Book Review - Overdressed: the shockingly high cost of cheap fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline

If you need a reason to wean yourself off the 25 cheap t-shirts and skirts in your wardrobe, here is the book for you. Looking at the shift in clothing manufacture from the USA to China and other low labour cost countries, this could easily be Australia's story. The endless cycle of disposable garments has in its wake the loss of local skills, jobs and quality. Consumers are hooked on buying a lot of items at cheap rates and of poor quality. Cline surveys the economics of a generation who refuse to pay more than $20 for a jacket, and cannot sew on a button. Salutary reading. The only glimmer of light is her look at the slow clothing trend in the last chapter.

Wendy