capsule wardrobe + ethical fashion | my starter tips

Now that I've given you a brief look as to why I decided to shop for ethically made clothes, I wanted my next post on the topic to be a little more lighthearted.  How do I determine what stays in my closet vs. what goes? And how do I approach shopping for new clothes?

01 | determine your personal style

This might take some trial and error...at least for me I did!  I bought a lot of items for my first capsule wardrobe that weren't really "me".  Instead of picking things that fit my own style, I used guidelines based off of others capsule wardrobe "must have" lists.  My first tip is to reflect about your personal style by asking yourself a few questions:  What is your favorite piece of clothing?  What makes it your favorite? What are the items you already own that you feel yourself in?  Whose style most resembles your own?  What colors do you like to wear the most?

For example, I would say my style is feminine, comfortable, and laid-back.  I feel the most like myself in a pretty floral sun dress and sandals.  My closet color palette consists of mostly neutrals (white, tan, and black) with lots of blues and greens.  Blue is my favorite color, so that is what I tend to gravitate toward the most.  This allows for lots of mixing and matching my outfits because everything is in a cohesive color scheme.

Fashion is something that allows you to speak about yourself without using words.  There are no rules.  I don't think you need a fixed number of clothes in your closet to have a capsule wardrobe.  And you don't need a little black dress or a white button down shirt just because you read in some magazine that says you do.  You decide what works with your style and what doesn't and that will save you from a big headache in the long run.    

02 | consider your lifestyle 

Think about what an average day in your life looks like.  If you're a stay-at-home mom, then you'll probably have a different criteria for buying clothes than someone who is a young professional working a 9-5.  For me, my number one clothing requirement is that my clothes must be comfortable.  If it's not comfortable, then I will not wear it.  I've also learned that I need my clothes to be functional: nothing too short or too low, something that works for pregnancy and nursing, and it must be made out of breathable fabrics made of natural materials (linen and cotton being at the top of my list).  Also, as mentioned in my previous post, ethically made garments or buying secondhand are a top priority for me. 

Some questions to consider: What is your current favorite outfit?  What are you most comfortable in?  What fabrics do you gravitate towards?  If you're working, what items do you need to wear for your job?  

03 | plan ahead

Just because you decide to adopt a capsule wardrobe doesn't mean that you need to swear off shopping forever.  You can still shop for new things! My number three rule when purchasing something new is to start slow and do your research.  Trust me, it will pay off if you are patient and take your time planning before pulling the trigger.  

THE LIST | In order to help me plan out my closet, I like to use  lists.  I keep a mental checklist when considering a purchase, and if it doesn't fit my clothing criteria mentioned in tips above, then it's not even up for negotiation.  Then there is a physical list on my phone of things that I want to potentially add to my closet or if I feel like my wardrobe is lacking in a particular area.  I also periodically take inventory of garments that have excess wear or have holes in them and add that to my list as a note to replace them eventually.  The list has helped tremendously with impulsive shopping because if it's not on my list then I do.not.buy.it.   

For example, I look at the season ahead to see what gaps need to be filled in my wardrobe to complete my seasonal outfits.  A  grey cardigan or coat, a black long sleeve shirt, and a pair of closed toe shoes are on my current list of new things to buy for fall and winter.  Thinking and planning ahead before buying these items gives me the time to brainstorm different outfit combinations and the time to save up my spending money for a new item.

Some questions to consider: What pieces are lacking in your closet?  What needs to be replaced? When buying new clothes:  Is this item on your shopping list?  Is the garment timeless or trendy?  How many different ways could you style this piece?  Can you wear this shirt/dress/skirt year round or is it only seasonal?  What would this garment look like worn with the clothes you already own?  

04 | purge

Now it's time to purge your closet.  I am a little bit addicted to this part of the capsule wardrobe process...it just feels ohhhhh so satisfying to get rid of excess stuff.  This can be a bit overwhelming at first.  My purging steps begin by asking myself one simple question: do I like it? or do I love it?

If I just like it then it either gets donated or sold online (ebay, poshmark, and thredup are great resources for selling your unloved clothes).  If I love it and it follows all of my wardrobe rules (1-3) then it gets to keep its place in my closet. After fine tuning my purging and purchases, I am happy to report that my closet is 1/4 of the size it was when I started this process three years ago.  And it's filled with items I genuinely love to wear and feel good in!  Amazing right?  

