Buying a Knockoff of My Own Dress: An Educated Roast (actual fire used for Scientific Purposes)
Video Overview & Insights
I mentioned a few wonderful ethical/slow fashion brands and small artists, which you should definitely go check out! Also leave some of your faves (or yourself!) below, because hurrah for excellent craftsfolk. :)
Apologies to all of you suffering through this video after having it assault your recommendations senselessly and for utterly 0 reason, but here we all are. 😬🤔
Fancy Fairy Wings & Things
https://www.fancyfairy.com/
IG https://www.instagram.com/fancyfairyangela/
YT https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxGiUjep8KiihvHldRousPA
Thank you for teaching me something new :> Learn more about fast fashion and good quality clothes.
The blog post explaining the situation: https://www.fancyfairy.com/news/2019/11/4/kylie-jenners-fairy-wings-infringe-on-my-copyright-protected-kira-wings-design
Vanyanis
One of my favorite slow fashion brands for skirts and dresses is Maya Kern! She & her team work tirelessly to ensure their work is produced ethically and with quality materials. They're very size inclusive and every skirt & dress has pockets big enough to fit a Nintendo Switch. And they're GORGEOUS. They collab with different artists all the time and I absolutely love the skirts I have from them!
www.vanyanis.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/vanyanis/
Your dress is a dream
I didn’t directly mention them, but one of the brands most heavily stolen from by the same website was Armstreet; I actually have several pieces from them and can personally recommend!
www.armstreet.com
ohh bernadette’s accent has changed a lot !
IG https://www.instagram.com/armstreetcom/
Not mentioned, but as always a shout to my faves at American Duchess, small-scale historical reproduction footwear:
I am watching this while badly up cycle an old pair of jeans into a pleated denim skirt with my lousy beginner skills.
www.americanduchess.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/americanduchess/
As designers i think we need to specifally just out and name the barnds that do this
YT https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLNaVKBl4EskUQUXWRZkew
Barrage of Footnotes (or: some interesting reads on the impacts of fast fashion):
If it's cheap, it's more than likely trash.
[1] Original gown reference: “Saint George Slaying the Dragon” by Jost Haller, c. 1450. Unterlinden Museum. Digital image from Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jost_Haller_-
[2] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2019/633143/EPRS_BRI(2019)633143_EN.pdf
I know this video is 5 years old at this point but if anyone stumbles on this comment I think something Bernadette didn't touch on in this video is the modern idea that it's somehow shameful to wear the same outfit not even just 2 days in a row but sometimes twice within the same week, even if it's completely clean. A lot of people have bought into this idea that you NEED to have an extensive wardrobe so you can have a different outfit every day for about 2 weeks when historically, working class people maybe had 2 or 3 outfits, if that, and maybe one nice dress or suit which would have been passed down for generations until it wore out or somehow got destroyed. That would be unthinkable to a large majority of people in our modern "Is that the same thing you wore yesterday?" era
[3] https://unfccc.int/news/un-helps-fashion-industry-shift-to-low-carbon
[4] https://www.planetaid.org/blog/lessening-the-harmful-effects-of-the-clothing-industry
Very sad for artists and small business owners. China is famous for stealing ideas and products for Temu and Shein. I watch tons of Chinese dramas and you all would be shocked at how much music is used in the dramas that is from other countries and other artists that are not Chinese. Sometimes it is the exact song and most the time it is a song with sections of music that is not theirs. People have tried to sue and stop these thieves.... but it is pretty much impossible to stop the CCP.
[5] https://nerc.org/news-and-updates/blog/nerc-blog/2018/01/02/lets-take-on-industry-polluter-2
[6] https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-04-03/fashion-environmental-impact-of-your-favourite-textiles/9382382
The worst part is $50 is not cheap AT ALL for that quality. That is a $2 job at best
[7] https://quantis-intl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/measuringfashion_globalimpactstudy_quantis_2018.pdf
[8] https://www.shoutoutuk.org/2018/11/13/the-impact-of-textile-manufacturing-on-the-environment/
Listening to this rant as I’m cutting apart and resewing a female kimono into a men’s kimono because I can and women’s kimono are more prevalent
[9] https://vimeo.com/193725563?fbclid=IwAR1k4JIs8i2Ta_XBE5ENDmdBRE_QaxEoWqzCfq3aXABSHENP3aKkMSJtmY0
[10] https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/old-environmental-impacts
Modern clothes are so often made of crappy fabric. I'm learning to make my own because I just don't like what's available.
