Slow Style is a Lifestyle

Country Estate dress here + Knit Flounce dress here

 Do you ever have one of those mornings when you crawl out of bed with only 15 minutes to spare before you head out the door? Hitting snooze feels soooo good, doesn't it? But now you’ve skipped a healthy breakfast and the gym (goodbye New Year’s resolutions), avoided eye contact with the dog and arrived at work stressed and disheveled. Sure you made it. You’re fast...and all those other “f” words like “frenzied,” “fraught,” “frantic”...

Rewind. Let’s do that again. You awake just before the alarm, feeling refreshed and ready to take on whatever the day may bring. You savor the aroma of your pour-over coffee. Give a smile to your neighbors while walking the dog. Take deep breaths on the morning commute. How great it feels to be attentive when you need to be. And renewed by the quality of your day more than the quantity of your to-do’s. On this day, you embraced the beauty of “slow.”

Rosalie Raindrop dress here

Now think about “frantic” vs. “attentive” as a dichotomy of the 21st century fashion industry. Fast fashion means more collections being mass produced at lower costs for more consumption, at lower quality, which results in more waste. In fact, some popular fast fashion retailers have shortened their design cycle - from idea to store - to as little as two weeks. In comparison, we here at Mata start our design process about a year before it reaches stores.

One of our artisan partners making the Crosswinds cuff by hand (found here)

The result isn’t pretty. Waste builds up. In 2013, 15.1 million tons of textile waste was generated, 12.8 million tons of which were discarded. Labor standards are either ignored or neglected. An estimated 170 million children are engaged in labor worldwide, many of them working in the fashion and textile industry. The garment industry is also tough on females – 80% of people who make our clothes are women between the ages of 18-24 and many make less than $3 a day. [Side note: if you haven’t yet, check out our other blog posts that expand on these topics: here, here, and here!]

Contrast this with the slow style movement, the inspiration for Mata’s Autumn/Winter Collection. Our design team and artisan partners understand that building something meaningful takes time and discipline. And oh how we savor the beautiful results!

Our Kimono jacket in azure is here + the Serephina dress in garnet is here

In our world, slow style is a lifestyle, a movement, and an intention to express values through a well-considered wardrobe developed over time, evolving with each carefully purchased garment. Slow style is about investing dollars deliberately - “paying attention.” It is about uniquely vibrant clothing and jewelry handcrafted by women artisans from marginalized communities in India and Nepal. It is about paying fair-trade wages that empower these artisans to create a better life for themselves and their families.

Direct your attention to ethically made goods. Support a mindful and impactful way of shopping that nods to the hours, energy and heart our artisans put into creating beautiful, spirited pieces. Do you #embracethebeautyofslow? Share your tips for building a wardrobe that matters!