Sustainability: Wanting Less & Being Content With What I Have

Sustainability is quite the buzzword in the blogging community as of late. I am so glad that this is the case, and we are hopefully, as a community, moving on from the excessive content about hauls and spending and purging our closets every few months. I felt a pretty monumental shift within myself in the last year and a half of being much more intentional and mindful about what I am purchasing and most importantly, why I feel the need to purchase it. A little background here, I have always been a spender over a saver, I loved shopping ever since I was a kid. In fact, my dad loves to tell the story of when he would take me to Home Depot with him (a regular Sunday event in our household) I would somehow find something I wanted to buy, usually it was a bright pink roll of tape, or a cute colored flash light. Although I’ve always been a lover of shopping, I do know my limits and my parents were not the type of people to just buy me whatever I wanted, in short, they taught me the value of a dollar.

After I left college and got a job, I had the privilege of living at home and had more disposable income than I would have had I been renting an apartment. During this period of newfound financial freedom, I shopped far too often and bought things I definitely did not need. However, I am also a relatively organized person and bringing this much stuff in your life at once inevitably will bring clutter, so I found myself constantly purging my closet of clothing I just wasn’t wearing.

Part of my mental shift over the last year and a half has been influenced greatly by the surge in the public consciousness around the fashion industry and the toll that fashion consumption takes on the environment. I’ve never been hugely into fast fashion and I never was the type to buy masses of cheap clothes, but even so, buying clothes without an intentionality or awareness behind why you are buying them leads to a slippery slope of over-consumption. I am far from perfect and I am definitely still learning when it comes to being a more conscious and sustainable consumer. However, having a deeper awareness, overall has made my need and want for more things wane. I’ve stopped myself countless times to ask myself, “is this purchase really necessary” and nine times out of ten the answer is no.

I am by no means going to solely dedicate my blog to sustainability, although I commend and love blogs that do, but it is a topic I want to dive deeper into in the coming months.

My Autumn/Winter Inspiration

I have to be honest, it hasn’t really felt much like Fall the past couple of months in California, and I’m beyond ready for sweater weather. Despite Fall and Winter being my favorite seasons, mainly because they involve lots of family time, cozying up at home and celebrating my favorite holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas), I also far prefer Fall fashion to Summer fashion. A big part of that comes down to the fact that we never have particularly hot summers in San Francisco, and I have never had to become accustomed to dressing for the heat, and therefore I have always found my groove when I’m dressing for the cold, it just comes far more naturally to me. So much of what is inspiring me this Fall/Winter is pretty standard, that is to say I don’t see myself straying too far from sweater/jeans combo most days, but I am finding that I have been drawn to different textures and colors this year more than ever. As soon as October rolls around, I’m usually the first person to start wearing all-black outfits, however this year, I’ve been much more drawn to the lighter side of the color spectrum, but still keeping things autumnal. Shades of beige and burnt orange are definitely what I find myself gravitating towards this season. Also incorporating more “winter whites” or mores- “winter beiges” based looks with really nice, luxe-looking textures have been far more interesting to me than the all-black outfits I’m usually drawn to.

Creators I'm Loving At The Moment

I scroll through Instagram far more than I'd like to admit. However, Instagram also serves as one of my greatest sources of inspiration both for me personally and this blog as a creative outlet. Ever since Instagram launched their "saved" feature, it's become more of a Pinterest-like platform that I can use to make mood boards for what is inspiring me at the moment. I follow a lot of people on Instagram, and because there are so many creators on Instagram, it can feel very overwhelming to find new creators to follow. I personally don't like the Explore page at all (a lot of it just seems very spammy), so most of the time I just find new people to follow through people that I already follow. 

Things I need this summer

8,522 Likes, 37 Comments - Nuria Val (@frecklesnur) on Instagram: "Things I need this summer"

Frecklesnur ~ I found Naria's instagram a couple of weeks ago via Lizzy Hadfield (aka Shotfromthestreet). I mainly love her account because it is just so beautiful to look at. I love the tone that all of her images have and it definitely gives me inspiration for my own photography. Also, as you could tell based from her Instagram handle, she has the most enviable freckles ever!

