The Sustainable Series #9 : Lucy & Yak
I've really been enjoying a spot of vintage shopping recently so haven't bought all that much ~new~, but it's finally time to showcase another sustainable clothing brand! If you've missed them, so far in my sustainable series I've discussed 2 clothing brands: Armedangels and People Tree. Now, number 3 on my list, a brand I've been lusting over on instagram for a long time, is Lucy & Yak! Mostly known for their statement dungarees (such as this fabulous pair that I am now the proud owner of), Lucy & Yak are a brand committed in working to sustainability, while maintaining bold, colourful styling. So me in a brand, basically!
I don't really know why it took me so long to finally buy my first pair of dungarees from Lucy & Yak, considering how much of a dungaree lover I am; perhaps because they have SO many designs and I would love ALL of them? How are you supposed to choose only one? (I'm not made of money!) I finally managed because the colour way on this set just stood out to me. These are the 'Poppi Rock' design, 100% cotton and ridiculously comfy in the oversized style of fit. They may look hard to style at first, so much colour and print, but once you think about it (and see some inspiration from other peoples styling) there's a world of options tbh.
Who Are Lucy & Yak?
Lucy & Yak are a small company set up by Lucy & Chris after they packed up to travel the world; first beginning by sewing tobacco pouches on the beach in New Zealand, they moved onto selling vintage clothing from their van 'Yak' where the love for fashion was truly sparked. They devoted time to finding the right partners to manufacture their designs, who were equally as committed to an ethical practice, and now with over 13 employees in the UK and 30 at their factory in India, every worker earns above the living wage. Their aim is to have a system where everybody wins.
They started with only dungarees, but have since branched out to jumpsuits, dresses, tops, trousers and outerwear! (Yes, I most definitely do have my eyes set on this gem of a jumpsuit next.) They're honest and transparent in not being 100% sustainable but share their progress in working towards it; they use 100% biodegradable mailing bags to ship their orders, promising that every order will only contain items that are either Biodegradable, Re-usable, Recycled and of course Wearable.
They use oganic cotton, and although the dungarees don't have buttons, the dresses/jumpsuits that do use either metal buttons or ones made of coconut shell - no plastic!
Where Can I Buy It?
Their full range is online at lucyandyak.com but they also have a Depop store (where they first started selling: @lucyandyak) which offers a variety of deals.
Top Picks
Not only is it good to support sustainable brands, but small brands and brands whose pieces let you still have fun with your wardrobe!
Loves. Emma.
3 Ways To Wear: Knee High Boots
I'm the first to admit that my wardrobe is not lacking in any way, but there is one thing that I felt was missing and that's knee high boots. I'm an ankle boot girl through and through, they're my failsafe for every season and if I had to go all minimalist, it's my ankle boot collection that I would struggle most to whittle down. But there's just something about knee high boots that I've been really loving recently. And yes, I do have some knee high snake print boots, but they're a little high for everyday wear! So I went on the hunt; I couldn't decide between wanting grey or brown but nowhere that I looked had anything I wanted. That was until I stumbled into the end of the Office sale and found these beauties! There was one pair in my size (fate, of course) but no price. Turns out they were reduced from £135 to £25. What. A. Bloody. Bargain!
So in honour of one of my best sale purchases, I thought I'd do a '3 ways to wear'. There are so many ways in which you can style knee boots and I struggled with choosing only three, so two in particular which I didn't include are with tailored shorts (even better if you have a matching blazer too for a sophisticated suited and booted look!) and simply tucking them under a pair of flares. Because how 70's and how cool? Anyway, onto the three ways that I have photographed for you:
Tonal
Sometimes it's nice to mix it up with all of the colour clashes, but other times it's nice to stick simple with one set tone. So for all of the warm tones, I paired this corduroy skirt and check blazer together with subtle pops of colour from the bag and headband. A-line skirts are (in my opinion) the best accompaniment for knee high boots! This photos aren't quite what I had in mind; we planned on shooting in a certain part of town, cobbled streets and old buildings; but as soon as we set off the heavens opened and showed no signs of stopping! With little time to rearrange, we had to settle for sheltering in the bus station and making the most of it.
