Think Boutique and letters to fashion

Just as much as we love receiving all kinds of messages and packages, we also love sending them! A while back, we shipped a Dear Fashion parcel to Scotland and it ended up landing on Victoria McQuillan's doormat. Victoria is an ethical fashion enthusiast and founder of Think Boutique, a web shop that "brings together the most exciting and fashion-forward UK ethical brands with a strong focus on stylish, high quality pieces". She aims to keep her business as green and fair as possible and does so by selling products many of which are not only Fair Trade, organic, sustainable or up-cycled, but also proudly made in the UK.

From Think Boutique's collection

We were thrilled to find pictures of our package in Victoria's blog, where she wrote about Dear Fashion with words that couldn't better describe the reason for the journal's existence: "I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel the focus is often on the doom and gloom when it comes to ethical fashion and I found this [Dear Fashion Journal] a really refreshing approach. Different people from all corners of the globe talking about their personal style and the items that they truly treasure in their wardrobes. As Kate Fletcher says in her prologue: Dear Fashion is an ode to what can be, to creation, expression, caring, repairing...so much more than consumerism’s ‘have it all’ culture."

Those of you, who might not have their own copy of Dear Fashion Journal yet might not know that we left the last page of the magazine empty, giving space for you to write your personal letter to fashion. Much to our delight, Victoria did so and shared her letter to fashion on her blog:

Dear Fashion...

I think I love you.  Ever since the floral dungarees, colour changing socks, waist coasts and floppy velvet hats of my childhood you have been with me. I know its not always been an easy journey over the faux pas and crisis of confidences in items which are better left behind in the past. But you’ve always been there for me. A way to express myself and an instant pick me up in times of stress and gloom.

Discovering your darker side has shaped my business and my wardrobe and I've looked at you in a different light and learned to love you all over again.  I have learned to slow my pace and really enjoy dressing up (and down) and though sometimes the draw of indulging in feel good items is hard to resist I know at heart your best qualities will always prevail.

Dear Fashion, no matter what happens, lets stay together...

Yours Truly 
Victoria

Click your way to the full article on Victoria's blog here. 

Have you written a personal letter to fashion...? If yes, please share it with us! If not, then grab a pen and a piece of paper, go sit under a tree and be the Jane Austen of your thoughts (or just type it on your what-ever-pad)!

Question of the week: How long is your hem?

Skirt (skərt). "A woman's outer garment fastened around the waist and hanging down around the legs." The definition of a skirt is fairly simple, however, there is more to skirts than the dictionaries tell, and economists know it as well!

 

There are countless different types of skirts: pencil skirts, flared skirts, maxis, minis, knee-lenghts and so on. Whilst some let their carefree hems flow in the wind, others head to the office in tailored pieces that leave no doubts about serious business. Depending on the type of skirt you wear, you can run, dance, hobble, swagger with self-confidence or sneak around pulling your skirt down, trying to keep the hem from reaching vulgar heights.

How, when and where you choose to wear a skirt is a personal matter, but did you know that it is not always just our personal preference that determines the types of skirts we wear? Just like fashion in general, also skirts hold more cultural and societal references than one might think. War times, the joyful roaring twenties and emancipation of women have all been reflected on the skirt trends. There is even a theory about hemline index claiming that the changes in economy have a direct impact on the style of these garments. The hemline index is calculated by measuring hem length as a percentage of the length from floor to waistline. According to this theory, the skimpier the skirts, the higher the index, the better the economy and the fuller the wallets! Many fashionistas have confirmed the theory right, but the scientific value of the hemline index is debatable. Ken Downing, the head of women's wear at Neiman Marcus, told the Business Insider that he does not believe the index is accurate. After having seen the skirt trends at Fashion Weeks last year, he commented: "It's interesting, as a fashion director I no longer believe hemlines are a conversation on trend because it's so particular to a designer and their point of view...We are seeing hemlines below the knee, at the knee and some that are still quite short."

by Stephen Wildish: www.stephenwildish.co.uk

Now, we would like to know how long is your hem?

