Wide eyed legless

" I am only investing in five pieces a season. The ultimate goal to prioritize quality over quantity. The rules: five pieces every four months, including shoes, bags and jewelry- I will not change my shopping habits (i.e. spend a ton more on one item) but rather keep quality a top priority and give myself the opportunity to really search for and invest in pieces that I know I will love for years to come" -  Madelynn Hackwith Furlong -

Source: wide eyed legless

I stumbled across some wise words  today that sit quite nicely with the YOEF ideals, so I figured it would be rude not to share. They are lifted from wide eyed legless, a gorgeous blog penned by Madelynn Hackwith Furlong.  

Reasons to knit

Source: 1, 2, 3, & 4 below

Why not pick up some needles and get knitting? Not only can it be extremely relaxing, but it can make watching the TV or listening to a podcast say seem more fulfilling. Just the other day my Ma was telling me that Sigmund Freud's youngest daughter used to knit during analytic hours - now there's multitasking! To top things off there are now a multitude of useful blogs, books and clubs concerning the art. All of which dispel the myth that you have to be female, over the age of 50 and own at least one cat to qualify.  Choose ethical wool for your creations and you'll have one of the most YOEF abiding items hanging in your wardrobe. Trust me, it's oddly addictive.

Ethical Clothes Rail

It's Thursday. Which means a) it's almost the weekend and b) it's time for a year of ethical fashion update! Themed blog post despisers - bare with me.  So far my YOEF is going alrighty - having not really been to the shops. However, with Christmas money still to burn and time to forget and/ or forgive the frantic pre-xmas capitalism binge* - is it just me - or are the sales looking increasingly attractive? But is there an ethical way to pick up a bargain? Why yes - shop wisely and there is a chance you can replace your moth eaten clothes with limited guilt **.  For that reason I've created an ensemble of items from my favourite ethical brands (prices correct at time of publishing). 

1// Miriam Red Fleece Dress by People Tree £65.00 £19.50

2// Kelly by Beyond Skin £89.00 £55.00

3// Annie Merino Wool Jumper by Bibico £79.00 £39.00

* this statement may have been influenced by J, who is reading exerts from Morrissey's  Biog as I type ...

** the need for online shopping is the downfall of many of these items. There's a danger that added postage, packaging and "ghost-town-causing" might hinder the good.Oh darn it ...

A Year of Ethical Fashion

Over at Meet Me At Mike's Pip Lincolne is pledging a year of ethical fashion. Considering 10 to 20 % of all textiles in the fashion industry are wasted* - this sounds like a plan to me. According to the Bureau of International Recycling, if everyone in the UK bought one reclaimed woolen garment each year, it would save an average of 1,686 million litres of water and 480 tons of chemical dye stuffs! 

Tempted? To sign up click here and scroll to the bottom of the page. If you have a blog you can also grab a button for your sidebar to show support. Alongside Meet Me At Mikes, each Thursday I will be posting an update to how our year of ethical fashion is going! Let us know if you join the party!

* stat from Christina Dean - ReDress