sustainable living tips: building and maintaining a wardrobe

Confession: even though I do have a notion of post ideas for this blog most of my most recent posts have been spurred by conversations I’ve had IRL. Today’s post was prompted by a conversation + experience I had with my friend Nhia before she moved away from NYC 😞. I went over to help her pack, but our conversations naturally led to her getting rid of a bunch of old clothes. During the process, our conversation threaded a few different things from the natural and thoughtless ways we already practice sustainability to the difficulty of balancing the love of dressing up while also being sustainable and caring for the planet—in short, is a capsule wardrobe compatible with fashionphiles? Now my friends all know that I do love clothes but I also have very few clothes but they’re all of higher quality, and that’s extremely intentional. Years ago (around the last time this was purely a sustainable fashion blog so easily like 10 years ago) I decided to build a wardrobe that I loved (and one full of well-made and mostly natural materials). I maybe buy a max of 12 articles of clothing a year (outside basics like underwear). One that I felt reflected me and worked with my lifestyle. This is an extremely long process. It’s forced me to have more discernment in how I spend my money and what I put on my body. The nice thing about sustainability is there are tons of ways to practice it and you don’t have to do everything all at once you should pick one thing and try to turn it into a habit. The easiest ways are simply buying less and using what you have already. You can trade or borrow things from friends and family, just really reducing those new purchases and retraining your mind to just not feel compelled to always need more stuff and just rework what you already have. Sustainability is truly about mindset and lifestyle changes not necessarily buying new products or looking a specific way. This is truly one of the biggest ways people get turned off from sustainability but I promise sustainability works with pretty much every aesthetic.

Now for some of my tips some that some of my friends already know but I want to share them again because thankfully my community has grown but also not everyone knows my approach. So you want to buy fewer but nicer things but don’t feel like it’s in your budget? Calculate what you’ve spent on whatever category let’s say clothes in the past year. You don’t include things like underwear and socks, basics like this I exclude. The number might shock you but realistically you shouldn’t be buying more than like 10-12 new (to you) garments per year. If you want to spend less money on clothes reduce that budget to a number you’re comfortable with and then divide that yearly total by 10-12 and that’s how much you can spend per item. Obviously, you can divide this number by a number less than 10 but honestly, I would not go greater than 15 I promise you don’t need more than 12 in a year. It’s really a lot of items. The price per item you’ve calculated is maybe higher than you’ve spent on any single item for everyday wear before and that’s good! It will allow you to shop and support brands you thought were too expensive before but maybe had better quality products. I’m pretty sure I bought maybe max 15 items last after buying close to nothing the previous year.

tip 2! Wait. Seriously just think if you actually need or truly love the item(s) you’re considering. Love is a commitment to care and wear. Learning to properly care for your clothes will increase their longevity. Generally:

• wash in cold water
• use the right amount of detergent (it’s way less than you think! you generally only need a tablespoon of detergent especially if you’re using a high-efficiency (HE) washer and HE detergent. Any more and your clothes aren’t actually getting clean because by the time the cycle is done all the soap hasn’t washed out.) If you’re worried about disinfecting your clothes you can use vinegar (cleaning is preferred but standard white will work too) or tea tree oil.
• don’t use things like scent booster, fabric softeners, or dryer sheets they are literally coating your clothes in a film that doesn’t come out and make the clothes less breathable and harder to clean. You can spray your clothes after they’re dry or while they’re airdrying (you should always air dry clothes! the dryer is murder on clothes. it weakens and wears out the fibers so you have to replace them sooner.

Think of the garment as something that has to be cared for (because it does) do you want to commit to that? More importantly, does the item fit into your aesthetic either the one you are trying to maintain or curate? Some things we like even though we think we love them but they’re not really for us. Sometimes we make mistakes and that’s okay, you don’t have to be perfect, just genuinely try. I give my purchases some marinating time. I try really hard not to impulse buy and if I lose out on an item it was not meant to be and that will eventually be okay.

tip 2.5 or 3, really it’s in conversation with the previous tip. Use Pinterest! seriously even if you don’t have one, make one it’s super helpful for staying organized. What you want to do is make a board, it can be public or private (mine is private but I’m sharing a screengrab) . Create sections for different garments (i.e. pants, skirts, dresses, tops, knits, accessories, etc) and catalog everything you own (again outside of underwear unless you really want to it’s your board). I do a ton of online shopping when I buy things so it’s easy to add new items to the board, but sometimes I buy things in stores. Regardless pretty much everything is online so you can find photos of items to save to your board or add your photos if you want. Now when you’re shopping or trying to plan an outfit you have your entire closet at your fingertips. You can add notes and comments to all of your pins to it’s great if you want to be really granular. You can cross reference if the item you’re looking at is similar to something you already own (so you might want to skip it) or even if it will go with things you already own and therefore a smarter purchase because you can mix it with existing items. The other beautiful thing about this is that when you go through the process of adding all the items you can see if you want or need to get rid of anything. Bring a friend over and you could even swap clothes! It’s super chill and can be fun.

The beauty of the board is that it will also allow you to easily visually compare it to a separate Pinterest mood board that you create. The board can also help you create a capsule wardrobe (which is really a separate post that I started writing years ago but never finished 😕 I will though and will share sooooo soon, but quick takeaway capsule wardrobe doesn’t have to consist of any set items or in a singular monochrome color palette is just needs to consist of clothes you will wear and can mix and match to your personal style). I personally use this board as type of closet management, as you can see there are sections where I move or pin things I want to sell or replace, you should customize your board to best serve you! I also save multiple pins of the same item from different views because many of the items I buy are funky or have open backs etc.

