Legging legs, outfit inspo, nostalgic dressing + more

EFF Newsletter #3

This week was a tough one, it felt like there was just not enough time for all the things I wanted and needed to do. I went out to lunch and to visit a FIV rescue cat cafe with a friend yesterday and she mentioned how it must be nice to freelance because of the flexibility. And I will admit, yes, as someone who is chronically ill with ADHD, the autonomy is nice.

But my brain constantly being *on* - writing notes at all hours, always clocking and keeping track of outfits, researching brands, building the directory, being present on multiple platforms while struggling to hold boundaries, never feeling like I’m posting enough AND needing people to find my work whilst not yet making enough income from it - these invisible parts are things that people are not seeing.

I think Ethical Fat Fashion is worth it. I hope you agree.

Before I get into the juice of this week’s newsletter (legging legs) and the anatomy of a cute outfit I spied, I wanted to do a quick update of a handful of things I’m working on to build this space.

1. Alongside the brand directory, I’m going to create an A-Z style/clothing directory. This guide will allow people to do a keyword search for things like type of garment (i.e. shirts, blazers) to material (i.e. cotton, bamboo) and type of clothing (activewear, workwear) and the brands that match that profile. This will be available to paid members.

2. Treasure trove of articles/resources - something I’m mentioned before and in doing some reading for ‘legging legs’ - I realised that we are often inundated with information. I thought it would be useful to create a section or post in my Substack to collate resources that help answer lingering questions. Like what are the most sustainable materials? What is SEDEX? What is the SMETA audit? What is a living wage?

3. Digital boundaries - this is unlikely to be relevant to my community or supporters but I’ve realised that despite EFF still being a tiny account, my views are often considered contentious or taken out of context so I’m going to be creating a much more comprehensive guide to answer Q’s for people still new to the ethical fashion space (tackling topics like affordability, classism, etc) AND firmer boundaries around how much I engage so I can focus on expanding resources for my supporters

Despite the ridiculous name, those of us who grew up in the 90s and 00s are intimately familiar with what people mean when they say 'leggings legs' - it means that only those who are thin enough should be allowed to wear leggings. I'm not on TikTok but I have found many response videos but have had no luck trying to find the original videos that they are in response to.