So, my Mom, being a wonderfully endless source of reading material, recently gave me an article from the Canadian History Magazine, written by Jessica Knapp, which discussed an innovative fashion trend for rural Canadian women during the Great Depression. As I’ve been feeling rather uninspired myself lately, the article was a much needed kick in the pants to stop whinging about having nothing to wear and to re-evaluate my current situation with an open mind and a little creativity.

The article opens explaining how “dressing during the Great Depression pushed women to the seams of their creativity” (5 points for punning Jess) and forced them to create their own clothes from whatever resources were on hand. The Flour Sack Dress, as it became known, was fashioned from the raw cotton or burlap sacks in which the kitchen flour was delivered. Once emptied, women would take to the sacks with the lost art of sewing and whip them into a “Depression-era fashion item.” It wasn’t long before companies got wind of this and began to “aid the effort by printing pleasant designs, fringes and borders on the fabric.” This was taken even further when patterns for children clothes, bibs and rag dolls began appearing on the sacks as well. Now, we could look at this as an opportunistically clever marketing ploy by the flour companies to oversell their competitors, which of course existed to some degree, or, we could look at the better picture – one where industrious women and their local companies worked together to see through a devastating time, where creativity rose above materialism, and where women made something from nothing, igniting a nation wide trend that was economically supportive and appropriate for the time.

As I stare at my closet I feel incredibly humbled by this story. Since I started blogging I’ve been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of many ‘gifts’, but I often wonder if the term ‘lucky’ is the right word for it. At what point do we make do with what we have? Where do we find the balance between need and want, curbing our appetite for more, more, more? I’m not sure yet. Fashion and blogging are both my hobby and career, but this chronicle is a reminder that conservation and resourcefulness is something I need to continually think about, both inside and outside of my closet. It is also a reminder that fashion is not about competing with one another, but rather an expression of oneself. These women were not in rivalry, instead they collectively found a way to retain a sense of style throughout the Great Depression. As women, I think it’s important to remember that we all just want to look and feel good in our clothes, that we should be complementing each other on our outfit choices and encouraging strong self esteem amongst one another. You never know, we could all end up in Flour Sacks again one day… maybe that’d be good for us.

Thanks for the read Mumma, xo.

ASOS Blazer worn as a dress here

ASOS Belt (similar here and here)

Elle Louise Choker here

Acne Boots (similar here and here)

Daniel Wellington Watch here (and here)

Jasmine Dowling x Tony Bianco Clutch here

Shot by Helen Driscoll of Boho Tailor