Evergreen Style: The FXRY
Hands mending a hole in a sweater
Courtesy of FXRY
Nowadays, people are buying twice as many clothes as twenty years ago and disposing of them just as much. This phenomenon exacerbates the presence of microplastics in our environment, contributes to the global mental health crises, and perpetuates the low wages of garment workers worldwide. It is often attributed to fast fashion, which promotes excessive buying.
The FXRY (pronounced “fix-ery”) is offering a sustainable alternative.
The FXRY is redefining fashion by encouraging people to slow down and take better care of their clothes. Founded in 2024 by industry veteran Calley Dawson, the FXRY is a Seattle-based studio that specializes in alterations and repairs. From fixing denim blowouts to sweater holes, the services are designed to help people who love clothes extend the life of what they already own.
In this interview, Calley speaks on her journey with launching FXRY and explains just how easy it is to embrace a more intentional and responsible approach to fashion.
*Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
JeLisa: You have been in the industry for so long. Why do this now?
Calley: There’s a couple layers of it. I had been doing clothing design for so long, it was boring – like it was and it wasn’t. I really like new challenges, and it just wasn’t exciting me anymore. I always wanted to have my own clothing line. I thought, what kind of clothing could I produce that people would be intrigued by? I couldn’t come up with the spin. And then, I thought about the fact that we hear this all the time: there’s enough clothing on the planet to dress the next six generations of people. I did a lot of research, and there’s quite a few companies in Europe that are doing this sort of thing, making alterations and repairs accessible and making them cool. And, why now? I believe we’re on the precipice of a huge shift in the fashion world.
JeLisa: Did the long history of DIY culture and shopping secondhand in Seattle influence your decision on a studio location?
Calley: To be honest…I think it’s such a great point, and an unbelievably happy coincidence. I didn’t think about it when I first started it. It has just made it so much better and, without realizing, is [probably] why I like Seattle so much.
JeLisa: Given the cultural relevance and resonance, do you feel like FXRY is progressing in the way you would have expected?
Calley Dawson
Courtesy of FXRY
Calley: Yeah, it’s really interesting. We moved into the space in April. I knew that we weren’t going to have it all fully up and running for a few months, and I predicted that September we would really take off. We really started to take off sooner, in August, and now we are continuing to take off. We’re having more and more repairs each month.
JeLisa: I mean, that’s pretty awesome. Right?
Calley: Yeah!
JeLisa: I’m curious. Do you have repeat customers?
Calley: Yeah, we definitely do have a ton of repeat customers. We have people that we know by name. I mean, most people I know by name just because I’m ringing them up. I think, the last I checked, we had at least 300 repeat customers. We have one person that orders with us every one to two months, online, and we love them for that…I do find that most people who find us will come back with more, because our quality of work surpasses a lot of other options.
JeLisa: What is the most common repair?
Calley: The most common repair, which isn’t necessarily repair, is hemming pants. We do that all day long. People bring in like five pairs of pants [at a time].
JeLisa: Does this surprise you, or have there been any surprises?
Calley: No, it makes sense. The hemming is great because it’s pretty good to be good at hemming. We’ve seen some people bring in some stuff that’s been repaired by other places or other people, and…it’s a little unsightly. We see a lot of people like iron-on patches on and stuff, which is great for a temporary fix, but not a long term solution.
JeLisa: Any horror stories?
Calley: We did more in the beginning. We don’t really take stuff that we can’t immediately see and assess. [One time], we had someone bring in their Raggedy Ann doll…The doll’s eye had fallen out.
JeLisa: Now that you’re open to receiving items from other cities, do you feel like the engagement differs in any way between people who are or are not local?
Calley: Our mail is in beta [testing]. We’re hoping to launch it [fully] by January, and then we’ll probably see more repeat customers and things like that.
Mending a pair of jeans
Courtesy of FXRY
