Clotheshorse with Amanda Lee McCarty

Latest Episodes:

Episode 194: The Question-sode Mar 04, 2024

Show notes

Amanda answers questions from members of the Clotheshorse community.
Here are just a few of the things covered in this episode:

How do we avoid overconsumption at the thrift store?
How can we simultaneously take control of our finances and reduce our consumption?
How do we find our personal style in a sea of "kinda garbage" clothes?
Why is it so difficult to find clothing in larger sizes? And why are so few brands offering extended sizing?
What changes does Amanda wish the industry had made a long time ago to be more ethical and sustainable?
What is Amanda's vision for a circular fashion industry?
How much worse could clothing get?
How can we talk to others about slow fashion without being shame-y or annoying?

And so much more!

Also in this episode: Amanda reveals some exciting news about episode 200 (happening in April)!

Read this: "This fabric recycling company was going to change fashion. Why did it suddenly go bankrupt?" Adele Peters, Fast Company.

Be the first to hear all of the details about where, when, and how Episode 200 is happening: join the mailing list.

If you want to share your opinion/additional thoughts on the subjects we cover in each episode, feel free to email, whether it’s a typed out message or an audio recording: amanda@clotheshorse.world

Did you enjoy this episode? Consider "buying me a coffee" via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/clotheshorse

Find this episode's transcript (and so much more) at clotheshorsepodcast.com

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses:

High Energy Vintage is a fun and funky vintage shop located in Somerville, MA, just a few minutes away from downtown Boston. They offer a highly curated selection of bright and colorful clothing and accessories from the 1940s-1990s for people of all genders. Husband-and-wife duo Wiley & Jessamy handpick each piece for quality and style, with a focus on pieces that transcend trends and will find a home in your closet for many years to come! In addition to clothing, the shop also features a large selection of vintage vinyl and old school video games. Find them on instagram @ highenergyvintage, online at highenergyvintage.com, and at markets in and around Boston.

The Pewter Thimble Is there a little bit of Italy in your soul? Are you an enthusiast of pre-loved decor and accessories? Bring vintage Italian style — and history — into your space with The Pewter Thimble (@thepewterthimble). We source useful and beautiful things, and mend them where needed. We also find gorgeous illustrations, and make them print-worthy. Tarot cards, tea towels and handpicked treasures, available to you from the comfort of your own home. Responsibly sourced from across Rome, lovingly renewed by fairly paid artists and artisans, with something for every budget. Discover more at thepewterthimble.com

St. Evens is an NYC-based vintage shop that is dedicated to bringing you those special pieces you’ll reach for again and again. More than just a store, St. Evens is dedicated to sharing the stories and history behind the garments. 10% of all sales are donated to a different charitable organization each month. New vintage is released every Thursday at wearStEvens.com, with previews of new pieces and more brought to you on Instagram at @wear_st.evens.

Deco Denim is a startup based out of San Francisco, selling clothing and accessories that are sustainable, gender fluid, size inclusive and high quality--made to last for years to come. Deco Denim is trying to change the way you think about buying clothes. Founder Sarah Mattes wants to empower people to ask important questions like, “Where was this made? Was this garment made ethically? Is this fabric made of plastic? Can this garment be upcycled and if not, can it be recycled?” Signup at decodenim.com to receive $20 off your first purchase. They promise not to spam you and send out no more than 3 emails a month, with 2 of them surrounding education or a personal note from the Founder. Find them on Instagram as @deco.denim.

Gabriela Antonas is a visual artist, an upcycler, and a fashion designer, but Gabriela Antonas is also a feminist micro business with radical ideals. She’s the one woman band, trying to help you understand, why slow fashion is what the earth needs. If you find your self in New Orleans, LA, you may buy her ready-to-wear upcycled garments in person at the store “Slow Down” (2855 Magazine St). Slow Down Nola only sells vintage and slow fashion from local designers. Gabriela’s garments are guaranteed to be in stock in person, but they also have a website so you may support this women owned and run business from wherever you are! If you are interested in Gabriela making a one of a kind garment for you DM her on Instagram at @slowfashiongabriela to book a consultation.

Vagabond Vintage DTLV is a vintage clothing, accessories & decor reselling business based in Downtown Las Vegas. Not only do we sell in Las Vegas, but we are also located throughout resale markets in San Francisco as well as at a curated boutique called Lux and Ivy located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jessica, the founder & owner of Vagabond Vintage DTLV, recently opened the first IRL location located in the Arts District of Downtown Las Vegas on August 5th. The shop has a strong emphasis on 60s & 70s garments, single stitch tee shirts & dreamy loungewear. Follow them on instagram, @vagabondvintage.dtlv and keep an eye out for their website coming fall of 2022.

