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SENSORY JOURNAL 016: Perspective

Written by Margaret Stoll

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Posted on May 20 2026

This month, the news of Everlane being sold to Shein sparked a fury of news articles and conversations. I saw a Vogue Business headline asking “Does the Everlane Sale Mark the Death of Millennial Sustainability?” (I swiftly added commentary to this) while I also watched a video of a woman starting to cry about this news on instagram. Of all the posts and articles I have seen, I’ve been disappointed to see the lack of conversation or even mention around shopping small and the value of local boutiques, especially for sustainable shopping. So let’s bring that into the fold from my perspective.

Image and Headline with comment from Burke Mercantile

Personally, I was not at all shocked by the news of this sale, but I did feel surprised about the shocked reaction from the general public. Based on the size and reach of Everlane in the general retail market, I never viewed them as a truly sustainable shopping option. To me, they were always one of the lesser evils of mid to large size fashion companies and big name brands. It has the wheels turning in my head about how we got here, and why people are reacting so strongly to this news, so I want to dig in.

Most of us, especially Millennials, remember the hey day of instagram - early 2010s when algorithms and feeds were organic and chronological. This was a time when a lot of local shops were starting up and small brands were being born out of a post recession era. These still new-ish social platforms hadn’t yet experienced their enshittification and were still working for the benefit of the people, the users. This was an ideal time for small creative brands and shops to find organic reach and community online that really helped support their business’ growth, and started bringing the education of slow fashion into the zeitgeist.

At the time, I was in my 20s working as a Visual Merchandiser for Urban Outfitters and while I loved the creativity of my job, I started learning more about the true difference in operations, production, waste, quality, and more between big, fast fashion and small, slow fashion. Some of the small brands I was discovering on instagram were teaching me for the first time the differences between natural and synthetic fabrics, how they are made, how they break down, and how they impact our physical bodies when we wear them. The more I learned, the more disillusioned I felt with the system I worked within, and I yearned for a place more values-aligned. There were many businesses leading this discovery and education for me (including many that have since closed or experienced de-growth/online shifts) including Need Supply, Totokaelo, Elizabeth Suzann, Miista, Bona Drag, Mara Hoffman to name a few.

My interest in shopping slow and independent fashion brands was growing, but in my mind, I couldn’t “afford it”. I coveted some of the items I was seeing like Jesse Kamm sailor pants and Rachel Comey Legion jeans. Feeling like these were out of reach, I started buying all the dupes of these two pants from places that seemed more attainable like Nasty Gal, Zara, and URBN brands. Every single dupe I ordered fit and felt like terrible quality, and didn’t hit the mark for me so they were all returned. Eventually, during a Need Supply Black Friday sale I finally ordered the Rachel Comey Legion jeans at a discount, and that purchase changed my whole trajectory. I’ve talked about this purchase and perspective shift in past blog posts so I won’t get into it again here too deeply, but essentially because this pair of jeans fit so well and was such high quality, I stopped wearing the 30 other pairs of BDG and ASOS jeans I had, and wore these almost every day. Quality over quantity finally made sense, and I could now understand the value behind the price tag. I still have them in my closet almost a decade later.

Rachel Comey Legion Jeans from Man Repeller Blog

Those jeans shifted my perspective because it helped me finally understand the “cost per wear” and “buy less, buy better” mentality. I started taking 3-4 bags full of excess clothes I had bought working at UO to Buffalo Exchange about once a month to make enough money to buy one slow fashion piece I was coveting. And that is exactly how I started to understand shopping more sustainably and building a smaller, more conscious wardrobe, and also when I started to think about the idea of opening my own shop to support these brands and this way of shopping.

Everlane was founded in 2011, around this same time when sustainability was just hitting mainstream culture in a big way (quick shoutout to our favorite fashion line Kowtow who had been sharing this idea and leading the way since 2006!). By my research, they were generating around $12 million in revenue by 2014, $40 million by 2017, and $200 million by 2023, while being accused of Union busting during 2020 when they laid off roughly a third of their workforce. Even with the best of intentions, I am hard pressed to believe any company with that kind of rapid growth or VC backing is operating “sustainably”, and is the exact reason it was no surprise to me when I heard about the sale to Shein. I put quotes around the word sustainably because the word itself has become such a loose term and means many different things to all of us. Unfortunately, there is no universal standard to what constitutes sustainability, which is one of the reasons I removed the word from my own business description years ago. Because the only TRUE sustainable action would be to not produce or purchase ANYTHING new, but that’s not how most of us interpret the word or live our lives.

