Also this week, we picked up our new house! Gradually moving in as we speak :)
The other day I thought, it doesn't matter if you shop fast fashion or ethically, if you have the problem of a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear you're doing something wrong. Not to sound braggy and obnoxious (though I will), but I haven't had that problem in years. Instead my problem would lean more towards the "you've worn this 4 days in a row already (usually a jeans and sweater combo), it's time to wear something different." But I guess I never have that "nothing to wear" problem anymore (oh and I definitely used to) because I've spent time honing in on my style, and Kondo-ing the sh*t out of my closet multiple times. So I really am left with my favorites. And I've learned how to mix and match those favorites (the 10x10 Challenges really help with that) so that it's easy for me to throw on an outfit and head out the door. Of course if you don't want to spend as much time as I do thinking about clothes, then yes you probably will have that nothing to wear dilemma until you come up with your own uniform/formula.
I guess I'm really lucky that my style aligns with Everlane a lot and I find their pieces to be my basic building blocks. And I know a lot of slow fashion peeps think Everlane is getting to be fast fashion but I think they are the bridge between brands like H&M, Zara (the truly fast fashion ones) with brands like Elizabeth Suzann and Jamie+the Jones (the really slow ones). They fill a niche where they have enough production to be able to have a large inventory (thus helping with the ease of buying and returning) and yet are manufacturing their clothes with ethical standards in mind. I read this interesting article which states eco-friendly brands don't provide the price point and ease of purchase that Millennials look for when buying clothes: Kambara said the disconnect between Millennials shoppers wanting to buy and not buying eco-friendly fashion “is the lack of fashionable eco-friendly choices that also meet their ease, price/value and uniqueness tests. There are only a handful of eco-friendly youth-oriented brands — such as Anek, Everlane, Nudie Jeans, Patagonia, People Tree, Reformation and K.O.I. — and none have the scale or variety of fashion offerings to meet Millennials’ requirements for ease, price/value and uniqueness.” I guess brands like Elizabeth Suzann and Jamie+the Jones can only appeal to those who can afford it, who are patient, and who are conscientious to the slow fashion cause. But I do think Everlane (and Reformation, etc.) is a step in the right direction.
Also a quick review on this GuppyBag from Patagonia that's supposed to collect all the microfibers from your machine washable synthetic clothes. Well it's useless so don't buy it! I've used it at least 5-6 times and have never seen/collected any microfibers so I think it's a great idea but it doesn't work.
P.S. I wrote this earlier in last week and just now read this post from a blog I've been following for awhile, and it really resonated with me. I think if you're "your own design advocate" as well as "buying for your lifestyle" as she advises, you really do start making your closet work for you.