Tucked
One thing that I've never done too often, whether with knee high or over-the-knee boots, is to tuck jeans/trousers in. I've instead always opted for pairing them with dresses/skirts/shorts or even hiding them under baggy/flared trousers. But I thought I'd mix it up a bit and the this the result! I'm actually quite a fan, it works a treat for when it's super cold (as it was on this day). A double leopard print concoction with the softest coat ever and one of my favourite shirts from M&S makes for a nice little outfit if I do say so myself.
The Jumper Dress
The best thing you can have in your wardrobe throughout Autumn/Winter and Spring too, with the temperatures all over the place in the UK, is jumper dresses. Cosy and warm they are the perfect throw-on piece to go with knee boots, OTK boots or even ankle boots and trainers. So versatile! Team them up with tights if it's cold or even jeans if it's really cold and there's no chill to be felt. This one is a couple of years old now from Missguided and it's getting rather bobbly now, but I still love it! It's not the longest so I did add some shorts underneath, and with a cross-body bag and fedora it makes for such a simple yet stylish look. I love hats for instantly transforming a look!
Which is your favourite look?
Loves. Emma.
A Wardrobe Upgrade For Spring
As much as I bloody LOVE Autumn, Spring comes a very close second. Winter can sometimes get a bit too cold and miserable and dreary; Spring means the end of that, a fresh start and my birthday! (As I'm writing this, winter is very much still in full swing; the snow covering my car and my fleecey bedding not going anywhere, any time soon, but wishful thinking and all that!) A big spring clean always feels good whether you're getting the marigolds out in the kitchen, detoxing your social media or tidying up your wardrobe. I've been doing a lot of the latter just recently and my god does it feel good! I'm not talking just emptying everything onto your bed, making a pile for the charity shop and putting the rest back in a nice neat fashion (although that is always very satisfying) but various little ways that I've been changing things up.
Photography by Matt McCormick (korm87)
Buying Investment Pieces
I've rambled on far too often about how I'm trying to 'buy better' but I am (without spending mad, girl gotta eat!). I want to have a wardrobe full of longevity; pieces that I can really treasure, t-shirts that won't go misshapen within weeks and knitwear that won't go bobbly after 2 wears. This knit is from Megan Ellabys new clothing line Saturday and is actually a dream! I can't wear wool because it's so damn itchy and irritates my (very sensitive) skin, but I researched a bit into merino wool (which this is made 100% of) and decided to give it a go. The price is a little higher than I'd usually spend on one jumper, but absolutely worth it and I'll definitely be on the look out for merino numbers to invest in for next Autumn/Winter. I've also been spending a little more on shoes and handbags; these are two things that I'm much happier to invest in because you can get SO much use out of them. The boots are Kurt Geiger (bought in the sale last year) and the handbag is Alexander McQueen (found in TK Maxx!) so you can still get relative bargains when investing!
Adding New Prints
My wardrobe is quite varied as is; lots of colour, texture and prints. But I'd still began to get a bit bored of it all and wanted a shake-up! So I've added a few new pieces; a cow print skirt, a zebra print pinafore and these check trousers. Check isn't a new print by any means, but the colour way was just so different to anything I have, and after seeing these in store when I went to check out the M&S Plant Kitchen range back in January (very good FYI) I simply couldn't get them out of my head and ended up going back for them. This may seem contradictory to the whole 'buying investment pieces' idea but they're very good quality (better than a previous pair of check trousers I had from Nasty Gal, for sure!) and I'm never gonna be one for a capsule wardrobe. As long as the things you're buying are of high quality and will last a good life, then that's enough!
Bringing Accessories To The Forefront
This might not be the best outfit to showcase this as I've only accessorised with a pair of RayBans, but I'm really trying to add more to my outfits whether through jewellery, headbands, belts or scarves. It's an easy and relatively cheap way to transform an outfit; you can style one dress a myriad of ways but switching up your jewellery, adding a belt, throwing on a hat or wrapping round a scarf. I've bought a couple of new headbands just recently, those with the knot detail at the top that are everywhere, and I've been adding a necklace or two to sit over polo neck tops. Just little changes that really pull an outfit together! Next up on my list is finding a bucket hat!
Clearing Out The Unworn
What's a wardrobe refresh without somewhat of a clear out?! I've not gotten rid of a lot, really, just a few pieces that were either past their best or I simply hadn't worn in a long time. But I like keeping on top of things, it keeps everything feeling fresh and most importantly, organised. My wardrobe is rather full (I don't have a walk-in-wardrobe with rails upon rails, unfortunately!) so I like to keep it all tidy and know what's where.