Country Feedback is a mom & pop record shop in Tarboro, North Carolina. They specialize in used rock, country, and soul and offer affordable vintage clothing and housewares. Do you have used records you want to sell? Country Feedback wants to buy them! Find us on Instagram @countryfeedbackvintageandvinyl or head downeast and visit our brick and mortar. All are welcome at this inclusive and family-friendly record shop in the country!

Located in Whistler, Canada, Velvet Underground is a "velvet jungle" full of vintage and second-hand clothes, plants, a vegan cafe and lots of rad products from other small sustainable businesses. Our mission is to create a brand and community dedicated to promoting self-expression, as well as educating and inspiring a more sustainable and conscious lifestyle both for the people and the planet.

Find us on Instagram @shop_velvetu...

Episode 193: Let's Talk About Generative AI with Erin Cadigan (and Dustin, too) Feb 26, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Amanda is joined by artist and print designer Erin Cadigan to talk about how AI impacts the world of print design and really, all creative jobs. Erin is the print designer for UK slow fashion brand The Hippie Shake. You will get to hear about the importance of art, design, and creative exploration in Erin's life, as well as her thoughts on the larger issues of economic justice associated with generative AI. Dustin also drops by to help Amanda explain AI, how it works, and who really makes money from it.

Here are just a few of the things we will discuss in this episode about the ethics and impact of generative AI:

How does generative AI work?
How does this relate to working artists? What are the ethical concerns about generative AI?
What are the potential impacts for commercial artists and designers? What are the larger economic and social effects?
How are we seeing AI used by retail and fashion right now? How could that expand?
If using AI saves money for companies, can we expect lower prices as customers?
The recent controversy surrounding Selkie's use of AI for its Valentine's Day collection.

Also: how we can find hope from the Octavia Butler essay, "A Few Rules For Predicting The Future."

Additional reading:
"Selkie founder defends use of AI in new dress collection amid backlash," Morgan Sung, Techcrunch.
"Leaked: the names of more than 16,000 non-consenting artists allegedly used to train Midjourney’s AI," Theo Belci, The Art Newspaper.
"eli5 what Ai generated artwork is and how does someone accomplish this," Reddit.
"This list of 4733 artists whose artwork Midjourney (and other AI image-generators) acknowledged was included in their dataset is truly mind blowing!!" Instagram post.
"Let's Chat About AI," Ensley Reign Cosmetics post.
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, Douglas Coupland.

Register for the February Clotheshorse Webinar/Hang Out Session: Why new clothes are kind a garbage...
February 29, 8pm EST. Free (but please support Clotheshorse via Ko-fi if you enjoy yourself)!
Limited to 100 attendees, so register now here.

Did you enjoy this episode? Consider "buying me a coffee" via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/clotheshorse

Find this episode's transcript (and so much more) at clotheshorsepodcast.com

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses:

Episode 192: The Happiness Episode with Sandra Ann Miller Feb 19, 2024

Show notes

Happiness feels so...elusive right now, right? Happiness coach Sandra Ann Miller joins Amanda to talk about how we might have happiness wrong. In this episode we will explore the following questions:

Are unhappiness and consumerism linked?
What is hedonic happiness? How is that different from eudaimonic happiness?
Can money buy happiness? And are billionaires happy?
How and where can we find happiness (you might be surprised)?
What's the difference between being happy and toxic positivity?
Is happiness possible in an unjust world?
Is it okay to be happy while so much bad stuff is happening in the world around us?

Also in this episode: Amanda discusses the recent piece by Derek Thompson for The Atlantic, "Why Americans Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out." How is that impacting our own personal happiness? And how do we rediscover our community?

Find Sandra here
Instagram: @thehappyistofficial and @sassylittlepod
Threads: @thehappyistofficial and @sassylittlepod
Website: The Happyist

Btw the book Amanda read as kid (like 100 times at least): A Pocket Full of Seeds, Marilyn Sachs.

Did you enjoy this episode? Consider "buying me a coffee" via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/clotheshorse

Find this episode's transcript (and so much more) at clotheshorsepodcast.com

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses:

Country Feedback is a mom & pop record shop in...

Episode 191: Fast Jewelry, Knockoffs, and Net 60 with Emily Li Mandri of MLE Feb 12, 2024

Show notes

Emily Li Mandri, founder and design behind MLE, joins Amanda to talk about all things accessories and jewelry, including

What is costume jewelry? And why is metal content important?
The drawbacks of "fast jewelry"
What are the challenges of running a small, ethical accessories brand?
How are knockoffs and copycats a big part of the jewelry/accessories industry?
What happens when bigger brands don't pay their invoices?