[11] https://hellohomestead.com/the-impact-of-textiles-and-clothing-industry-on-the-environment/
[12] https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics
I really want to hear from the seamstresses who worked at this crap
[13] https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/jun/23/five-ways-fashion-damages-the-planet
[14] https://www.unece.org/info/media/presscurrent-press-h/forestry-and-timber/2018/un-alliance-aims-to-put-fashion-on-path-to-sustainability/doc.html
I bought an AI generated origami cat project for $5.00 as a stocking stuffer for my daughter. It didn’t work! I had no idea there were AI generated “real” products. The family had a good laugh and I let Chat GPT know I was disappointed in him 🤣
[15] https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/timber/meetings/2018/20180716/UN_Partnership_on_Sustainable_Fashion_programme_as_of_6-7-2018.pdf
[16] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/earth-day-2019-fashion-industrys-carbon-impact-is-bigger-than-airline-industrys/
Another thing to do with stuff like this is fill punching bags so think about that if u are going to throw something away
[17] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/books/review/how-fast-fashion-is-destroying-the-planet.html
[18] https://www.greenchoices.org/green-living/clothes/environmental-impacts
you should read Marx, he'll explain how we ended up here
[19] https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/03/1035161
[20] https://truecostmovie.com/learn-more/environmental-impact/
Coming back to this video in 2026 and all of what you said can also be said when comparing human-made art to generated AI slop. Up to the environmental arguments and the "fast-fashion" mindsed we have. This is so eerie.
[21] https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/full-report.html#heading-7
[22] https://medium.com/@klas_apparel_entrepreneurship/the-environmental-impact-of-fashion-e3f4b8fa2b23
I don't know if you would be interested in doing so, but many museums are ruining, have run, or plan to run exhibition pieces both on historic fashion and the damage that fast fashion causes. I would contact a museum local to you and ask them if they have any interest in having both products as an exhibit. I think it would help for people to be able to see the two side-by-side.
[23] https://www.academia.edu/31488011/Waste_Couture_Environmental_Impact_of_the_Clothing_Industry
[24] https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2019/09/12/fast-facts-about-fast-fashion/
Welp its now Jan. 2026 & the ugly repeater is AI. ❓ Question- HOW WOULD THE DRESS YOU MADE BE CLEANED THEN & TODAY??
[25] Page 78: “never wait for a hole”. Agnes Walker, ’Manual of Needlework and Cutting Out’ https://archive.org/details/krl00366374/page/n245
Want to get started with hand sewing?
that dress is awfully ugly looks nothing like your excellent gown these people are evil and greedy
🧵
🕯Check out my Skillshare original course, “Hand Sewing Basics: Working Wonders with Fabric, Needle & Thread”. To sign up for a free trial and take the class, visit https://skl.sh/bernadettebanner1
If Batman had been filmed today, Michelle Pfeiffer would have ordered her costume from Amazon, not made it. :'(
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Beyond YouTube:
I got a pair of cargo pants from American eagle three and a half years ago. It’s probably my favorite pants to wear in the summer because the cotton is so lightweight, but since last year at least the waistband has been falling apart and I’ve been using my very basic knowledge of sewing to keep them alive and even added some black stars to knee for a bit of my teenage flair
IG @bernadettebanner http://www.instagram.com/bernadettebanner
Management contact for business enquiries:
Your original dress, with the metal belt, the undergarment, the metal hooks, long sleeves...resemble traditional Caucasus dresses for weddings. Caucasus meaning Ossetia, Georgia, Adighy and some other smaller areas...you made a very well finished dress.
bernadette@helmtalentgroup.com
https://bernadettebanner.co.uk/
Six years later here, what did you end up doing with the abomination?
MUSIC:
Marty Gots a Plan Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Peak modern fashion design: plastic sack.
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
As a costume for a costume party sure . Knock offs can be good for people that ca,nt afford the 200 plus one you made but damne ther could have asked you
More User Perspectives
Cozy season means time for my annual rewatch :) yay!
@KuiperBeltLoopAI generated dress
@Leo_nessCapitalism is a cancer.
@chickadeeacres3864Thank you for educating us.
@jittisoolt5927My mom used to make these girls' hair accessories called Felt Fuzzies a long time ago and it was funny watching the cheap crappy knock offs try to compete. She eventually stopped the business because it became a hassle as each one was made by hand.
