EcoFashion: A Q&A with a Personal Stylist
Dipping into the ecofashion community in the past year and a half has allowed me to see eye-to-eye with green fashion gurus. It has been fun to be around women who dig their hemp dresses, organic cotton tees, and secondhand sweaters. However, when it comes to the typical top notch fashionistas of Los Angeles, I wonder: what do they think of implementing eco-consciousness in fashion? Do they think it’s just as fashionable to be sustainable?
A couple months ago I attended a women’s networking event and met fashion expert Rachel Klewicki, a fulltime stylist in Los Angeles and the South Bay. We instantly clicked over our common interest in thrift shopping and I gawked at Rachel’s talent in putting together stylish outfits. By definition, she is by all means a fashion expert, and I was eager to pick her brain for her thoughts on ecofashion.
Much like myself, Rachel’s views on thrift shopping are glamorized which I totally love. She explains thrift shopping is an excellent styling tool: “It gives you access fit, color, cut, and design across a wide range of time periods. At the mall, you really are limited to the fads of the moment: low rise jeans, bell bottoms, crop tops, or whatever the ‘must haves’ are at any given time.” The idea that thrift stores are like time capsules full of clothing from different eras grants secondhand shopping a certain pleasure. All types of people from different walks of life and status donate their clothes, so the pickings are often eclectic and one-of-a-kind.
Rachel adds, “I love how thrifting allows some of us budget-minded folks access to an elevated level of design at a lower price point. It makes it so much easier to test out a new direction.” As someone who loves utilizing risky pieces from thrift stores to explore different styles, I couldn’t agree more.
Rachel told me that she hopes more sustainable brands emerge and that current brands adopt sustainable practices. She explained, “It’s hard enough for most people to figure out who they are and how they want to present themselves. A greater variety of sustainable options in stores will make it that much easier for everyone to make green choices.”
In addition to donating clothes, Rachel says tailoring is a great way to refashion pieces that are unfitted instead of buying new clothes. “A talented tailor can make a great quality item evolve with you for the same price you’d pay to keep repurchasing fast-fashion.”
I was interested in asking Rachel’s opinion about capsule wardrobes, because the idea seemed intimidating to me. She explained that capsules are extremely useful for organizing a wardrobe and making it easier to get dressed every day. To create a capsule that isn’t plain, Rachel suggests us to analyze which factors are most important to our successful outfits and extract fashion rules to allow you to duplicate outfits. She e“My advice for anyone who wants to form capsules but who aren’t necessarily minimalists: you must do the work on the front end.”
Or, of course, you could always hire a stylist to do it for you! Check out Rachel’s blog http://www.rachelklewicki.com/ to follow more of her thoughts, tips, and trick in rocking fashion finds.
