One Piece Staple, With Franc

Continuing on showcasing some of the very good, very local, and very much consciously-made basics from FRANC is this one item outfit. I love it for the kids, I love it for myself. Something you can throw and go without much thought.

While the possibilities of what you can do with the infamous "little black dress" are endless, you can also do absolutely nothing and still look like you put some effort into getting ready (after all, I think we could all use a break from wearing sweats or yoga pants every day by now!) Being such a classic item, just about everywhere carries a LBD of some sorts but that also means it's a staple in 12 different versions with fast fashion sources. With that being said, let me breakdown the components of this piece and let you decide why it's a better option:

It's composed predominantly of tencel, a naturally soft fibre that's extremely versatile in it's use, is less harmful on both the environment and the workers creating it, requires less energy to produce, and uses wood from sustainably harvested forests. The rest of the dress is comprised of cotton and spandex-jersey, that are OEKO-TEX certified and provide just enough stretch and flow for every day wearing.

It's also Canadian made, fabrics and production, with their factory existing right in the same city. A small fact that actually means a lot in the way of ensuring ethical factory standards, with brand owners having accessibility to make frequent visits as they please.

Last but equally as important is cost factor - a major topic of discussion every time I share conscious brands. This piece (as is the case with FRANC's entire collection) was made ethically and to last. The dress runs $71 which isn't far off from a lot of bigger brands prices anyways. But to put it in perspective, if you wore this dress once a week for just the summer months, it would cost you less than $9 a wear. It's been noted that fast fashion items are often made to last only a few wears anyway, so a $30 item could really end up costing you $15 a wear (yikes!) This style can be kept in your wardrobe for years to come and it's prepared to do so as well.

In fact, I have FRANC pieces that are already over 2 years and are in brand new condition, despite being worn and loved many times over. All this to say, when you're in the market for new pieces consider some capsule wardrobe worthy items that will work for you, not just the other way around.

See FRANC's full collection here and stay tuned for coming soon. See more FRANC outfits and other consciously made brands, all filed under my Responsible Brands Series.

x, OM