Burnt Out on Branding.
Happy Friday friends! You may remember my mentioning a couple weeks ago about chatting with my friend Stephanie about current fashion trends and both ours and societies views on the subject. Since I spoke with Stephanie at the beginning of the month I haven’t been able to stop thinking about our conversation and the question of, is the anti label the new trend? In a world where we’ve spent the last couple of years trying to brand everything, ourselves, our Instagrams, our homes, for everything to be perfectly curated and thus the brand of us - are we finally so burnt out on it all, that we want in fact, no branding?
I was telling Stephanie that for the past few months I haven’t really had a major desire to shop, I’ll peruse the web but can’t seem to be totally enticed to make purchases. The only really shopping I’ve been doing is from the local clothing exchange and Goodwill except for a couple pairs of shoes. Stephanie made a point that maybe I don’t want to shop from a specific ‘place’ because of what that’ll say about me. Everything we wear sends a message, and I think I’m tired of sending a message, whatever that message may be, and I don’t think I’m alone in this..Who knows, maybe I’m crazy? Or, maybe it’s just a more thoughtful way of shopping; do I really want to buy this dress, from this store and this brand? Do I like what they represent, do their values align with my values? Am I sending a positive message by wearing this? Am I positively effecting the environment while wearing this? I love fashion, I love getting dressed most days, I love personal style and on those extra special days being creative with my favorite pieces I’ve worn dozens of times. But I don’t love the waste, I don’t love not knowing where clothes are coming from or if they were made ethically. I love sustainable fashion, I love recycled fashion, and I love staple pieces that can last you season after season that you don’t need to throw out every time you make an addition to your closet. Realizing this over the past few months I think has been a hard transition from me. When I was working at Anthropologie I was blindly shopping all the time, the substantial discount didn’t help and being surrounded by beautiful things, with new selections coming in three times a week was just fueling the fire. It took me a while and a long chat with Stephanie to realize why the shopping had been slowing down; at first thought I was totally uninspired, but now realize I’m inspired in a whole new way.
Which, ALL that brings me to the latest look, why wear just one jacket when you can pile them on? I scooped up this vintage Nordstrom denim trench coat from Goodwill earlier this week and am loving it for an extra winter layer. Great for piling on top of other jackets and sweaters as your outerwear, or totally rad over a white t-shirt on it’s own. Maybe even picturing it with shorts for summer nights? Stay tuned.
Thrifted Nordstrom Denim Jacket, Quilted Bomber Jacket c/o Dickies, Khaki Pants c/o Dickies, Ribbed Turtleneck Sweater c/o Lacausa, Tahari Ankle Boots
