For the past few years, I’ve made a conscious effort to switch more of my clothing to natural fibers such as organic/chemical-free cotton, hemp, linen and wool. Where I could, I’ve stopped buying synthetics. With recent advances in wool I’ve also switched most of my performance clothing to merino wool.

Why I made the move
I made the switch to organic natural fibers for several reasons.

The first is environmental and health. Most synthetics are made from plastics — a petrolum-based material that’s not biodegradable in the environment. The chemicals used in making these fabrics are also toxic to humans and animals alike. The less exposure we have to them the better. I also don’t want to support the petroleum industry any more than I have to.

The second is comfort. In the summer time, I find synthetics don’t breath as well as natural fibers. Nor do they feel as nice against the skin as cotton and linen. If you need wicking power, wool does as good of a job as synthetics. Plus wool has natural anti-odor/antimicrobial properties. You can wear the same wool base layer for days without stink. With polyester, forget about it.

The third is safety. Synthetics will melt. You don’t want to wear it near a fire or high heat source. Wool on the other hand is naturally fire resistant.

And fourth is performance. As mentioned before, wool will wick moisture and sweat just as well as synthetics. But wool is also naturally stain resistant. You’ll need some toxic man-made chemicals to treat synthetics to match that. In hot or cold weather, wool does a better job of regulating body temperature. It breathes better. It’ll keep you warm even when wet. Because it’s odor resistant, it is also perfect for multi-day use without smelling like a bum. It’ll help keep your pack light

Shopping for Natural Fiber Clothing – What to Look For

Go organic/pesticide free. Ordinary cotton, for example, requires a ton of pesticides to produce. If you want to buy cotton, buy organic or pesticide-free. Organic cotton is getting mainstream these days and is fairly easy to find so I’m not going to write too much about it.

Warm weather clothing. Cottons and linens work best for casual wear. For warm weather sports/performance, consider replacing your synthetics with merino wool. They make light weight merino wool t-shirts and underwear these days. They’re pricey compared to synthetics but they’re worth the investment. You won’t need as many of them to change into either since they’re odor and stain resistant.

Cold weather clothing. Switch to Merino wool for your base and light to mid weight insulation layers. Down for mid and outer layers. While it’s impossible to avoid synthetics altogether (esp in the shell material), less is a huge improvement. Plus down will compress better and weigh less than even the best synthetic garments.

Buying Used. Even natural fibers require energy to produce and will make an environmental impact. Check out your local thrift shops, consignment stores, eBay, Craigslist or speciality online communities for people letting go of clothes they no longer need. An added bonus is you’ll save money.

Buying Recycled Synthetics. If you must buy synthetic, check out Patagonia. They are one of the few clothing companies I know that make synthetic clothes from recycled materials. I have a nine year old fleece of theirs that was made from recycled bottle caps. They’ve made a lot of manufacturing advances since then and most of their current synthetics are now also made to be fully recyclable. This means you can take it back to them to recycle it. It doesn’t have to go into the landfill.

Buying wool clothing. I grew up hating wool because they itch. Merino wool has allowed me to wear wool next to my skin. But not all merino wool are created equal. The best in terms of comfort and environmental impact is Patagonia’s merino line. Typical companies will bleach their wool as part of the process to remove the scales that cause wool to be itchy. Unfortunately chlorine bleach isn’t so good for us or the environment. Patagonia slow washes theirs without using chlorine. Having tried several different brands, such as Icebreaker, SmartWool and Patagonia, I also find Patagonia’s wool to be softest and most comfortable.

Downsides to wool that you should be aware of. Wool isn’t perfect. Compared to synthetics, wool performance clothes are still expensive. Save some money by buying used, taking advantage of sales, or buying from outlets that sell previous season goods. It’s not hard to find stuff at 40%-60% off retail. If you have sensitive skin, even the best wool will still itch a little bit here and there. Then there’s static electricity, although this can be a positive or a negative depending on whether you get a kick out of zapping people/yourself. Lastly, wool is not as easy to care for as synthetics. For performance pieces, you can throw them in the wash, but most will recommend you air dry them and not use the dryer.

Questions about this article? Leave a comment below!

Who says labcoats have to be boring? Now you can maintain your professional image while adding style that distinguishes you as a holistic health practitioner.

