Clotheshorse with Amanda Lee McCarty

Amanda is taking one more week off from creating new episodes of the Clotheshorse, thanks to some wicked jet lag and the inevitable post-vacation work overload! In the mean time, please check out the latest episode of The Department, where Amanda tells Kim about all of the emerging trends she saw on her recent trip to Japan, including Boomercore, 90s Skatercore, Craftcore, even more secondhand sho...

Jess (@jesinspace) is back to continue our conversation about toys! In this episode, we’ll be talking about the environmental impact of toys (spoiler: it’s depressing), and then we’ll dissect some of the biggest toy crazes of the 80s and 90s: Cabbage Patch Kids, Teddy Ruxpin, Furby, Tamagotchi, and Tickle Me Elmo. Also: audio essays from Courtney of Harkin and Annette of Mannerly. Go follow everyo...

Our friend and fellow Delia*s fangirl, Jess Todd (@jesinspace) , is back to talk about the toy crazes of the 80s and 90s.  This is part one of two.   In this episode, we will specifically dig into the ways children of the 80s and 90s were set up to be perfect consumers as adults via a mixture of lots of advertising and cartoons that were really just longform commercials!  Yes, it turns out that ab...

Amanda is joined by Sara, a creative marketing professional and founder of Club Sandwich, a vintage resale brand. We call out the “invisible” marketing techniques that fill us with a sense of need on a regular basis, and how we can be more mindful (and hopefully overcome them).  Then we will shift into talking about how to build a wardrobe that embodies the slow fashion way of life. And how to avo...

Stay calm and avoid paper cuts as Jess (@jesinspace) joins Amanda for part two of their deep dive into all things catalogs! We’ll cover the story of Lillian Vernon, before digging into the catalogs of our tween and teen years, including Delias and Alloy. And because hindsight is always 20/20, we’ll lay out where these companies went wrong, while also kinda framing out the idea of “brand” and “life...

Sewing your own clothes is the original slow fashion.  But buying clothes from a catalog comes in second! In part one of two, Jess (@jesinspace) joins Amanda to tackle the early history of catalogs, including Sears, Montgomery Ward, and JC Penney. Jess reveals something super special about her house. We’ll ask the question: why do so many catalogs begin in Chicago? And then we’ll touch on some cat...

Fellow fruitcake aficionado Maggie Greene is back for part two of our conversation about The 12 Days of Slow Gifting. We will be talking about our worst gifts ever and why gift cards can be a little scammy. We’ll be sharing our suggestions for homemade gifts, gifts that aren’t stuff, and more motivation and inspiration for having conversations with your family about revisiting gifting traditions. ...

Gifting is an easy place for us to begin to educate others about the impact of overconsumption, while creating new traditions and changing societal behaviors!  Maggie Greene (The Halloween Queen) joins Amanda to introduce The 12 Days of Slow Gifting. This is part 1 of 2.  We’ll be explaining what slow gifting is, how to have difficult conversations about gift boundaries (like “no gifts”) with the...

Amanda is joined by Elyse Holladay, a personal style coach and creator of The Unfolding, a personal style development program designed to help you define your authentic personal style, learn to shop strategically, and find wardrobe ease.  They will talk about why it's never "just clothes" and how to break down the obstacles preventing you from finding true clothing happiness.  It turns out that fe...

Conversations about cultural appropriation can evoke some pretty defensive reactions, but we must have these conversations. After listening to this episode, you will understand why.  Listener favorite Alex of St. Evens will be breaking down the different types of cultural appropriation, along with examples "ripped from the headlines."  And we will break down some of the common "arguments" people b...

Amanda is joined by Katya Moorman, the co-founder and editor of No Kill Magazine. They try to get to the bottom of why so many people will perform all sorts of mental acrobatics to explain why they need fast fashion (and how to counteract that). They also explain how retail and warehouse workers are the domestic evidence of how the fashion and retail industries regard all of the workers who are re...

The clothing we wear has a significant impact on our mental health, comfort, and general well-being. It's never "just" clothing.  Maggie, the Chief Everything Officer of Maggie Greene Style , joins Amanda to talk about the difference between “style” and “Big Fashion" and how wardrobe and shopping trauma impacts our decisions. Find Maggie on IG: @greenstylemags Read "Wear and Tear: Wardrobe + Shopp...

