Announcer 1> Support for "Reconnecting Roots" is provided by the following.

Muletown Coffee Roasters is all about slowing things down, digging into community, and encouraging good for goodness' sake.

Taylor Stitch is responsibly built for the long haul, and is proud to partner with brands that inspire hope for a more sustainable future.

♪ Lems Shoes.

Everything we do is done with intention, and we will never stop our endless exploration to keep your feet happy and healthy every step of the way.

Discover more with less.

The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.

Through the generosity of our members and donors, the ETV Endowment has made it possible for programs like "Reconnecting Roots" to be shared around our state and the nation for more than 45 years.

♪ Sharing a common passion for music and community in beautiful Paradise Valley, Music Ranch Montana's mission to support musicians and provide a place to enjoy it together is reflected in "Reconnecting Roots".

♪ I said ♪ ♪ It's getting hot in here, so hot ♪ ♪ So take off all your clothes ♪ ♪ I am getting so hot ♪ ♪ I wanna take ♪ Gabe> Mark Twain once said, "There is no power without clothes."

I think he may have been onto something.

(cork pops) ♪ Oh ♪ Jeff> Fashion does affect how you feel, how you project yourself.

It helps tell who you are as a story.

Gabe> From animal skins and vegetation, to man-made technology, this is how Americans and their clothing are intertwined.

♪ Oh ♪ (gentle folk music) Gabe> I'm Gabe McCauley.

Join me as we explore the greatness of America.

♪ ♪ Beautiful for spacious skies ♪ ♪ Amber waves of grain ♪ ♪ Purple mountains majesties ♪ ♪ On the fruited plains ♪ ♪ We're home ♪ ♪ There's no place like home ♪ ♪ Home ♪ ♪ Home ♪ Gabe> Tracing the roots of progress from then to now and how, this is "Reconnecting Roots".

♪ We're home, we're home ♪ (soft music) Gabe> The Berlin Wall.

Its creation in the early 1960s divided Germany into East and West, where both sides lived two very different lifestyles.

Soviet-controlled East Germany exercised a good amount of command over its people, and created an environment that the population found to be oppressive and isolating.

Announcer 2> The fact is that there is nothing but contempt for people's right to self-expression.

Gabe> East Germany tried hard to limit any Western influence on its people, including banning distinctly American clothing.

The demand for one clothing item in particular proved hard for the Communist aligned state to squash.

Levi's blue jeans.

(singing in foreign language) This American classic represented the ideas of freedom and individuality, which went against the East German government's own Communist principles.

Thanks to ever-mounting pressure, they compromised, and airlifted 600,000 pairs of Levi's jeans to sell at marked up prices to their people, but it still wasn't enough.

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 amidst a wave of revolutionary protests, many Germans at the site were noticeably clad in blue jeans, a new symbol of the end of the Cold War.

♪ Of course, America has been a leader in the fashion industry for a long time.

Clothing is about more than trends and style.

It's a tool for survival, like when it keeps us warm during the winter.

(zipper zips) Or protects us while we work.

The average household spends $1500 on apparel annually, with the average person buying 68 new clothing items in that same time.

Whether you're rocking the pinnacle of runway style, or something outright terrible, literally.

A quick trip to the local store or hopping online gives us access to virtually any type of clothing at just about any price point.

So, how do we go from having only a few outfits in the closet to clothes being so cheap they're given away as promotional items?

(soft casual music) ♪ (soft casual music continues) ♪ Jeff> So the top hat was the first helmet for the horses.

Gabe> Really?

Jeff> Because if you came off the horse, it would accordion.

Gabe> Huh.

Jeff> Protect your head.

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> Then it became in fashion, because gentlemen were riding the horses, and everybody was like, oh, I like his top hat, and they started wearing it on the streets, where obviously you didn't need a top hat.

Gabe> Right.

Jeff> You know?

Gabe> But if you weren't rich enough to afford a horse, you could pretend like you were- Jeff> Exactly.

That drives fashion.

Gabe> Designer, Jeff Garner, runs the sustainable label, Prophetic, who has tailored gowns for Taylor and styled Julia Stiles, among other celebrities, with an internationally recognized brand of fashion.

Do we have a classic American style?

Jeff> Early 1900s, 1920s, obviously we were following the tradition of European, Parisian couture culture.

Gabe> That changed quite a bit, right?

That influenced- Jeff> Yeah.

The influence of like the James Dean era, the Marlboro guy, it was all about this rebel.

Rebel America.

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> Like, we wanted to move away from what "Daddy" told us to wear.