These are my big tips. Obviously, support small creators and designers, buy stuff made of natural materials (they last longer and they’re breathable), learn how to care for your clothes, and just buy less. It’s not a race.

I know it’s been a while since I posted and a lot has changed since my last post. For instance, I moved again this time to NYC for graduate school and I started a furniture company fern (more about this later). Am I currently drowning in work as I write this post? Yes. Am I probably a little burned out? Definitely, but retail therapy is great, and online window shopping is all I can actually do right now. I would feel too guilty physically going shopping right now given the amount of work I need to finish, so I’m doing the next best thing as a little break from actively designing next another space or object by online window shopping! Check out what I’m currently loving in terms of clothes.

Talitha Beaded Sequin Mini Dress (Onalaja)

I fell in love with this dress the moment I saw it on the folklore’s website. It’s gorgeous and even though I currently have no place to wear it to I would 100% buy this and just wear it whenever I felt like it. It is also the perfect New Year’s party dress. This is dress would be a completely irresponsible purchase but you know what sometimes it is okay to be irresponsible.

Chloe Bralette (Elexiay)

I love this concept, don’t fully love the color, so if I were to order this I would probably get a custom color (and it’s also part of the reason I haven’t ordered it). I love that you can order custom colorways from Elexiay, I’ve really fallen in love with the custom option because it allows me to truly craft and curate a closet of clothes I love. I’m currently considering getting this in a light blue or even a strong blue but I also have a cobalt blue sweater that I personally find a hard time styling so I haven’t settled on a color yet. A soft pink similar to the color of things dyed with avocado pits is also an option.

Lara Black Lux Sequins Knitted Bra (Maison Cleo)

I own a vintage mustard blazer (don’t really remember if I thrifted it or stole it from my mom) that’s one of my favorite pieces. It has a tux feel to it thanks to the pleated black collar and buttons so it’s a little more “masculine” so I like trying to balance with more “feminine” pieces and I think this with a high-waisted black pencil skirt (or even a mini if I’m feeling scandalous) would be super cute. I really just want more things to wear with the blazer since I really love it.

Oana Pink Thick Striped Woold Skirt (Maison Cleo)

I used to own a bright pink skirt like this but I didn’t really love the cut. I bought it when I went on a weird clothing binge and bought a ton of stuff I regret buying. I like this one because it’s wool, it has this nice slit, and 2 pockets, plus this color is very bright so it would color block well. Sadly it is currently sold out but if I find this, I’m definitely buying it.

Maya in Tobacco Braid (Lutz Morris)

Do I love this bag because it matches a pair of my shoes? Yes. Do I love both of these items because of the texture? Yes. There are about 5 different bags by the German brand Lutz Morris that I want (including a custom one that I haven’t designed). I’m in dire need of a new everyday bag because I’ve literally been carrying the same vintage Dooney & Bourke since high school and I want something more adult sophisticated. I really want a simple bag similar to this one in terms of shape preferably vintage but painted by an artist, but I haven’t worked out all the details on this creation.

That’s it! I actually found this really fun, so I’ll probably do it again. I don’t actually purchase things that often because I’m hyper selective, but I do enjoy a good scroll or stroll through different shops and discovering new designers. I really love supporting smaller more independent designers so if there’s someone I should know tag them in the comments or send them to me on Instagram!

Sustainable fashion— it’s part what you buy and part ensuring sure what you buy lasts. More often than not I will post about things you can buy, but today I want focus on the later and making a clothing care kit! You’re not going to need all of the items in this post so you should customize your kit depending on what you need and own. Most of these items will last you a lifetime because you shouldn’t have to use them every day. while, I will link to major companies please support your local small businesses, especially for items in basics!

1. Sewing needle and thread. If you don’t know how to sew, please learn (video here). It is a life skill for all genders, ages, and races. Being able to sew a button and fix a hem are vital to making your clothes last. To be pretty honest, I currently only have one of those sewing kits from they have at hotels but that has come in pretty handy when I needed to sew buttons back onto my coat. I recommend having black/navy and white thread on hand and some basic needles.
2. A steamer/iron. Fun fact, I can’t iron so I use a steamer. I use it to disinfect thrifted clothing and de-wrinkle my clothes. I recently bought this steamer from Steamery a Stockholm based company. It’s super sleek and works well.
3. Sweater stone/shaver. I hate it when my sweaters pill, aka form those little balls of fabric. Ever so often, I’ll use a sweater stone or my oui shave razor to remove them. You can use a double edge razor, sweater stone, or sweater shaver.
4. Lint roller. I held off on buying a lint roller for a while because I don’t like how wasteful the traditional ones are so I did some research on alternatives because my oversized coat was covered in lint. Eventually, I found this one. At first, I didn’t think was working but then I noticed the lint was disappearing. The cool thing about this lint remover is that it is reusable.
5. Laundress Silk and Wool washes. I love these two washes from The Laundress. The are both very lightly scented, which is important since I very sensitive to fragrances. I use both of these to hand wash silk and wool clothing items.
6. Jason Markk’s cleaning kit. My sister is a sneakerhead and uses these to clean her shoes. She also lets me use it when I need to clean my shoes, which is great for cleaning the suede on my Veja holidays. An old toothbrush also works well for cleaning shoes.