@jacobyin5320for an idea of how much work handweaving is, i wove about 3x3 inches in plain weave while watching this
@leonardodavinci3589China steals every design from the West. Here is the truth. Most Chinese are COPYCATS. incapable of true talents. They have no true talents, no originality, no imagination, and no creativity. They don't even have initiative. Chinese are REPRESSED and OPPRESSED by their ugly memories of tiger mothers, draconian fathers, abusive teachers, etc.
@ritageraghty3261I did not realise it was the same dress. Keep sewing for your online friends and you wear your beautiful clothes. I can tell a knock off. I can tell a knock off. They just hand on you. No shape, fabrics hang wrong, shoulders slip. I feel like I’m wearing my nightdress.
@colleenwilliams1452.. ..I guess they expected you to be a bit chubby 😉
@cheesecake-f4d5zSo beautiful dress 👗👗
@Tara_Chand_videoIt's made in China that explains the quality
It's better to wear something authentic and genuine rather than a cheap cloth for 1 time use
I see I later videos you have cavies, you could use the fabric from the dress to add layers and padding to liners! I wouldn’t use it as a layer that is near them but for habitat liners that could go between the top layer and the absorbing layer to add extra softness and padding! Although if your cavies are as destructive as my rats were I would be concerned about them eating pieces but I know rats tend to not swallow fabric. But there’s always a small risk that your animal will (whether on accident or due to pica) so proceed with knowledge and caution.
@rebeccajesse4604You're very knowledgeable on subject matter
@amandaswaffield791I sympathize with the "no commissions" thing. Fairly often, when people learn I can knit and crochet, they'll ask if I can make them something, and I'm never sure what to say. I take a lot longer to make things than other people I know who do fiber arts because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I like to make sure all of my stitches are perfectly straight and even, so my pieces take longer than normal. For reference, I was really proud of making a mini backpack in 4 days (no breaks except eating dinner and sleeping). That was considered quick for me
@austing2473The background through your window in the first shot is so so beautiful
@asjassaunders721As for that place you got this beautiful pattern from, it was HERjolfs-nes.
Both of those e's are like the ee in "beer". The o is like the o in "fond".
But don't be embarrassed, most modern Scandinavian people wouldn't do much better. Our languages have moved on pretty far from what they spoke in Greenland back then, and now that entire branch of North Germanic is gone. Icelandic is pretty close, of course, but not exactly the same.
I clicked on this video just to see the title and here I am realizing it 15:02
@nihilmyx7636For a parameter to handsewn to machine time, a male shirt takes five minutes of specialized machines to sew all the parts. Yes, each of the main parts would need a different machine, but machines decrease immensely the labor-hours involved in garment production.
@mustavogaia2655Those buttons are a type of Chinese knots called "pipa knot". They just seems so oddly well made in context of the whole dress. I could almost see that the seamstress has these knots bulk ordered along with many other knots and buttons. After they made the dress super fast, they threw in these knots to add some "elegance" or "cultural touch", which is just sad to watch...
@vickyhuang9817She's like...classy pretty.
Also why was this recommended to me? Lol
Your enunciation is immaculate. Je l'aime.
@duckydoodles42When I lived in sw Florida I was a construction mgr and had my suits made by a French tailor who made the suits of all the local lawyers and drs. I’m tall for a girl and was skinnier then so finding clothes that fit was a problem. For $1-$3k depending on the fabrics I chose and the extras he would make me a suit jacket, a vest which I often wore without the jacket bc Florida is hot as hell y’all, a skirt, a pair of shorts, and 5 shirts to go with the actual suit parts. He was amazing. The suits were amazing. We chose a lot of lightweight wool and I still have some with my name stitched in them tho I donated most as I no longer work, but I got so many compliments on my clothes. I worked for a company that was consistently making 50 plus million dollar construction contracts and we were expected to look the part. I kind of miss dressing up. I sew, quilt, crochet, knit, do embroidery, and I’ve just started to learn visible mending, boro, & sashiko. I’m 58 and YouTube is the best thing ever for learning new things. Kids these days have no idea how easy they have it for learning new things. lol. I used to drive or fly to other states to take quilting classes with masters. I love ur channel. I am hearing impaired so I appreciate that you enunciate your words so well. You sound like a classically trained actor or theater kid. Thx for the videos. Peace and blessings.
@sometimesiwander7146