We're going to wear denim wear, which is work wear.

Ride a motorcycle, ride a horse.

Gabe> Right.

Jeff> And get greasy and dirty, and we don't care.

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> And that spurred this whole era of getting away from formality, and these beautiful kind of traditional clothing, that I still appreciate and love.

We've been blue jeans and T-shirts since then, and now we're into pajamas that we wear on airplanes.

(Gabe laughing) (soft casual music) (waves crashing) ♪ Gabe> Before we continued the interview on fashion, Jeff insisted on getting me a fitting in a spare wetsuit, along with a crash course in surfing.

(Jeff sighs) Emphasis on crash.

♪ Jeff> Paddle, paddle, paddle!

♪ (Gabe laughs) Gabe> How well is America covered?

Jeff> I think they're over-covered.

Gabe> Over-covered?

Jeff> I mean, here's the thing.

We're still paying the same price point as we did in the 70s for T-shirts.

So everything's cheap.

So I think the hardship today, in today's society, is to try to find your character.

Like, does this shirt present who you are as Gabe the character?

Gabe> Right.

(laughing) Jeff> And if so, this beautiful Japanese indigo shirt, could be a pass down to your child?

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> And to the next generation, and it's something tangible, that that's missing, because when you have fast fashion and trends, you're just, you're chasing something.

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> Then they make things with holes in it and patches, I mean, this is 10 years of riding horses in it, to look like this, to sell, then you're like, that's not true character.

So I think there's a little epidemic with identity.

Gabe> We don't care as much anymore about dressing up, or a formality in clothing, right?

Jeff> True.

Gabe> And so there is something about our identity, if we just take the time to say, like, I'm going to wear these particular clothes to make me feel a particular way, and it does make a difference, you know?

If I put on a suit, versus sweat pants, versus, you know, shorty-shorts and a tank.

Like, it's a different identity that I'm not only presenting to the world, but maybe even for myself.

Jeff> Well, exactly.

Like, their hat, for example.

But I think when you walk in the daily life of things, people will associate what your visual, what you're wearing, to who you are.

So it does make a difference in how people treat you.

But you know, I think there is a lack of dressing up today in society, and I think when you do that, it helps tell who you are as a story.

Gabe> You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but it's hard to not do that sometimes when you see somebody wearing a particular thing.

Jeff> Yeah, I mean, we're talking about visual first impressions, right, when you're walking down the street.

I mean, they see me in this, they think I'm a poet.

Maybe, I don't know.

The reality is that yeah, people use that as their first kind of judgment call of who that person is, but there's a lot of information that's misleading.

Right.

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> That's why it's important to kind of project who you are in what you wear.

Gabe> Do clothes make the man?

Jeff> Just like my dresses are just part of it.

The woman who's wearing it, or the model, makes the other half.

It brings it to life.

Every woman that puts on one of my gowns, turns into this little girl when she always wanted to be a princess.

And I see it in her eyes, twinkle, and I'm like, wow, well you should do this more often.

Why not?

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> And I'll never forget, I had this barista, and she saved up her money to buy this gown of mine that she saw, and I gave it to her for cost, and was just like, I love it.

Do you want to wear this everyday?

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> And she did.

And just the comments she got, and the way she felt.

So yeah, I mean, absolutely.

Fashion does affect how you feel.

Gabe> Right.

Jeff> You know, how you project yourself.

(waves crashing) (soft music) ♪ (dog barking) ♪ (funky upbeat music) (police sirens wailing) (boxes crash) ♪ (police sirens wailing) (engine revving) (funky upbeat music continues) ♪ (funky upbeat music ends) Vendor> I got the best in Revolutionary style.

Dress like Washington for just a few Washingtons!

♪ Hemmer> You, uh, got a permit for selling that junk around here?

Stitch> Better yet, you got a permit to be wearing something so stuffy and horribly out of fashion?

Vendor> You call that fashion?

(funky music sting) Hemmer> Easy.

Easy.

Stitch> Fashion is all about confidence and self-expression!

Anyone can wear something this frilly.

Vendor> Listen, I'm trying to give the people what they want.

I heard the 90s are back this year.

Hemmer> Not the 1790s.

Vendor> Vintage slays.

And what's more vintage than fancy Colonial fits, my dudes?

Stitch> Fancy?

♪ Think again, Pilgrim Pete.

Back then, it was all about status.

The elites had tailored suits imported from Europe, using things like silks and satins.

Hemmer> And the lower classes made their clothes at home out of linen, wool, cotton.

Nothing, uh, fancy about it.

