Made in China

From luxury label to fast fashion casualty

Imagine this: you’re a professional seamstress, passionate and skilled. Last week, your daughter went out in a dress you made for her, inspired by her favorite singer. A box sits at the top of your closet full of old sketchbooks, pages filled with thousands of other designs you never had the chance to bring to life. When you get to work, you clock in and sit on a low, hard chair between your coworkers. As far as you can see, everyone around you is sewing the same top, a lifeless garment made of a static-y polyester that clings to your arm hair. Your sewing is sloppy and uneven as you rush to fulfill an impossible quota, loose threads hanging from one shirt as you hastily move it out of the way to start another.

Three weeks later, thousands of miles away, an American teenager picks up that polyester top from a crumpled pile under the harsh lighting of a department store. “Ew,” she says, lifting it up for her friend to see. They both giggle as she puts the shirt back down. They obviously don’t buy it. Nobody does.

To many Americans, “Made in China” immediately conjures up ideas of cheap, poorly made goods. Some people avoid the label altogether, going out of their way to buy whatever version of the thing they’re looking for made anywhere else. I’m certainly not here to try and convince you that most of the products imported from China are actually great, but I did want to touch on the xenophobia and Sinophobia inherent in this idea. The poor quality products manufactured in countries like China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam are entirely the fault of the companies and consumers (mostly Western) that demand that poor quality product. Our growing desire for newer, faster, cheaper clothing has been exploited by corporations and governments to completely devalue the labor of garment workers. “Made in China” isn’t the problem - capitalism and consumerism is.

Working in vintage fashion has exposed me to the incredible quality and craftsmanship of clothing and accessories made by Chinese artisans and seamstresses. When it comes to vintage, Made in China is exactly what I’m looking for. Made in China means beautiful, well-made, extraordinarily detailed pieces. The garment industry has changed completely in the last 50 years, and understanding that history plays a key part in understanding what the Made in China label means today.

Today’s letter walks you through the last half century of the Made in China label, and the various factors that have created such a shift with each passing decade. I’m including economic and geopolitical context to give a broader understanding of how and why these changes happened, along with things to look for as a vintage buyer to help date and identify your Made in China pieces.