Are we ruining old things?

Over the past few years, the internet has seen a surge in people finding old antique furniture, thrift shopping, and using Facebook marketplace to find pre-loved clothes. Although some interior or fashion styles have people simply use these items as is, others have people using their creative and crafty skills to change the original item into something that is trendier or more in line with their personal style.

A second-hand chest of drawers I bought recently from the British Heart Foundation. As you can see, I didn’t do anything to change it because I thought it was beautiful as is!

In the world of interior design, furniture up-cyclers change the items in a variety of ways from simply stripping. re-staining, and adding new hardware to a wooden item, to changing the piece entirely through more complex DIY techniques and (in the most controversial of the up-cyclers choices) painting the original wood to popular colours such as black, deep greens, and navy.

In fashion, up-cyclers can look like anything from cropping a t shirt to completely transforming one into a Y2K crop top and skirt set. In more controversial areas of the short-form video world, some content creators find old vintage pieces and change them in more drastic ways such as using material from 80s dresses to create a more trendy mini-dress or dying a vintage dress.

But not everyone thinks this creativity is all good, with some saying that these creators are “ruining” the original pieces.

Part of this debate is fuelled by the increase of information from experts that TikTok provides. Previously, if you decided to paint your grandmother’s chest of drawers, you’d simply be met by perhaps a few compliments from friends who visit your house or criticism from a disgruntled aunt who thought she should have gotten the chest in the first place.

Through the culture of sharing expert or semi-expert opinion on TikTok, however, your DIY could find itself in the feed of antique aficionados, museum curators, or even opinionated hobbyists. In many ways this can be a great aspect of contemporary internet culture. On a bigger scale, this meant that when Kim Kardashian wore the Marilyn Monroe dress to the MET gala, everyone seemed to suddenly be an expert on the ethics of wearing and altering vintage fashion pieces. (Everyone that is, except for Ripley’s Believe it or Not who loaned Kim K the dress or Kim K herself). This isn’t because everyone had spent hours studying the preservation of history in school, but because they had learnt from a few viral TikTok videos that this was a controversial move in preservation spaces.

Back to the everyday DIYer, many have been recently found in a debate on what is considered acceptable and unacceptable forms of DIY to old things. There are two basic aspects it seems these experts are highlighting. First, the age and importance of the original piece. Second, the level of changes made (and whether they are reversible).

In the case of the Marilyn Monroe dress, many have pointed out that this particular dress is historically notable, being the dress Marilyn wore when singing Happy Birthday to John F Kennedy and therefore should be preserved for future generations of study. In addition, although no alterations were made to the dress purposely, they argue that Kim K wearing the old and delicate piece on her body that did not naturally fit into it, led to it being altered and “ruined.”

In a recent TikTok, creator Anna Molinari dyed a sequinned white wedding dress she found on Poshmark black to wear to a casino-themed party. In a video reply, Costume Designer, Fashion Historian and TikToker JessCroninDesigns argued that

“ethical up-cycle involves making a garment better, prolonging the longevity of the garment and in the case of historical or antique items, making sure that the garment does not lose its cultural history.” She continued on to say that “people are up-cycling historical and vintage clothing and making them trending living with the current concept of trendy” and that it was possible to wear the original piece in a more modern, trendy way, without altering the piece irreversibly.

Similarly, wooden pieces of furniture are stripped and stained frequently and this can be a normal aspect of furniture maintenance . However, painting furniture and other drastic changes can devalue furniture or make it much harder to restore to their original look. Many furniture flippers find their videos full of comments like “it’s a crime that you paint antique furniture” and “don’t paint antique furniture.” One commenter going against the grain on a video by HandPaintedByCookie said “They act like you broke in & painted THEIR antique furniture.”

What’s the alternative?

But what would happen if these two DIYers chose not to buy their products? In some cases, there might be another buyer out there who wants the piece as originally is, but in most cases furniture and clothes will just keep sitting there in a thrift shop or eventually in some sort of landfill. According to the North London Waste Authority, 22 million pieces of furniture are thrown away every year and less than 1 in 10 people attempt to repair or change their furnishings to extend their life span. This forms the basis of the counter-argument to these experts. In a 2022 article from the Telegraph, “only about 30 percent of donations are actually resold within the UK” with the remainder either not being suitable for resale or simply not being sold on the shop floor.

This is the counter argument proposed by fans of more aggressive forms of up-cycling. Simply put, we should be able to alter things as we’d like because there’s plenty to go around and better to ensure things aren’t going to waste.

My opinion

It is good to learn about the importance of respecting history, antiques, and preserving old things. According to a recent Business of Fashion report on Gen Z, one thing that distinguishes Gen Z from previous generations is the amount of information they have access to and the ease with which they navigate this information. In terms of our consumption and behaviours, it’s good to be open to learning more and reflecting on whether our habits are good. In some cases, this might mean some people decide to opt for alternations to their thrift finds that stay truer to the original piece. But at the same time,

We cannot hold everyday people to the same level as museums especially when there are so many old things (furniture and clothing) going to waste.

We should encourage people to buy second hand because it’s better for the environment and because these pieces are often better quality than what one can buy new. If we create a culture of criticism around making changes to things you buy, I worry that people will feel too worried about backlash to up-cycle and change pieces so that they can be used for their own personal styles.

Of course there are lines- and I understand that especially for clothes from certain eras which are few in number and harder to find, history lovers want to make sure they are preserved for future study. However, this is usually the minority of pieces. If we continue the trend of the internet being used for the spread of information and education about things like ethics in antiques and fashion preservation without shaming amateur DIYers, we can create a future where we care for old things and have the skills and knowledge to do so. Up-cycling is good and taking care of things is good. Let’s start there.