Happy International Podcast Day!

Remember when Serial came out? I remember thinking at the time that sure, podcasts have been around for a minute, but I just hadn't gotten into them much, so maybe they weren't for me. Serial was fascinating, but after Season 1, almost a year passed before I found another podcast I wanted to listen to regularly*.

But now, two years later, and about a year since I last discussed podcasts on Mindfully Modern, I am a devout podcast listener. They're great to listen to during my commute, walking to/from the grocery store, or while I'm doing house chores. I don't even mind the commercials, that's how much I like 'em.

Now I wanted to share what I'm listening to these days. And I swear, I started typing this on Friday afternoon and thought, it would be interesting to see what the history of podcasting looks like, and then Google told me that Saturday is International Podcast Day! I know every day is some hashtag holiday so hey, I'm down to celebrate this one as well.

Fun facts from InternationalPodcastDay.com:

• The podcast was invented in 2004, with credit to 2 dudes (including an MTV VJ), although Wikipedia says "audio blogging" goes back to the '80s... and let's all remember Felicity's tapes of the late 90's / early aughts
• "podcast" = "iPod" + "broadcast"
• iTunes started supporting podcasts in 2005 (I use iPhone's Podcast app but link to other sources here as well)
• George W. Bush was the first POTUS to release his weekly address as a podcast, 2005
• Marc Maron launches WTF, 2009
• Apple reaches 1 billion podcast subscribers, 2013

And here are the podcasts I have listened to, fairly regularly, over the past year:

The Effort in Being Effortless (related: Favorite SF Brands)

my Cuyana tote

Now that it's spring and the weather has been nicer, it seems like there's a lot more to do (which is not new to me, apparently). This month I've had two weekend camping trips, a jazz show, a drag show, birthday parties, wine country, and friends visiting in town. I've been outdoors as much as possible when not stuck behind a computer screen. 

One small way I find simplicity in busy times is to rely on a more streamlined style that fits wherever I go. After all, wardrobe style is part of lifestyle. And I've adapted a style over the first decade or so of adulthood that I really rely on. 

For me, part of 'growing up' was developing my own style (in professional settings, this would be referred to as 'creating your brand and image'). In grammar school and high school I wore a uniform, so my classmates and I would express creativity, or not, with accessories. I was very excited to build out an everyday wardrobe once I hit college and over a few years amassed so. many. clothes. It didn't help that I came of age along with fast fashion, so it was almost too easy to play around with different styles and trends and you know, really "find myself". (insert winking emoji here) Even friends would remark that I had an eclectic style and would even say "that's totally an Ingrid type of [whatever item]" when we were out shopping.

In the last few years, once I hit the later 20's, I started to pare things down a bit and stick to more of the same looks, if not a strict uniform. This also came about with lifestyle changes - new cities, jobs, activities. I wanted to focus less on the activity of shopping and instead on buying higher quality pieces and feel more like my grown-up self.

Luckily this train of thought came along the time that minimalism and capsule wardrobes also became more mainstream. (I don't know about anyone else, but after reading a ton of blogs I feel like I should be able to develop the perfect minimal capsule wardrobe, even if I don't want to.) I've still had some hits and misses, but overall I see my wardrobe becoming more streamlined. Even now I know I have more items in my closet than I truly "need". But my truth is that I still want the choices to play around with style a bit, while of course still looking and feeling "effortless".

There's the sophisticated, gamine, French-girl image of being "effortless". And there's the "groomed" kind of effortless - I know women who admit they straighten their hair and put on makeup so they're perceived as professional, or hardworking, or whatever. Then there's the stereotypical Silicon Valley "effortless" of hoodie, jeans and backpack. (Now despite the Bay Area being known more technological innovations there are some great companies catering to the more fashionably-inclined part of the population, which I'll get to in a bit.) I knew I had to come up with what kind of "effortless" style I wanted for myself. 

As much as I enjoy fashion, what l appreciate most are clothes and accessories that let me live my life, not get in the way of it. Therefore, my aesthetic has evolved in line with trying to simplify a fairly busy schedule that is probably familiar to other 30-year-old urban professionals: commuting to the office, figuring out after-work plans, packing in as much as possible on the weekends and of course, making exciting travel plans, preferably with friends. For all of this I want clothes with forgiving cuts (I just love a draped sweater or blouse), colors and prints that go together, and versatile basics that stand up to everyday wear. Also on my list of demands: clothes that don't make me feel guilty for adding to the human rights and environmental problems that fast fashion has fostered. Luckily, besides checking out some good consignment shops in the Bay Area, I've found some companies that answer this call with the clothes they manufacture. And I've realized that quite a few of my wardrobe staples come from them. Over the last few years I've become a loyal fan of these local brands:

• Everlane - The first of the local brands that I tried, I appreciated Everlane's 'luxury without the markup' and 'transparent supply chain' strategies. I started with their t-shirt, then bought a couple silk tops for <$100, and most recently their wallet. Here's a referral link if you want to try them out: https://www.everlane.com/r/y2nkha
• Cuyana - They first caught my eye with their lean closet movement and fewer, better motto. They also provide the story of where they source their materials. I was doing periodic closet purges and bringing bags of my unused items to Community Thrift. I first purchased a bag from them, not for myself but for my mom (who now has two, go figure). Finally this past Christmas my gift to myself was one of their classic tote bags (above) which I use nearly every day. I'm also interested in some of their clothing items for when I need to replace some wardrobe items.
• Amour Vert - I love the variety of cuts and prints by Amour Vert. They have a couple shops in the Bay Area and are distributed by some department stores. Over the last couple years I've collected silk/cotton mixed media tees, cotton tees, a silk pineapple-print tank, and silk printed pants.
• Betabrand - Dress pant yoga pants! (I wear the cropped version which hits my ankles) They  really are a dressy-enough material to not get called out as leggings, and they really are very comfortable. This is a fun company that crowdsources designs and makes most of their stuff right in SF. Again, a referral link: https://www.betabrand.com/referrals/landing/friend/?r=70dH (they also have student discounts)

These brands have gotten press elsewhere so they don't need me to sing their praises, nor do I wear them exclusively, but I did want to call them out since I was happy to find them close to home. Everyone has different brands they like and not everyone even cares so much about what's in their closet. I still care what my wardrobe is made up of, but in a different way than I did when I was an excited college student. Below is some more reading on this topic, I'd be interested if anyone else has more suggestions.

Ethical Shopping on Refinery 29
Local Fashion Labels on SFist

The overall concept was enlightened self-interest, with a product geared to appeal to the vanities of people like themselves: stylish yet practical, moneyed yet conscientious. The kind of people who think of themselves as more than a collection of data points connoting exceptional privilege (private schools, Ivy League colleges, Wharton, Bain & Company). Who carry feed bags to restaurants with $24 entrées.

http://nymag.com/news/features/warby-parker-2013-8/