If like me you’re ‘time light’, you will appreciate a succinct synopsis on any given topic. This week’s post aims to do just that, the low down on the slow down, if you will. My current reading list of Substacks with a sustainable slant. Obviously this won’t be a complete synopsis of Substack’s offering in this regard but rather what I’ve found on my travels, so far. You might follow/ subscribe to some of these newsletters already and be like 🙌🏻, but if you don’t, maybe this post will help to expand your reading list and to broaden viewpoint on here.
I love all of the creative content at our fingertips here on Substack but often struggle to find the time to read with intention. Truth be told, I write, I post and I speed read in the moments snatched between the rest of life. So why do I feel like I’m failing to keep up? I have to remind myself that for me this space is purely for pleasure. With that in mind, my intention is to create a positive space to read, to exchange ideas and reading lists and to share our personal journey’s towards more sustainable style.
My slow down list
I appreciate that ‘my slow down list’ is a compilation (a nice even 10, luckily!) of Substack newsletters that I’m personally drawn to and that I have been lucky enough to cross paths with so far, and that yours might be wildly different. But isn’t that great? What defines this list is that these newsletters either have a sustainable slant by intention or by their very nature deliver a positive message in terms of how we can slow our consumption and how we can find joy within our own wardrobes. So here we go, and in no particular order:
- of The Jones Report very much focuses on helping people to find their personal style. Her sustainable slant is that her wardrobe and the pieces she ‘wish lists’ are incredibly timeless, more often than not from sustainable brands, and definitely meet the slow fashion vibe.
- of The Style Slowdown focuses on slowing down the pace, and developing a more considered approach to what and how we consume. She uses her interest in sustainability + her innate sense of French style to show us how to shop our own wardrobes and how to rewear instead of buying new.
of The Found Journal advocates a ‘wardrobe well lived-in’ - I love this! She provides tips on how to develop more confidence in your personal style, including how to value your ‘you’ pieces, regards of trends. I’m definitely learning to focus on this.- of Gumshoe’s tagline is ‘exploring strategies for shopping smarter (i.e. not necessarily more) — often within your existing wardrobe’. I love that she spotlights secondhand and vintage items, and her favourite sellers - I will be starting to do this more. A key tip from her is to identify ‘your signature pieces, and using them to develop a better understanding of your unique style footprint’.
- of Midimalist stands out to me for her sheer inventiveness! Her clever musings include this jaw-dropping piece on styling using our best accessory, our skin! This is a repeat read for me.
- of Hobby Hour is the definition of a true minimalist and sustainable lifestyle writer. Quitting her job and selling her house to live a ‘better’ life, she inspires in all sorts of ways, including her wardrobe virtual cataloging (using Indyx) and planning her capsule wardrobe for Autumn limited to ‘33ish’ pieces.
- of Neighbourhood writes on a beautiful mix of topics including wellness, travel, nature, and style. Her imagery alone is a dopamine hit. I love how she focuses on living life and not worrying about what you wear, in particular in her recent piece on ‘Redefining bliss’.
- of Thanks It’s From eBay is a new find for me and I’m so pleased! Her focus is on ‘finding you the best vintage and pre-loved things on the best corner of the internet, eBay’. More on her joyous ‘Everything is cyclical’ post later.
- (Anna) is the queen of rewearing and making her wardrobe work hard. She is an encyclopedia of tips and knowledge on organising and cataloguing your wardrobe to maximise wearability, on altering, repairing and restoring vintage pieces to make them work better for you, and on mood boarding to curb the urge to shop.
- of In Modas Veritas - of course, she’s on my list! Irene’s newsletter is clever entitled ‘in style, there is truth’, which sums up her styling psyche and approach to personal style, with the underlying message of be true to you. Her tips on how to forge personal style, rewearing, deciding what to buy/ not to buy, are truly unrivalled.
Inspiration
As I flicked through my screenshots to see what has inspired me this week, I realised that I haven’t snapped a single fashion shot, and rather a lot of sleeping puppy shots! So let me present to you ‘mini dachshund in unusual sleeping positions’! What can I say, it’s the honeymoon period, so please indulge me 😆 The usual service will resume next week. But I have included some wish list pieces for you below.
Wish list pieces
Mejuri earrings
I love how Anna of
adds ‘polish’ to her day-to-day outfits with a gold bold earring, often from the Scandi brand, Lié Studio. These Charlotte Bold Hoops from Mejuri, a Toronto-based brand described as “a jewelry supply chain with nature-positive gold”, and the matching Charlotte Slim Ring are firmly on my Christmas list. Is it too early?Alex Mill Carla jeans
Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving the barrel jean trend (just haven’t found my pair yet) and my COH Ayla wide leg jeans, but I’m pining after a pair of classic vintage blue straight leg ankle length jeans. Specific enough?! I recently discovered
who is a veritable encyclopedia on denim - how amazing is this place, that we have access to a dedicated jeans expert! While I dabble with dresses, skirts and cargo pants, I’m a jeans girl at heart, and firmly believe that it’s worth shopping around for the best ones you can afford. As part of Jane’s recent Substackers’ Jeans post, Michelle of praised these Carla Jeans from Alex Mill (a brand which Anna also mentions this week) and described them as “the fit is like that perfect vintage jean, no stretch but still comfortable. Very flattering and I really like the wash. I’m calling them my new casting jeans”. I’m sold. ’s Jeanerica Eiffel jeans look like a great alternative.Jamie Haller trousers
Before I link these Everything Pants from Jamie Haller, I’d like to state that I’ll never be buying these - I mean they are priced at over $400! However, I feel inspired by them and by how they’ve been styled with the navy against the khaki, all of which feels very achievable within my own wardrobe. My feelings about sharing with no compulsion or intention to purchase are summed up perfectly by
who recently wrote about a guest curation with :I loved that she included an item she had no intention of purchasing, but it spoke to her in a way that compelled her to share it anyway.
It led us to a larger discussion where she said, “To love does not always mean to own.”
Thanks for reading, I hope you’ve a lovely week and to see you next weekend, Jenny x
Whether you subscribe, follow or pledge, and whatever way you choose to read My Style Rush, I really appreciate you being here x
I just followed everyone on your list that I wasn’t already following/subscribed to. Thank you for sharing your faves!
What a terrific roundup. Thank you, Jenny! x