Good morning ☕️☕️⠀ .⠀ I had picnic with a couple of friends in our local park yesterday, and we ended up having our lunch next to grazing horses (see my stories). Kids were playing whilst we were having a catch up. It was such a nice outing that I'm thinking of doing the same thing again! Somehow food tastes so much better outdoors 😄 Do you like picnics?⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #livingroom #livingroomdecor #livingroomdesign #designspiration #interiordesigned #interiorstyling #interior4inspo #inspire_me_home_decor #interiorforyou #interiorsblogger #mynordicroom #marieclairemaison #boligmagasinetdk #livingroominspo #simpledecor #stylingtheseasons #cosyhome #thehappynow #cerealmag #modernrustic #colourmyhome #mybeautifulmess #homeinspo #elledecor #beautifulhomes #interiorinspiration #boligplussminstil #interiormagasinet

8,841 Likes, 107 Comments - Susanna Hawkins (@shnordic) on Instagram: "Good morning ☕️☕️⠀ .⠀ I had picnic with a couple of friends in our local park yesterday, and we..."

Shnordic ~ I have been throwing myself into interior inspiration over the past two months because of the move. Even though I've been finding the majority of my interiors inspiration via Pinterest, there are a few Instagram accounts that I follow almost solely for interiors content, one of my favorites being Shnordic. The account is run by Susanna Hawkins, who is a UK-based interior designer, and is a self-described "scandi maximalist". I love that her style is very chic and Scandinavian, but it all looks livable and realistic. So many interior designers create spaces that are almost too perfect to live in, but all of Susanna's spaces just create an err of comfort and ease that I hope to bring to our apartment. 

Shout out to @cosstores customer services for sourcing THE BEST jumpsuit after sorely missing out on the white version. 🙌🏻

14.2k Likes, 227 Comments - Brittany Bathgate (@brittanybathgate) on Instagram: "Shout out to @cosstores customer services for sourcing THE BEST jumpsuit after sorely missing out..."

Brittany Bathgate ~ I don't know if I could write a post about where I get inspiration on Instagram without mentioning Brittany Bathgate. She's someone that I've been following for quite some time now, but recently her content has been even more inspiring. One of the things that I love about Brittany is the way she uses proportions and shapes in her clothing to make her outfits, which are normally pretty minimal (especially in terms of color), more interesting and eye-catching. As someone who can very easily get caught in an endless cycle of wearing jeans and a t-shirt almost every day, Brittany provides some good ideas for how to mix things up and incorporate some more interesting proportions in my wardrobe. 

If anyone needs me, you'll find me here: in a cold bath, with a cold drink, enjoying the heatwave the only way I know how! ☀️ 🛀🏻 🍷 Hot sunshine is rubbish for dysautonomia but good for the soul, so I'm refusing to complain despite my activity level being reduced to that of a sloth. How's the weather in your part of the world, insta fam? #whprelax

10.7k Likes, 433 Comments - Sara Tasker (@me_and_orla) on Instagram: "If anyone needs me, you'll find me here: in a cold bath, with a cold drink, enjoying the heatwave..."

Sara Tasker ~ Sara is the absolute genius behind the blog and Instagram by the name of Me & Orla. Sara is a blogger and content creator, who is super well-versed in growing blogs and Instagram pages into full-blown businesses. Her Instagram content is not only incredibly beautiful, but useful as well. As I've been trying to get my freelance career going, her advice has been incredibly motivating and helpful, especially if you're someone who wants to grow your freelance career as organically as possible. 

Trends I Won't Be Buying Into This Summer

I’ve been trying really hard for the past couple of months to cut down on shopping in general, but especially clothes shopping (a topic that I plan to go more in depth about in a later blog post). I definitely went a bit wild with building up my wardrobe after I graduated, and I feel like now I’m finally completely content with where my wardrobe is at. However, there are things that I’ve bought that I definitely will wear in the future, but I certainly do not need. I’ve also noticed that because I’m constantly consuming other people’s content (especially via Instagram) and creating my own content, I am more influenced than I would like to be to buy things I don’t necessarily need or will have a ton of longevity in my wardrobe. I’ve never been hugely influenced by trends, and I would still confidently say that my style is not heavily trend-driven, but there are so many images on Instagram of people wearing the same stuff that it’s hard not to be drawn to trendy pieces that you normally wouldn’t be drawn to every once and a while. 

