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5 - Sewing Shops

Materialising Individuality through Imitation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2026

Juliet Gilbert
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
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Summary

Chapter 5 examines the popularity of sewing shops and apprenticeships amongst fashion-conscious young women on tight budgets. Focusing on materiality, the chapter develops the book’s discussion of how uncertainty is employed in future-making strategies by considering how young women engage with counterfeit commodities and use skilful artistry to reveal – or bring forth in material form – the individuals they believe God intends them to be. Focusing on young women’s desire for bespoke clothes, which they often create for themselves after learning how to sew, the chapter highlights how young women avoid clothes sold in the market not because they are fakes or imitations of global brands but because, as mass-produced commodities, they deny young women their uniqueness and risk making them a counterfeit of someone else. As the chapter explores, making bespoke clothes that are fashionable does not depend only on individual inspiration but, ironically, requires young women to carefully imitate others’ designs. Detailing how young women make clothes by skilfully copying current trends and mirroring the contours of their own bodies, the chapter discusses the art and ethics of imitation.

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  • Sewing Shops
  • Juliet Gilbert, University of Birmingham
  • Book: Fashioning Futures
  • Online publication: 16 March 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009618540.006
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  • Sewing Shops
  • Juliet Gilbert, University of Birmingham
  • Book: Fashioning Futures
  • Online publication: 16 March 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009618540.006
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Sewing Shops
  • Juliet Gilbert, University of Birmingham
  • Book: Fashioning Futures
  • Online publication: 16 March 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009618540.006
Available formats
×