jane:  a place called home by mr. jason grant…  this is a refreshingly different sort of decorating book!  lots of pictures, few words, entirely inspiring!  mr. jason grant writes a blog from australia and brings us a colorful look at real life homes that i'd be happy to call home!  it helps that there are pictures of the beach too!  :)

extra loveliness:  on the wing by david elliott and illustrated by becca stadlander…this book is a visual treat.  becca stadlander is a favorite artist around here and david elliott's poems create word pictures that are the perfect complement.  

jo: adventure time by ryan north... alrighty, i will admit that there is nothing like college assigned reading to make me crave colorful, witty, funny, cute, dramatic, lovable and all around awesome comic books. adventure time comics completely satisfy this craving... i'm seriously loving my stack right now.

julia:  the mother-daughter book club by heather vogel frederick… this book is about four girls who are in middle school. their moms thought it would be fun if they met once a month for a book club together. the girls:  emma, who is a book worm... jess, who lives on a farm… cassidy, who plays hockey... and megan, who loves fashion... all think it a bad idea.  when they read little women as their first book, they start to like it, and together, they find adventures around every corner.

check them out at your local library! 

love, 
jane + jo + julia

x,
jane + jo + julia

i've been focusing on my autumn/winter wardrobe lately and as usual, i'm struggling a bit with how i really want to approach it.  i know that i have two main focuses:
- small and simple wardrobe
-fair trade clothing

i feel like the summer wardrobe is easiest, because: 
-we need less items
-vintage is easier to find
-handmade is simpler
-the season is shorter where i live

now i come to planning the colder weather side of my wardrobe and it becomes a bit muddier for me.  sewing and knitting my own clothing is a pretty good way to meet my fair-trade goals (there can still be issues with materials).  i like to look around sewing blogland, and i see many crafters who mention the goal of having a fully handmade wardrobe.  this goal sounds like a fun one to have, so i'm wondering if i want to make it my goal.

i love to sew and knit, and i have such fun with the creative process…designing, dreaming, drawing, planning.  i think these are my favorite parts.  i also love the sense of accomplishment and pride that come with a finished handmade piece.  

however, what i don't always so much love is the actual finished piece.  i expect…well, perfection, i guess.  not so much perfection in execution…i savor a bit of imperfection as charm and uniqueness…a sign of a handmade work of one-of-a-kind art.  but having a small simple wardrobe, to me, requires a lot from each piece.  i want each piece to be adored and to serve its purpose with utter perfection.  i know this sounds silly and unattainable!  i'm just being honest.  expectations are the root of discontent (i am fully aware)!  :)

the main problem is that my handmade objects do not always fit or flatter my shape like i pictured.  i don't have the luxury of taking items into a fitting room and realizing that i need a different size or that that style is not for me!  i am not usually inclined to start the project over, so sometimes…lots of times… the work is not adopted into my carefully curated collection.

i would love to have a beautiful wardrobe full of handmade-by-me pieces (like this or this), but i'm not totally sure i can or want to do it. :(   i am not nearly as good a crafter as either of those talented ladies!    

i guess my advice to myself :) at this point is to stick with patterns that i love and maybe to just try one new thing at a time (like i always have).  i may surprise myself.  maybe i will just not set myself up for frustration by having the goal of a handmade-by-me wardrobe.  because here's the thing:  my wardrobe is already full of handmade pieces!  they may not have all been made by me, but they were all made by someone's hands, and i want to respect whoever's hands made each piece.  that respect is going to be my goal!!  

thanks for working through that with me!  :)  sometimes it takes a muddy, meandering trail of uncertainty to lead you right back to where you started!  :)

love- 
jane

today's work/play…we are taking a creativebug class taught by one of our favorite artists, lisa congdon.  so…much…fun!!!  

love, 
jane + jo + julia

x,
the girls.

so, ready for the fair dare?  do you want to challenge yourself to buy less sweatshop-made clothing?  what's next?  how does one even begin?  

let's unpack the dare a bit…

first exhale. it's really not going to be too hard. it'll be fine and maybe even fun, but only if you believe that. realize that it will be a challenge, but a really fun and rewarding one if we want it to be.

okay. onward, friends.

