This summer there were a few pieces that I needed to add to my simple wardrobe. Thrifting is my first choice for "new" fair clothes. (Well, after refashioning pieces from our own closets.) Secondhand clothes already exist...and choosing them instead of new clothes saves new resources from having to be grown or extracted (polyester comes from petroleum), transported, processed + spun into fibers, transported, woven into fabric, transported, dyed, transported, cut, sewn, transported, stocked + sold. (phew!)

I love the idea that a single shirt or pair of shorts can be worn + enjoyed by many people. It's fantastic to find a piece of clothing to love + wear for years + years to come...but if a piece of clothing is only loved + worn for a period of time + has yet to become useless...why not let someone else wear it + love it?

Online thrifting can be a bit tricky, since we can't feel or smell the fabric or try clothing on before purchasing. This summer, however, I was able to find a few secondhand pieces that I am happy to add to my wardrobe. (yay!) I find it helpful to know my own + the garment's measurements. I appreciate that I can search for brands that I like online + know to be of higher quality. It's also nice to save a little money!

Buy secondhand. Swap secondhand. Sell secondhand (even for a low price). (Donate as a last resort, because donations are often sold overseas where they sabotage the local clothing economy or get put into the landfill.) If it's still got some life in it, get it worn!  :)

Love, 
Jane

How are you feeling about clothes this season? Has quarantine changed the way you're thinking about getting dressed? This might be a great time to do a little experimenting. 

This might be a great time to:
:: happily wear what is already in the closet without much pressure to perform fashion.

:: test out how much is enough.

:: tackle the mending.

:: search for + try an (online) thrifted piece. 

:: learn to sew (or knit)...and start (or finish) a project.

:: save all the pennies that would normally be spent from week to week on fast fashion + put them together toward a fair piece that has always seemed out of the budget.

I'm doing a little bit of most everything on this list. How is your fairdare summer going?

Love,
Jane

When it comes to shopping for clothing (a favorite shopping focus of mine),  :) I practice a few habits that help to keep my wanties in check. I don't want to consume more than I need to- in regards both to the planet's resources + to items that I'm keeping from others. I like for my wardrobe to minimal + manageable...but also satisfying + supportive of my happiness + well-being.

A few of the habits that I've found to be supportive of these goals:

:: Keeping a list of pieces that are enough and that serve me, my lifestyle at the moment, + my climate well. I revisit this list periodically + make changes based on recent observations.  My current year-round, every-day-wear list looks like this:

tanks 
long-sleeved tee
button-up
sweatshirts
pullover sweaters
dress?
jeans
white pants
olive pants
leggings
shorts
boots
sandals
trainers
flats

:: Going through all of my pieces, trying them on + assessing needs at the beginning of each season. With the above list in hand, I figure out what I need to replace + focus on finding only those pieces. (Though I'm not super strict about excluding a perfect, fair gem that I can afford.) Then I can settle in + be content with the good things I have at the ready.

:: Letting things go periodically not only funds necessary purchases + keeps those pieces in use...but it also helps to hone my preferences + reminds me to choose wisely.

:: Being quite picky. When my pieces of clothing are few, each one needs to work hard. 

:: Being willing to go without. At this point, I know that I can make do with few pieces of clothing. 

:: Keeping a (not-too-long) list of my personal go-to thrift spots/sites, sewing resources + fair brands. I start my shopping search at my local thrift shops...then I'll take a look at ebay, etsy + poshmark. I'll consider making, and then I refer to the ethical brands list (scanning for my favorites).

​:: Keeping a "desirables" list. Sometimes I come across something lovely for which I don't currently have the money or need. I'll make a note of it +  know that I can revisit it, if I want to. Somehow just having this list allows me to obsess a little less about lovely things. I try to keep this list minimal + delete items about as often as I add them.

:: Reminding myself that I don't need to own all of the lovely things. Sometimes just curating a collection of lovely things is enough. 

:: Limiting exposure. I try to be mindful of the shops I go into, the instagram accounts I'm following + the email lists to which I'm subscribed. Sometimes these things are just invitations to look + want. I want to want what I already have. 

I've probably said all of this before, but since it's not a one time + done thing...a reminder is helpful at least for me.  :)

Love,
Jane

Maybe you read the heart wrenching letter Elizabeth Suzann posted this week. (here is where I try to find words that I feel are appropriate for this space!!!) Elizabeth's story is so incredibly telling...about the clothing industry...about human connection...about the precariousness of all of our systems. As her news sinks in, I think of all she has taken on in growing her company...the responsibility for all of her team members...which is a model that we hold up as exemplary + ethical.

I start to wonder what other ethical brands are having to make similar gut wrenching decisions...and then I come upon the difference. Most other brands that we consider ethical stand somewhat apart from their makers. Whether this protects their businesses + is wiser or not...the point is that the responsibility is allowed to feel somewhat removed. I want to believe that small, ethical brands do have personal relationships with their suppliers + do feel deeply the connection with the survival of those suppliers. It is undeniably not, however, the same as Elizabeth's intimate connections.

To set the contrast even more starkly, many big brands are cancelling orders + in some cases refusing to pay makers for clothing already sewn...leaving garment factories with no money to pay garment workers for work already done. When connections are allowed to become more + more impersonal + removed, the suffering compounds toward the bottom of the supply chain.

We can throw around the word "sustainable" without a real understanding of limitations. This global pandemic is now a real, palpable, evident limitation...where farmers' + garment workers' working conditions + compensation, resource depletion, soil degradation, pollution, energy consumption, microfiber proliferation, and excessive waste production have somehow remained somewhat hidden. 