Have your skirts followed the hemline index and changed into maxis during the current financial crisis or is your wardrobe rebelling against the gloom with cheerful minis? And most importantly, do you think we should start analysing the stock markets on newspapers to try to forecast the trends of next season instead of jumping straight to the comic section...? Share your thoughts below in comments or join the hemline conversation on Facebook by clicking here!

For further reading on skirts, their evolution and more, check out a brand new magazine called Garment that is all about skirts, skirts and skirts! We especially recommend a column by Nikita, one of the magazine's editors, who steps out of her comfort zone, wears a different type of skirt every week and writes about her experiences. Giggles guaranteed!

Weatherproof summer activities for swappers, shoppers and other stylistas

Too cold to go to the beach? A weather too rainy for minigolf? No worries! In the coming weeks, we will present to you a few summer activities that can take place no matter what the colour of the sky is.

Bees are buzzing around the blooming flowers, yet they are not the only busy bees in July: clothes swappers from around the world have also kept themselves active by having organized some nice happenings for this month. For the first article in the series of sustainably chic summer activities, we put together a list of a few upcoming exchange events and shared some tips for organizing one of your own!

 

On Sunday the 7th of July in Amsterdam, Krijg de Kleren will take place in Roest, one of the most whimsical hotspots in the city. Be there or be square, for the weatherman has been promising an unusually sunny weather for the day and the location next to a canal is sure to add the much wanted beach feeling to your day!

In Australia, you can swap your winter blues away in Melbourne at an event organized by The Clothing Exchange on the 8th of July. Other than that, the Clothing Exchange team works in Sydney and Canberra as well, so all you Ozzies out there should keep an eye on their website for future events!

All the UKers can check out the agenda for fashion swishing events in UK here. They have quite a full programme for the month, and taking part should be a fun pastime activity whilst waiting for the royal baby!

Fashionistas in the United States can be good, green and glamorous by swapping their clothes on the 17th of July in California. To check out the event and to keep an eye on upcoming happenings in other states, click on their website here.

If we didn't mention your local clothes swapping event, be pro-active and do the following: Click yourself to Google and do a digital search for other clothes swappers in your area. If the number of your search results is a big round zero, don't let a frown turn your face upside down! Call your friends instead and invite them for a spontaneous swapping party accompanied with a picnic in a park or some serious wine sipping in doors. If you wish to organize an event that goes beyond a small get-together, don't hesitate to get in touch with fellow swappers for tips and advice: in Belgium, the local Swishers have even promised to support and help enthusiastic swappers in organizing self-initiated neighbourhood events!

If your friends and their clothes are scattered around the country, join Klädbyte, a sweet Swedish online service for clothes swapping or the more international Swapstyle, where fashionistas can exchange their designer goods. If you are more of a DIY spirit, you can also easily create a digital platform for swapping with Facebook. All you need to do before the fun can begin is create an event, invite all the stylistas in your network to join. After that, set the guidelines for the swapping procedure (shipping etc.) and ask all the participants to snap photos of their clothes and post them online with sizes and other specifications. Voilá!

Now press the play button below to get in the mood for surfing through your closet, choose your swappables and take them on a date to a fashion exchange party - it's partner-swapping at its best!

It matters

We don't often tackle Serious Issues, but rather write about nice things, funny happenstances and stories about people and their clothes. However, this time I would like to make an exception.

When an interviewer at the Women's Wear Daily CEO Summit asked Marc Jacobs why does fashion matter, he replied:

"Let’s see. It’s part of the art of living. Why does makeup matter? Why does fragrance matter? Why does fashion matter? Why does it matter to have beautiful furniture and nice interiors and books to read and good wine to drink and good food to eat? These are all luxuries and it’s human nature to want them, to desire them, to enjoy them, enjoy looking at them, wearing them. I think it’s just human nature. We want things to please us and make us feel good and maybe attract other people to us or just make us feel good about ourselves."
 

