Sotela’s summer collection is a linen dream. Their Papaya Shorts (pictured above) are currently their top seller. See how their designer and founder styles them 6 ways.
How much shampoo should you use? You might be using too much, and even sudsing too much of your hair!
Top tips for thrifting home decor. Some of my favorite items around the house are thrifted because they often have so much more character than items that are widely available. This post inspired me to make a list for future trips.
We have been listening to the new Taylor Swift album pretty much nonstop in our house. My daughter noted it wasn’t ‘pop-y’ enough for her. That’s probably why my husband and I like it so much.
I just finished the novel Mudbound, and I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend it.
Do you have enough masks yet? I really like these.
I am already thinking about fall a little bit, and early this week picked up a pair of jeans at Madewell. I am hoping they fit the bill to pair with all my oversized sweaters and chunky boots. I like this style because they aren’t skinny, and they don’t dominate the outfit either.
I saw that Nordstrom is planning to go ahead with their annual anniversary sale! The preview is live online, but the sale doesn’t start until mid-August. I don’t usually buy many things from the sale, but I find it’s a good time to save money on bigger ticket items like jackets or shoes for my family. Last year I bought Patagonia rain coats for all three of my kids, and a Patagonia fleece for myself (that I wear on a weekly basis!). I will plan a post in the coming weeks with a few select items I’m considering!
Two years ago on Seasons + Salt, what I wore during a heatwave… still own and wear every single one of these items!
Have you guys been following the Wall of Moms? Last night a ‘wall of vets’ joined the cause.
I am curious to hear your guys’ thoughts on Everlane these days. Are you still shopping there or have you moved on? (This is a judgement free zone, so there are no wrong answers here.) I am following Ex Wives Club, and I believe every word they are publishing. I’ve continued to be in touch with my contact at Everlane, and the work they are doing internally as a company makes me optimistic. But I wish they would be more transparent with their online audience. I would like to continue to partner with the company, because I really believe they are doing the work. But I don’t want the burden of sharing that story to fall on me, so I am continuing to pause.
Updated to add:
The New York Times covered this topic today: ‘Everlane’s Promise of ‘Radical Transparency’ Unravels’
I’ve been following along with the Everlane thing too. I’m hoping they change course and make it. An example of a large company actually changing the errors of their ways would be amazing and set a great example. I’m not holding my breath.
Every time Everlane comes up on the blogs I read, I always want to tell people to check out their IG before they order anything. From a purely selfish customer standpoint, not even considering any of the controversies, I’m afraid to order from them now. Since they got rid of their customer service team, their customer service clearly sucks. Their IG is full of people who have been waiting months for orders, aren’t receiving refunds after they have returned items, wrong items being received and never fixed, sending email after email and only getting canned responses back etc. The folks who are commenting on IG are desperate for customer service and aren’t getting any. So, yeah, no way am I going to order anything from them unless/until they get that sorted out.
Great point Annie. I’m a little stunned at how many comments they are getting re:customer service. I would hate to have my money tied up in an order and feel stuck like that. It’s unacceptable.
I can attest to all of the above.
I had ordered some jeans and was on the fence on keeping them. I set up a return, but then decided to keep the jeans and cancel the return. 3 months later I got an auto response saying I needed to pay for the jeans. Everlane listed the return automatically as a credit on my account, but never rescinded that credit when I cancelled the return. In the end, I kept getting notices and didn’t want it going to a collections agency so I double paid for my jeans – all the while sending at least 10 emails to Everlane trying to get someone to respond. They fixed the credit issue, finally, but as for me getting my money back from the other agency used to collect the double payment – well they’d have to contact them and wait and see… After 4 months I personally contacted the other payment collection company and got my refund that day. I then emailed Everlane one last time to let them know I did their damn job for them. I will never buy anything from them again.
I am horrified Jennifer! I am so sorry you had to go through that. What an ordeal! That is just awful. Thank you for taking the time to write it all out so we could get an idea of what people are going through. :(
I think Everlane’s reckoning was unavoidable given that they’ve marketed themselves as “radically transparent” since the beginning and failed to live up to that standard, particularly in the way they treat US employees. It begs the question: if American employees are being treated this way, what is actually happening at their manufacturing facilities? That being said, it seems relevant to consider that similar mismanagement is likely happening in businesses of a similar size and in a similar niche, and the only thing preventing this kind of media attention is that those companies never claimed a commitment to ethics, or perhaps have NDAs. Everlane’s exploitation needs to be contextualized within the fashion industry as a whole. It’s not a standout for these misbehaviors.
All that to say, I still get credit that I spend, but I’m not actively promoting or working with Everlane at this time.
Thanks Leah for your considered perspective, I think you’re spot on.
