Venetia Falconer
  • Home
  • About
  • Events
  • Press
  • Podcast
  • Articles
  • Videos
  • Contact
Select Page
Celebrating my old clothes with additional gusto t Celebrating my old clothes with additional gusto today in an attempt to balance out all the fashion greenwashing I’ve seen this week🙃 ♻️ #OOOTD (old outfit of the day) ~ black puffa jacket: 5 years old, @marahoffman white linen shirt (gifted from a shoot a few years ago), cable knit vest: thrifted, navy cords and white trainers: @vestiaireco ✨ Is anyone joining me in #Offline48 this weekend? This is a practice where I take time away from my phone to help maintain balance and boundaries ♥️ I did a Q&A about this ritual last month and it’s now a highlight on my page if you’d like to learn more 💕 Have a restful weekend and thank you for making my return to this app this week such a warm and welcoming one - you are just lovely🌞
Hello👋🏼 It’s been a minute!⁣⁣ I’ve h Hello👋🏼 It’s been a minute!⁣⁣ I’ve had a month away from here, three weeks of which were spent completely offline (I take an annual break around Dec/Jan) another week of which was spent dropping in and out just observing. I’m sure this is how a lot of you might use social media and I found it to be a really revealing practice. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Having time away from this space has really helped me think about the kind of work I want to be putting out into the world, while at the same time keeping my own mental health in check and being conscious of your mental health too. ⁣⁣ ⁣ I really enjoy creating content, whether that’s podcasts, YouTube videos or posts over here and I feel very proud of what we’ve created over @RememberWhoMadeThem. I love being able to share useful information and resources about the issues I care about, but I also want to balance this out by making things that might make you feel a little bit lighter, a little bit cosier and a little bit happier. Time offline reminds me to notice the small things and take pleasure in the seemingly mundane and I want my pages to reflect that. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ So, if you decide to join me this year, I can guarantee you’ll be kept in the loop about when a fast fashion brand is flat out lying to us, but I’ll also be here to discuss the fluffy loveliness and longevity of brushed cotton pyjamas, my latte art failures and I’ll probably throw in some questionable dance moves for good measure. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ One of my main focuses for this year is to connect with you more, especially as we’re going to be locked down for a while yet.  I’m thinking about how we could best do this (a TV/film club? virtual cook-alongs?) But in the meantime, please drop me a comment below and let me know how you’ve been coping/what you’ve been enjoying/whether or not you took time offline and perhaps if you’ve taken up any slower fashion habits for the year ahead? I’d love to hear from you ♥️⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ [ID: A series of photos taken pre-lockdown of Venetia waiting (impatiently) for a vegan fish finger burger. The moment it arrived she realised her 2020 had peaked. Venetia is wearing a coat from @hurr (PR rental) + a thrifted white cotton cable knit]
ad. I’m delighted to be the new Buy One Give One ad. I’m delighted to be the new Buy One Give One ambassador for my long-time favourite independent eyewear brand @JimmyFairly. They’ve been committed to Buy One Give One since day their inception and are partnered with the amazing @RestoringVision who give sight to those who need it most. (If you’re not in the market for new frames and would like to donate directly to them, I’ve left a swipe up to the charity in my stories). ⁣ ⁣⁣ I have fallen in LOVE with these frames, not just because I like how they look and feel, but also because they have a blue light filter which means reduced disruption to my circadian rhythm! We love to see it!! (Pun intended 🙃)⁣⁣ ⁣ Jimmy Fairly’s frames are priced from £99 and this includes a prescription and/or the blue light filter. They even offer FREE in-store eye tests which you can book one online - I had one a few months ago and it was super safe and efficient. I actually love having my eyes tested. Just me?!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ In terms of sustainability, Jimmy Fairly frames are built to last, out of the best quality materials possible. They also offer a repairs service, so you can love your frames for longer. The brand is committed to making even bigger sustainable changes. From January 2021, ALL of their new collections will be made from eco-acetate, a much more environmentally friendly material derived from cotton seeds and plant matter This is the brand's biggest step towards green commitment in all Jimmy Fairly history!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ [Image description: Venetia is wearing a pair of Jimmy Fairly ‘Felicia’ frames paired with a vintage Laura Ashley dress that she found in the summer of 2019. Felicia felt like the perfect fit as this is usually the name that baristas call when her coffee is ready.]
