We recently connected with Mary Colmar and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

There is enough clothing in the world to clothe people for the next one hundred years.

We live in a time of abundance, but we are still replacing broken things instead of fixing them.

As with clothing, we need to remember how to mend our garments or alter their fit to be better.

Instead, we keep buying, hoping this will be what we want more or works better.

I worked in the Fashion Industry on the production side as a Patternmaker, making samples all day long, which is how we came up with the finished Line, but we threw out about ninety percent of what we made.

It had to go in the trash so industry secrets did not get out to the public.

But on top of that, we all started making clothes cheaper and faster turnaround to the point I was emailing the vendors that we needed such and such yesterday, the old cliche.

I realized there were whole cities around the world revolving around what I decided would work or not on our line, along with a team of about twenty people.

The waste, the sheer quantity of goods, was starting to get to me, not to mention the long hours.

Then, I met my artist husband. He had Art Exhibitions to attend, and I needed something original and fun to wear because I was in fashion.

The art educated me about the state of the world and our role in it, and it was ok to let creativity dictate your wardrobe.

I wore my blouses upside down and made funky clothes until the day my neighborhood in Brooklyn had an intervention and said I needed my own studio.

People started giving me their old clothes, and I would remake them and sell them back to them. That has become the business motto.

Today, we use donations from individuals to make our line of utilitarian vests, denim skirts, blouses, and shirtdresses at Salad Bowl Dress.

People have crammed full closets and clothes they are not wearing. When we get them, we deconstruct the pieces and tailor the clothing for a more custom fit. The clothes are hand-tailored, slow fashion, made to last, and seasonless or transeasonal.

We believe in being weird and embracing your own style. Furthermore, we spread the word about working towards a circular economy for the fashion industry.

Clothing purchases must be made with their end use in sight. Or better yet, wait until it is vital to buy new. Only buy second-hand, upcycle, or from a sustainable company.

Mary, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The SaladbowlDress upcycle brand is made from clothes in our closet that we chose once and no longer wear. We deconstruct or dismantle the clothes in order to improve them, making something more interesting, comfortable, and wearable. Our company offers about twelve silhouettes to choose from to make a custom piece if desired. However, we implement an artistic license on the finished piece, similar to the one chosen but not exactly alike. All our pieces are one-of-a-kind. Or, you may purchase from our Ready to Wear line.
Imperfections are meant to be and add to the casual, comfortable vibe of the piece. Do they cost a little more? Yes, but labor costs are needed to make well-constructed tailored pieces.
We like to think of ourselves as inclusive, like a salad bowl in sociological terms.
Our clothes are meant to be worn and durable for every day. They will be a favorite component of one’s wardrobe. A well-fitting hand-tailored vest, for instance, that can be accessorized for all occasions.
There is a casual, practical component, having hidden pockets, loops, adjustments, and comfort utilizing some components that came before but now serve a utilitarian function.

We make our clothes structured to be altered for a custom fit.

Although we start with second-hand clothing or dead stock, all garments are sewn to last.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Within my market, there are many very crafty-looking upcycle clothing brands. But I have always enjoyed creating something more like a suit that can be worn anywhere and for all occasions. I came up with a well-fitting vest that my customers use for working at home and for manual labor. These same vests are great for travel, hiking, the beach, and to wear out to dinner. The dresses have a dress-up or down quality, and the skirts are denim and have been worn on the red carpet. My reputation comes from putting art first. Besides having the skills to fit and alter custom wear, I like to think about high fashion and fit. I keep coming up with new fun ideas from the new fun clothing that comes my way. We let the clothing speak to us first, and then we make what it suggests. The blouses in the line now are cropped with big puffy sleeves made from men’s shirts.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the lessons I had to learn early on was that I could not make clothes from the clothes someone sent me back to them. It used to be that if someone wanted to send me three blouses I would make them a blouse they would wear out of those pieces. It was difficult to do. Instead, I needed to add those clothes to the arsenal, make whatever I was making, and let them choose those for their purchase. So even though I say, You give me your old clothes, and I sell them back to you. They are never the same clothing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://saladbowldress.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saladbowldress/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saladbowldress/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-colmar-31988516/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/saladbowldress
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@saladbowldress
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/saladbowldress/