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* Choice of organic and fair trade natural fabrics to meet your environmental and health standards.
* Different fabric weights to meet your seasonal needs.
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* Unique pocket partitioning system to keep your tools such as needles and ear seeds organized.
* Three different fits to suit your body type and personal style: flowy (loose) fit, standard fit and modern fit.
* Made to Measure and Bespoke options for those who want the perfect fit and design.

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Link: Evosia’s Online Store Page

As with most things in life, practice makes perfect in the realm of knowing how to dress. Even if you don’t need to wear business clothes in the foreseeable future, get a head start now. Start shopping for the clothes you will need. Start dressing up. This way you’ll get comfortable wearing business clothes and you’ll have a better understanding of how things go together.

For most of my life I didn’t need to dress up. I was accustomed to wearing loose fitting and flowy clothes like Hawaiian shirts and Thai fisherman pants. Yes I did have a lot of preppy clothes but they’re preppy, not business. The only times I really dressed up were for graduations, weddings, and funerals. And looking back on those photos I looked awful because I was clueless. Luckily most other people in the world are also clueless. Which means you’ll really standout when you get it right.

When I first started sporting dress shirts and ties on a regular basis, I felt like a fish out of water. I remember having trouble tying my tie. I bought shirts and trousers that didn’t fit well. I wore the wrong fabrics in the wrong seasons. My neck wasn’t used to having my shirts buttoned up all the way. Overall the outfits didn’t feel like they were my personal style.

By the time I got into the clinic I had most of the kinks ironed out: I had the dress clothes I wanted, I no longer felt awkward in what I wore, and I knew how to put together kickass outfits from head to toe.

There are a lot of nuances you simply won’t appreciate until you start getting it all together. You’ll overdo it and under do it until you find your balance. So get to it! Your future starts now.

The Importance of a Tailor in the Age of Ready to Wear Clothing

Our bodies come in a wide variety of shapes and measurements. The mass produced clothes that most of us wear (also known as Ready To Wear or RTW clothing) attempt to simplify these broad ranges into a limited set of standardized sizes. While we can usually go into a store and walk out wearing something we just bought off the rack, ready to wear clothing is not designed to fit all of us perfectly.

For casual and street clothes, a perfect fit may not be that important. A half-inch off here, an inch off there is good enough. You can cover it with a sweater/jacket or adjust with a belt. But if you want to look professional, small details do matter. An outfit that fits perfectly brings congruence. It doesn’t just look good, but it also feels great.

An experienced and skilled tailor can help turn your ordinary outfit into something that looks and feels extraordinary.

Common areas of clothing to get altered
Refer to my previous tip (part 1 and part 2) on wearing clothes that fit to learn about how things should fit on you. Here are some common things to get altered by a tailor:

• Hem your pants. You should not be sweeping floors with your pants for free.
• Take in the waist. Your pants/trousers should stay up without the assistance of a belt.
• Take in a shirt or the body of a jacket. If you are a thinner build like me, you don’t always want to look like you can shoplift watermelons.
• Shorten the sleeves. The sleeves should cover your wrists and just reach the beginning of your thumbs. You shouldn’t be able to shoplift watermelons in your sleeves either.

Buying Ready to Wear Clothes
If you are buying ready to wear clothes that you want to bring to a tailor, keep in mind that a tailor cannot create additional fabric out of thin air. Don’t buy anything that’s too tight or too short unless you know there is enough fabric to let out. You want to buy stuff that fit as close to your measurements as possible.

Getting Clothes Tailor Made
If you are paying retail prices for dress clothes at midlevel retailers such as Banana Republic, J Crew, or Nordstroms, chances are that you can afford tailor made clothing. Yes, clothes made specifically to your measurements and what you want. Modern Tailor is one place that comes recommended. If you are in Asia, Hong Kong is an especially good place to go for high quality tailor made clothes at prices midlevel retailers can’t touch even during a good sale.

Finding a good tailor
A good tailor isn’t just someone who can do a good job tailoring your clothes. A good tailor is knowledgeable about fabrics, fits, trends and, most importantly, what looks good on you. A good tailor is not easy to find and they most likely do not work out of your local dry cleaners. Yes they may be more expensive than having something done at the dry cleaners but you get so much more value when you develop a good relationship with them.

If you are on the west side of Los Angeles, I highly recommend Anna’s Custom Tailoring on Washington and Redwood. She’s a sweet Italian lady who is highly skilled and very knowledgeable. I also suggest checking on Yelp.com for good tailors near you.