None of us are immune to this virus or its effects on our health or finances. It is testing the sustainability of big brands + small brands + all of the systems that sustain them. Elizabeth Suzann has allowed all of us to make connections between the clothing we wear + the people who make them. The connection is always there + always has been.

I have no doubt Elizabeth Suzann will flourish again...if + how she wants to flourish. Many of us too will see the other side of this pandemic. We've seen how a virus connects us. Let's live like the flourishing of others is part of our own.

Lovely image via the spectacular, inspiring, tenacious Elizabeth Suzann.

Love,
Jane

This is a great time for all of us to be getting all the use we can out of what we have. I love supporting small businesses, and I'm still trying to consume only what I need...and create as little waste as possible.

I was so excited to find this Ilana Kohn Milo jumpsuit secondhand earlier this year. I love the way the top fits, but I wasn't completely into the width of the legs on me. It can be really hard to think about altering a piece like this. I start to weigh the ability to resell an altered, designer piece...which really is quite silly. I bought it because I wanted to wear it!  :) I felt like I was considering the value of this piece more as a potential sale rather than as a piece to wear + use. The whole point is to own what we have...to form a relationship with it...to make it our own...and to wear it over + over.

So...I ripped out + opened up the hems. The legs were pinned in (using a pair of overalls with legs closer to my preferred width as a guide), and the jumpsuit was tried on. I liked the fit, so I used a chalk pencil to mark my lines + sewed along the line. I checked the fit again (measure twice, cut once)...took a deep breath + cut the excess fabric away. (eek) The raw edges were overstitched + the original hems were sewn back in place. (I'm keeping the cut-off bits in case I need a patch someday.)

And now...I am SO happy I went for it! I put the jumpsuit right on + wore it for the rest of the day. (It looks a bit more like an Ilana Kohn Gary now). I used to have a little hesitation about wearing this piece, but now it is exactly right for me...and I'm going to wear it a lot!  

Love,
​Jane

There's no reason that a small, simple wardrobe needs to be all black, white + grey...even though that's how it looks online sometimes. This small romantic wardrobe looks ready to step into spring, while remaining cozy through the weeks of cold weather still to come. All of these pieces are lovely, secondhand pieces found on etsy. 

This small wardrobe consists of:
5 dresses
1 jumpsuit
3 sweaters
2 pants
1 blazer
2 footwear
= 14 pieces total

Along with some cozy socks + a couple of tees, these 14 pieces could provide all one needs to be prepared for many (most?) situations year round. A dress or jumpsuit worn on its own would be breezy + cool on the hottest of days, while the pieces can be layered up with knits + the blazer on the coldest of days. The blazer + sweaters provide layers for the days in between. I'm loving this simple, second hand + lovely wardrobe.

All lovely photos via links.

Love,
Jane

Style isn't dependent on the newness of the clothes that contribute to it. Each of these runway looks is made up of secondhand finds. Bay Garnett styled these Oxfam fashion shows that ran during London Fashion Week the past couple of years. She spoke with Clare Press about secondhand fashion on Wardrobe Crisis, which prompted my search for these looks.

There is so much good stuff out there already.  ;)

All lovely photos via links.

Love,
Jane

Working on last week's one drawer wardrobe sparked thoughts of how similar numbers of pieces could work for different people with different styles + preferences. I'm also quite inspired by the secondhand offerings I've been able to find lately...so we're sticking with that theme as well. (yay, secondhand!)

This time I've compiled a small, simple wardrobe anchored by one-piece items. I've chosen five jumpsuits + two dresses. These seven pieces = seven outfits...and that's before we start layering + switching footwear. On the other hand we could use the seven pieces to choose four tops + three bottoms...and have lots of opportunities to mix + match. It's a matter of preference...but I thought it would be fun to play with the possibilities.

​I think that sleeveless jumpsuits + dresses are more versatile than long-sleeved jumpsuits + dresses. A sweater or jacket easily slides over top...the turtleneck could layer over or under...and the jacket can layer on its own or over a sweater for extra coziness. Each of these pieces can also be worn on its own providing ample summer options.

This simple wardrobe consists of:
5 jumpsuits
2 dresses
2 sweaters (1 cardigan + 1 turtleneck)
light jacket
low heels
tennies
=12 pieces total

This simple wardrobe is one I would love to try...and it's all secondhand!

All lovely photos via links.

Love,
​Jane

Worn denim, washed-out olive button-downs, soft sweatshirts + big ol' slouchy jackets are pieces I'll never get tired of wearing. I'm always on the lookout for these worn-in pieces when we're thrifting...and...I already have them in my own closet. 

Bliss + Mischief offers some of my favorite inspiration for adding just a little bit more love to these classics. Sometimes a little change goes a long way toward enhancing connection with a piece. There is something about slowing down + pulling thread through fabric that takes me in close. The piece becomes something more than the way it looks on my body. I value it a little bit more for what it is...I feel a some kinship to the garment workers who stitched the seams...I become part of the making, not just the wearing.

A little hand-stitching is such a calming, meditative practice...perfect for these cold, cloudy days. And a little change might be just the thing to perk up a small wardrobe after prolonged cold weather wear. A few of the ways I've added just a little bit more love: 01, 02, 03...clearly Bliss + Mischief inspired.  :)

All lovely images via the lovely Bliss + Mischief. Much of her collection is comprised of vintage finds enhanced by gorgeous embroidery + patchwork.

Love,
Jane