05 | purchase

You've done the hard work, now it's time to add quality garments that you bought using the tools outlined above.  You're buying with intention now with a goal to love everything in your closet, so that means no more impulse buys or emotional shopping.  You don't need that new cocktail dress for your friends wedding next month...remember that you have a perfectly good one in your closet that you feel good in!.  If you buy something online or in store and you come home realizing that you don't love it love it then it needs to be returned.

Once you decide on those new pair of jeans or that new blouse to add to your capsule wardrobe, it's time to make a purchase.  If shopping ethically isn't a priority for you then feel free to ignore this next bit -- Real talk time: ethically made clothing is expensive. You may need to spend more money on one item than you normally would.  How much money you wish to spend is up to you.  I just know that I have spent way too much money on clothes that I never wore, so spending more on one dress I loved or pair of jeans that will get worn a million times was fine with me.  

These tips are what has worked for me.  By following these guidelines, I became free from the emotional shopping cycle that has trapped me for years.  I hope they help shed some light on how I approached my capsule wardrobe.  I am by no means an expert at this topic, so if there is something you want more clarity on, just let me know.  There will be more tips and tricks in upcoming posts so stay tuned!  And look out for my first ethical wardrobe outfit post next ;). 



 

 

 

capsule wardrobe + ethical fashion

So I know most of you who read this blog come here for the family updates and cute pictures of Pier and Eulalie...after all, that was the impetus that compelled me to start writing here.  However, this blog also serves as a creative outlet.  It's a place where I can do something separate from being "mom" and write about a topic I'm passionate about just for the fun of it.

That's what this post is about.  It's something that I've been wanting to write about for a while now and I'm finally getting around to doing it.  Nothing like the perfect timing of having a two week old to get some pep in your step am I right...  So what exactly is this newfound passion you ask?!  Well if you skimmed the title you'd know already, but... I'm  implementing a blog series on ethical fashion. Get excited!!! I'm hoping this series will not only inspire you to make the shift to shop more intentionally, but I also plan on giving you practical tips and resources to help you along the way.  Oh and I'll even be posting a few of my favorite ethically sourced outfits (in an effort to get myself to wear real clothes every now and then :)).  

But first, a little background information:

"hi i'm emily, and i have a shopping problem"

Overwhelm.  That panic stricken word came to my mind the minute I opened up my closet doors.  The closet that was home to that expensive cocktail dress that I only wore once, the button down shirt that didn't fit me anymore, and yet, I still hoped I could wear again, and that sweater that I hated but somehow still managed to keep in my closet.  Why did I feel overwhelmed when I looked at my clothes?  I bought these things, right?  I must have liked them at some point, but looking at the excess made me sick to my stomach.  Then it hit me. Shopping (in the form of those dang Madewell 30% sales) was my kryptonite.  

This realization came to me almost three years ago.   It was a day (after a lot of prayer) that I realized I made shopping and the things I shopped for a god.  Instead of going to Jesus for comfort, I would go to that online sale or store whenever I wanted to escape.  If I was having a bad day, I wanted to be comforted by a new dress, or feel the exciting thrill of getting a good deal on a pair of shoes in order to make myself feel better.   I also realized that I wanted to change.  A compulsive shopper was not the person I wanted to be.  So from that day I became determined to be more intentional about my clothing purchases in hopes to turn around my bad shopping habits.

enter | the capsule wardrobe

 

DEFINED | a capsule wardrobe is a collection of a few essential items of clothing that don't go out of fashion, such as skirts, trousers, and coats, which can then be augmented with seasonal pieces.

 

My secret is out. I have a shopping problem.  The question now was how was I going to fix it?  I'd heard of a few people doing "capsule wardrobes" in order to minimize their closet footprint, and this looked like a promising place to start, so I decided to delve into my very own Operation Capsule Wardrobe research project. 

The more I learned about capsule wardrobes the more excited I became.  This is exactly what I was looking for!  I thought by having a "capsule wardrobe" approach to buying clothes that my aforementioned shopping problem would be fixed overnight (...it wasn't, but that's another topic for another day).  Filled with this newfound enthusiasm, I donated a huge portion of my beautiful clothes and completely cleared out my closet.   Great! But then I didn't have anything to wear...so, with very little thought, I bought more clothes that I believed I needed for my capsule wardrobe.  That was mistake #1. 