Next tip: Personal Hygiene

 

Intro
This guide is written for my colleagues in the Acupuncture profession but you can apply these tips universally to any profession where looking professional is important. To start, I’m going to focus on the basics. Most of my advice is geared towards men since we seem to need the most help in putting together a professional look.

 

 

So why is looking professional important? Just like the white coat that we wear in the clinic, how we look tells a lot about who we are. Looking professional shows that we are serious about what we do, that we are professionals, and that we take time to look good for ourselves and for our patients.

 

Looking professional can mean different things to different people. Being in the field of holistic medicine, we have a lot more leeway in how we define professionalism than, say, western medical doctors. Part of it will depend on your personality and style. Another part of it will depend on the demographics of the people you are treating/targeting. Some of you may want to wear clothes that are eastern-inspired, yet still elegant and professional. Others may want stick to standard Western business attire.

Know Your Size
It doesn’t matter how beautiful or well put together your clothes are if they don’t fit properly. Unless you get your clothes tailor made, chances are that you are buying mass produced clothing made in standard sizes (also known as ready to wear clothing.) Know your measurements and clothing sizes before you go shopping. Otherwise you will be wasting your time and money.

The best way to start is to go to your nearest clothing store that sells dress clothes. If you live near a Nordstroms, I suggest going there. They have great customer service and a no pressure sales staff. You don’t have to buy anything. Just go to their dress clothes department and ask to get measured. If they are experienced, they should be able to guess your size pretty closely just by looking at you. They’ll break out the tape measure to measure your neck, sleeve, shoulder, chest, back, waist, inseam, etc. While there, try on some clothes and see what fits or not. Each brand may fit differently even if the size is the same. Take your time, ask questions and get a good feel for how things actually fit on you. Don’t feel bad if you don’t buy anything. Just thank them before you take off.

Shirts
How do you know a shirt fits you?

• When you button up the collar, your index finger should be able to fit snugly between your collar and your neck.
• The shirt’s seams should meet at the shoulder.
• The chest should not feel too puffy or tight.
• The sleeves should cover your wrists and reach the beginning of your thumbs.
• The cuffs should be snug enough so they don’t slip down your wrists.

How to find your size? Men’s dress shirts are sold by neck size, sleeve length and fit. For example, 14.5- 33 means that the shirt is for a neck size of 14.5 inches with a sleeve length of either 32 or 33 inches. Because it is for 2 different arm lengths, the shirt will have two buttons on the (adjustable) cuffs – the tighter cuff if you are 32 length and the looser cuff if you are 33 length. Fit wise there’s regular fit (assume this if it is not specified), slim/modern/urban fit (if you are thin) and relaxed/loose fit (if you have pudge). Not all shirts will have all the different fits. Also, shoulder widths will vary between brands. It is best to try them on and stick with the brands you know fit you well.

 

Dress shirts may also be sold by the more general small, medium and large. Usually the manufacturer will offer a table that shows the measure ranges for the different sizes. However, I don’t recommend buying dress shirts this way as they are less exact.

 

Trousers
How do you know if a pair of trousers fit? Traditional trousers should come up to your navel and rest snugly on your hips. Unfortunately, most pants sold these days are low rise, meaning they are meant to fit below the hips with a rise (distance between crotch and waist) of 8” or less. This is compared to the traditional 12” rise. Either way, you don’t want the waist too loose such that you require a belt to keep them up. You should wear a belt anyway but the pants should be able to stay up on their own.

Length wise, always try trousers with shoes on. The pant legs should not be so long as they drag on the ground. Nor should they be too short as to show your socks when you walk. When in doubt, go for the longer pair and take it to a tailor to get hemmed to the right length. Most dress trousers are sold unhemmed so they can accommodate a wide range of lengths.

How to find your size. Trousers are sold by waist, inseam, fit and rise. For example 30/32 means a 30 waist and a 32 inseam. The rise on most modern trousers are low-rise so they don’t rest on your hips but below them. There are a variety of fits. I recommend going with straight leg for a classic fit and silhouette. Personally I also like boot cut trousers because they are more flowy (personal style choice) and have wider leg openings to accommodate boots. I suggest staying away from skinny fit or baggy as they do not look appropriate for business.

Next up: Part 2 – Jackets and Shoes

Author’s note: I would like to acknowledge Alejandro Morales Jr for his contributions to this series of articles. Thanks Alejandro!