These lovely pieces from Rachel Pally have me considering two approaches to a pared down wardrobe:

• One piece dressing :: A dress or a jumpsuit offers a complete outfit with just one piece. These pieces make it super simple to get dressed each day. Looks can go from casual to dressy with a change of footwear. A small collection of dresses +/or jumpsuits along with a few versatile layers + a few well-chosen footwear options could be a complete wardrobe.
• Coordinating separates :: A few well-chosen separates can be mixed + matched for a variety of options. The choice of tennies, sandals, boots or flats adds even more variety. 

A combination of separates + one-piece options works too, but I do like considering boundaries + formulas from time to time. I love that there are so many lovely ways to have enough...with less.  :)

All lovely photos featuring pieces designed + made from rayon/linen in Los Angeles, California via Rachel Pally.

Love, 
​Jane

Object Apparel offers clothing + intimates made with ethically sourced, organic fibers + natural dyes. These beautiful pieces come in a variety of sizes, and their packaging is plastic free. Mike + Mollie design + make all the pieces in Detroit, Michigan. Loving these natural hues + versatile shapes.

All lovely images via Object Apparel. Object Apparel can be found on our ethical brands page when you need it.

A few fair options for sweet bags that could come in handy for that weekly grocery store expedition or maybe just on a walk. The ready-made bag on the left is a collaboration between Industry of All Nations + Mafia Bags. It is made in California from upcycled boating sails + salvaged climbing rope.

The bag on the right was made from a vintage quilt with All Well Workshop's Full Moon Bag pattern. Amy generously offers this pattern free with her newsletter sign-up.

Whether worn across the body, around the waist or slung over the shoulder these bags are like the pocket every outfit needs. Museo Studio makes a generously sized beauty out of vintage quilt pieces. Sara Kirsten's sewing pattern would look as fantastic made out of leftover scraps or found textiles as it does made from sturdy canvas. This kit from Little House Seamstress is another great option.

I always appreciate that there are so many ways to choose fair! Supporting thoughtful makers is a wonderful pleasure. Making our own simultaneously offers clarifying insight into what it takes to create useful things + affirming satisfaction. It's great to support independent pattern makers as well.  :)

Vive les créateurs!

fair/make :: dresses
fair/make :: jumpsuits

All lovely photos via links.

Love,
Jane

A few of their products might be good temporary replacements for items we purchased from the bulk bins pre-Covid. I'd be extremely excited to avoid those plastic bags!

A few products made by innovators in the field of reusable packaging are available alongside these products...which would hopefully reduce the number of miles this reusable packaging would need to travel.

The emissions spent transporting this packaging from place to place gives me pause, but recycling also involves transport + so much more energy needed to break down materials + remake them.

all the babies makes loungewear for little ones + adults in Los Angeles. Non-toxic dyes are used on their GOTS certified organic cotton. The mother + daughter design team founded all the babies with the idea of clothing babies in organic cotton + taking back outgrown all the babies clothing to give to babies in need. Of course mamas can pass on these pieces in their own communities as well. 

All lovely photos via all the babies.

I feel like I'm constantly walking the line between asking if we need more things + wanting to share a few "good" things. Obviously, we all need some things. Some of the things on offer from Wisdom Supply Co. surely qualify as good things...if one is in the market for such things. Less waste is a clear priority for Wisdom Supply Co. + for me too.  :)

All lovely images via Wisdom Supply Co.

I like to see people wearing clothes in their everyday lives. I like it when brands are able to show their clothes mixed in with an existing wardrobe + on different bodies. This collection of images from Loup does just that. It shows women with lives, loves + personalities wearing clothes rather than making the clothes the focus. Lovely.

Loup makes clothes in a widening range of sizes in New York City. 

All lovely images via Loup.

This is an exciting one, friends...plant-based stretch! We've come to depend on petroleum-based lycra, spandex, elastane + even polyurethane for stretch + recoverability in our leggings + jeans...even the otherwise cotton ones. These plastics make the clothes they are woven into much less biodegradable. ​

How exciting that the Candiani Mill in Italy has developed a plant-based stretch denim! Their Coreva denim uses a yarn made up of organic cotton wrapped around a rubber (from a rubber tree) core. This yarn allows the denim to have both stretch + compostability. 

Dutch jeanmaker, Denham has made a collection of men's jeans with Coreva. They feature no rivets + an ungalvanized button for compostability. Outerknown has made their first pairs of jeans with Coreva too. I'm sure that many more brands will follow quickly.

​Let's hope this is only the beginning for plant-based stretch!

All photos via links.

Love,
Jane

Two words come to mind first when I think of Big Bud Press: colorful + fun. And it's possible that some color + fun are just what 2020 could use.  :) The styles Big Bud Press offers are unisex + offered in an extended range of sizes. Big Bud Press designs + makes its cotton pieces in Los Angeles. Enjoy!

All lovely images via Big Bud Press. As always, this + lots of other fair brands can be found on the ethical brands page when you need it.  :)

April Meets October designs + makes beautiful pieces from (mostly) natural fibers in Los Angeles. Most of these pieces come in one size, which normally seems unrealistic...but these pieces seem like they would look lovely on quite a variety of bodies. I find that really exciting. 

Making clothing in a variety of sizes can lead to a lot of waste. Stocking each size can lead to leftovers of just a size or two that struggle to find their wearing mates. (This can be remedied somewhat with a made-to-order model.) Wrong size purchases involve mailing pieces back + forth across the miles which involves cost to customer, brand + planet. A one size model of business has the potential to cut out much of this waste. 

April Meets October also has an adorable children's line which is made in Korea.

All lovely photos via April Meets October.

Love,
Jane