Sound Styles Soundings

Quote of the Week:

Here we have one of the many profound Sugar Boo quotes that Shelly has beautifully “flowered” the floor of our window with. Intrigued? Stop by and take a look!

AS FOR THE SWEATER. . .

Be still my heart! Where do I begin? Well. . . first off, it’s a sweater!! Who doesn’t love a sweater? After working nearly 16 years at Sound Styles, I can say without question that there are more beautiful sweaters in the store right now than at any other time I can remember. Certainly you have noticed that sweaters are soft on the skin and seem to hug us with comfort. But, have you ever noticed that they are also soft on the eyes of both the wearer and the beholder making us appear friendlier and more approachable. Not only do they keep you warm both inside and out but they, more than any other garment in our wardrobe, remind us of long ago special times. I still clearly see the sweater I was wearing on the Oregon Coast beach walk with my best friend holding one hand of my first born child and me the other.

Secondly, this particular sweater is brown or sienna (burnt that is) as the title of this post suggests. I’m thrilled to the brim that brown is out of the fashion exile that it has been in for what seemed forever. To me brown is the “comfort food” of color. While I don’t want to call it a baked potato, its resurrection deserves more than a dollop of sour cream. It’s a neutral that can give its competitors like black, navy and grey a run for their color “money.” I’ve read that there is a current appetite for minimalism, sustainability and natural beauty and brown is the epitome of all those.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO SUSTAINABILITY. . .

Rather a big word being bandied about a lot these days. And I think the quote above from Seattle’s namesake, Chief Sealth, embodies the essence of its meaning. To sustain means to nourish, not just the body of us but also the environment of us and in the end our planet earth. This means that not only do the designers and creators of fashion but also the consumers of fashion need to be aware of what contributes to our environment and what detracts from its “wellness.” We at Sound Styles are becoming more astute to the vendors that we carry and how they approach this philosophy and practice the art of being sustainable.

Karen Kane proudly embraced the concept and is using fabrics that practice what they preach and are having them made into beautiful garments right here in America. Masai from Copenhagen is proud of their viscose fabric that is grown with particular concern for the environment and leaves the planet in a better place. Glyder is one of our newest brands of active apparel and they vow: “we are in the process of researching and developing new fabrics made from recycled and organic materials, and plan to greatly expand our range of products made with these Earth-conscious practices.” 

In the end, Chief Sealth, a hundred of wisdoms ago had it “right on.”

“Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”

Please ask us about what our vendors are doing to help nourish this planet earth. We are just beginning this journey but will do the best we can to become more and more aware and informed.