I agree with Marc Jacobs; fashion is a matter that matters in many ways. However, what was not mentioned in his answer was the amount of people working in faraway countries, to whom fashion matters in a much more tangible way than to most of us. The people who go to work to sew our clothes in unfair factories, putting their health and lives under risk to make garments to us and to support their families. With documentaries about ruthless production cycles, global warming and the recent news from the factories of Bangladesh, it is no wonder that when people talk about sustainable fashion, the discussion tends to have a negative, nagging undertone that shocks and makes you feel guilty. But negativity helps no one. This is why we at Dear Fashion Journal want to talk about sustainably sensible consumption instead of preaching about the poor state of fashion's production cycle. We want to share tips and tricks and explore how to be more sustainable on grassroot-level by caring about your clothes and making good purchases instead of impulsive ones. We want to talk about putting your money where your heart is.

The fashion industry in itself is so complex that having a 100% clean, fair and sustainable production cycle will probably happen the same day that beauty contestants stop wishing for world peace. This is why I think it is important for us to acknowledge that our daily thoughts, deeds and shopping behaviour matter more than whether the dress that we bought was from H&M's Conscious Collection or not, bacause changing into green this and fair that is not the only way of being more sustainable. (Of course, supporting sustainable and fair brands is always good, at least as long as you don't let your brain get greenwashed).

"You Matter" by Stepanka Peterka

Stepanka Peterka is a member of Slow Fashion Forward and the artist behind "You Matter", a piece of digital art telling that how we act as consumers on an individual level really matters on a community level. "It's related to how we can choose to use our garments, creating meaningful engagement that matters both physically and symbolically," Stepanka says."I chose to use my finger prints, pixels, and hand embroidery as design elements to represent the wealth of creativity, capabilities, interconnectivity, experiences and skills that we as individuals can contribute to each other and to our thought processes, as we use garments and make decisions around consumption."

With these thoughts, I would like to remind myself and all of you that everything great begins from something small: from drinking only fairly produced coffee, yes, but also from swapping instead of shopping, avoiding mispurchases and most of all, from being creative.

Because even the smallest changes that feel good in our hearts matter to the world.

Yours,
Emmi "Idealist 4eva"

Question of the week: How to summer-ify your wardrobe?

"Spring without new dresses" collage by Vera van het Ho

Seasons are good. They bring the much needed changes into our lives, allowing us to housemouse in the winter and run outside with ice cream melting down our hands six months later. Seasons make the colours change from brown to white and green, and give a functional purpose to cashmere as well as miniskirts and sandals.

What we and the mannequins on display windows wear changes hand in hand with the seasons. It is always a good feeling to tuck your winter coat away and take out your skirts and shorts, but seeing everybody sporting their summer gear and reading lists of "Top 10 Festival Looks" can also cause an impulse to have something new in your wardrobe. Something with spice, something wow, something pretty, something NOW! However, these urges don't have to mean that you must go for an emergency shopping spree - instead, you can try to freshen the contents of your closet up in other ways! We believe in cutting old jeans into shorts, swapping clothes with friends and digging through attics on the hunt for long lost summer tunics from teenage years, but we would also love to know:

 

How do you freshen up your wardrobe for summer?

Do you rely on handy DIY tricks, accessories or multifunctional items that go throughout the year...? Share your thoughts and leave a comment below or join the conversation on Facebook!

Click here to check out our collection of DIY tutorials that will help you trend-ify your old clothes in a planet and wallet friendly way, or read how Vera and Jeanine from Fashion Reset are dealing with their non-shopping challenge (in Dutch)!

Question of the week: What are your rules for combining clothes?

