Everlane ryan muscle tank | medium
Kowtow organic cotton cardigan | grey sold out, black version at Garmentory
Goldsign Virtual high-rise jeans
No6 Clogs | mine are several years old…
Admonish Leather tote | sold out, similar styles available, I know who made it, he’s my friend 🙂
Pardon the late posting today, but I spent the morning at the dentist, specifically the ENDODONTIST, because I need a root canal. Next Monday. I’m not in any pain or anything now, but my issues a few months ago were directly related to this, and my regular dentist just couldn’t see the problem yet. Anyway, no big deal, but after that I needed a lunch date with my friend, so I didn’t get this posted as early as I like to in the morning.
Back to fashion revolution week, and #whomademyclothes today:
Everlane – Everlane may have its growing pains, but I give them HUGE credit for pioneering the “radical transparency” movement; on each product page you find pricing details, and the “true cost” of each piece. They’re also transparent about each of the factories they use, the relationships they have with them, and the people who work there.
Kowtow – Kowtow is a New Zealand company producing most of their items in India. Nearly every piece is fair trade organic cotton, an inherently sustainable fiber, and they take modern, sustainable style seriously (the pieces are SO GOOD!).
Goldsign – Denim is an issue I honestly haven’t paid enough attention to. Mostly because I know what I’ll find when I dig deep, and I’m not sure I want to! Denim is VERY VERY VERY water intensive, and synthetic indigo dyes are derived from coal tar and toxic chemicals. I know nothing about the dyes used by Goldsign, or any other denim brands I own, nor do I have a lot of faith that they’re trying to conserve water. High-end denim IS made in the US, though, which is better than denim brands made in China or Bangladesh. But still…I should make more of an effort to buy denim made from organic cotton and/or natural indigo dyes, or just buy black denim….but as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve not found any sustainable denim I like enough to wear/buy it.
No6 – This was true years ago when I dug into it, but I believe No6 is still made by Sven, of Sven’s Clogs. They are handmade to order in New York and last FOREVER. These wedges are many years old and still in great shape. The staples sometimes come loose, but I just tap them back in. Lighter colors don’t look so pretty after a couple of years, though, which is why I don’t really wear my taupe open-toed clogs much lately. That, and I’m just not as into clogs as I used to be.
Admonish – Actually I know very well who made my bag – the designer makes them himself and he’s been a friend for many years. That’s the best thing, I think, knowing first hand who makes your stuff. Sometimes I wish we could get back to that for everything, really, although I know that’s not realistic. I’d love to be able to buy handmade furniture, get all my food from local farms, etc., but a lot of things prohibit that at the moment, so I do what I can.
Your turn! What are you wearing today? Who made your bag & shoes?
Excellent! Since it’s still Tuesday I can say that my shoes were Birkenstocks (same ones as yesterday) and bag was fold-over leather clutch/shoulder bag from an Etsy seller in Canada, Opelle.
Jeans: Gap (yikes) purchased from Good Will
T-shirt: Elizabeth Suzann hemp/silk blend
Earrings: Freshie & Zero (local designer)
The last several pairs of jeans I’ve bought have been second hand, mostly from consignment stores. I’ve been most successful with AG and COH.
Love your post and your outfit! It’s inspiring to me how much thought you put into your clothing choices and it has influenced me to try doing the same.
I just purchased some cashmere items from Pure Collection (they are from the UK but also have a US site) and it says “made from sustainable cashmere ” – which sounds promising but personally I’m not sure what it means exactly (embarrassed face). Since following your blog, I have been much more conscious of not buying new jeans unnecessarily (although I wasn’t aware indigo was worse than black jeans for the environment. Glad to learn something new!)
Passing along my favorite local-ish jeans brand, which took me over a year to discover: Raleigh Denim. They feel like real jeans (not just lycra), regain their shape after just a few hours’ rest, and are as eco as I’ve been able to find that still fit (I’m size 32, so right at the top end of hipster-brand size ranges). I’m bummed that I only needed one pair.
Love that outfit!
Shoes are the same F+B boots from yesterday, bag is the zipper-pocket hobo pack from Rough & Tumble , on Etsy. Great bag – 100% handmade in Maine, converts from a shoulder bag to crossbody to a backpack, carries a ton and suits a variety of needs . Though I do wish I could get my hands on an Admonish tote (like the zipper one you have) because i could use something that’s a little more polished.
christine – i’m emailing you about the admonish tote – he has one available
I think Prana has sustainably- and U.S.-made jeans..?
haha! i feel that way too sometimes about things i love, like i wish i needed more! i used to buy lots of multiples, but i really try not to do that anymore. i’ve heard of raleigh denim before, they use mostly cotton right? that’s what i love the most. REAL jeans, like you said.
In denim I think Re/Done is interesting. They take old Levis apart at the seams and rework the denim into new styles without using chemicals or a ton of water. I haven’t tried a pair yet, but I like the idea. The only thing I don’t love is that they charge a restocking fee for returns.
They have a great website, you select your size and they show you each pair they have in that size, since no two are the same you are buying the pair of jeans you are looking at. A lot of the jeans are very distressed, but some are just nicely worn looking. They also have a comprehensive fit guide – I wish more denim brands would provide such detailed measurements.