The Creative Closet: A green dress for Fall

I’m late posting this, but I knew I had to participate in The Creative Closet when I saw this past Tuesday’s prompt: A Dress For Fall.

 I love me some dresses. They are the most comfortable, easy-wearing thing ever. I mean, you're essentially in a bag with sleeves, with plenty of room to relax. Well, that’s probably not true of tight tube dresses, but you wont catch me in one of those.

Staying true to the point and purpose of this lifestyle blog, I’m slowly edging into the world of sustainable fashion. Slowly meaning that I must find ways to rework what I already owned. Slowly because currently, buying truly sustainable clothing can get pricey. As hard as it can be to stomach (I love Target clothes you guys - and apologies in advance for any guilt trips!) the reason those are so inexpensive is because the true cost to make them is hidden to us.

The real cost is revealed to the people who make them. Clothing factories do create jobs, but workers don’t receive living wages and work in conditions that can and do make them ill. It’s far cheaper for a clothing manufacturer to pay a lower wage in another country, so this year I’ve decided to change my fashion world.

This summer I cleaned out my entire closet using the KonMari method and am down to about 60 pieces.

I would like the majority of my clothing to be:

• -       Made to last
• -       Made in the United States (or Canada)
• -       Produced as sustainably as possible if from outside the U.S.
• -       Classic and mixable. Trends just come and go too fast for me.

 This green dress caught my eye in one of our city’s boutiques in our most Brooklyn-like neighborhood a few months ago. It’s an area known for unique brands and handmade artisanal lovelies. The brand is Birds of North America, and their lovely, "contemporary, vintage-inspired" clothes are manufactured in Canada.

I had been on the lookout for a dress after purging most of mine. One that I could wear to work and out to play, one that was timeless. The jewel tone shade of forest jumped out at me at the store, then its little wood buttons finished me off. The fit was beyond anything I’d found at a department store. There’s so much craftsman ship here, every time I wear it I feel joy - and is that not the point of style?

No kidding, this may not be easy. But I think I now have the patience to try. We have everything to gain for ourselves and others if we can make the switch and change it all for the better. It's closer than we think!