When becoming fixated on establishing my perfect capsule wardrobe, I neglected one (big) thing: being intentional.  I didn't put in the brain power behind what worked for me -- my life as a busy mom and my personal style preferences -- and that led to buying things that I liked but didn't love.  Basically I was repeating the same shopping pattern as before; buying and buying and buying until I was satisfied with the perfect capsule closet.  Yikes.  Buying more was not the purpose of doing this experiment.  I decided to start from scratch, again, and reevaluate my shopping trends to see how I was going to fix this once and for all. 

I tell you this because I think it's important to realize right away that you won't get your perfect capsule wardrobe overnight.  You're going to make mistakes.  You're going to buy the chambray button down because it was on someone else's capsule wardrobe "must have" list and then you will realize that you hate wearing button downs and into the donation pile it goes.  Capsule wardrobes take time.  They take thought.  And above all, they won't fix the root of your shopping problems.

enter | the ethical wardrobe

 

DEFINED | ethical fashion (also called slow fashion) that describes ethical fashion design, production, and purchasing.  It covers a range of issues such as working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment, and animal welfare.

 

 

So here I was about to attempt Capsule Wardrobe #2, when I watched a Netflix documentary about fast fashion called The True Cost.  I watched the film with tears in my eyes and I walked away deeply moved by what I saw on the screen.  That documentary was the catalyst I needed to finish what I started.  I then began a journey into the ethical fashion movement...I can say now that after almost a year of (trying to) only shopping ethically, my impulsive shopping has completely stopped.  I don't remember the last time I entered a Target.  I don't need something new for an upcoming event.  I began to buy things secondhand and it turns out I have a newfound love of thrift stores.  When I do buy something new, I think before I buy.  I love that I'm supporting an artist who is passionate about the garments they make.  I get to know exactly who is making my clothes and where they come from.  

This has given me such freedom.  I know not everyone is called to make the switch to an ethically sourced wardrobe, but for someone like me who has struggled for years with impulsive shopping, I can tell you that this path has changed me for the better.  I'll go into more details later, but for now, I'll leave you with a few facts I've learned about fast fashion and our consumerisim culture as a whole:

fast fashion facts

My Indy bestie Val blogs a lot about minimalism and what that looks like in her life.  Recently, she shared an entire series of blog posts about what ethical fashion is and why she decided to make the switch to only buying ethically made clothing.  Her research is AMAZING and I invite you to read all of her posts about minimalism and slow fashion (you can do that HERE).  With her permission, I copied the facts she outlined in one of these posts about the truths behind the fast fashion industry:

 

There are now 52 "buying seasons" per year. Whereas there used to be two buying seasons back in the day: spring/summer and fall/winter, then four seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter), now each week of the year represents a new "buying season" for brands and retailers. This is why you feel off trend just three weeks after popping into the mall - this is exactly how these brands and retailers WANT you to feel. Studies show that women now wear an item just SEVEN TIMES before tossing it, and consider an item "old" after just a few wears. This is crazy!!

Clothing is made to fall apart. Did you ever read Little House on the Prairie books? I was always amazed at the way the Ingalls girls would carefully craft a garment out of fabric by hand, then when they needed a new dress, they would "turn out" their old dress by ripping out the stitches and making it into something new. The reality is that that kind of quality in our garments is hard to come by these days. We accept that our clothes are going to fall apart, fray, get those annoying teeeeeny little holes where they snag on the edge of our jeans right below the belly button. And we shrug it of because, oh well, tshirts are only $4 at H&M. They're cheap enough that we don't expect or need them to last longer than one season. In fact, clothes are DESIGNED to fall apart after a certain number of washes, because it requires you to buy more. The term for this is "planned obsolescence", which is when garments wear out or otherwise lose their shape, forcing us to buy replacements. Part of the blame for this is on the creators of such clothing, but a large part of the blame falls to us, the consumers, because since clothes are inexpensive, we keep our expectations low.

Americans spend thousands of dollars per year on clothing. Those $5 Target tees and $3 H&M leggings add up. Add up to $1,700 dollars, which is what the average American spent on clothing in 2010. One of the biggest arguments to buying ethically made is that it's expensive. And it's true! I would guess that the average price of an ethically produced garment is around $60. I am completely speculating here. So with $1,700 to spend over the course of a year, you could only buy 28 new items. I would guess that most people buy FAR more than 28 items in the course of a year. You might be thinking "just 28 pieces all YEAR? I buy 28 pieces per MONTH!" The thing with buying ethical, though, is that those pieces are going to last. You might only buy 20 pieces all year. But they're going to retain their quality, so you can buy ANOTHER 20 next year, if you want. And again the next year. It's ending this buy-and-toss mentality that we have grown so accustomed to.

