By GRETA OHAUS and ELENI TOUBANOS
ET: I would say that roughly 60 percent of the time I’m wearing something that belongs to Greta.
GO: I absolutely love when you borrow my clothes! Of course there are some special things I don’t lend out — borrowing someone else’s sentimental jewelry is kind of weird anyway — but I like my closet to get as much exposure as possible.
ET: It still baffles me how we can borrow from one another despite our four inch height difference. Very Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants of us.
GO: I know it’s weird, but I think that’s the magic about lending and borrowing clothes — they can have a totally different vibe or style depending on who’s wearing them. Borrowing and lending clothes is a great part of friendship.
ET: I’m a bit more selfish than you are. I only lend out my clothes to people I trust. Shocked I still let you borrow my clothes after the whole red dress thing sophomore year…
GO: Oh God… Still so sorry about that. It’s one thing to get a little stain here and there, that’s what dry cleaning is for after all, but I can’t believe it was ripped at the sides seams and stained all down the front. Shoutout to the boy who poured half a handle of Svedka on me.
ET: For future reference, you’re supposed to soak the stain out. I’m actually glad you decided to be innovative and return the dress as a cool top. You re-invented it, isn’t that kind of what fashion is about?
GO: Trying to make it into something wearable, like a cool shirt, was the least I could do because you INSISTED I didn’t buy you a replacement dress. Still offering to get you one btw.
ET: Don’t worry about it. Can I just have eternal borrowing privileges?
GO: Of course! You can keep borrowing from me even when I’m 97 living in a retirement home somewhere really chic like Switzerland. You’ve got great borrowing etiquette!
Greta and Eleni’s Guide to Borrowing:
- You should ask first. Unless you have secured a symbiotic relation like the one we have established.
- Don’t expect to borrow if you aren’t willing to lend out yourself.
- Don’t borrow anything that you don’t feel comfortable replacing (i.e. a family heirloom).
- Don’t hesitate to let the whole party know exactly who you borrowed from!
- Return the borrowed article in the same condition. Here is where things get tricky:
- Ask the lender if and how they would like it cleaned (standard washer and dryer, dry cleaned or colonial wash board)
- If the item you borrowed requires a little more attention (ie: stained, ripped, zipper problems, missing buttons or just goes missing) there are a couple of things you can do:
- Buy the lender an equivalent replacement
- Fix it yourself, ask a friend or even a stranger for help (Greta has actually been approached by someone to fix a ripped dress #fashionmajorthings)
- If a borrowed item cannot be revived, be honest and discuss a compromise. If it’s a good lender and friend, they should be understanding.
Borrowing extends past the less-than-glamorous lives of two college girls. Magazines borrow from stylists. Stylists borrow from designers. Designers borrow ideas from history, art and culture. The exchange is multi-faceted and controversy can follow; however, if the world is not willing to share, nothing new and debatably beautiful would be created. Tread carefully though, as seen a la Valentino’s Spring 2016 RTW Collection.
We share a major, we share a house, we share clothes. So why not share a column? Eleni Toubanos and Greta Ohaus are both Fiber Science & Apparel Design majors in the College of Human Ecology. Their column is intended to be a conversation between their two unique perspectives as a designer and fiber scientist. They can be found lounging around campus, on their porch sharing a bottle of wine or at [email protected] and [email protected]. Talk is Chic appears on alternate Tuesdays this semester.