Planning any wardrobe refreshing for Spring?
Loves. Emma.
Some mixed feelings & A (VERY) late book discovery: February
Oh look, I'm giving those monthly round-up things a go again! This time I've decided not to focus on the exciting things I've done and the places I've been; it's too much pressure! So instead we're talking mundane; the lessons I've learnt and the books I've read; where I've found inspiration this month and the things that have made me happy. I've started bullet journalling this year (well I actually started in December but that was kind of a dummy run to see how I wanted to set things out and use it) and doing gratitude lists, writing down something that I'm grateful for each and every day, has made me so much more appreciative of the small things in life. I'm also gonna use this opportunity to share some of my favourite outfits of the month because, why not?
I didn't get round to doing a January round-up because I simply wasn't organised enough. So count this as somewhat of a two month catch-up!
Which leads me on to the fact that I used the January 'detox' idea to detox my social media; unfollow accounts that aren't inspiring or even interesting me and find new people to follow. I've broadened the ~spectrum~ of the accounts which I follow; more fitness, sustainability and creative photography accounts, unfollowing a lot of beauty and fashion accounts that I wasn't interested in seeing anymore. I love fashion and personal style don't get me wrong, that will always be at the heart of this blog, but I'm just becoming tired of a lot of instagrammers who all look and dress the same. The continuous fast fashion and repetitiveness that I'm stepping away from. And as for beauty, well, I'm never gonna be good at make-up and although I can appreciate the art, it's not really for me.
But despite this refresh of my feeds, I've found myself in somewhat of a rut lately; not knowing what to post, where or when; feeling uninspired with my own content and how I produce it. Should I edit things differently? Post at different times? Should I be doing styling videos even though I hate them? What kind of photos do I even want to be taking?! So I've simply taken a step back from posting on both here and Instagram. I never want to force content or put out things that I'm not proud of, so just having some 'time off' to think things over, have a little brainstorm and stop panicking has done me a world of good!
However, some people whose content has been inspiring me despite this:
- MissKatyEnglish was a new discovery for me on Instagram in January. Her creative photos are just wonderful and she really makes me want to put more effort into the photos that I put out. My #SundaySelfPortrait's could be about to get a whole load more fun!
- I've been following ThisIs_Lo on Instagram for a few years now and she's always been a firm favourite of mine. Her photography is constantly improving and her uniqueness in editing is something that again, is inspiring me to be more adventurous with my own content.
- I couldn't talk about inspirations and not include Megan Ellaby. Both in blog posts and Instagram photos (not to mention her own clothing brand, Saturday!) Megan is my biggest inspiration when it comes to all things blogging. She's completely herself, has the best sense of style and just does things that bit differently!
- Moving slightly away from content creators, two publications that I'm constantly hitting up are Man Repeller and Fashionista. Whether it's the written articles or simply looking at photos, the work they put into things is evident and it's just nice to read good female writing on topics that matter to me.
Since the new year, I've been ensuring to spend a lot more time reading and so far this has consisted of the Harry Potter books 1-5 (along with a few other picks) and I am cursing myself for never having read the series before. When they first came out I was a bit young and they didn't interest me, I just wanted to read Jacqueline Wilson! My brother had them all and I tried multiple times to get into them but just couldn't. I decided 2019 was finally the time to tackle them seeing as I love the films so much, and I have honestly been glued to them. I'm naturally a very slow reader so to have devoured over 8 books already this year is quite big for me! I can definitely see myself re-reading them often.
I mentioned earlier that I'd started gratitude lists, so here's a few things that have filled up Februarys list:
I mentioned earlier that I'd started gratitude lists, so here's a few things that have filled up Februarys list:
- Being a morning person
- Gaining confidence in the workplace
- The feeling after a good workout
- Enjoyment of baking
- A-line skirts
I don't know what else to catch you up on this month? I've had some lovely days such as exploring Brighouse and visiting the Independent Sellers Market at Sunbridge Wells in Bradford, along with a day spent supporting my brother at a CrossFit competition which inspired me to get back to the gym. It's just recently been both my mum and my brothers birthdays too, so we've enjoyed some good family time and nice meals out. On Thursday I went to the theatre with a friend to see Matilda The Musical and it was WONDERFUL! And these are just the kind of things that I want the rest of 2019 to be filled with really!
How has February been for you?
Loves. Emma.