+i think the most important part is to believe in what you are doing. this challenge will be extra tough if you don't believe in the dare. you won't last if you don't allow the truth to hurt you. let it. realize fully that there are people making our clothes, people who are sometimes paid extremely little (if anything) and sometimes treated poorly. we want to change that! we want our votes to go to the companies paying fair wages and committed to making communities stronger! we want the other companies to take notice!

+continue to educate yourself. here is a pretty good quick article to start with. the key to succeeding in this lies in remembering the stories you read/hear, and deciding what's more important: the shirt in your hand, or the hands that made it.

+define your goal. make it yours! 
personally, this is what i (jo) have done in the past:

---basic statement: i will not buy new clothes made by slaves/sweatshops this season. i can buy thrifted slave/sweatshop made clothes, because recycling is not directly supporting the company. (i define thrifting as buying pre-owned clothing sold from a store or from online that does not exist primarily so that you can keep buying more clothing with the tags still attached.)

---i will do this from now until (this date). you could do it for a month or a season, whatever you choose.

---define what you mean by clothes? clothes you wear? underwear/bras? accessories? makeup and other toiletries? to me, clothes means clothes worn, accessories,  and underwear. (underwear bought new and fair-trade.)

---select a small amount of wiggle room, if you want to: i will allow myself to buy no more than 2-3 pieces that do not fit my chosen guidelines.

+at the end of that period,  how do you want to be changed? make this your biggest goal, make it your more selfish moment- what do you want out of this? i want to look at what i have bought and not bought, proving that it is possible to not support slave labor/sweatshops and to still look cool in new clothing. i want to remember that it's possible and easier than i had ever thought. i want to change my perspective and find it easier to make good choices, even when i'm not taking this dare.

+tell someone. doing so will help you keep the dare. who can hold you accountable? who do you go shopping with? tell your mom/best friend/whoever can remind you gently. perhaps ask them to join you on your dare! (you might also want to tell your future self about the dare. stick a post-it note about your dare on your wallet or someplace you will see it often.)

+remember again to own it. fire yourself up and take that optimistic, excited attitude. be happy in the decision you are making! believe it! fully realize what you are doing. every buy is a vote, and you are committing to not vote for slavery/sweatshops. also realize that you don't need to buy too much. when you have a lot of clothes, you feel like... a) you need more... b) it's not a big deal to buy clothes... c) you don't have much. take a breath and realize that you don't really need a lot of new clothes- because you already have great pieces!

+try. apply yourself and try hard. enjoy the ride. don’t beat yourself up when you buy something that doesn’t line up with the dare. (but don’t be afraid to return things either.) you will be pleasantly surprised by the end of the season. i know i was!

okie dokie. i know it sounds hard, but it's not. this season, you'll discover that you can thrift clothes, make clothes and buy from fair trade brands. whether you continue into the next season is up to you... but don't yet think too far ahead. keep it to just this one dare. 

i hope this helps flesh everything out a little. let us know of any questions, we would all love to help! look out for more posts and updates this fall!

xxx,
jo (+a pinch of jane)

love, jane+jo+julia

i'm excited to present my transitional simple wardrobe!  usually i just sort of organically put away and pull out pieces during this time, but i thought i'd make it more fun and challenging for myself.  i've put together a group of clothing that i'm going to wear exclusively for the next bunch of weeks as the weather sorts itself out between the seasons.  i love this time of year and feel excited about not having to pack and unpack things every few days trying to find the appropriate thing to wear for the fickle weather during september and the beginning of october.  wanna see?  :)

it's still going to be warm here for a while, so i need to keep out some of my short sleeved shirts.  as the weather begins to stay cooler, i'll switch these out for sweaters.  these tops are, from left to right:
-pink:  handmade (adapted from this pattern + fabric)
-black:  uzi + some reworking 
-floral:  handmade (adapted again from the same pattern above + fabric)
-embroidered:  mexican vintage beauty from etsy
-blue:  beauty & use + some reworking 

