spruced by marlene

|| Paid partnership with ARMEDANGELS ||

How do you start?

When you enjoy clothes. And shopping. The thrill of finding something unexpectedly good at the shops. The ritual of unwrapping that something for the first time. When the new season comes, or the next sale, or you simply see a picture on Instagram of a piece that you should probably buy IMMEDIATELY – or it will be sold out. When you’re on a budget.

When you also know that resources are finite. When you are not just aware of the impact the fashion industry has on the environment and the climate, but have found it unsatisfying to go into a shop and mindlessly fill a couple of shopping bags for quite a while now. It just doesn’t feel good anymore. When a closet filled with stuff takes the joy out of getting dressed.

Then you’ve got to change things up. That’s how I felt anyway. I didn’t want to break up with fashion, but I knew that in order to keep the love alive, I had to rethink our relationship. So I went into – a mild rather than radical version of – couples therapy. The biggest realisation: You start changing something by… starting. That might not be how a counselor would phrase it, but that is how stupefyingly simple it is.

I buy less new and more second hand (and always ask myself: will I want to wear this in three or five or even ten years? There are no guarantees. But asking the question has saved me from a few Hot-shit-today-just-shit-tomorrow buys). I try to stick to the rule that for every fresh piece a not so fresh piece has to leave my closet – by gifting, donating or selling it. And I consider which brands I want to support with my money, or not support.

Before anybody gets the impression that I’ve completed my treatment: Far from it. I still get swayed by the odd bargain purchase, I don’t always study what garments are made of or inform myself about every label’s sustainability practices before clicking „add to cart“. But I’m working on it. And the wonderful thing is: it’s not hard. At all. It doesn’t feel like a sacrifice to buy less and looking for quality as well as sustainability has rekindled my love for fashion. I don’t miss a thing.

An important reason why I’ve found it easy to make changes is that there are more and more brands that upcycle and recycle, that work towards social and environmental change. One of those brands is ARMEDANGELS. The label was founded over ten years ago, long before it was fashionable to be sustainable, and has shown how fashionable sustainability can look ever since. I mainly associated ARMEDANGELS with t-shirts, but the Cologne brand keeps adding to their product line. The latest addition is a jeans collection called Detox Denim.

As the name suggests, the idea is to detox denim production and ARMEDANGELS is looking at the entire manufacturing chain. That means: working with eco cotton from certified suppliers who don’t use pesticides. Replacing harmful chemicals in finishing processes with lasers and ozone treatment. Using buttons that are free from heavy metals and patches that are made from jacron paper instead of leather. These are some of the measures they have implemented – and I highly recommend reading more about their initiatives and partners on the ARMEDANGELS website –, which result in 40 percent less water usage and 64 percent less CO2 emissions compared to conventional denim production. So, ARMEDANGELS make pretty good jeans and, since that’s not unimportant at all, do so at a very fair price point.

I’m wearing the model Mairaa throughout, which I chose because 1) nothing updates a look faster than the style of jeans, 2) the high waisted mom fit still has the look of a classic and 3) it fits almost all occasions. (although I also had my eye on the Fjella Cropped style…)

When I thought about how to show you these jeans, I almost immediately had the idea of putting together three looks that are always needed – for the office, for the weekend, for going out –, with pieces that I have had for years. So apart from the jeans, nothing here is new. But! ARMEDANGELS do a lot of similar styles – like a white cotton t-shirt; a soft wrap coat; a loose shirt –, which only proves to me that there is a reason some things are considered classics.

I’m wearing the Mairaa in a size 28. If you’re unsure about sizing, I would recommend going down one size rather than up, as the stretch in the fabric will give. The white t-shirt above is from the men’s collection and called Jaames. I’m wearing a size M.

You get 15 per cent of all purchases from the online shop until 31.12.2019 using the code DetoxArmyMarlene (except on pieces that are already on sale).

Look #1

I don’t even have to think about it, a white shirt with jeans just works. Stolen from Jenna Lyons: the shirt sleeve roll. Taken from the Scandis: the one-sided shirt tuck. Picked from ARMEDANGELS: shirt Unelmaa.

Look #2

One of my all-time favourite inspirations is this picture of Meredith Melling in Double Denim. It could be from 2005. From 1975. Or from 2019. „Timeless“ is an oversubscribed word in fashion, but it fits doubling up on denim (I prefer two similar washes together).

Wear the Mairaa with shirt Toaarben. Denim jacket Aritaa would also work for me. Then add wrap coat Sevaal. I also have an everlasting affection for denim with camel tones. My ARMEDANGELS picks would be cardigan Olenkaa and polo neck Ayakaa.

Look #3

OK, so there are evenings when you want to bust out the sequins. But what about those nights when you’re meeting girlfriends for dinner, are out on a date or going to a reading – and still want to make an effort? My fallback, especially in times of indecision, is the hattrick: jeans, camisole, (smoking) blazer. Add a pair of heels – done.

If I’m going to a concert (and visualising Winona Ryder in her 1990s glory days – and why wouldn’t I?), I’d put on a white tanktop like Beaa and swap the blazer for a blouson like Lasse. And kick off the heels for trainers.

This post is a paid partnership with ARMEDANGELS. However, all editorial decisons, from choice and presentation of pictures to style and tone of writing, were made by me and not decided upon or influenced by the partner.