the street (and not paying a cent of taxes).

However by the time I went to college I had a bunch of rich friends who would throw down $175 for a single poorly “tagged” shirt with my name on it. Or a fish. Or something. They were all chill.

With more and more fans of my clothing (which I still wasn’t paying taxes on the proceeds) I started adding my own name to it, but could never really decide on whether to spell it “Ecko,” like my name, or “Echo.” I guess I’m just not very good at making decisions, because I kept flip-flopping for a long time on it, just selling stuff, then taking the cash and running. But as luck would have it, with all my connections I started getting some serious interest in the clothing I was selling and decided to drop out of Rutgers University because I got handed a shit load of cash and given a position as a partner of a brand new clothing company.

Since I had never learned to innovate, or “bullshit,” either on the mean streets of my multi-ethnic Jewish neighborhood or in my expensive and prestigious university, I did the next best thing and set about copying everyone else I could find. Popular premium clothing companies like Ralph Lauren were first to be imitated as I looked at their designs and thought about a logo that would represent the new company.

Not knowing shit about thinking for myself, I spun off several designs all related to cool stuff like animals. The Rhino logo was the most popular so after my business partner handed me another stack of cash we ran with that.

In 1997 I ran my clothing company into the ground with more than $6.5 million in debt. So, being the sell-out that I am with virtually zero business experience, I did the prudent thing and let some other rich guy buy the company off me with the ability to buy it back (plus interest) after it became profitable. After being handed a metric fuck ton of money and introduced to more cheap Chinese vendors who would front the risk of producing the seventy-five cent apparel which would later be sold for $40-80, we became profitable fast. In only 18 months we bought the company back.

I give mad props to my homie Jesus.

By the time we were really making a profit, it was because we were trend setters and totally not copying off any other premium brands. Like, at all. Totally. Going for the “graffiti” look, and definitely not copying the allure of a 1973 movie, we began pandering to other sellouts and kids spending their parents money on expensive Chinese clothes. I pretty much invented “tagging.” And Linkin Park. They’re just haters.

By the time someone else had come in to do my job, I was pretty much sitting on my ass full time, so I had bought up the company Zoo York to play with in my spare time. Being a complete poser, it seemed the right thing to do to buy up a skate/street clothing company and dabble in it even though I had recently run my own company into the ground.

Soon after I gave it to my sister, who had graduated with a degree, and wasn’t a complete dumbass like myself. She also had more black friends, so she’s really cool. And has street cred ‘n’stuff.

Anyway, by 2006 we were doing really well because we had actually hired a marketing professional to help sell the brand. We did a lot of cool underground advertising campaigns, even using YouTube before it got bought by Google.

Now that I’m an "entrepreneur" and a multi-millionaire (nearly a billionaire) and have been encouraging people to wear a Rhinoceros logo on their ass Rutgers University is giving me an honorary degree even though I never finished school.

Soon I’ll be opening up more clothing shops to sell my own lines of apparel. But in the mean time I’ll be getting off on saying trendy, generic phrases like “everything is real-time” to interviewers.
​ ---

Wait, what's that? No, I'm not actually Marc Ecko. But sometimes I have dreams of running off and becoming a complete douche bag while taking advantage of dumb rich kids. (Sadly all my rich friends are smart enough to buy designer clothes and not premium brands.)


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## Linus (Apr 27, 2010)

Interesting detailed response... if you completely made all of that up I'm not talking at all about business or the fashion industry. I'm talking about the why and how an individual person dresses _themselves_ and only themselves. Personal style.


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## ShadeOfGrey (Mar 10, 2010)

Sometimes I find my clothes wrongly dimensioned, so I change them. Like T-shirts, they are always too wide.
I have thought about buying plain clothes and decorate them with your unique and personal flavours, cheaper and more like you want them.

If I am making clothes from scratch it is usually historical clothing, which can be hard to find and is often expensive.
I tried to make shoes from car tires and an old sofa (I like recycling) once, but it turns out it was really hard to make the canvas fit the foot properly (I was trying to make my own pattern) and to attach it to the rubber.