Q: “If most of my clothes are from Zara, H&M and Q: “If most of my clothes are from Zara, H&M and ASOS, does that mean I’m not welcome in the fair fashion movement?” ⁣⁣⁣ A: Of course it doesn’t! The focus here should not be on buying new clothes from sustainable brands in a bid to show solidarity to garment workers and respect for our planet. The best thing you can do is celebrate the clothes you already own. If you have clothes - no matter where they’re from - you are IN! ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ And if you’re someone who opens their wardrobe and thinks: “I have nothing to wear” (this happens to me too) I’d really recommend setting aside some time to organise your wardrobe and having an at-home styling session. Spending just 20 minutes trying on the clothes we already own in new ways can help us discover fresh fits and help us love our garms for longer - you may even find pieces you forgot you had! I also find this to be a real mood-booster (essential when we have all of 19 mins of daylight🙃). What’s more: it’s FREE! ⁣ ⁣ While you style-up and organise, you could listen to the @RememberWhoMadeThem podcast to learn about how garment workers are organising! This series is a completely free resource to learn how we can be in better solidarity with garment workers and their unions (directly from the workers and unions themselves) as we collectively rally for the systemic change that the fashion industry so desperately needs. If you’ve already listened, we have a bonus episode out later this week✨💫⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ [Image description: Venetia is standing on a street in her hometown of London wearing her #OOOTD (Old Outfit Of The Day), a hashtag she started a few years ago to encourage outfit repeating. It consists of some of her favourite clothes she’s collected over the years: a pair of black vintage trousers, a black roll neck from @BeyondRetro and her husband’s high school varsity jacket.]
I wanted to address a few points that came up foll I wanted to address a few points that came up following my previous post about @PrettyLittleThing’s 99% off sale.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ “This is their way of getting rid of deadstock. It’s better that they sell it than have it end up as landfill”.⁣ Deadstock or otherwise, the real issue here is overproduction at a price that is not truly reflective of the true social and environmental cost of the product. The more we produce, the more we send to landfill. A lot of textile waste ends up in the Global South which has huge social, environmental and health implications. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ “This is classist. Stop shaming people who can only afford clothes in the sales”.⁣ Let's be really clear, the people who need to buy their clothes in sales are not the problem. The consumers who are engaging in the most harmful practices are those with disposable incomes. When PLT sell a dress that costs less than a cup of tea, they’re inadvertently teaching us that clothing is disposable. They are also showing us just how little the people who make their clothes mean to them. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ “This isn’t just Boohoo, it’s luxury brands too”.⁣ Correct. The entire system is corrupt.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ “LOL. You are all complaining about fast fashion but typing from smartphones”.⁣ In the current system, it’s next impossible to be a perfect ‘ethical consumer’. Instead of shifting the blame to individuals, let’s think about how we can collectively demand more from corporations. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ “Can the influencers who work with these brands spread awareness about this?”⁣ They should be using their relationships with the brands to insist they do better and rejecting the contracts altogether - if they’re in a position to do so. A lot of influencers ARE doing this already, you just don’t hear about it. Follow accounts that take on slow and considered brand partnerships instead.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ “I had no idea about this and recently bought items in their sale, I will throw them away!”⁣ That’s ok, you know now! But please don’t throw away these clothes, wear them! Celebrate the labour and dignity of the workers and demand change in a system that puts profit above people or planet.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ Art: @ici.jozi, @judith_p.raynault, @heyimsakina ♥️
Just when we thought fast fashion couldn’t get a Just when we thought fast fashion couldn’t get any more frightening, @PrettyLittleThing host a “99% off EVERYTHING” Black Friday sale, reducing the prices of their pieces to as little as 4p 🥵⁣ ⁣ When a 95% polyester dress costs 8p, two things are for sure: garment workers are earning peanuts and our dying planet doesn’t have a fighting chance. ⁣ ⁣ @PrettyLittleThing @umarkamani @boohoo and @mahmudkamani: this is absolutely unacceptable.
  • How To Plan The Perfect Staycation
    Read Venetia’s post on Eco Age about her tips
    for planning an eco-friendly staycation.
  • Slow Fashion Exchange Group
    Click Here
  • Watch My Latest Youtube Video
    Click Here
  • Venetia’s Podcast
    Click Here
© 2020 VENETIA LA MANNA