In the 2006 film version of The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep,
在2006年上映的《穿普拉达的女王》中，由Meryl Streep出演的Miranda Priestly
scolds her unattractive assistant for imagining that high fashion doesn't affect her.
臭骂她那个毫无魅力的助手，因为她居然认为高级时尚影响不到她。
Priestly explains how the deep blue color of the assistant's sweater
Priestly解释道，这个助理的外套竟然是深蓝色的，
descended over the years from fashion shows to department stores and to the bargain bin in which the poor girl doubtless found her garment.
这个款式从时装秀场沦落到百货商场再走上打折货摊，毫无疑问，这蠢丫头在那里淘到了那件衣服。
This top-down conception of the fashion business couldn't be more out of date
这种自上而下的观念太过时了，
or at odds with the feverish world described in Overdressed, Elizabeth Cline's three-year indictment of "fast fashion".
或者说它与Elizabeth Cline在历时三年完成的《过度装扮》一书中描述的那个狂热的世界完全不同。
In the last decade or so, advances in technology have allowed mass-market labels such as Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo
近十年，科技的进步使得Zara、H&M、Uniqlo等大众品牌
to react to trends more quickly and anticipate demand more precisely.
能更快地追上潮流，更精准地预测需求。
Quickier turnarounds mean less wasted inventory, more frequent releases, and more profit.
更快的周转期意味着更少的库存浪费，更频繁的上新，也意味着更多的利润。
Those labels encourage style conscious consumers to see clothes as disposable—meant to last only a wash or two,
这些时装厂商鼓励追求时尚的消费者把时装变成一次性消费品--顶多洗两次就扔，
although they don't advertise that—and to renew their wardrobe every few weeks.
尽管他们没有明确打广告--过几周就更新一次衣柜。
By offering on-trend items at dirt cheap prices, Cline argues, these brands have hijacked fashion cycles,
Cline称，通过超低价销售时装，这些厂商破坏了时尚周期，
shaking an industry long accustomed to a seasonal pace.
动摇了时尚潮流随季节变化的步伐。
The victims of this revolution, of course, are not limited to designers.
当然，这么频繁更新，折腾的不光是服装设计师。
For H&M to offer a $ 5.95 knit miniskirt in all its 2,300-plus stores around the world,
以H&M为例，他们在全球有2300多家分店，若想同时推出一款售价为5.95美元的针织迷你裙，
it must rely on low-wage overseas labor, order in volumes that strain natural resources, and use massive amounts of harmful chemicals.
只能依赖低工资的海外劳动力与消耗自然资源的批量订单，并大量使用有害化学物质。
Overdressed is the fashion world's answer to consumer-activist bestsellers like Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma.
《过度装扮》其实就是对像Michael Pollan’s所著的《杂食动物的困境》这一类活跃的消费类畅销书的回应。
“Mass-produced clothing, like fast food, fills a hunger and need, yet is non-durable and wasteful,” Cline argues.
Cline琳认为，大量的生产的衣服，就和快餐一样，能对付饥饿和需求，却不持久且浪费。
Americans, she finds, buy roughly 20 billion garments a year--about 64 items per person
她发现，美国人一年购置服装多达二百亿件，相当于每人六十四件，
and no matter how much they give away, this excess leads to waste.
不管他们花了多少钱，这种过度买衣服就会导致浪费。
Towards the end of Overdressed, Cline introduced her ideal, a Brooklyn woman named Sarah Kate Beaumont,
在《过度装扮》书末，Cline琳介绍了她理想中的人，一位叫做Sarah Kate Beaumont，住在布鲁克林的女士，
who since 2008 has made all of her own clothes— and beautifully.
这位女士从2008年开始所有的衣服都是自己做的，而且衣服都做得很漂亮。
But as Cline is the first to note, it took Beaumont decades to perfect her craft; her example can't be knocked off.
不过Cline也承认，Beaumont花了几十年来完善她的手艺，以她做例子，难以服众。
Though several fast-fashion companies have made efforts to curb their impact on labor and the environment
尽管几个快时尚公司都在设法控制他们对劳工和环境的影响，
including H&M, with its green Conscious Collection line.
包括H&M推出了Conscious Collection系列衣服。
Cline believes lasting change can only be effected by the customer.
Cline认为只有客户能带来持久的改变。
She exhibits the idealism common to many advocates of sustainability, be it in food or in energy.
Cline指出，不管是在食物还是在能源上，可持续性的倡导都太理想化了。
Vanity is a constant; people will only start shopping more sustainably when they can't afford not to.
虚荣是常态，人们只有在没法儿承担不合理购物的影响时才会合理购物。