And so much more! Read more about what is happening with Neighborhood Goods and unpaid brands here: "Neighborhood Goods Has Closed--Vendors Want their Money."

Amanda gets things started with thoughts about the "Loneliness Economy," capitalism, and community. It turns out that one of the most revolutionary things we can do is...be active and supportive members of our community!

Find Emily and MLE here:
@madebyMLE on Instagram
madebyMLE.com (use code CLOTHESHORSE to get 10% off your order)

Additional reading:

"The Loneliness Economy: How Capitalism Thrives on Isolation," Piyush Patel, Medium.
"Capitalism starves us of love — we don’t have to stand by," Alexandra Kauffman, The Emory Wheel.
"Capitalism Subverts Community," Robert Neuwirth, Noema.
"Capitalism has warped our understanding of community — and it's making us vulnerable to manipulation," Valerie Vande Panne, Salon.

If you want to share your opinion/additional thoughts on the subjects we cover in each episode, feel free to email, whether it’s a typed out message or an audio recording: amanda@clotheshorse.world
Or call the Clotheshorse hotline: 717.925.7417

Did you enjoy this episode? Consider "buying me a coffee" via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/clotheshorse

Find this episode's transcript (and so much more) at clotheshorsepodcast.com

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses:

Episode 190: Why New Clothes Are Kinda Garbage, part 3 Feb 05, 2024

Show notes

Why are these clothes just so bad? In this three part series, Amanda breaks down the hidden reasons that new clothing is kinda garbage. This episode covers the following:

How the illusion of free shipping is widening economic inequality AND driving down the quality of the things we buy.
Yep, the nonstop parade of DEALZ DEALZ DEALZ is also responsible for a sharp decrease in clothing quality.
Less people working on creating more clothes=very disappointing clothes.
We just keep buying these garbage clothes (so the companies are going to make more until we stop).

We'll also hear an amazing audio message from Caroline and talk about how we can change our habits and buy less stuff!

Delias 1996 Winter Catalog
Learn more about the Fashion Act

Did you enjoy this episode? Consider "buying me a coffee" via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/clotheshorse

Find this episode's transcript (and so much more) at clotheshorsepodcast.com

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses:

Episode 189: Why New Clothes Are Kinda Garbage, part 2 Jan 28, 2024

Show notes

Why are these clothes just so bad? In this three part series, Amanda breaks down the hidden reasons that new clothing is kinda garbage. This episode covers the following:

How are returns causing brands to create even lower quality clothing...resulting in even more returns? Yeah, it's a really depressing cycle.
Why are so many clothes traveling around the world in airplanes? And how does that impact both product quality and the planet?

And...we will be talking about girl boss and THE EMAIL.

Additional reading and listening:
"The Girlboss Has Left the Building," Amanda Mull, The Atlantic.
"The End of the Girlboss Is Here," Leigh Stein, Medium.
"How "Girlboss" Became A Slur," Isabel Slone, Early.
"‘Girlboss’ went from empowerment to hypocrisy. How should we talk about young women’s ambition now?," Amy Ta, Press Play.
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
Self Care by Leigh Stein
Listen to the Girl Boss episodes of The Department

"Zara fuels climate crisis with thousands of tons of airborne fashion," David Hachfeld and Romeo Regenass, Public Eye.

Did you enjoy this episode? Consider "buying me a coffee" via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/clotheshorse

Find this episode's transcript (and so much more) at clotheshorsepodcast.com

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses:

Country Feedback is a mom & pop record shop in Tarboro, North Carolina. They specialize in used rock, country, and soul ...

Episode 188: Small Business, Degrowth, and Nuance (aka an entire episode about one email) Jan 22, 2024

Show notes

It's the first episode of Clotheshorse in 2024! And it's another CH first, too: an entire episode about ONE email!
Amanda received this email in mid December. It sparked many, many hours of reading, research, and conversations with other members of the community. In the quest to find a response to this message, a lot of other conversations began:

Is it greenwashing to say "Small Business Is The Future?"
Where is the nuance within slow fashion? How does that nuance influence the way we start conversations outside the slow fashion bubble?
Should we tell people to stop buying goods and services altogether?
How do the impacts of small businesses compare to those of big businesses?
Are all small businesses "good?" What should we do if they are "bad?"
Do small businesses get away with bad behavior because they are small?
What is degrowth economics? Can it work? Would would it look like IRL?
How do creativity and art fit into degrowth?
Should makers and sellers stop what they are doing and shift into public service jobs? Why aren't they doing that already?
Why are so many Clotheshorse guests also small business owners?
What are the challenges of trying to be as ethical as possible within late stage capitalism? How do we make the best choices?
Who really makes money from podcasting?
How do begin to value art, information, and content as much as we value "stuff?" And what happens if we don't make that change?