Beading and intricate detail often indicate child labor. I was shocked to read in this article about this fact, but it makes sense. Machines that sew beads and intricate details like sequins onto clothing are expensive, so instead much of that work is done in people's homes, where they enlist the help of their children and are not paid well for their effort. It makes the $10 sequin shrug a lot less appealing when you take ten steps backward up the supply chain and know the dark side that's likely behind all those glitzy beads.

American women today own four times as much clothing as they did in 1980. I can't even imagine how much bigger our wardrobes are than the women who lived in the 40s and 50s. And yet, we look to those women as style icons, as women who were always dressed to the nines and very well-groomed. 

 

Thank you for sharing your wisdom and writing with us, Val pal!  

I know this is probably really overwhelming for those of you who aren't familiar with capsule wardrobes or ethical fashion.  I also know this probably could have been broken down into like 5 different posts, but I needed to knock it out all in one because my writing time is limited (my mom is still in town, leaving me ample time to write while Eulalie sleeps in her wrap).  There is so much that I want to say on this topic, and I hope that you'll stick around for more because I'm just scratching the surface!  

eulalie rose | behind the name

Our little Eulalie has been with us for almost two weeks now, and I'm sure you've been curious about where we came up with her name.  If you know me, you know I've always enjoyed a good baby name story and I can't resist sharing with all of you the inside scoop on how we decided the names of my own children.

When Brad and I consider a name for our child, prayer is the center of our decision.  We figure that Jesus has ordained a name to our baby already and it's up to Him to keep placing it on our hearts until we are certain. To be honest, we were torn on multiple girl names and really needed some divine intervention.  Brad and I have a love for literature, history, and theology and would love for that to come through in naming our children.  The name Eulalie intertwines all three of those loves in a unique way. 

Let's back up to the summer of 2011.  In our early dating days, Brad and I liked to read one of our favorites poems, Evangeline by Henry Longfelllow, aloud in a park in New Orleans.  As I was reading, I stopped at a verse describing Evangeline as "the sunshine of St. Eulalie".  St. Eulalie...we had never heard of her before and became intrigued.  I actually remember us talking about how much we both loved that name on the ride home and it has stayed in the back of our minds ever since.

Thus began our research into the life of this inspiring saint. St. Eulalia (the Spanish version of the name) was an early Christian martyr from Merida, Spain killed during the Persecution of Diocletian.  Some early narratives describe that Christians were apostasizing and Eulalia felt a strong desire to make herself a model of faith to encourage those under duress.  Her story is beautifully recounted by the early Christian poet Prudentius:

Now when Maximian was working himself
up against the servants of the Lord and
commanding that the followers of Christ should
offer burnt sacrifice to gods who brought death,
Eulalie's holy courage made loud protest.

With the heart in her young breast panting for God,
she challenged the weapons of men.
presenting herself haughtily at the seat of
authority calling out:
“Here am I, a foe to the worship of evil spirits ; I trample idols
under foot, and with heart and lips I confess God.
Come then, tormentor, burn, slash, cut up my body.
It was put together of clay; it is easy to destroy so frail a
thing. But the racking pain will not reach the spirit within."
Roused to fury by such words the governor cries:
"Away with her, lictor! Heap tortures on her.
If, damsel, you would be
so obliging as just to put out your fingers and touch a
little of the salt and a tiny grain of the incense, you
would escape the cruel suffering."
The martyr answers never a word; howbeit with a
loud cry she spits into the tyrant's eyes and then
scatters the images and with her foot kicks over the
meal laid on the censers. In a moment two
executioners are tearing into her flesh
Eulalia counts the marks. "See, Lord," she says,
"thy name is being written on me. How I love to
read these letters, for they record thy victories”
Then comes the final torture
a fire from flambeaux set all round and
raging against her sides and front.
the maid, desiring a speedy end, eagerly
draws the fire in through her mouth.
Thence all at once a dove whiter than snow springs forth ; they see
it leave the martyr's mouth and make for the stars.
It was Eulalie's spirit, milk-white, swift, and sinless.
Her head droops as the soul departs, and the burning
fire dies down ; peace is granted to the lifeless body,
while the spirit far up claps her wings in triumph
and flies off to the heavenly regions.

