Mindful Fashion for a Mindful Life

October 12, 2016 / Elizabeth Savetsky

We are living in a fast-paced society. I don’t just mean to address my New York City neighbors—on a global level we are practically moving at the speed of light in terms of technological breakthroughs, scientific research, and consumer industries. We’ve come a long way since the invention of the wheel, and while these advancements have drastically improved our quality of life in some realms, they can also be both explicitly and implicitly dangerous. Of course the threat of nuclear warfare is absolutely terrifying, and, if you’re anything like me, you often find yourself waking up in cold sweats around 3 AM, praying to see another beautiful day. But that’s not what I mean to discuss here. I am talking about a much more subtle, but deeply terrifying danger.

The fact is that our consciousness is becoming an endangered species. We have become lazy, less curious, and we are addicted to instant gratification. How often do we consider the entire process behind how our dinner ended up on our plate? Or how our shirt ended up on our back? I know I rarely did until quite recently. In this sphere of fast food, fast fashion, and fast friends, many of us have lost sight of the importance of quality and ethics. We are due for a wake up call. I had one recently and it wasn’t friendly, but I’ve sort of begun to see it as a call to action.

After a year of discomfort, pain, misdiagnoses, and frustration (prolonged periods with absolutely no high heels for goodness sake!), I was finally diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called psoriatic arthritis. It’s not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things—annoying, but not life-threatening, but for me it served as caution light. How can something be happening inside my body that is totally out of my hands? I know I am not the first and sadly not the last person to feel powerless to illness. When we start to feel out of control, our human instinct is to seize control of something we can manipulate. After a lifelong allegiance to donuts and all things junk food, for the first time I considered what I was putting in my body, and not just the immediate effect it would have in the mirror and on the scale, but what it would do to my health. Wow. Real. Grown. Up. Thoughts. It only took me 31 years.

The red flag of this diagnosis has led me far beyond my personal health. I’m certainly no environmental activist, but I started to think much more deeply about everything we consume as a consumer society, how it is made, and what happens to it when it is discarded. How can we reawaken our consciousness and feel good about our contribution to this world? I’m not suggesting a complete overhaul of Zara clothing and McDonalds french fries, but cognizance of how it is made and how it ends up when we’ve eaten it or finished wearing it is a start. I’ve found myself asking questions like, "Where do all those fast fashion clothes end up?” I don’t think they’re biodegradable. Which brings me to this blouse.

In conjunction with my new devotion to environmental awareness came my introduction to this fabulous clothing collection, AMUR (which stands for A Mindful Use of Resources). My friend Robyn turned me on to AMUR’s intricate fabrics, feminine prints, and elegant construction. Before I even knew the collection embodied a quest for sustainability, I was sold on the beauty of the pieces alone! The collection, created in New York City, is composed of fabrics sourced from around the world with “an eye toward environmental good” including natural fabrics, reclaimed fibers to conserve resources, and materials made by artisan collectives in the developing world. When AMUR’s creative director, Sofia Shannon, explained to me how her delicate, sophisticated lace textiles began as recycled water bottles, my jaw was on the floor. The most insane part for me to wrap my mind around is that AMUR proves that we can be kind to our planet without having to sacrifice an ounce of style. I completely adore this blouse and so many other pieces from the collection that I hope to share with you.

As my 31st birthday approaches this weekend, I’m excited for this new chapter in my life. I hope to be just as fashionable, but a little more grown up, and helluva lot more aware. It’s time for me—for us—to slow down, think, consider the source, pause, and consider the repercussions. AMUR’s mission is one I plan to live by: “Mindful living will always be in style."