A compelling exploration of the origins and impacts of one of our most intimate and essential possessions.

Linen, cotton, silk, synthetic fibers, wool: Through the stories of these five fabrics, Sofi Thanhauser illuminates the world we live in in a strikingly new way, traveling from China to Cumbria to reveal the craftsmanship, labor, and industry that create the clothing we wear.

From the women who transformed flax stalks into linen to clothe their families in nineteenth-century New England, to those who earn their dowries today in the cotton mills of South India, this book traces the origins of garment-making through time and around the globe. By examining the social, economic, and ecological impacts of our most personal possessions, "Worn" goes beyond care labels to show how clothing reveals the truth about what truly matters to us.