Ethically-made products for ethically-minded women.
Brand: Bliss And Mischief
Product(s): women’s apparel
Price: from $88
Eco / Ethical: made to last in Los Angeles using sustainable and deadstock fabrics
Are you Kondo-ing? I’ve been a serial closet purger for as long as I can remember, but the first round of the Marie Kondo craze, when her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying came out, was at the exact right time in my life to really resonate with me. I’ve taken many of her principles to heart, although I sometimes struggle with the “sparking joy” premise when it comes to my wardrobe.
Yes, absolutely, I want my wardrobe to spark joy. But, for my actual life to function, I need getting dressed to feel effortless, and the colorful patterned silk tops and dresses and crazy high heels that spark joy for my inner magpie don’t always align with this goal. And so, it seems every year I steer one way or the other, ending up with a closet full of staples that feels boring, or a closet full of joy-sparking pieces that don’t actually work well together. Purge, repeat, ad infinitum.
I’ve finally come to the realization that I need… wait for it… Super Special Staples™. Pants with an interesting fit, jumpsuits (how many more posts am I going to write about my love of jumpsuits?!), sweaters and sweatshirts that are simple enough to wear over and over but that also have just the right amount of details to feel pulled together, and, yes, sparkly shoes with a manageable heel. These holy grail pieces can be hard to come by, but over the last few seasons I’ve found several of them through Bliss And Mischief, a made-in-LA collection by Hillary Justin.
Hillary Justin founded Bliss and Mischief in 2014 after spending a decade designing for other fashion brands and running her own vintage apparel business. Bliss And Mischief allows her to combine her love for vintage, her design expertise, and her belief in sustainable processes into one collection. She considers the line to be ‘classics to come’ and focuses on modern, yet timeless designs with unique, playful details.
Justin sources deadstock fabric and works with local sewers and manufacturers in an effort to cut down on the brand’s carbon footprint. She also designs for all body types. The clothes fit real women, and as one of those, it’s so refreshing to not be made to feel like I’m a difficult customer because I’m not sample size. That alone would be why I’d tell you to shop BAM, but really, the clothes are so good that it’s just the cherry on top. My favorites? The outrageously soft, pre-distressed but somehow don’t get more holes in them t-shirts, the Shrine Corduroy Pants, the Rib Turtleneck (styled under a jumpsuit! Why didn’t I think of that?!), and the Artist Tab Pants. And while I haven’t quite come back around to cowboy boots yet, these made-in-LA-to-order vegetable tanned leather ones might just be the pair that makes me change my mind.
Rita Mehta shops for a living and talks a lot. She launched her website, The American Edit, and podcast, Why Do We Have Things? so she’d have a place to talk about some of the things she’s most passionate about: American made design, responsible manufacturing, and conscious consumption. You can follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
