Thank you Value Village for graciously coordinating a shopping excursion to my local Value Village for some Summer thrifting! Items gifted and sent for editorial consideration are marked c/o. Affiliate links are occasionally used throughout this site, which means I might make a small commission if you click on a link & make a purchase. Thank you for supporting Story of My Dress!

Pineapple Moon Palm Tree Shirt c/o Value Village (thrifted, similar) | Oat + Fawn Shorts c/o Value Village (thrifted, similar) | Johnston & Murphy Jules Lace-Up Sneaker c/o | Target Blocked Panama Hat | Marc Jacobs Sunglasses (sold out, similar) | Market Net Bag

It's the season of sunshine! And it is seriously hot hot hot here in Seattle. We will be at, above or close to 90 degrees Fahrenheit for at least the next week. Definitely not complaining though, as I personally love the heat and sunshine.

However, to keep things cool as the thermometer turns up and to make sure I don't get too roasty toasty (as our home does not have A/C) , I plan to enjoy lots of iced coffee, seek out spots with A/C, and, of course, head to the beach in my summer wardrobe favorites!

For my summer and beach wardrobe, I am all about thrifting. It's a great way to save money for summer adventures and also an easy way to curate a more sustainable closet and lower my clothing footprint. Secondhand clothing is the most sustainable clothing because it already exists! Win-Win for the planet. Win-Win for my bank account. Win-Win for my summer wardrobe!

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Dreaming of Gucci and Finding Grateful Dead in Georgetown

Disclosure: Affiliate links are occasionally used throughout this site, which means I might make a small commission if you click on a link and make a purchase. Items gifted and sent for editorial consideration are marked c/o. Thank you for supporting Story of My Dress!

Theory Dress (sold out, similar), Turtleneck Sweater (thrifted - no label, similar), Maison E. Goyard Bag (not available online, similar), Donald Pliner Pumps (sold out, similar), Marc Jacobs Sunglasses (sold out, similar), mywalit Medium Matinee Purse c/o, PORTER Magazine

My favorite way to spend a free day? I pick a Seattle neighborhood I love and spend the day exploring new spots and visiting my favorites. Georgetown in Seattle is one neighborhood I love to visit often. Just south of downtown, this industrial chic neighborhood is filled with hip and underrated restaurants, the cutest shops (there's a trailer park mall!), one of my favorite coffee shops in the City and a fantastic record store perfect for digging through stacks of vinyl.

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Your Closet BFF: A History of the Little Black Dress

Disclosure: Affiliate links are occasionally used throughout this blog, which means I might make a small commission if you click on a link. Thank you for supporting Story of My Dress! 

 

Who What Wear Collection Fit & Flare Little Black Dress | Marc Jacobs Sunglasses (sold out, similar) | Who What Wear Collection Ring Handle Bag (sold out, similar / similar) | Target Merona Margo Pearl Slide Sandals

Whenever I am in doubt on what to wear to a holiday party, family gathering or night on the town, my go to is almost always the Little Black Dress (LBD). It is that essential wardrobe item I can always count on and feel confident in. I like to believe the LBD will take me anywhere!

Just throw on a jacket and pair of heels, grab a clutch and you're party ready! Or dress down with a pair of sneakers and an oversized cardigan sweater for an afternoon with friends. The LBD makes the perfect traveling companion and more often than not at least one will end up in my suitcase as my jetset partner. The Little Black Dress truly is my closet BFF!

However, it is the story of the LBD that really catches my attention. This simple garment does not have so much a simple history. Similar to that of denim, it is a tale of the wealthy appropriating the clothing of the working class and poor.

In October 1926 American Vogue Magazine featured a sketch of a Chanel design for a long sleeve, calf length, black sheath dress and predicted the dress would become a uniform for "women of taste." They called the little black dress a "Chanel Ford," simple with potential for enormous and great success, and named after the era's democratic black model-t automobile.

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Photography: Karya Schanilec Photography

Radical Transparency with Everlane

Thank you Everlane for partnering on this post! Affiliate links are used throughout this blog, which means I might make a small commission if you click on a link. Thank you for supporting Story of My Dress! Products gifted are marked c/o.  All thoughts are my own!

Everlane Japanese GoWeave Long Slip Dress c/o | Everlane Relaxed Silk Shirt c/o | Everlane The Street Sandal c/o | Target Straw Hat Fedora (sold out, similar) | Clare V. Flat Clutch c/o | House of Swanke Citrine and One Dot Horn Bangles (sold out, similar) | Marc Jacobs Sunglasses (sold out, similar)

While I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area, prior to Seattle, I stumbled upon the brand Everlane. Immediately I knew this was a brand to watch and that they were doing something pretty cool and pretty different through a concept called radical transparency: ethical factories, exceptional quality and affordable prices.

With my educational and professional background in environmental studies and social work, I am deeply committed to shopping sustainably and ethically. I was so happy to have finally found a brand that matched my values.

At Everlane they want the the right choice to be as easy as putting on a great t-shirt. That's why they partner with the best, ethical factories around the world, source only the finest ingredients and share the product story with you, including the true cost of every product made. It's a new way of doing things and they call it radical transparency. I say, finally!

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Photography: Karya Schanilec 

Give a Sh!rt: 5 Steps to Lower Your Clothing Footprint

Thank you Value Village for partnering on this post! Sustainable fashion is "in" and when it comes down to it, the most sustainable clothing on our planet is clothing that already exists! Give a sh!rt about your clothing footprint! Affiliate links are used throughout this blog. All opinions are my own!

Did you know the world now consumes more than 80 billion pieces of new clothing each year (4x as much as in 1980), with more and more ending up in landfills?! On top of that, the average American throws away 81 pounds of clothing each year! That is crazy talk.

Fashion is one of the most wasteful industries on our planet and one of the largest sources of pollution; it takes over 700 gallons of water to make just one t-shirt and over 1800 gallons of water to make just one pair of jeans. That's over 2500 gallons of water for just one outfit. And water is just one of many natural resources required to make new clothing, Yikes!

Knowing that I am living on a planet with a finite amount of resources and with billions of other people, I am always looking for ways to reduce my ecological footprint ~ "the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources." - Oxford Dictionary

My Fiance and I have chosen to live in a small house (900 sq feet) in the City where we have access to public transportation (2 buses within a few blocks that can get us downtown in 15 minutes!) and restaurants, shops and parks within walking distance. We share one vehicle, an electric hybrid, and always consider where our food comes from and try to buy local (growing within 100 miles from where we live) when shopping for meals (hello farmer's markets, bread from our neighborhood bakery and local produce and dairy at grocery stores).

This year my goal is to lower the ecological footprint of my closet, because Earth Day is everyday!  Value Village just released the 2017 State of Reuse Report, examining perceptions around clothing consumption and reuse; I am taking note and giving a sh!rt about my clothing footprint!