Vendor> When did cotton stop being fancy?

Stitch> A long time ago.

And we can tell you all about it.

Back at the station!

(exciting music) (soft music) Gabe> The history of cotton is a bit wrinkly, but it may be helpful to air its dirty laundry.

Cotton grew easily in the Southern colonies, and to a smaller degree in Virginia.

It's an industry built on the backs of slave labor.

They picked the raw cotton, which was then shipped to the textile producers back in England, and, in turn, made up nearly 40% of what England exported.

The cotton industry grew significantly during the Industrial Revolution, partly thanks to inventions like the spinning ginny and the spinning mule, which increased productivity more than a hundredfold, and of course, the big invention was Eli Whitney's cotton gin, which could separate the seeds and fibers from cotton mechanically.

These advancements helped cotton textiles be produced more easily than linen, wool, or silk.

As a result, it had the greatest market out of all of them.

By the 1850s, these fabrics weren't just being sewed by hands, but by machines.

These inventions unlocked a whole new level of mass production for clothing, bedding, upholstery, and other home goods.

With more clothes available for sale, prices came down, and made it affordable for more families, and since most people still made their clothes at home, sewing machines eventually became a household staple, helping to save time and produce even more apparel for the family.

♪ We'll be right back after these messages.

Announcer 3> Introducing Reconnecting Roots couture, the clothing line for all generations.

Tap into the 1800s mom-core style, representing the average American who made clothes for the whole family, because tailors were still too expensive.

More of a fan of denim?

Check out our factory worker line, modeled after the original denim worn nearly 100 years before it became popular with the rest of America.

Also available in farmer and miner options.

How do you get these looks?

By using the original method of getting clothes to your doorstep, our mail order catalog.

Weighing close to 50 pounds, it's got thousands of pages of the not-so-latest trends.

If you want to look like a million bucks, ♪ shop somewhere else, because these fits are all secondhand.

♪ Reconnecting Roots Couture.

♪ (record reversing) ("Vogue" by Madonna") ♪ Strike the pose ♪ ♪ ♪ Vogue, vogue, vogue ♪ ♪ ♪ Look around ♪ ♪ Everywhere you turn is heartache ♪ ♪ It's everywhere that you go, look around ♪ ♪ You try everything you can to escape ♪ ♪ The pain of life that you know, life that you know ♪ ♪ When all else fails and you long to be ♪ ♪ Something better than you are today ♪ ♪ ♪ I know a place where you can get away ♪ ♪ It's called a dance floor ♪ ♪ And here's what it's for ♪ ♪ So come on, vogue ♪ ♪ Vogue ♪ ♪ Let your body move to the music ♪ ♪ Move to the music, hey, hey, hey ♪ ♪ Come on, vogue ♪ ♪ Vogue ♪ ♪ Let your body go with the flow ♪ ♪ Go with the flow ♪ ♪ You can do it ♪ ♪ Vogue, vogue, vogue, vogue ♪ ♪ Vogue, vogue, vogue, vogue ♪ ♪ Vogue, vogue ♪ ♪ Go with the flow ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ You've got to ♪ ♪ Let your body move to the music ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ You've got to just ♪ ♪ Let your body go with the flow ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ You've got to just ♪ ♪ ♪ Vogue, vogue, vogue, vogue ♪ (gentle music) Gabe> The 20th century was a time of dizzying style and new innovations, and spanned across the globe.

During the 1940s, trends migrated across the Atlantic as New York became the new fashion capital of the world.

But as families left for the suburbs, they brought a more casual wardrobe with them.

♪ Meanwhile, scientists from Dupont introduced the world to the first artificial fiber.

Nylon took the country by storm, proving not only to be an affordable substitute for silk, but a fashion designer's dream.

Nylon apparel exploded, and as women embraced the reusable fabric, the sale of washing machines tripled.

Dupont followed this up by introducing acrylic, spandex, and polyester, with the 1970s being dubbed the Polyester Decade.

On the opposite end of the country, Hollywood was influencing fashion, and became the face of glamour to the masses.

Women aspired for the elegance of Audrey Hepburn, or Farrah Fawcett, while men took their cues from James Dean and Robert Redford.

But it was hard to look like a star without breaking the bank, well, until manufacturing moved overseas to countries that could make clothing at far cheaper prices than the states.

(jazzy upbeat music) In the 1960s, the amount of clothing manufactured in the US was at 95%.

By 1980, it had decreased to 50%.

Today, it's at 2%.

Clothes made in the US have all but disappeared.