"Wrong Combos" collage by Vera van het Hof

This year, fashion seems to be clashing everywhere: statement stripes are one of the biggest trends on the display windows and it doesn't look like bright colours on sneakers, jeans or hair are going anywhere either. However, combining clothes creatively and coming up with exciting yet chic outfits is not always as easy as it may sound, especially for the shyer dressers, who want to have a bit of fashion fun but prefer mild seasoning in their looks without too many quirks. Last month, Vera from Fashion Reset wrote about her thoughts on combining dresses, jackets and their hem lengths and shared her own "rule": short over long, long(er) over short or long over long. That leads us to the question of the week, which is:

 

What kind of rules do you have for combining your clothes? 

Do you rely on a certain colour palette, follow suggestions from style guides, never wear black with brown or clash your clothes fearlessly? We are curious, so share your personal rules and combination philosophies with us below in comments or on Facebook!

Interview: Two fashionistas, one blog and 365 days without new clothes

Meet Jeanine and Vera, two fashion professionals who decided to reset their fashion behaviour and stop shopping for a year. They write letters to each other on a blog called Fashion Reset, where they share their struggles, thoughts and successes. These girls get creative with fashion in an alternative way, and after a lot of digital penpalling, we finally managed to meet over coffee to talk about fashion, style and some “deep stuff”.

Let’s do it: 525.948 minutes without new shoes! Collage by Vera Van het Hof

 Please tell us something about yourself; who are Jeanine and Vera?

J: I’m Jeanine, a 34-year-old designer who graduated from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. I design accessories for private label collections and work on my own label that is to be launched this year.

V: I’m Vera, a 35-year-old freelance copywriter and stylist. I give branding advice for companies, but have also recently done styling for a music video, so my work is really diverse. Me and Jeanine met each other at a clothes swapping event called Ellie’sKledingkast, where we worked in the same team as stylists.

You started a one-year shopping sabbatical together in January 2013. Why? What were the main reasons for you to stop shopping? 

J: A few people I met were doing the Free Fashion Challenge and they told me that not shopping hadn’t been that much of a struggle for them. It made me wonder how it would be for myself. I wrote on my facebook that I was thinking about taking the challenge and not shopping for a year, and Vera reacted with panic. (laughs)

V:  I was like “what are you thinking?!”

J: Yes, and I then told you to join me.
V: It made me really curious. First I thought “no way”, but then I started thinking that if I could buy second hand, maybe I could actually do it. The thought became more serious, and I got an idea that if we did it together, we could also write about it to each other.

J: So, two weeks before the New Year we got together and set rules for our non-shopping challenge. We also made a list of must-have items for last minute shopping spree.

What were the items on that list? 

J: For me it was mainly the basics: socks, underwear and a few tops...I was actually so focussed on finding good quality socks that in the end I completely forgot to buy any bras. (laugh)

V: I bought socks and underwear, too, but I also had a last minute panic and made a 200€ order to Topshop. I got myself leggings with a super trendy space print that you can probably wear only once and a stupid pair of shoes which I didn’t really even like. I basically made all the worst shopping mistakes the night before the challenge started.

Have you also worn those clothes? 

V: Some of them, yes. Despite the panic, I was still thinking practically and also ordered cardigans and things like that, but the silly impulse buys that I threw in – like the leggings – I haven’t worn once.

J: One of my friends gave me a good tip to put some of the things you buy before the challenge aside until the time you need them. I still have some things in store that I haven’t worn, and when you need them it will feel like you really have something new.

That’s a smart tip. How did you come up with the idea to write each other letters on a blog? 

J: We wanted to get something extra out of the challenge. We both also wanted to do something with our talents, so the Fashion Reset-blog became a channel for us to do those creative things that we have dreamed of doing. 

V: The non-shopping challenge also makes you wonder about things about yourself. Why do you feel the need to have something new? It’s nice to record your thoughts somewhere, especially since fashion is everywhere and it means a lot more than just…fabric.