Anna ( @the.witch.of.witchwood ) tells us about secondhand shopping and the thrift industry in Poland, where she has lived for more than a decade. There are some lessons about best practices that could be adapted to the way secondhand and rehoming works here in the US! Amanda breaks down the H&M greenwashing lawsuit and the ethical shortcomings of the Higg Sustainability Index. H&M is Bein...

In honor of two years of Clotheshorse(!), members of the community share audio essays about their own experiences with slow fashion and sustainability. And Amanda details her own journey from fast fashion buyer to slow fashion rabble rouser. The amazing audio essays in this episode were created by: Dani (@worriedaboutyou.online) Kimberly (@blue.nebraska) Erin the Librarian (@erindesdag) Flavia (@f...

In this episode, we break down the concept of "mindful rehoming," as part of an ongoing series about circularity in our own lives. Actually, "mindful rehoming" is more of a NEW, EXCITING way of life! When Jeanna and her husband decided to move overseas, they realized that they had to leave behind the majority of their stuff.  Jeanna didn't want to follow the binary of "donation bin or trash bin,"...

The thrift industry has a major impact on the humans working within it.  Wages are low, expectations are high, and there is little room for advancement.  Also: it’s gross and frequently dangerous.  In 2021, Dylan and Ryan worked for one of the largest thrift store chains in the United States. They share their experiences making sense of the unwanted stuff of strangers.  Also: Amanda explains why i...

Our surprise circularity miniseries continues! Jessica is many things: a designer, a pattern-maker, an educator, a consultant and a dreamer. She has so much experience in a variety of different areas of the fashion industry, but the primary focus of this episode is the "textile recycling" industry. SPOILER: it's more of a logistics industry! Follow Jessica on Instagram: @jessitex_ NEW AUDIO ESSAY...

In this episode, we will ponder fashion as an art form and personal style as a personal creative expression. This episode is a whole journey! We’ll get started with personal style as a creative expression. We’ll explore this via audio essays from three members of the Clotheshorse community: Taylor, Anna, and Gladys. We will be also joined by Elizabeth Mollo, who will tell us about all of the work...

"Is clothing rental a sustainable option?"  Amanda breaks down the very complicated answer in this episode. Extra Credit Reading "Renting clothing is worse for the planet than just throwing it away, study shows," Elizabeth Segran, Fast Company. Rent the Runway's internal study on sustainability "Ready to Return: Fashion Rental Is Back," Elizabeth Paton and Sapna Maheshwari, The New York Times. "Re...

Do you remember that one weekend in late January when everyone was super upset (or possibly super pleased) by a video about "dumb" quilt clothing?  Well, today we're going to talk allllllll about it.  Dani of Picnicwear and quilter/artist/all-around rad person Lesley join Amanda to digest and dissect Mary Fons' January 2022 video decrying clothing made from upcycled quilts. Two people were riled u...

Please DON’T buy new underwear instead of doing laundry. Thanks! Rita of Panty Witch is back to talk about two of the major obstacles that limit access to slow fashion: size and cost. As part of that conversation, Amanda talks about Victoria’s Secret’s links to forced labor and worker exploitation. Veronica shares her audio essay about quitting her job (get ready to be inspired). And Amanda talks...

Rita of Panty Witch joins Amanda to share her experiences as a small business owner and member of the slow fashion community. At one point in the conversation, Rita said, "There are humans behind every screen."  Get ready to meet this human (Rita) and learn more about what it means to be a maker/business owner in the social media era.  And we get this round of audio essays rolling with Clotheshors...

Susan drops by to talk about her experiences managing a Clinique counter at a department store. We'll learn the three words that every beauty counter employee dreads: "Gift With Purchase."  We'll also talk about the waste behind the scenes.  This is part one of two. Read Susan's legendary essay here. We'll also hear small business audio essays from Old Flame Mending and Rabbit Person.   And Amanda...

Kathleen--the owner and yarn wench behind Republica Unicornia --joins us to talk about the therapeutic benefits of crafting, the fight for progress over perfection, and how we can rein in our natural desire to hoard craft supplies.  Amanda shares her own experience with creating as a means of coping with grief.  And we hear small business audio essays from Rachel of Frayed Threads Mending and Jill...

In the final installment of a three part series, Chloe and Sammy of the OR Foundation continue our exploration of the repercussions of our overconsumption on Ghana, its people, and our entire planet.  Both of them are fashion designers--in addition to their work with the OR Foundation in Ghana--and they will explain how experiencing fast fashion's impact on the people of Accra has changed their re...