sustainable fashion

Buying Vintage

Posted on April 1, 2022 | by Last Wolf | Leave a Comment

This is an age of instant gratification. For the last twenty years we have bred a ‘must have it all now’ culture that is obsessed with celebrity and living for the ‘likes’. Within this horrifying modernity we need to change our mind-set over what we wear and one of the obstacles is in challenging the stigma that still exists over pre-worn clothing.

This throwaway, ‘wear once’ idea impacts our fragile planet instantly. However quality clothing is inherently sustainable, it not only lasts much longer in the first place but can also be reused or recycled. And vintage items will tend to be from a time when things were made with a little more longevity in mind. Therefore by its very nature it is both better quality and more sustainable.

Buying something labelled vintage says something more than just ‘I enjoy unique and different styles of clothing’. It is more than a move that says I choose quality. It is shunning this bullshit modernity, a kick to the face of high street capitalism, a huge fuck you to the fast fashion. Vintage and upcycling is the most obvious retort to both fast fashion and expensive designer brands. Hell in this day and age it’s practically a political statement.

Similar to human beings, vintage items may show signs of wear or use. I call this character. In choosing vintage you are giving new life to a piece of clothing that has previously been discarded. Think about that for a moment. Your favourite pair of jeans or jacket was, most likely, going in the bin; on its way to landfill. Not only are you saving resources on new clothing but stopping potentially damaging items becoming unnecessary landfill. A quick search tells me polyester can take up to 200 years to decompose. Glad I only wore that shirt once then so the petroleum it’s made from can get back in the ground sooner.

And this is where we come in. A shirt, well-made originally, well-worn maybe, well-loved likely but no longer required by its owner makes it way to our hands where it is re-invigorated back to life. It becomes vintage, not forgotten. Art not trash. Bespoke and original, the opposite of fast fashion, this is eco-fashion, creating a more conscious consumer. Custom made, one of a kind, you get the idea.

Keep using what the planet has already given us.

Rewild your wardrobe.

Live Deliberately

Barry

Currently listening to: Wolves Chase the Light by Elegiac

https://analogragnarok.bandcamp.com/album/wolves-chase-the-light

Clothing with Stories

Posted on March 11, 2022 | by Last Wolf | Leave a Comment

New clothes feel nice, but I’m willing to bet that your favourite items of clothing are the ones you’ve had the longest; the pieces that have stories to tell, the items that hold the memories.

I predominantly wear band t-shirts. In the music world, and specifically the land of heavy metal, these stories are obvious. Go to a gig, buy the shirt, support the band. Have a favourite band or album that you want to show off, wear it. Want to show how kvlt you are? Wear a t-shirt by a band who released a cassette only demo of 666 copies. This is a uniform that instantly puts you in the same club as many others wearing something similar. We are a tribal species after all.

The t-shirt you bought the first time you saw your favourite band takes you back to that magical time every single time you put it on. The hand stitched battle jacket has your sweat, blood and beer on it soaked into the patches of all your favourite bands, showing your allegiances to the world.

And it’s not just metal. I remember seeing a worn-out original My Bloody Valentine t-shirt on a boy I knew, still getting an airing despite it being almost in tatters. The guy in front of me last time I saw AC/DC was wearing a shirt that looked like he got it when he was 15. It was actually hanging off him, but you’ve never seen anyone enjoying a concert as much as this guy who was well into his fifties.

Speaking of AC/DC, I have a shirt from the 1978 Highway to Hell tour. It’s so gnarly and old it might even be original. The hardened arm pits certainly have the weight of the work of a sweaty European tour roadie.

Outdoor brands do not inspire the same love and loyalty, the same commitment but there is no reason stories of memory and feelings of affection can’t apply to outdoor branded clothing. Maybe there is just not the market or the forum to share it in.

But I’m also willing to bet you think similarly about certain items. For example, I’ve had the same shirt that’s done at least 100 Munros with me. I still wear it now, though more out of loyalty as its…well getting a bit wee. It’s the shirt honest. Throw it away? No chance.

I still wear the same salopettes I bought 25 years ago with my first credit card though, in all honesty I haven’t been snowboarding in a long time. I had to buy a new pair of waterproof trousers recently so I bought the exact same ones as I had before. I tore the arse out of my previous pair sliding down quite a steep hill in the snow, holding my giggling two year old. Every time I wear those trousers I think of that moment and the fun we had. That is worth any money.

And so we have come to our Reimagined range. Our slogans, words to live by, Rewild Your Soul and Live Deliberately emblazoned on vintage heavy duty flannel shirts. This is more than reusing, this is reinvigorating. These shirts are custom made, they are one of a kind. They exist as seen, possibly with imperfections but mostly not. They have been fully professionally cleaned to an extremely high standard before the reimagining process begun.

Let’s face it, outdoor clothing is fucking boring. It does not have to all look the same, from mountains to movie theatre, from the woods to work, these shirts are versatile and stand out in an ocean of banality. Reawaken your wardrobe and wear it your own way.

Re-invigorated.

Re-awakened.

Re-imagined.

Live Deliberately

Barry

Currently listening to Olhava, some cool blackgaze/drone from Russia.

https://olhava.bandcamp.com/album/frozen-bloom

Sustainable fashion

Posted on March 1, 2022 | by Last Wolf | Leave a Comment

Western attitudes towards clothing is finally changing, and it has to. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter of the earth, taking that dubious silver medal only after the oil industry. The impact upon the planet some 80 billion products produced per year is staggering. It is especially notable that the majority of these items are being worn on average 7-10 times before ending up in landfill. Only an estimated 15% are recycled or donated.

Fast fashion brands continue to pollute not only our world but the minds of our young and susceptible people into thinking they get everything they want, instantly and cheaply. Make no mistake this is connected to the social media derangement and must have now culture that has erupted in the last twenty or so years.

This throwaway culture is changing as we find alternatives to damaging our fragile planet for instant gratification.

Outdoor wear is a bit different, but still part of the same industry. Most brands shun fast fashion and make quality products that while maybe not organic or eco-friendly, are well made and built to last. We need products that walk the walk. It’s no good proclaiming an item of clothing is waterproof when it isn’t, or that a sleeping bag will reach minus 10˚C when it won’t. This type of claim has its obvious dangers.

Here at Last Wolf we are interested in exploring ideas for a more sustainable and ethical existence. Reduce, reuse, recycle are words commonly used when talking about reducing the impact on our environment. We aim to add to Reimagined to this lexicon. There are others too.

Reinvigorated.

Re-envisaged.

Reawakened.

And so we present the Last Wolf Reimagined range. Our message, slogans, words to live by, mantra if you will, Rewild Your Soul, Live Deliberately and the Last Wolf runes emblazoned onto vintage heavy duty flannel outdoor shirts. This is more than reusing, this is a re-awakening. The opposite of fast fashion, this is eco-fashion. Bespoke, vintage shirts, each one unique. Rewild your wardrobe. Last Wolf Reimagined range available now.

Live Deliberately

Barry

Currently listening to Hymn to the Woeful Hearts by Pure Wrath, atmospheric black metal from Indonesia.

https://purewrath.bandcamp.com/album/hymn-to-the-woeful-hearts