Photography by: Anna Reagan Photography

Last week was exhausting. I always try my best to get my to do’s done, but I struggled wanting and having the energy to do. I kept feeling fatigued, low energy and my mental space was shaken due to the quick passing of an old friend. I’m still honestly in disbelief. I didn’t even know that she was sick, and that hurts even more because I would’ve done more, been there, or at the very least called and checked in…God! I’m Sorry Soph! I looked up and you were gone…I also didn’t get a newsletter out this week, and honestly this blog post almost didn’t happen either. But I’m here, you’re here and we’re doing this. I thought that I was going to be able to get out the newsletter today, but I won’t. So if you’re subscribed, I apologize. My heart was in it, but everything else was not. We will definitely reconvene next week, same time, same place.

On a lighter, more stylish note…As you know, sustainable, ethical and intentional style is at the core of my wardrobe module. This journey has had it’s pros and cons, but overall I think that the quality of my wardrobe has increased greatly. Not just the quality of the actual garmemts, but the actual use, function, feel and purpose has aligned more with my goals, who I truly am and how I want to be viewed. It isn’t perfect, but this journey has taught me things about myself, and changed my perspective on clothing and shopping entirely. It’s almost unreal to me that I think the way that I do now. I’ve definitely been more intentional with the brands that I shop with. Not only do I make sure that I’m checking most of my, “to buy” boxes, but I’m more concerned with a company’s ethics, culture, beliefs and determing if they even deserve my black dollar. That’s been challenging as well, but shopping with smaller, black owned brands has helped to remedy that.

More often times than not, these small black owned brands are not on the sustainable or ethical tip. So, when I do shop for something that’s not thrifted, vintage or straight from a sustainable or ethical brand, I look for certain factors that influence my shopping decisions.

• They have to have a great curation.
• Their ethos must align with my wardrobe.
• They have to be intentional about their brand vision.
• They have to offer pieces in viscose (semi sustainable fabric) cotton or blends of the two.
• They have to have smaller collections.
• They don’t have to personally design and sew the pieces themselves, but that is something that I definitely look for.

Which brings me to the ootd, this two piece set. I didn’t purchase this immediately. As with all of my of my purchases, I wait a while, sometimes months before buying something. Upon first sight, I was in love. The color was in my fall color palette, the style was fitting for my body type and personal style and the price was great. Off impulse, this would’ve been an immediate, ok I’m buying. But my process is a bit more thorough. Since I knew that the brand wasn’t sustainable, I made sure that it checked my other qualifications above. It met all of them except the collection size for each drop was more small to medium. I participated in her virtual pop up and I think that her entry fall collection for the pop was about 15 pieces. A few days later, she added more items to the collection.

It actually sold out the first time that I saw it. She restocked it, and by that time, I had envisioned myself in it, thought about how it would work in my wardrobe, considered different styling options, and checked the fabrication. It was a done deal. For my first styling option for fall, I decided to add one of falls most loved elements of layering. I thought that a nice silk blouse would pair beautifully underneath. The top is actually cropped, so pairing it with another layer gave the look a little more dimension. I decided on white to keep the outfit neutral, and I accessorized with my vintage gold necklace and a pair of wood grain detail sunglasses for added texture.

Loving this look and the possibilities of re styling this set, so stay tuned for more. If you missed last weeks blog post, you can get your read on here. If you aren’t subscribed yet, you don’t want to miss out. My girls get exclusivity inside, so if you want in, you know what to do. Get on that list here! If you’re looking for more personalized help on curating your fall collection, bringing your brand or personal vision to life, or creating a more intentional wardrobe module, you’re in the right place. You can schedule a FREE 15 min. Garb Chat here to get started! Thank you for joining me. I appreciate your presence. Until next time, Be Guiltless about your Garb!

Style Tip of the day

Think of your outfit as a layered cake. When you cut open a cake and you see multiple layers with different colors, it creates more of a visual interest. You are more enticed to taste it because the presentation was alluring. People will be more intrigued with your outfit if you add dimension. Layering is a simple tip that creates allure. Give them something to “Wow” about.

Her Guiltless Garb

Set: Ava Giselle Collection / Button down: Everlane / Necklace: Collaboration Vintage / Sunglasses: Esoterique