Yeah, NBD, just some light topics here.
Thank you to these awesome members of the community for already sharing their thoughts: Dani, Christine, Maria, Selina, Kate S., and Kate K.

After you have listened, share YOUR thoughts on the email and the other conversations we are having in this episode. Feel free to email, whether it’s a typed out message or an audio recording: amanda@clotheshorse.world
Or call the Clotheshorse hotline: 717.925.7417
You can also join the convo on Instagram, @clotheshorsepodcast.

Did you enjoy this episode? Consider "buying me a coffee" via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/clotheshorse

Find this episode's transcript (and so much more) at clotheshorsepodcast.com

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses:

Located in...

Episode 187: Why New Clothes Are Kinda Garbage, part 1 Dec 17, 2023

Show notes

New clothes ARE kinda garbage these days, from low quality synthetic fabrics to zippers that are a problem from the very first wear to lack of detail and poor fit. And the low quality and short lifespan of this clothing is creating an environmental and ethical crisis for the planet and its people.
Why are these clothes just so bad? In this two part series, Amanda breaks down the hidden reasons that new clothing is kinda garbage. This episode covers the following:

What is planned obsolescence and how does it impact cars, phones, electronics...and clothing?
The process of clothing creation, from design to sample to finished product.
The changes buyers make to hit the profitability targets set by company leadership.
How fabric is a big part of the formula (and why so many garments are synthetic now).
How overproduction is impacting product quality.

Also in this episode, an audio essay from Elysha of Worth Mending, @worthmending on Instagram.
P.S. Elsyha recently did a collab with Dani of Picnicwear. Check it out here.

Thanks to this episode's sponsor, Made by MLE, @madebymle on Instagram. Use code CLOTHESHORSE to receive 10% off your first order!

Did you enjoy this episode? Consider "buying me a coffee" via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/clotheshorse

Find this episode's transcript (and so much more) at clotheshorsepodcast.com

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses:

Episode 186: Slow Fashion Is Not A Trend, with Mikaela Friedman Dec 11, 2023

Show notes

Slow fashion is not a trend. It's a way of life. A community of passionate, creative people. A movement fighting for a better future.
In this episode, Amanda is joined by artist and slow fashion superstar, Mikaela Friedman (Mutiny Market, Shop Slow, Psychic Outlaw).

We talk about a lot of things in this episode:

Shop Slow, a new slow fashion boutique in Austin, TX that focuses on artisanal clothing made by collective of makers with a focus on recycled textiles. Check out the Shop Slow website here: shopslow.co
Why shopping small/local keeps the money within the community versus far away with a shareholder,
How we take the slow fashion movement out into the world outside of social media,
How we can make the slow fashion movement stronger and more inclusive.

Also, in this episode: Amanda talks about the state of the slow fashion movement and the challenges we face as a community. And yes, we'll talk about "that Remake thing."

Read this: Slow Factory has hit reset on its climate school plans. What happened? Bella Webb, Vogue Business.

Take the Clotheshorse Secondhand Reseller Survey here.

Find this episode's transcript (and so much more) at clotheshorsepodcast.com

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses:

Episode 185: Small Business Is The Future, with Emma of BERRIEZ Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

Emma Zack of BERRIEZ is here to tell us all about the lessons she has learned over the past few years as a small business owner. She will share advice she has for all of you small business owners out there, whether you’ve been doing it for years, just getting started, or maybe just fantasizing about leaving your dumb job to work for yourself! She'll also tell us what she would like to say to the big fashion brands out there that refuse to offer plus sizes.

We'll also hear audio essays from Alyse of Curio Mrvosa, Brittany of Magdalene Clergy Dresses, and Desirée of The Pewter Thimble.

Learn more about Small Biz Big Pic.

Take the Clotheshorse Secondhand Reseller Survey here.

Find and follow everyone in this episode...

BERRIEZ: @shopberriez
Emma on the Today Show!!
shopberriez.com

CURIO MRVOSA: @curiomrvosa
curiomrvosa.com

MAGDALENE CLERGY DRESSES: @magdaleneclergydresses
magdaleneclergydresses.com

THE PEWTER THIMBLE: @thepewterthimble
thepewterthimble.com

Find this episode's transcript (and so much more) at clotheshorsepodcast.com

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses: