How long does it take to read Worn?
Sofi Thanhauser
Worn by Sofi Thanhauser takes about 7 hours 20 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 7 hours 20 minutes
A weekend read
First published 2022. 400 pages, about 110,000 words.
15 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 12 hours 13 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 7 hours 20 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 4 hours 35 minutes |
The page count is the median across 4 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
In this panoramic social history, Sofi Thanhauser brilliantly tells five stories—Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool—about the clothes we wear and where they come from, illuminating our world in unexpected ways. She takes us from the opulent court of Louis XIV to the labor camps in modern-day Chinese-occupied Xinjiang. We see how textiles were once dyed with lichen, shells, bark, saffron, and beetles, displaying distinctive regional weaves and knits, and how the modern Western garment industry has refashioned our attire into the homogenous and disposable uniforms popularized by fast-fashion brands. Thanhauser makes clear how the clothing industry has become one of the planet’s worst polluters and how it relies on chronically underpaid and exploited laborers. But she also shows us how micro-communities, textile companies, and clothing makers in every corner of the world are rediscovering ancestral and ethical methods for making what we wear. Drawn from years of intensive research and reporting from around the world, and brimming with fascinating stories, Worn reveals to us that our clothing comes not just from the countries listed on the tags or ready-made from our factories. It comes, as well, from deep in our histories.
Subjects: Manners and customs, Clothing and dress, History, Social aspects, Fashion, Textile fabrics
