Summary of Overdressed

Elizabeth L. Cline

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Rating

9 Overall

8 Importance

9 Innovation

9 Style

Recommendation

Have you ever shopped for clothing at a discount store and purchased low-priced items that you thought were a bargain? If so, you are a (perhaps unwitting) participant in “fast fashion.” Consumers used to buy quality outfits that were meant to last and be repaired, but today they treat clothing as a “disposable good” that they can replace over and over. In her breezy study of the fast-fashion garment industry, Elizabeth L. Cline explains why this is a really bad idea – for garment workers, the clothing industry, the worldwide economy, the environment and, last but not least, consumers themselves. getAbstract thinks this book will inspire anyone who purchases clothing to think about the values and value chain it represents, and maybe even take a sewing class or two.

In this summary, you will learn

How “fast fashion” has taken over the garment-making industry;
Why fast fashion is bad for consumers, garment workers, the economy and the environment; and
What strategies you can use to avoid the fast-fashion trap.

About the Author

Writing by Elizabeth L. Cline has appeared in The New Republic and The Village Voice, among other publications.

Summary

Empty-Calorie Clothing
“Fast fashion” is a phenomenon that has significantly changed the clothing industry by catering to the American throwaway culture. In times past, US consumers shopped at department stores and bought their clothes perhaps twice a year, when the spring and fall collections...