Her middle name honors a whole cluster of beautiful people I greatly admire.  St. Rose of Lima (my confirmation saint) being the first.  Then, of course, St. Therese "the little flower" whom I adopted as my patron in college after her autobiography and spiritual philosophy changed my life (if you'd like to know the connection between a rose and St. Therese, then you'll have to read her book...I'm sneaky like that).  Finally, I wanted to honor a dear friend of mine I met while volunteering at the soup kitchen in my hometown.  Her name is Sr. Rose Prisca, a nun from the missionaries of charity (Mother Teresa's order!) whose joy and humility continues to have an impact on my life.  

IMG_3253.JPG

I was torn with naming Eulalie because I knew I also wanted to tie in a connection to Our Lord's mother somehow. The fact that my first daughter was born during the centennial anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima was not lost on me!  I have a strong connection to Our Lady of Fatima and I felt like I needed to honor her in some small way.  When talking to a friend of mine about my naming woes, she reminded me of the correlation between roses and Mary.  Whhhhat!!! I found my Mary connection!  For those who aren't aware, in Song of Songs, she's referred to as "the Rose of Sharon"; among other titles such as "mystical rose". 

And there you have the story behind her name. If you'd like, feel free to call her Eulie, Eula, Lily, Lou....but to Brad and I, she's simply our sweet speaking Eulalie. 

 
“O strong child-spirit,
Thou hast prevailed
Where rich and mighty
And wise have failed.
The simple-hearted
Christ loveth best;
Eulalie enter into her rest.”
 

introducing eulalie rose

Heaven met earth on July 10, 2017 when Eulalie Rose Fossier made her entrance into the world. She has a full head of hair, weighs 7 pounds, 11 ounces, measures 19 inches, and looks just like her big brother Pier when he was a newborn.  Her name is traditionally French meaning "sweetly speaking" and it holds a lot of special meaning to us (I will have a post within the next few days explaining why!).  It's pronounced "you-luh-lee", and if you'd like to be especially accurate, you can even listen to how it sounds it HERE. 

“Now Doubt- now Pain
Come never again,
For her soul gives me sigh for sigh,
And all day long
Shines, bright and strong,
Astarte within the sky,
While ever to her dear Eulalie upturns her matron eye-
While ever to her young Eulalie upturns her violet eye. ”
— EULALIE, A SONG | EDGAR ALLAN POE

It was a...unique labor...completely different from how I planned it on going, but still beautiful nonetheless. Eulalie inhaled some meconium in utero and had difficultly breathing after her birth. Our brave girl had to be sent immediately to the NICU to monitor her oxygen levels, but hopefully she will be able to be discharged within the week.  I did get to hold her for about a minute before they sent her over and it was the greatest minute of my life! 

Since then, she's been showing great improvement.  Brad and I got to hold her today for the first time and didn't want to let her go.  We can't wait to introduce her to her big brother and take a few photos without all the wires and tubes.  Thank you to family, friends, and strangers for your generous prayers.  I am sincerely touched by your thoughtfulness and care!  We are blessed to have an army of people behind our family, cheering us on, as we enter into this new chapter.  

 

the home stretch

We are entering the last (fingers crossed!) week of pregnancy with our little girl.  Brad snapped a few photos in our front yard to mark 39 weeks. I can't believe my due date is this weekend!  

Honestly, I've been feeling pretty worn down the last few days.  Growing a human in general requires a lot of energy...add the intense insomnia I've been experiencing this trimester...and you get a recipe for one extremely tired mama.  Also migraines, heartburn, a head cold, and false contractions = exhausting.  I'm thankful my own mother is in town because she has been taking care of me so well and forcing me to rest.  I love watching her interact with Pier because she is so creative playing with him.  I don't know what I'm going to do without Grandma Kimmie whenever she goes back to Louisiana.  

I'm definitely at the stage of pregnancy where I am ready to not to be pregnant any more.  I've been keeping your intentions close to my heart during these final days and that's been helping me tremendously. Whenever I want to complain, I remind myself to remain thankful for each kick and ache and pain.  But, I must admit, it is amazing how easily discouragement enters your mind as your due date approaches. Each day is a guessing game.  Each night you lay anxiously wondering if "tonight will be the night".  And yet another day passes without a baby in your arms.  Whenever I feel discouragement creep in, I know it's a red flag that I'm relying on my own strength rather than God's.  He's in control, not me, and my only option is to rest in His peace until He decides it's time for my girl's grand entrance.  Trusting, waiting, and hoping is my recipe for the upcoming days.  Please keep me, Brad, baby, and Pier in your prayers!