The Styling Movement

As Kate and I look at the launch an our first week of being ‘live’ we are SO proud of what has been created thus far! We are selling beautiful clothing, but we are inviting our consumers into SO much more!

 If you have been a Brookes Collective customer, you have literally bought into the idea that human life is valuable. That although people may live far away from you, they are still worthy of your consideration.

 The amazing thing? You’ve bought into more than ‘considering’ them! You’ve bought into empowerment of people! We wear fashion because it expresses some element of what we view beauty to be. We at Brookes Collective are inviting you to consider beauty at every step of the creation of the garments we so lovingly hang in our closet and pull off only to use yourself as the very canvas.

Why is styling so important?

Kate and I recently were being interviewed for a local Dallas publication called ‘Dallas doing good’. We were being asked excellent and meaningful question that prompted us to express in detail our heart in passion for creating Brookes Collective. These questions also pulled from us our deep joy when women use their consumer power to buy into the idea of the value of human life through their shopping habits!

 One question sparked an answer in me that I realized I had never fully formulated in words before. A thought that I knew with conviction but had never had the opportunity to voice before. It was the importance of styling.

 Now, if you know Kate and I personally or you’ve gotten to know us a bit on social media, you’ll be aware that Kate is the fashionista. While I LOVE beautiful clothes, Kate has a special gift of styling things just right. She can take some basic pieces and create an entire wardrobe just by changing up accessories.

 I’ve learned so much from her and have been able to reduce my closet without giving up style because of her ability to re-create entirely different looks with a few pieces of jewelry and a shoe change! Lucky me that I have direct access to such a gift!

 So, Kate being a genius stylist wasn’t new news. The part that I hadn’t ever voiced before was what the implications of such gifts were, ESPECIALLY when she chose to share them with the world!

Think about this:

If you want to make a difference in the fashion industry and the lives affected by it (both positively and negatively)  then it’s important to reconsider how you shop. If we care about the people who are making our clothes, this will lead to slight (if not significantly) more expensive clothes. This leads us to the idea of a capsule wardrobe, or in the very least a more minimal approach because it’s about quality and who makes our clothes over the quick sale.

 However, how likely is this an actual working model if we don’t know how to style clothes differently? When we are used to wearing a shirt one way a few times and then tossing it, how important is this skill to be shared about creatively re-imaging the same pieces in a number of different ways?

Because, here’s the implication of a person who is able to do that.

1. If people are voting for the kind of companies that value human life, those companies will thrive and be able to expand.
2. If you are buying pieces that you won’t throw away after 3-5 times of wearing them, that is significantly less waste (on average Americans throw away 82 pounds of garments  per person).
3. If less waste is being thrown away, our land fills are not overflowing into the ocean thus negatively affecting major food sources in areas of the world that are already on edge of poverty.
4. If those ocean systems and agricultural systems are not being destroyed then those people do not have to migrate and become refugees to try and find a better solution for their families. Thus, less vulnerable people groups in the world. Thus vastly reducing human trafficking, exploitation, food shortages, and decaying water supplies.

Friends, when I say styling matters, I really mean it. Your actions are important, your consumer power is vast. Let us together change this world! #welcometothemovement

Have you asked yourself why you should buy from Brookes Collective?

We’d like to give you a couple reasons if you don’t mind this very obvious self-promotion! If you keep reading you’ll see why we don’t see it that way!

1. Our people are valued. The artisans that create our clothes come from manufactures that we’ve partnered with because of relationship and shared values of more than just ‘paying well’ but truly valuing each person. By buying into Brookes Collective, you are buying into the idea that each person is work investing into.
2. Our love of empowerment! Through our jewelry and into the future our other accessories are made with organizations and artisan groups that come from or are experiencing high risk backgrounds. We are not there as a ‘helping hand’ but a platform for these individuals to thrive and share with the world what they have to offer! And in so doing, they are creating a different story from the one they have been told their life would be!
3. Our commitment to continued growth! As we learn we change, we grow. In this coming line we’ve invested heavily into this farm to closet concept focusing primarily on South African farmers. From seed to seam you will be proud of what you are putting on your body!
4. Our commitment to you! We see you. We see the consumer power you have, and we want to help facilitate your use of you significant power to be a part of the solution! We believe you have the power to bring true and lasting change to how our currently global economic systems stand! Right now the global fashion industry is propped up by the continual use of slaves, we can demand more, we can demand different, we can demand change!

So you see friends, although this is something so much more! Come on and join the movment! This is something beautiful!

#choosebeauty

Have you seen the # who made your clothes?

Does it seem overhwhelming to think about who made your clothes or the impact or lack thereof you can offer to what is a very broken system?

 Let’s start simple.

At Brookes Collective, we can answer the question of who made your clothes, because we know their name. We know their story, and we know they are worth investing into!

 We have worked hard to keep our price point accessible. We think fair trade fashion shoulnd’t be for the elite, those who can afford a $325 sweater.

Have you felt guilty for not being able to afford it?

We are working SO hard to be a solution to that problem!

Join this movement, it’s worth it.

Why do our clothes cost what they do?

We’ve been asked this question a fair bit. If you’ve done any poking around to the fair trade fashion world, you’ll see that the price point is pretty steep. There’s a reason that’s true!

Paying people is expensive!

You find cheap clothes because people are not getting paid well. So when you start a business that values human life, how can you ever compete with companies that don’t carry the same values?

A company must make a profit, otherwise it’s a organization, and while I LOVE and am thankful for orgnaizations, organizations wont change global economic systems. We need to show the world that paying people well while at the same time creating beautiful clothes can be a profitable business!! That’s what we are creating here at Brookes Collective! A new way of doing global fashion without a single slave, and instead valuing each life making our products!F