Mr Denton’s jacket

Mr Denton’s jacket

Strutt Design Studio isn’t just simply a boutique on the fringe of Hobart, filled with racks of frocks and gowns and the hope of a sale. 

Because behind that black and gold signage is a store with a strong moral compass and the feeling of responsibility to pass on not only great style advice, but to bring awareness to the fashionistas of Tasmania on all of the impacts of the fashion industry. 

At the forefront is the industry of ‘Fast fashion’. As the name suggests, it rolls along the same lines as fast food ... you buy it because it’s cheap and convenient but you don’t REALLY like it, nor does it do the health of your body any favours.  Much the same way the fast fashion industry causes havoc to our environment and to the communities that work to make this clothing. 

The people that manufacture the clothes that we want to purchase for as close to nothing as possible, that we don’t even know if we like but don’t want to get FOMO on this weeks media dictated trend ... those people work under INHUMANE conditions. For wages less than you spend on your lunch every day. 

That being said, we certainly aren’t preaching that you all stop buying those $5 basics and only fill your drawers with organic clothing that you have sewn together with hemp thread. But awareness is essential, and by just having this knowledge in the back of your mind it will lead you to make more conscious choices when it comes to the sustainability of your clothing. 

 

PHEW!! Now that we have that intro out of the way, let’s get to the exciting story! 

We have so many interesting customers come through the doors of our boutique, and sometimes we have EXTRA special people with EXTRA special stories to tell us. 

 

Cue, MR DENTON! 

This sweet chap wandered into us one dreary afternoon, a beige corduroy jacket tucked beneath his arm. 

Now our Chloe, being the 70s style lover that she is, spotted the fabulous fabric and she sparkled with her usual enthusiasm. 

Mr Denton, purchased this jacket from Lowes in Parramatta in 1971 and it has been with him ever since. Enduring repairs to seams and buttons tightened with bright green thread, there is still life within the fibres. 

We repaired the underarm seam and reinforced the worn pocket by placing a denim off cut from a previous jean alteration we had done.. nothing goes to waste around this joint!! 

 

The era of the jacket and the principle of repairing as opposed to discarding and buying something new, struck a cord (that pun wasn’t even planned I promise, natural comedian! 😅) with Chloe so much so that she brought in her mum’s vintage suede trench coat that was from Cheetah furs an leather of Hobart. 

So naturally we did an impromptu fashion shoot in front of our fave Moonah graffiti wall! Modelling the vintage garments and showing that quality garments stand the tests of time. 

 

The take away message we want to send to you is that you don’t have to be an eco warrior and wash your clothes on a rack in a river (not that there is anything wrong with that!), but before you buy something, think about it.  Do you really love it?

Before you throw away a garment because of an imperfection, can you mend it or have it professionally altered? .. *at Strutt 😉

 

Sustainability ensures that we all have an environment to treasure for years to come and that if you keep something long enough, you’re guaranteed to be fashionable at least three times during your life time. 

 

Strutt Design Studio 

 

 

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