(soft music) (casual uplifting music) ♪ Jeff> I got you a hemp silk waistcoat.

Gabe> So what is this?

This isn't poly.

Jeff> That's hemp.

Gabe> These are all natural materials?

Jeff> Yeah, in Tennessee, we actually grew, go under, yeah.

Can tell you haven't worn fitted clothes in a while.

(Gabe laughing) We used to grow a lot of hemp in Tennessee.

We can make our own biofuel off of hemp.

Hemp is the strongest fiber that has the highest tensile strength.

It's the most breathable.

It makes dyes better.

It's like the super fabric.

(gentle guitar music) Gabe> Jeff invited me to his Tennessee farm for another fitting, this time in clothing he made using sustainable material, before leading me into the woods to forage for bark, leaves, and springwater to make natural dyes.

Jeff> Do you want to do this, or do you want me to do this?

Gabe> Yeah, well show me.

Show me what we need to do here.

Jeff> You want to get the top layer as best you can.

If you get bigger chips, that's fine.

♪ See, you get the whole thing?

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> That's good.

♪ Gabe> That's definitely full of color.

When we're talking about sustainable fashion, what does that even mean?

Jeff> You start with fabric.

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> So you want natural fibers.

You want plant-based dyes.

You don't want synthetic dyes, right?

Those are the two most important factors.

Gabe> Several generations ago, when we were making clothing, it all would've been sustainable at some level, right?

I mean- Jeff> Well, it was all natural fibers is all they had.

And they were using, like we did today, foraging for their dyes, what they had around them.

Gabe> So, some of the irony in that now is how dependent we are on other countries.

Because at some point, it was like, wait, we can do it cheaper over there, or maybe we don't want to deal with the chemicals and the potential for hazards here, so let's just send it off to China, or wherever.

Jeff> The reason why it was moved obviously is because of just the regulations.

So they were basically coming down on certain, like in the food industry, certain food colorings weren't allowed anymore.

Same with clothing.

They said you can only have X amount of formaldehyde, X amount of this, X amount of that.

So then they moved it overseas, and so therefore, there's no regulations there, so now you don't know how much of that formaldehyde is in it, and it's probably over the legal limit.

All right.

Gabe> This is all it takes?

You just go in your backyard and find stuff?

Jeff> The reason why I'm into it, because imagine synthetic dyes, what they're made of, heavy metals, formaldehyde.

They're gnarly for your health.

But everyone uses it because you literally pick a color, like you pick a number.

Say I want red 101.

Gabe> Right.

Jeff> You put it in a machine, it spits out dye.

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> And it costs, like, 10 cents.

But the beauty is like here, like this.

♪ I can drink my dye.

♪ Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> They can't drink their dyes.

Gabe> I don't know if I can, but.

Jeff> Yeah.

♪ Gabe> Tastes like water.

Jeff> They've outlawed some older dyes, like you heard about the green emerald dress, because of the arsenic to make that emerald green.

Gabe> Wow.

Jeff> They didn't study what it does to the body.

Gabe> You know, today we make clothes like someone would've generations ago.

We're foraging, we're finding the stuff to make natural dyes using natural fibers.

But how many other people are doing that today?

Jeff> There are companies even in Tennessee, they're building a powder formula plant-based dye so that it can work with commercial machinery.

Gabe> But we're pretty used to the price point.

Jeff> People are addicted to that.

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> You know, to go about convenience.

Look at Amazon.

Gabe> Right.

Jeff> Everybody wants everything tomorrow.

How do we break that addiction cycle?

How do we go back to the old ways?

How do we care that you personally dyed that today?

What has to happen is simply policies are set in saying hey, these gnarly chemicals that are in the synthetic dyes and fabrication are harmful.

Gabe> Right.

Jeff> We're making them illegal like they did in the food industry.

Gabe> Yeah.

Jeff> And then people have to use better ingredients.

(soft music) ♪ (intriguing music) Suspect> Look, there must be some kind of mistake.

I don't even know why I'm here.

Hemmer> You don't think it has something to do with your, uh, store selling fast fashion?

Suspect>(scoffing) Never heard of it.

Stitch> Oh really?

♪ Suspect> A hundred billion clothing items are made each year.

60% of those will be discarded within 12 months.

♪ Where'd you get that from?

Stitch> Let's just say snitches got Stitch's attention.

Suspect> I'm going to sell cheap clothes that'll be replaced in the next week when some new trend pops up.

I love fast fashion.

(slams recorder) Stitch> Boo ya!

