Local Author Lecture: "Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion"

Elizabeth Cline will deliver her lecture on “Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion” on February 13 at 6:30 in Goodroe Auditorium in Gignilliat Memorial Hall at Dalton State College. Seating is first come, first served. There will be books for sale and a book signing after the lecture. 

Elizabeth Cline

Cline was raised in Varnell and attended Westwood School before moving with her family to Cairo, Georgia. She says she is excited to be visiting home and to spread the word about smart shopping. “I still feel very tied to Georgia and come home as often as I can,” she says. “Part of the reason I wanted to write about the fashion industry is because the South used to be the epicenter of textile manufacturing, and I'd love to see garment factories, textile factories, fashion designers, and dye houses booming here again.”

Now a New York-based writer, author, and public speaker, she began to notice the widespread and deeply rooted obsession with purchasing excessive amounts of inexpensive garments when she took a look at her own closet. Upon discovering that she owned more than 350 items of clothing, Cline decided that it was time to get to the bottom of why Americans are so enthralled with what she calls “disposable clothing.”

Cline interviewed various clothing factory owners and workers, designers for popular low-cost retailers, quality control analysts, and production and sourcing experts in the fashion industry.  When she concluded that the real story wouldn’t come merely from sources in the U.S., she traveled overseas to get the full picture from factories in places like China and Bangladesh. “The experience was eye-opening to say the least,” she said.

Since researching the overconsumption trend in fashion and gathering the information for “Overdressed,” Cline has made a few changes to how she purchases clothing. An advocate for “slow fashion,” she urges people to think about how they spend their clothing dollars and to purchase garments that are ethically produced, essential to one’s wardrobe, and are durable and made of quality materials.

Cline has written blogs and articles for publications such as “The New Yorker,” “Village Voice,” and “New York Magazine,” many of which can be found on her website, www.overdressedthebook.com.