A majority of my clothing is from Everlane, which I have accumulated over the past 4 years. I began to purchase from them because of their platform of transparency & fair wages. Just in the past year I noticed a substantial decrease in the quality of clothing from them (sweater, underwear, & t-shirts seams coming apart after single wears & washes). Rather than contact customer service & go through a whole rigamarole, I chose to mend each item. I was already frustrated with the company when the Ex Wives Club began to post. I wholeheartedly agree with Leah…if these are the problems here, what is truly going on overseas? To me, Everlane was the start of my ‘ethical wardrobe’ journey…to put my money toward companies that were trying to do better & make a difference in the industry. I will unfortunately no longer be purchasing from them again because of that broken promise.
Thank you for sharing Devon. I feel pretty let down by them too. :(
I won’t be purchasing from Everlane again. I’d actually scaled back on my purchases from them–the majority of my business casual work wardrobe is from Everlane–because I noticed the same significant decline in quality. The recent controversies (union-busting and workplace racism) were the final nail in that coffin for me.
I had pretty much given up on Everlane last fall. Like Devon mentioned, the quality has been on a slow decline, and even things like tee shirts weren’t worth the money and exceptionally long shipping times. Then there was all the copy catting, and it seemed like so many designs were just ripping off smaller brands. Following Ex Wives Club and seeing the complete lack of straight forward and honest response from Everlane has been disappointing but not surprising. At this point, I’ve firmly categorized Everlane as fast fashion, and they’re just another Madewell or JCrew. They claim transparency but don’t live up to it, so that might actually make them even worse than those companies in my mind.
Thanks Bev for weighing in. I agree, it seems they forecasted/marketed an image they can’t/won’t live up to. I’m super baffled by their minimal, public-facing response to everything Ex Wives Club has outlined. They have such an opportunity for growth, and leading change in an industry. But they don’t seem interested in taking it.
Over the past year or so I have slowly been accumulating Everlane items as part of my move away from fast fashion and my goal to purchase from ‘radically transparent’ companies. I have been happy with the items I have purchased so far, and by no means do I expect absolute perfection from any company (big or small) but I have been devastated by truths that are coming to light about Everlane. I have no desire to purchase anything further until I see some vast improvements and third party validations. Unfortunately, Everlane was very true to my style and I already had a few sweaters on my wish list Fall, therefore any ethical alternatives to Everlane with a similar price point would be much appreciated!
Hi Emma, I plan to share as many brands as I can that are alternatives in style/price point to Everlane. They were a sweet spot for me in that arena too, so I feel super bummed. Not to mention they have been a big source of income for me over the last few years, so now I am in a place of re-examining who and how I ‘do business’ for the blog. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.
I’m keeping a close eye on Everlane, like I do with every brand that positions themselves as ‘ethical’. I want to see them do the work and fix these issues, and I hope that they can. Many people are calling for us to straight up boycott them – but I think the conversation is more nuanced than that.
I feel a lot of people expect ‘sustainable/ethical’ brands to be perfect and never get anything wrong, and if they do then we should boycott. I don’t believe that’s a helpful approach; it doesn’t change or fix anything.
I acknowledge that I’m making a compromise with my ethics when I shop with Everlane so that I can wear clothes I feel comfortable in. Most of us make compromises about the places we shop because shopping ethically and sustainably is HARD especially when it comes to affordability. I’m short and curvy. Everlane are one of the few brands making clothes that actually fit me at a price I can afford. So yeah, if I need a new pair of trousers that’s where I’m shopping because despite all their issues, they’re still better than most fast fashion brands (and often one of the very few choices available to us).
I’m certainly not going to judge anyone for making the best choice they can, and if that means making compromising about where to shop sometimes then so be it.
I am international so I only purchased Everlane when I went abroad, and while I have been happy with the tops (silk, cotton, sweaters), the t-shirts have all failed spectacularly. I still have credit from a return so I will want to make another purchase, but I am truly sad to see the case of yet another promising company taken over by everything that is terrible about corporate greed
Hi Andrea,
Long time reader of your blog here.
As a manager of a small, indie bookshop in the PNW I wanted to ask if you’ve ever considered linking at least some of your book links to an indie bookstore? There are so many in PDX alone! I know you may not receive a cut of the purchase, and I totally understand the conflict. Bookstores are and have struggled in light of amazon — and while the product itself isn’t slow or ethical, you could help promote sales to small businesses that employ individuals in a way you uphold.
I am just personally interested in seeing more individuals acknowledge the true cost of books and the labor it takes to promote them. Amazon offers unrealistic prices, ones that no mom and pop could ever compete with.
Just a thought … thanks for reading.