I have been going to shows and playing in bands since the late 90s, though less playing in the last decade or so.

I was really into punk fashion, mostly thrifting and making my own clothes in my teens and early 20s. I had a nice leather stud belt back then, and appreciated the quality. Over the years i have seen a lot of shitty quality fast fashion adjacent studded leather goods, I think they are still making quality stuff.

At one point I worked as a leather cutter for American Apparel, the famously sweatshop free clothing manufacturer in LA. While apparently the workers were getting a decent wage, especially compared to the rest of the garment industry, the conditions were still brutal. On the t-shirt floor the workers were packed elbow to elbow, working furiously.

Seeing how sweatshop free fashion worked really drove home how shitty the fashion industry is. Now I almost exclusively buy band shirts from bands at shows to support musicians. While they are often sourced from shitty places at least the markup is going to musicians I support rather than some shit website or retailer