I can nearly guarantee that any company with that kind of rapid financial growth is taking big investments from venture capitalists and the like that are only interested in making more money, and/or are in the business to sell their business for a big payday. Neither of those goals are typically aligned with a sustainable business model. As the desire from consumers for more sustainable and consciously made products became more mainstream, big companies from Everlane to even Fast Fashion culprits like H&M and Zara jumped on the bandwagon. Not really to change their models to a better way, but to capitalize on consumer interests to make more money. And so began Greenwashing.

Greenwashing is the practice of using deceptive marketing or PR to make a company, product, or policy appear environmentally friendly when it actually isn’t. Most consumers are inclined to believe that companies must be required or inclined to tell them the truth. Unfortunately when it comes to sustainability and the fashion industry at large, there are no regulated standards, especially in the US. We have since started to see the expansion of Certified B Corporations, and there are some globally recognized certifications and markers including Fair Trade certification, Global Organic Textile Standard (GTOS) certification, or OEKO-TEX certification, to name a few, that help identify high standard products. But as greenwashing began more widely, it was mostly anything goes, and many consumers have been misled ever since.

Image from Refash with headline about sustainable collections from fast fashion

As cancel culture also started to become mainstream as we entered the late 2010s and early 2020s, consumers also started to shame and blame one another, conveniently leaving companies off the hook for any accountability. All this is to say, whether you still feel like you can’t afford shopping outside of fast fashion brands, whether you shopped and followed Everlane like a holy grail of sustainability, or you are just learning about how harmful Shein is for the first time, the blame is not on you. Ultimately, responsibility should fall on companies to be ethical, or at the very least transparent, something that is nearly impossible for a large corporation to do under late stage Capitalism. Until then, what we can do is try to educate ourselves and make informed choices.

For me, making informed choices means never buying or even browsing on Amazon, Shein, or Temu. Not shopping fast fashion brands, and avoiding big box retailers whenever possible. If I am shopping big for gifts (for example, clothes for my nieces and nephew), and even when I am shopping vintage, I make sure I am always buying 100% natural fabric pieces. I don’t buy synthetic fabrics, specifically polyester or other poly’s (outside of needed weather-proof outerwear for which I look for recycled synthetics), to avoid buying plastic which is made from oil (microplastics are also a real thing - but that’s a talk for another day). Last month I also did some deep Spring cleaning and gathered up all my "project pieces". I took over 10 pieces of clothing to the tailor (locals, I HIGHLY recommend Good Work Tailoring in Belmont Shore - Jeremy is a wizard!), took 3 pairs of shoes to a shoe repair in LA get repaired or resoled, and resized a few pieces of jewelry at my local jeweler. It was all far less expensive than buying new pieces, but made me feel like I had new pieces!

It's a great place to start by revisiting what you already have in your closet, and giving some care to pieces you want to keep. Working toward just improving your own shopping habits by a certain margin is also a great way to start - it doesn't have to be all or nothing. For some of my customers easing into slow fashion, that meant splitting their buying budget to 80% small and slow, 20% big retail. Maybe you need to swap those percentages if you're just starting out, and that's okay. If you are interested in weaning off of fast fashion, but feel like you can’t afford higher prices, try buying vintage and secondhand instead! In person secondhand and thrift stores are great, and I look for a lot of second hand for brands I like on Noihsaf Bazaar, Poshmark, the Real Real, eBay. But also consider, if you buy one higher quality item that will last longer for the same price as 3 fast fashion items, you’ll likely actually be saving money in the long run!

Ultimately, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is shop small and LOCAL. We are lucky in a city the size of Long Beach, to have such a diverse array of fashion offerings from our local shops with prices for every income bracket, and designs for every personal style out there! If people don’t see what they need or like in my shop, I LOVE trying to pinpoint the local shop for them that will likely have what they are looking for. When shopping local, you’re not causing any emissions by having items shipped to you, you aren’t making returns because you got to see and try items on in the first place, and more of your money is going directly to your community through local sales tax, jobs, and shopkeepers who contribute to the local culture of your town or city. To me, that is the most sustainable and impactful shopping you can do.

