Identity construction and the multiple meanings of homemade clothes in contemporary British culture

This chapter is concerned with the experience of wearing homemade clothes in contemporary British culture, and the way in which such items affect the process of identity construction. There is a lack of academic knowledge in this area; fashion theory rarely discusses homemade clothing, while craft theory primarily focuses on the process of making, rather than the use of finished items. The research involved a review of literature on fashion, making and identity, combined with primary research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven female amateur knitters, aged between 43 and 66, as the initial stage of a qualitative design research project investigating amateur making as a potential strategy for sustainable fashion. These accounts are supported by over fifty comments about wearing homemade clothes, gathered at a drop-in knitting activity. In our post- traditional world, identities are always evolving. Rather than occupying fixed roles associated with work, religion and class, we reflexively construct our identities through leisure and lifestyle. We do this through dress, using the constant shifts of fashion and the meanings associated with clothes. We also construct our identities through the activities in which we engage, such as amateur fashion making. What happens when we come to wear the items we have made? These items lack the meanings associated with brands, and the sanctioning influence of industrial manufacture. Instead, they are subject to the multiple meanings of the homemade. This research shows that homemade items can be seen romantically, as garments made with love, associated with positive self-sufficiency and hip ‘indie’ culture. Conversely, we can observe the stigma of the homemade, of ill-fitting and badly- made items associated with poverty and old-fashioned values. Given these conflicting meanings, it is unsurprising to find that many amateur makers have ambivalent feelings about wearing their homemade garments.