environment Archives

My 3rd Most Popular Post – This is Why I Blog

February 15, 2018

I'm so happy that this post is so high on this list - I really did start writing The Vivienne Files in order to encourage women to buy less clothing, and to spend a little bit of time listening to their hearts, and less time listening to advertising. Nobody else knows what you want or need, and don't let them tell you otherwise!

The image shown, from 4 years ago, is so easily replicable today; I don't still have the original grey dress, but everything else there is still with me, and still in my regular rotation. That makes me feel like I'm not destroying my budget, nor my planet...

Here's an updated version:

If you choose simple, classic pieces, and use a little bit of imagination, you don't need a ton of ... View the Post

12 Must-Have Items for your Capsule Wardrobe in 2016? Let’s Consider…

June 18, 2016 I'm sure you see these lists too: "12 Things You NEED in Your Capsule Wardrobe in 2016." They always amuse me, and irritate me, in equal measure. Let me be perfectly clear: there is NOTHING that is required for every woman. Nothing. Every woman does not needs shoes. Every woman does not need to wear a bra. Really, so long as we're all covered enough to be decent in public, I think it should be much more of a free-for-all than it currently is. Conformity kills creativity... So let's look at this particular list, and see what we can learn that might be of use! 1. Ankle Boots If there were even an item that I would encourage you to consider, it would be this. If you live in a climate ... View the Post

A Depressing Statistic, or the #1 Reason I Write The Vivienne Files

"Most clothes are worn, on average, only seven times before they're discarded, forcing an astonishing 150 billion new clothing items to be made annually...Polyester is... found in 50 percent of all clothing. It's enormously energy intensive and doesn't bio-degrade..."

"10 percent of the world's total carbon footprint comes from the apparel industry, and apparel is the second largest polluter of fresh water globally."

This article doesn't even mention things like how much time is spent shopping (NOT a productive use of time, compared to a lot of other things...), nor the amount of money that is churned through one's closet.

Buying and discarding cheap clothing means that you never get to wear anything truly amazing - a fabric that's ... View the Post

Small Changes, Big Improvements

June 20, 2015

Sometimes, you have items of clothing that are perfectly fine, but lacking a certain... something...

Example, the following. I have FIVE of these white shirts (from Lands' End - highly recommended), from when I worked at the bakery. They're really wonderful shirts, but 5 is a bit over the top. And this black velvet tunic is lovely, but it falls into this difficult gap of being not really dressy enough to be dressy, but still seeming a bit over the top with jeans.

Easy, fast, relatively inexpensive update? Buttons!

These are Murano glass - it's virtually impossible to get a good photograph, but you have to trust me that they're pretty gorgeous...

And these are very simple plastic - black with white ... View the Post

ASAP – As Sustainable As Possible – A New Paris Store (to me…)

Belovedest and I were doing our usual wander about Paris on our last vacation, when we saw this store across the street. It had the usual clean, simple look that many stores in Paris have (the stores there seem to be either very sleek and simple, or charmingly cluttered in a tiny and inviting way...). With reckless disregard for our safety, which is really the only way to walk in Paris, we crossed the street in the middle of the block and went in... Before we escaped, we had purchased a beautiful linen plaid scarf for Belovedest, in soft tonal beige, tan and ivory, and I had a new cashmere hooded sweatshirt in traditional grey. I bought the largest size available in the sweatshirt, because I was looking for smooshy, cuddly ... View the Post

Questions about the raison d’etre of The Vivienne Files

August 28, 2014

A lot of questions recently have revolved around the origins of The Vivienne Files, and what it is that drives me to write it, and what I hope to have accomplished by all of this work. Good questions, and well worthwhile for me to consider from time to time.

I don't have any contact with Vivienne any more, but I will always remember her as the first person that I met who really made it clear to me that looking gorgeous and well-dressed was in no way related to having a big pile of clothes, or to shopping incessantly. She would never have gone into debt to buy clothing. She only bought things for which she had saved the money; she only bought things for which she had planned carefully; she only bought things that ... View the Post

More about Preloved

August 16, 2013

A number of readers have been curious about my Preloved shirt that I bought a few weeks ago in Toronto. Well, I adore it, and moreover, I really like the entire premise of the company...Even if you're not nuts about the idea of clothes made of multiple fabrics, Preloved has some wonderful things to consider:

A tote bag made of khaki pants, lace, and leather - I think this is SO beautiful.

A hooded sweatshirt for children - what a brilliant idea!

A couple of old tee shirts, made into a pillow.

I do not get commissions from Preloved; I support them enthusiastically because of their thoughtful solution to the endless global problem of garment waste.

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Used Clothing won’t hurt you…

Better World Shopper is an interesting site. I can't comment at all regarding the quality or validity of their research methodology, but their conclusions are certainly worthy of consideration. And I think it's about time that we all come to grips with the understanding that there's nothing inferior, or particularly sinister or distasteful, about used clothing. For one thing, it's not like the clothing you buy at retail is particularly pristine, unworn or sanitary. Anybody who's ever worked in retail can tell horror stories about what is done to clothing before it's purchased and leaves the store as a "new" garment. Secondly, I suspect that each and every one of us has access to laundry facilities and/or a dry ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Project 333: from the sublime to the ridiculous

After we got back from Paris, belovedest and I agreed that we could have packed less - we had more options than we strictly needed, and we wouldn't have minded having even SMALLER bags...And that made me start pondering the number of options inherent in any "Project 333" that includes 33 pieces of clothing - theoretically more than 1,000.

So, I started illustrating them all.... and my brain ground to a halt at 160 outfits. This would easily get me through 5 months, and I haven't even begun to address the possibilities of my dresses. Wow. I really do NOT need a lot of clothes - I re-learn this fact every day.

Note: although you can't really tell here, the 3 pair of black pants are VERY different from each other ... View the Post

2,900 gallons of water

It takes 2,900 gallons of water to produce one pair of jeans.

Now, to get up to 2,900 gallons, you'll need to fill your bathtub to the brim. TWICE...

AND, the average woman in the US owns 7 pair of jeans.

Just in case you wanted another motivation to cut back on the size of your wardrobe! ... View the Post

Futility, time-wasting, and fraying the edges of your self-esteem

Indulge me while I do some math:

10 minutes/day messing with my hair = 1 hour per week (I'm taking Sundays off)

1 hour/week = 6 1/2 work days per year

6 1/2 work days per year X 40 years (adult working life) = over ONE WORKING YEAR...

And what am I trying to do during these boring, and futile, 10 minutes per day?

I'm trying to have hair like Louise Brooks. Or maybe even Juliette Greco. But it's a waste of time, electricity, hair-care products, and ultimately, I'm spending a little bit of time every day telling myself that I'm JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH the way I am naturally.

Which is this:

There are dozens of ways in which we engage in futile battles. We could easily just surrender, and be happier, more productive, ... View the Post

Doing the right thing…

As many of you know, I've sworn off buying any new clothes (or shoes) for twelve months, beginning this September first. I'm now 29 days into the project, and have felt no pain regarding it, so far. In fact, it's been quite a relief to be able to just completely turn a blind eye to all of the "must-have" lists that float around this time of year.

Why is it that I don't see so many "must-have" lists for men? They have more money than we do... Maybe there's a connection there? But I digress...

One thing that has become even more of a priority for me now is the upkeep and maintenance of the things I currently own. This could sound like drudgery, but it really is quite gratifying for all sort of reasons:

The obvious saving of ... View the Post