Even though I was not surprised about the Everlane sale, I understand if you were upset by it. But I’m here to tell you to keep an open mind and continue learning and exploring the ways you can continue and improve on shopping sustainably. The only platform outside of my own website I sell on is through Garmentory - a fantastic resource for discovering boutiques and small shops around the US and Canada. They have a great feature on their Boutiques page listing major cities, so you can click a location and see a great list of boutiques that exist there! If you’re traveling to a new City, ask some locals where the best shops are and start discovering unique places with new brands you haven’t heard of. If I find a cool coffee shop or restaurant in a new city, I usually ask their employees for cool shop recs and vice versa! I have a lot of favorite boutiques in cities all over the country, and I've listed some of those below if you’re visiting somewhere new. If you’re thrifting or gifting, check those material tags and choose natural fibers! There is no one-size-fits-all right way to shop sustainably, but there are many ways, and we’re all here to learn from and share with one another to do what we can and become more aligned with our values.

With that in mind, at the bottom of this post I’m sharing below a list of some of my personal favorite shops for independent and vintage fashion from cities around the country, that meet my own parameters for how I shop and aspire to shop. I hope maybe it will help you discover some place new or encourage you to find some alternatives yourself. For fun, here’s a roundup of my favorite current finds from some of my favorite shops, because discovery (especially offline) is the best way to shop smarter and build on your own personal style. Sustainability did not die with Everlane, it simply gave most of us the opportunity to reflect and buy even better!

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Frances May image of a Model wearing a tank, shorts, and boots

Jane Wade Hike Pleat Top

As someone who now is in the independent fashion industry, I LOVE being introduced to brands I haven’t heard of. I discovered Jane Wade for the first time at Frances May when visiting Portland this past January, and tried on one of the best tops I’ve ever put on my body. Here’s a similar one from the new Spring collection that I LOVE.

SHOP HERE

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014 Pocket Bag

I’ve always been a shoe girlie but at almost 40 years old, I’m finding a new appreciation for interesting bags and jewelry in a new way. I bought a gorgeous leather Kleenex box cover from Hazel & Rose shop in Minneapolis by this same brand Dot Line Surface, and now I’m swooning over their bags as well. This one in particular feels really fresh and special!

SHOP HERE

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Pinch Waist Cardigan

Months ago, I kept seeing an ad on instagram for this top in black. I LOVED the design but I don’t often trust ads alone so I left it at that, until I found it at local LB shop Prism Boutique and got to see it in person. Once I saw the quality IRL and learned more about the brand Chan Luu, I bought it and it’s been a great piece in my wardrobe. Mohawk General Store has it currently in a beautiful Ivory color!

SHOP HERE

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Model wearing trousers, a tee, and sandals from Continuum shop

Ignacio Trouser

I’ve been feeling like I need some chocolate trousers in my closet, and these might be the market winners. Like most Shaina Mote pieces, these look easy, polished, and unfussy while still looking expensive and elegant. Continuum has always been one of my very favorite shops from my hometown of Cincinnati - I’ve always discovered so much here and am deeply inspired by the owner Ericka’s vision and curation!

SHOP HERE

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Vintage 1980s dress from Blossom Vintage on model

1980s Cotton Bow Dress

Jamie from Blossom Vintage curates some of my favorite vintage pieces. Most of my vintage jacket collection is from her, but I also have an cream colored 80s cotton dress from her that has become a STAPLE in my wardrobe, and it similar to this one she still has available on sale! Jamie's specialties include antique Victorian pieces and incredible bridal, but I always keep my eye on her designer and 1980s vintage pieces!

SHOP HERE

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Buzo Ring

Stand Up Comedy is one of those cool shops that will always stand out from the noise. So hyper curated, unique, and fun, it almost feels more like an art gallery than a shop. I bought a Simuero ring here when I was visiting Portland and it’s become one of my daily pieces. The brand's pieces are so organic and beautiful, they feel a bit otherworldly. This is another ring I ALMOST bought there that I still love. It feels like it could be a treasure picked right out of the ocean.

SHOP HERE

I also had to include this perfect piece of art that was hanging in Stand Up Comedy on my visit, drawn by the owner’s daughter. It really sums it all up for me!