One of the biggest trends as of late has been the re-emergence of tiny cat eye sunglasses. Don't get me wrong, I love a good cat eye pair of sunnies, but the small ones leave me completely cold. I think some people totally rock them and it goes with their personal style, but they've become such a thing on Instagram that it seems like everyone and their mother has been adopting the trend. Being a child of the 90s, I mainly associate tiny sunglasses with The Matrix and I honestly think that I will never disassociate that movie from this trend. I always think that more classic shapes look better on me personally, and since I also prefer to invest in sunglasses, buying super trendy sunnies is never really my m.o.

I love espadrilles. They always look so summery and effortless, and they've always been a shoe that I've wanted to purchase. However, being in San Francisco we don't have a very hot summer and I don't generally see huge changes in what I wear from season to season. Espadrilles have always felt like an incredibly summery shoe to me, and I just don't think they would fit in my wardrobe as is, and at best I'd probably get a handful of wears out of them per year. If I were going on vacation at some point later this summer I might consider purchasing a pair, but seeing as I have no vacation plans for the next couple of months, I would rather spend my pennies on footwear that will have more longevity in my wardrobe (loafers anyone?). 

A trend that I just categorically do not get is the "ugly" sneakers trend. I'm generally not very into sneakers, and if I do wear sneakers I will always be drawn to a very classic option like Converse high tops or Vans Old Skools. I feel like part of me not understanding this trend also has to do with the fact that I am admittedly not very well-versed in streetwear on the whole, which is where this trend mainly came from. I especially don't get shoes like the Balenciaga Triple S's, which are the most eye-wateringly expensive pair of clompy sneakers. I think it's totally a matter of different aesthetics, but I can say without a doubt that I will never buy into this trend. 

Another trend that I don't foresee myself buying into is heavily branded handbags, especially designer bags. I have yet to buy a designer bag (and don't have any plans in the near future to purchase one), but if I were in the market for one I definitely would go for something with very understated branding. The main brand that has cornered this heavily branded aesthetic is Gucci, and I have to say that I love what Gucci is doing at the moment. I love the ironic nature that they are taking, putting their logo all over everything and making the best over-the-top pieces of clothing. However, while I love their collections and ad campaigns I would never see myself buying into it. I think at the moment that irony has a lot of relevance and is resonating with people, but I don't foresee it being a trend that will be around in the next five years or so, although I'm sure, like any trend, it will come back around at some point. 

What I Want To Be Wearing This Spring

I've been talking about how much the weather has sent me into a wardrobe rut, as I think it does for most people. Now that I can happily say we are fully in spring here in California, I have been re-assessing my wardrobe and taking in lots of inspiration in the hopes that I can perfect my spring/summer wardrobe. Especially since I'm more of a fan of cold-weather clothes, I find it hard to be really inspired by spring/summer collections, but with the winter this year lasting so long, I'm fully committed to having a really good warm-weather wardrobe. 

As part and parcel of not being a huge warm-weather person, I do feel a renewed sense of adding pieces that will get me out of my comfort zone (ahem vintage jeans and a t-shirt) and hopefully get me to experiment more with different shapes and fabrics. One of the most glaring examples of this that I can think of is injecting more non-denim trousers into my wardrobe. I wear denim almost every single day without fail, but that's a habit I want to get out of for spring. I'm definitely not saying I won't be wearing denim full stop, but I do think incorporating different styles of pants will make a huge impact on the kinds of silhouettes I wear.

Whenever it gets to be the spring-time I tend to gravitate towards a much more feminine aesthetic, whereas my fall/winter wardrobe is far more menswear inspired. When I was having a closet clear-out recently, I noticed that there's a big hole in my wardrobe for more feminine tops and shoes. I gravitate a lot towards sweaters and cotton t-shirts for my top half and, for shoes, I love loafers and boots. However, for the spring time that combination can look a little too heavy. I really want to invest more in a few feminine blouses, especially wrap tops, since I think they are one of the most flattering shapes, and still look incredible with a pair of vintage jeans. For shoes, I've been hugely drawn to slingbacks, because even though they're still flats they look far more feminine than a loafer or a basic slide. 

Last, but certainly not least I want to touch on my intense, newfound love of linen. I've been seeing lots of images of linen clothes floating around Instagram and Pinterest and I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about it that just looks so effortless and cool. I bought this linen shirt from Everlane a couple of weeks ago and it has quickly become one of my favorite shirts. Not only is linen extremely pretty, but it's also easy to take care of, which makes it that much more enticing to wear for the warmer months. I will definitely be keeping an eye on some good linen pieces for the upcoming seasons. Who knows, a pair of linen pants might even be in the cards!