To create these silk shorts, it takes 22 individual operations on 3 sewing machines and an iron- not including cutting the fabric or packaging. Some of these operations are very quick, like sewing on the label, and some are quite tedious, like zig-zagging the French lace appliqué. Every one of these 22 operations must be done by a pair of human hands, because there is no equipment that fully automates the construction of your clothing. Did you know that?
It’s one of the reasons why clothing manufactured in the US or EU (or elsewhere with regulated humane wage minimums) is seemingly so expensive. If you purchase an item of clothing for $5, it’s partly because the materials are inexpensive and partly because the labor is inexpensive- but not because very little labor is used. A pair of hands is required to make $5 underwear just the same as $130 underwear, but you can guarantee that the ones in Bangladesh are earning pennies to manufacture them.
Buy local, buy from artists and companies that you know and trust, and inform yourself about where your dollars are being sent! When you buy lingerie from Angela Friedman, your dollars are being sent to Durham, North Carolina to pay the wage and business expenses of a single artist- me! :)