I emphasise this, I really like recycling stuff. Sadly the _plans_ to make stuff greatly outnumbers the finished results.

MBTI: INTP


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## strawberryLola (Sep 19, 2010)

I've _tried.._

Apparently, I can't even attempt to finish up a 1 hr. McAlls (?) pair of shorts. Every time I've attempted, I somehow managed to sew two left legs on boths sides.. =(


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## Linus (Apr 27, 2010)

Thanks for reviving the thread :happy:

I also found it really hard to do on my own.. I took a few night classes only a little over year ago and it was much easier than I thought. I think the books make it more complicated than it is (and also probably depends on the teacher..)

Even still I haven't made anything for myself. I learned how to make women's clothes so certain things don't apply to me. I'm currently figuring this out --I found this idea of wrapping myself up with saran wrap and then making patterns out of that :tongue: We'll see how it goes

Style-wise it is something I'm still developing. I have no icon in particular but maybe I was a woman in a past life, I find I'm pretty drawn to those clothes esp specific eras. Would be easier if I was a girl XD but it's a good challenge.

I found another thread in this forum, related:
http://personalitycafe.com/art-museum/7514-fashion-inspiration-blogs.html


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## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

I make my own clothes for symbolic purposes. My family used to find it amusing how I needed everything I did to be meaningful, but even as an adult, I still do. I like my clothes to have a personal touch. Making my own, especially by deconstructing and re-inventing old clothing, tends to allow me to hide meanings in them more easily. For example the very idea of taking something damaged and turning it into something bold and quirky works well as a symbol for what I want to do with my own life. I feel that I am not limited by my position on the timeline. I can express things I have been, things I am, or things I desire to become. The homemade clothing that I design is art. It is not something mass-produced by strangers who don't know anything about me. If I want my dresses to have a certain kind of movement or color, I can make them that way. If I want to wear a hat with an animal totem to fit my current self-perception, I can do that too. 

Even if I weren't so interested in living out a work of art through my actions, I would still find it difficult to find the styles that are aesthetically appealing to me. Most of what I enjoy is not necessarily what others enjoy. I've become used to being the exception or the minority, always the one nobody prepares for or caters to. So, if the stores don't have many long, flowing dresses in old-fashioned romantic styles, why should I be limited by someone else's lack of appreciation for the things I enjoy? I will make up for the lack actively rather than settling for a style that clashes with my personality.


I'm an INFP. Possibly a type 4, but I'm not sure.


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## SyndiCat (Oct 2, 2010)

I don't make my own clothes. And I don't think I know anyone who do. Or perhaps my cousin makes her own clothes. Unsure.


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## Nomenclature (Aug 9, 2009)

Yes, for many reasons.

Maybe because I can't find my size in something and have to either alter, rip-and-reconstruct, or make something from scratch.

Maybe it's a really cool article of clothing that I can't afford to buy with my meager high schooler budget.

Maybe it's just the fact that some of the smallest modifications like adding trim, redoing the neckline, or adding an applique make items look ten times more "polished".

My main ideal is to make something look good. A relatively negligible one is to make people rethink the idea of "cool".

I'm an INFJ.


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## Linus (Apr 27, 2010)

When I started the thread, I had just registered to Pcafe (I think) so I didn't know you could just press those buttons under the avatar to check.. You guys don't need to add your type anymore =P Though, thanks Snail for adding your enneagram.. I am 4w5, and I'd say it shows in my activities. Like I wrote, it has been a year since I made any clothes --Most of my time is spent actually studying the history of those clothes, I find it very fascinating.. I don't always end up making something, or well most of the times it is just something very small fit for a baby or doll. I also tend to get myself caught up in labour intensive things. I can't help myself sometimes =)

Thanks for the replies so far.


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## sonicdrink (Aug 11, 2010)

I honestly don't have time or patience for that. Especially the patience part.

On another note, my mom made a lot of her own clothes when she was younger, and I think after the 3rd kid she stopped that hobby. I tried to bring it up again, but she only made 1/2 of a dress and then hasn't gotten back to it for like 5 years...


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