Slow Fashion October: Week #1

Are you guys following along with Slow Fashion October? I loved listening to Karen’s episode on Love to Sew podcast and I love the interactive part of this year’s celebration of slow fashion. I decided to join the fun by posting about it each week here!

Action item: “Make a moodboard that reflects your ideal style…”

This exercise really made me realize how outdated my Pinterest boards are. I started a new one; it’s a work in progress for now.

Discussion prompts:

• Do you have a color palette? I think so? Definitely drawn to neutrals. Gimme black, navy, and every single grey, with some creamy ivory or warm caramel. I like a pop of bright color as an accent, usually a mustard, red, or cobalt (never together, ouf). I’m totally in the mood for Autumn/Winter, so I can’t even conjure up summer colors anymore.
• Whose style inspires you; do you have a muse or icon? Lisa Gachet (from Make My Lemonade), Gretchen Jones, and so many random lovely ladies on Instagram who I’m constantly saving screenshots of their outfits.
• Is there a brand you’re always drawn to, for their clothes and/or how they put them together? Why? Anelia Parys, Hellcats, Claire Heinui, Wear Lemonade. A bit of a mixed bag here, but I love the simplicity, the consistency of a certain style/look, a laid-back, confident attitude, and how all the garments are pretty straightforward with some sort of unique twist on them. Anelia Parys makes really cool, simple wrap tops (in addition to gorgeous lingerie), Hellcats just has amazing branding, Claire Heinui makes some classic-looking shirt-dresses with interesting details, and Wear Lemonade has fun prints and colors, or details like statement sleeves or necklines.
• What shapes and styles of garments work best for you, your life and your body? My life is about working from an office or working from home, and I mostly commute by bike, plus I occasionally need to pick up small children or crawl around on the floor. Pretty typical stuff, right?
  • High necklines make me happy! I love a good turtleneck or collared shirt.
  • I prefer separates over one-pieces.
  • I’ve figured out that I like to “flaunt one feature”. If I’m wearing a long dress, it should be defined at the waist. If I have a high neckline, maybe I have a fitted bodice. Looser bodice? Then fitted jeans. Boxy dress? Then it should be on the shorter side and paired with tights or bare legs. My thinking is that I can flash a bit of skin or show of one of my preferred features, without feeling over-exposed or over-dressed, or, on the other hand, too swamped and covered up.
• What are you clothing pet peeves? (lengths, necklines, sleeve types…) I’m still figuring out what works best for me, but I’m maybe coming to terms with not liking wide-legged pants or cocoon-shaped garments. Also still trying to work out if crop tops are my friends.
• What is your favorite garment or outfit (now or always) and why? Okay, real talk! I’m not so in love with most of my closet still. I’m a couple years in to my sewing journey already, and I’m learning a ton about what works for me and my body and my sense of self, but I’ve still got a ways to go. I don’t have particularly beloved or sentiment garment/outfit, but a few that I’m excited to wear again now that the weather is getting cooler are my turtleneck bodysuits, my red checkered Neenah dress (also a turtleneck), and an old old old H&M button-up that I wish I had copies of. They’re all just pieces I enjoy wearing and feel good in, and they fit in well with the rest of my wardrobe.
• What is the image you would like to project with you clothing? There’s a lot of your identity that gets wrapped in the clothes that you wear. I want to project confident, effortless style, that’s a bit quirky and unique, celebrates small details, and hopefully doesn’t read too “mom“. I’ll keep this short because I could take a lot of time unpacking this particular question!
• Can you describe your style in five adjectives? My actual style or my desired style? Oh well. Modern, subtle, cool, confident, effortless.
• What showed up in your mood board that surprised you? Less color than I thought. I’m always game for trying more color, and then I don’t really follow through.
• What’s an example of something you own and love (had to have!) but never wear, and why not? I have some amazing silk ikat garments; one’s a bright purple cocktail dress that’s very fitted, and one’s a very fitted pencil skirt. Major red flags immediately! Loud colors, bold prints, super fitted. I keep them for the sake of sentimentality, but I never wear them.

I am an enthusiastic planner and over-analyzer of my past, present, and future wardrobe, so this week’s prompt was so relevant for me. I already feel more inspired to move forward with my sewing and wardrobe planning in a more thoughtful way. What about you guys, do you create mood boards or do any sort of wardrobe planning? Let me know!