some long-sleeved t-shirts to layer over and under and on their own too.  so happy to see these again!
cream striped:  older boden
indigo stripe:  older madewell
while:  older madewell
indigo:  taylor stitch

i'm feeling like i have too many shirts, but i think that's just because of the need for both warm and cool ones.  
light blue:  older j.crew
checked:  older madewell
red:  handmade (adapted from same pattern above + kaffe fassett woven ikat)
white:  madewell
olive:  older madewell

bottoms:  
patched cutoffs:  used to be jeans :)
jeans: older pilcro anthropologie
grey jeans: older gap
olive shorts:  anthropologie

two comfy, cute dresses.  i have another one cut out and ready to sew…so i think i will have three total.
creamy:  another one adapted from that same pattern! + this great fabric
(i was actually wearing this when i took these pictures, so the wrinkle are just comfy marks)  :)
denim: this pattern tweaked a bit + amazing denim linen- just made this last week and i love it!
(i line dry all our clothing, so the wrinkles will come out a bit with wear- sounds funny, but true)  :)

some cozy layers:
coat:  vintage found on our road trip
sweatshirt:  older madewell
leggings:  anthropologie (surprisingly cheap and good!)  edited: i realized these are now rayon. mine are cotton, so i'm not sure how they are now.  
long cotton cardigan:  old target

footwear and purse:
boots:  sam edelman
tennies:  old clarks
purse:  bookhou (perfect size!)
clog sandals:  lotta from stockholm

so i really don't know why i linked where i got stuff from, cuz that's just not at all what this is about!!  i guess i wanted to give shout outs to those independent makers…both clothing and pattern makers.  now you know that i really like madewell too…that's beneficial knowledge, i guess.  :)  what is important to note (especially for mr. jane who might be reading this) is that the only thing i bought this season (so far) is the white button down.  i even made the dress out of fabric in my stash-yay!  this is a great time to just use what we have and take note of holes we feel while wearing our transitional collections.

(a note about accessories:  i wear rings that i never take off, a watch, a leather bracelet occasionally, and a necklace occasionally.  i'm not counting them in my number.)

k…so that's 28 items.  totally doable!   laying these all out totally made me look at each piece and remember how much i love it!  contentment rocks!

more inspiration- and a bit more too!  totally better than mine!  :)

are you doing something similar?  i'd love to hear about it!

love, jane

a little walk to pick free apples was the best way to start off the new season! so yummy and beautiful. what can you find on your fall walks?
x,
jo and julia

jane:  gypsy by sibella court… this is an amazingly inspiring book!  the pages are filled with rich colors of gypsy beauty from around the world.  inspiring for interiors, but also for wardrobe, craft or story.  one i will come back to again and again.

jo:  the 10-step stress solution by neil shah… the beginning of college has gotten my anxiety levels a bit high, so when i came across this book i snapped it up, not really expecting a cure. this book outlines many ways to deal with stress and also to understand it. i'm finding it not only interesting, but also helpful.

julia:  a snicker of magic by natatie lloyd…i loved this book. it's about a girl named felicity pickle who loves to collect words. all her life she has moved and never stayed in a place for long. eventually she finds herself in midnight gulch, tennessee, a place that once used to be magical. people used to have all kinds of magical powers. people believed that all of the magic has gone out of midnight gulch.  felicity believes there's still magic and when she meets her new friend jonah picket, the two together end up finding surprising secrets about her past that she never knew. 

extra goodness:  maps by aleksandra and daniel mizielinska… we love this book so much!!! maps is a simple and beautifully artistic atlas. maps of countries not only include notable cities, but also adorable drawings of people, architecture, nature, and histories of the country. it is so. cute. and cool. and educational, in the most enjoyable way possible. 

check them out at your local library!

what are you reading?  we'd love to know!

love, jane+jo+julia