How understanding your personal style help you become more sustainable

For those of you who have been long time readers here; you guys know that this blog started as a photo journal. I would post my outfits daily and give details about where I made my purchases. There wasn’t much commentary at first but eventually, we began to engage, and build our little community over our shared affinity for vintage, vintage-inspired, and thrifted clothing. I’ve later become more and more conscious of my own personal style, as well as developing a greater appreciation of the look and quality of pre-loved clothing over the years. Fast forward nearly 10 years and a lot of us are advocating for “global sustainability”.

So how did we get here?? To many of us, sustainability is this buzzword of sorts. It’s oftentimes used in conversations about saving our planet and/or avoiding “fast fashion”. Let’s put that into context. What is sustainability and how does it relate to fashion you might ask? Well, sustainability in fashion is all about looking at the entire life cycle of a garment. Stopping to consider how our clothing is made, the condition of the factories and the well being of the workers making our clothing, the dyes used, and how and where the fabric is sourced; as well as it’s biodegradation once we discard it. It stems down to CONSCIOUSNESS. Consciousness when we get dress every day.

When getting dressed daily having a grasp on your own personal style definitely has its benefits. Aside from saving time, knowing your style can save loads of money which is sustainable. Personal style isn’t necessarily about wearing the latest trends or what’s popular. Great personal style is all about trusting your instincts and wearing only pieces that are quintessentially you. These items in your wardrobe will be the pieces that you feel your absolute best while wearing.

It is so very important to hone in the pieces in your wardrobe that you love. The faster you identify iterative patterns in how you naturally dress; next, reflect on how those clothes make you feel. I’m 100% positive that you feel confident and beautiful in those pieces. Let these items become the staples in your wardrobe. Build your everyday outfits around the pieces in your closet that bring you joy, so that you can ignite those happy feelings daily.

Secondly, lean into the classics. Buying and wearing majority classics is a great way to guarantee sustainability. Classics are those key pieces that should be in everyone’s wardrobe regardless of personal style. They are considered timeless, and most importantly when you invest in buying classics you don’t have to waste money purchasing several pairs of particular items. There is always an occasion for a crisp white shirt, dark rinse jeans (that fits the booty good), a black shift dress, and a comfortable pair of neutral pumps.

An additional way that understanding your personal style can help you be more sustainable is simply by shopping vintage. I can confidently proclaim that vintage clothing is well very constructed and long-lasting. No matter the decade, rather a 1990s color-blocked silk blouse or 1950s day dress, the material is sturdier and made to withstand the times. Thus, if your wardrobe is compiled of things you love which so happens to be vintage, you won’t have to worry about wasting money purchasing and repurchasing clothing.

What are you wearing from home?? COVID Edition

Hiya guys, I hope all of you are well and in great spirits. Times are weird. Times are very, very strange. But let’s focus on the positive, and not harp on all of that. I am here to share how a random Instagram challenge led me to finding the fun in getting all dressed up during quarantine.

It all started with me scrolling aimlessly on my phone when I noticed someone that I follow wearing a very bright yellow outfit and tagging the post as the #instarainbowchallenge. I followed the hashtag and to my surprise, there were several dozen posts of women sporting beautiful bright colors topped with enormous smiles. I wanted in on the fun, so I got up and got dressed. Seeing fellow bloggers and stylists doing this challenge was exactly what I need.

(I later found out that this #InstaRainbowChallenge was created by a couple of stylish women from the UK using color on IG feeds as an effort to instantly lift people’s mood as well as show RAINBOW support and love for the NHS).

Although I have been quite busy with other avenues of my company, and doing quite a lot of writing for other publications, I have almost completely deserted my blog. Honestly, I felt like I had fallen into such funk over the past years when it came to getting dressed up and posting pictures here. Upon moving back to the States I gained about 25 pounds. Nothing really fit anymore, and my cheeks were so chunky that smiling became somewhat of a chore for me. The weight gain happened so quickly that I didn’t have the opportunity to fully adjust. I didn’t know my face, I didn’t know my body, I didn’t have the confidence to get dressed and pose it up. So instead of purchasing an entirely new wardrobe, I wore the few things that fit (ALL BLACK EVERYTHING). Thankfully now, since being home in self quarantined, I have been preparing all of my meals and working out regularly. As a result, I have dropped about 10 pounds, and I’m feeling better than ever. So back to the rainbow challenge, I hadn’t really realized that I had dropped a few pounds until I started to reach into my wardrobe styling outfits to post on social media in support of the challenge.

The outfit featured in this post is brought to you by my darling friend, Amanda over at Paulette’s Closet. The best vintage boutique in Memphis. How amazing is this vintage 60s day dress? The jeans are vintage Jordache from Paulette’s Closet as well. I wore the rainbow-colored dress to commemorate the challenge, and to celebrate me regaining self-confidence. It feels amazing to be back in front of the camera, highlighting so of my favorite vintage and thrift pieces from SOSNUThrift.

Over the next few days and weeks, I will continue to post the colorful outfits representing each shade of the rainbow.

Prada Love - Padded Headband

We all know the key players in the big brand fashion world, so it’s no secret of the power and influence that these brands possess. Like many other fashion aficionados, especially the ones like myself who live on a budget and practice sustainability in every aspect of their lives, we simply aspire to own the pieces that are shown on the runway. Or at the very least, we scour stores to find the perfect dupe. My brand is built on pairing inexpensive thrifted and/or vintage items with affordable on-trend items. So as the season’s big trends oftentimes do, they trickle down from right off the runway onto the shelves of fast fashion brands. Thus allowing more consumers and fashion lovers to partake in the joys of what new-in fashion. Although I don’t fully support fast fashion and some of those retailers’ ethical practices, I may have a browse in Topshop, F21, H&M or Zara to see just how good the dupes are.

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One particular trend that I had taken notice to this year was the puffy/padded headband. I didn’t necessarily see loads of people wearing them; however, I was seeing the right people wearing. These headbands were perfectly 90s prep (think Clueless), but with nods to the 1960s mod era. There was no question as to who was responsible for this accessory taking off. I knew it’s exact place of reference.

Prada’s S/S 2019 show was heavily influenced by the 1960s and surf culture. Take about duality. Models hit the runways in neoprene tops, biker shorts, rash guard knee socks with baby doll dress and collared with shirts. The collection was a “cohesive clash” of two very different walks of life. When asked about this collection, Miuccia spoke about wanting to show a juxtaposition of it all. Purposely she wanted to communicate her interpretation of our political climate. She expressed that “what’s happening in the world now…we wish for freedom, for liberation, for fantasy. And on the other side, an extreme conservatism is coming.” In a perfect world those with opposing political ideologies could unify, and at least co-exist in one place just as the sub-cultures that influenced this Prada collection do on the runway.

outfit deets - blazer: vintage Lauren by Ralph Lauren (here, here); turtleneck: The Limited (here, here); trousers: thrift (here, here) shoes: Jessica Simpson (here, here); padded headband: H&M (here, here)