Talking About Clothes with Holly Chayes

I'm pretty sure if I had had all of the time in the world, I wouldn't have come up with this dress solution. There's something about a deadline that clarifies exactly what the parameters of the project are, and forces you to meet those requirements. That forces you to meet those requirements, but doesn't allow you to follow any extraneous rabbit holes. There were no "nice to have" details on this...

Time seems like a very bizarre concept right now. It has that funny quality of not really being solid anymore and not being something that we can agree on the unit of measuring time by and I'm thinking a lot about time that could be called wasted time. I'm thinking in particular of one long white, plain white skirt that I sewed, intending it to be worn under a knitted dress I had made, because I w...

"Oh, I don't have patience for that." I can't tell you how many times I've been told that while knitting or sewing. But the trick is, you don't knit or sew because you have patience. You have patience because you knit or sew. It's a way of practicing and acquiring something that you don't already have. It's a way of bringing more attentive mindfulness to a moment. And if you practice enough, then...

Knitting this sweater was a hot mess. It was messy, it was ugly. It involved a lot of cursing and re knitting and reworking and shoving the project into a drawer for a couple days. And in all honesty, if I wasn't in the middle of this year long wardrobe challenge with an already extremely limited wardrobe, I probably would have abandoned this sweater altogether. And yet, a sweater in the end I had...

Looking back on this year long project, I'm almost as much amazed by the garments I didn't wear as the garments I wore dozens upon dozens of time. You would think that with a super limited wardrobe I would reach for every garment I could. And yet, I didn't. I realized that this year was not just about taking a pretty outfit photo every day. It was about creating clothes to live the whole year in....

One of the first things I had to contend with when setting up this project was: what was I going to count as a garment that I needed to make? I came up with two rules for this project: accessories and undergarments don't count. if it feels like cheating, it probably is. And one of the biggest takeaways I got from this year was that you when you're trying something new or different or challenging o...

I had originally planned on bringing you the third collection full of incredible conversations with wonderful guests all focused around the topic of shopping. However, things have changed dramatically, over the past few weeks. So instead of releasing the planned third season, I'm going with the "new situation requires a new plan" approach to life and recording an intermittent third season. Revisit...

Everything seems to have turned upside down since the second season of the podcast came out last week. And it is probable that the third season will be at least a little bit delayed from the original podcast production schedule. So I wanted to drop you a little note. I don't know how you are, but It is my deepest hope that this finds you and those you love well, or well enough in this very moment....

Our conversation includes making style rules that fit your environment, buying really nice clothes that you never wear and that don't work together, dressing a rapidly changing body. Middle school style fails and using them to motivate yourself to learn about style, and embracing the process because you can't rush living through the movie montage. Naomi lives just west of Toronto in the snowbelt o...

Our conversation covers constructing a life that supports your self expression, not compromising on style or physical comfort, the power of the simplicity of kindness, buying and wearing what you want, not just what's easy, and letting your style evolve while keeping the things you love. Amy is an artist and romance novelist in the San Francisco East Bay area near Oakland, where she lives and work...

Our conversation about personal style touches on ditching rules in favor of creating style guidelines, letting utility and comfort inform your visual style, the efficiency of a capsule closet, and no longer paying attention to what looks good on models, but focusing instead on what looks good on you. Shanna lives in Central Virginia where she owns and manages a warehouse and in addition to providi...

In our conversation, we discuss style evolutions and experimenting with your style, caring less about how you look as you become more comfortable with yourself. Working with a stylist to put words around your style, the importance of not shopping while you're in a bad mood, and blending your inner work with what you wear. Anung is located in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota where she's a podcaste...

In this conversation we talk about the importance of clothes that are easy, plain and simple, rebuilding a wardrobe to fit your life after extreme personal circumstances. The Holy Grail of pockets and getting dressed by color, the importance of knowing what's hanging in your closet, and the special memories that clothing can hold. Briar lives in Omaha where she is self employed and home schools he...

In this conversation we touch on developing clothing habits that stay with you for your entire life, opting out of the exhausting cycles of fashion, dressing to please yourself first. Clothing as a vehicle for self expression versus the right clothes as condition of acceptance and walking the line between dressing well without being overly concerned about your appearance. Stacy is a life coach foc...

Our conversation around comfort touches on utility as a wellspring for comfortable clothing. Comfortable undergarments in both fit and construction, the importance of fiber when it comes to comfort and creating comfortable clothes, how to go about finding garments and brands that fit what you're looking for, and the importance of ordering multiples when you hit on that perfect item. Shanna lives i...

Our conversation on comfort ranges from discussing the importance of layers, flexibility and preparedness in being dressed comfortably. Versatility as an element of comfort, balancing flair and style with physical comfort, weather and environmental impacts on what constitutes comfortable clothing. The always important pocket situation The psychological element of comfort when it comes to our cloth...

In my conversation with Jill, we touched on always being comfortable without resorting to yoga pants day in and day out. Building and evolving your wardrobe towards comfort. Buying with the long term in mind, having sensitive skin, creating comfort from the details of your wardrobe. And accessorizing to spruce up and reinvent your comfortable staples. And finally, the psychological comfort of not...

In this episode we talk about comfort as it pertains to dressing with a chronic illness and allergies, refusing to put up with discomforting clothing, pockets because they're always important, clothing as your armor in the world, feeling good about your clothes as a form of being comfortable in them, and embracing the process of relearning to be comfortable in your body and in your clothing after...

In our conversation we discussed how comfort and confidence overlap and impact each other. Making sure your clothing isn't constricting as a element of comfort. Dressing in clothes that make you happy. Balancing the clothes you want to wear with the weather around you. Emotionally comfortable clothing that isn't necessarily confidence building, and how wearing the right clothes for the right situa...

In this conversation, we talk about physical comfort in the fit and materials of our clothes. Where to find comfortable clothing and sourcing comfort when it comes to shopping. The process of prioritizing comfort, the perils of polyester and physical activity, mending garments and keeping the clothes that are comfortable lasting longer in your wardrobe. Growing to embrace comfortable clothing and...

Welcome to Talking About Clothes with Holly Chayes, where we explore what impact our clothes have on us, so that we can better understand our relationship with some of the most intimate items in our lives. In doing this, we uncover the world role they play in how we think and feel about ourselves. Learn more at WhoWearsWho.com/podcast – and don't forget to subscribe!