(recorder smashes) (Detective Stitch yelping) Hemmer> We've been seeing this stuff up on the streets for what, uh, decades now, Stitch?

Stitch> Oh yeah.

But unlucky for you, its scrutiny has been recent.

We know you've been importing it from overseas where labor is cheap, and the working conditions are substandard, shall we say?

Hemmer> What's more, that fabric that makes up a sorry excuse of a garment, accounts for 35% of the micro plastics contaminating our ocean.

♪ Suspect> Customers pay us hundreds of billions of dollars a year for these looks.

Stitch> At the expense of the environment and workers' lives!

Suspect> What do you expect me to do?

Stop?

Stitch> Uh, yeah.

Put on your big boy pants and sell something more sustainable.

Hemmer> Clothes don't suit you, anyway.

Pants are too tight.

Shoulders are bunched.

Stitch> You ever heard of a tailor?

♪ (Detective Stitch yipping) Wah!

(Detective Stitch shrieks) (suspect grunting) Suspect> Ow!

Hemmer> Cuff him!

Gabe> Having seen the negative effects of producing cheap clothing, more and more companies have made conscious efforts to source responsibly and produce locally, therefore providing jobs and building up their communities.

Younger generations are helping as well.

2010 through 2020 saw a surge in the popularity of sewing, thrifting, and repurposing vintage clothes.

These skills, which were traditionally passed down through generations, are now also being taught through tutorials on YouTube, podcasts, and social media, making them more accessible than ever.

♪ The clothes we wear are a lot more than just fabric on our bodies.

♪ They can carry memories.

(camera shutter clicks) Or be passed down from one family member to the next.

♪ But mostly, clothing and fashion is a fun and unique form of self expression that can be whatever you want it to be.

♪ Whether you're sporting the latest haute couture, or wearing your grandpa's tweed jacket, dressing like yourself will always be in style.

(music fades) (bluesy upbeat music) ♪ (bluesy upbeat music continues) ♪ ♪ Snake skin boots, cigarette ♪ ♪ Don't act like we never met ♪ ♪ Diamond watch, new three piece ♪ ♪ Won't be caught in old blue jeans ♪ ♪ Hey now ♪ ♪ Who made your little britches ♪ ♪ Hey now ♪ ♪ Who made your little britches Your mama cut 'em out ♪ ♪ And your daddy sewed the stitches ♪ ♪ Now you walk around ♪ ♪ Got a pocket full of riches ♪ ♪ Hey now ♪ ♪ Who made your little britches ♪ ♪ Hey now ♪ ♪ Who made your little britches ♪ ♪ Your mama cut 'em out ♪ ♪ And your daddy sewed the stitches ♪ ♪ Now you walk around ♪ ♪ Got a pocket full of riches ♪ ♪ ♪ Far from home, feeling rough ♪ ♪ I'll be there to patch you up ♪ ♪ Limousine, cameras flash ♪ ♪ Think of me when people ask ♪ ♪ Hey now, who made your little britches ♪ ♪ Hey now ♪ ♪ Who made your little britches ♪ ♪ Your mama cut 'em out ♪ ♪ And your daddy sewed the stitches ♪ ♪ Now you walk around, got a pocket full of riches ♪ ♪ Hey now ♪ ♪ Who made your little britches ♪ ♪ Hey now ♪ ♪ Who made your little britches ♪ ♪ Your mama cut 'em out ♪ ♪ And your daddy sewed the stitches ♪ ♪ Now you walk around ♪ ♪ Got a pocket full of riches ♪ (song ends ) (soft folk music) ♪ Gabe> Connect with me, Gabe McCauley, and "Reconnecting Roots" by visiting ReconnectingRoots.com, where you'll find music, blogs, behind the scenes, and more.

Join our email list to stay reconnected.

♪ Announcer> Support for "Reconnecting Roots" is provided by the following.

Muletown Coffee Roasters is all about slowing things down, digging into community, and encouraging good for goodness' sake.

Taylor Stitch is responsibly built for the long haul, and is proud to partner with brands that inspire hope for a more sustainable future.

Lems Shoes.

Everything we do is done with intention, and we will never stop our endless exploration to keep your feet happy and healthy every step of the way.

Discover more with less.

The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.

Through the generosity of our members and donors, the ETV Endowment has made it possible for programs like "Reconnecting Roots" to be shared around our state and the nation for more than 45 years.

♪ Sharing a common passion for music and community in beautiful Paradise Valley, Music Ranch Montana's mission to support musicians and provide a place to enjoy it together is reflected in "Reconnecting Roots".

(bright music) (APT chime)