Thanks for your kind and encouraging words, bikerbraid. I will ask T to take a picture.
Later yesterday, I went to shop groceries wearing one of my new dresses. I thought that if they are what I am looking for, I should be comfortable wearing them in all everyday occassions. At first, I felt self conscious. But then, I realized that it wasn't just a negative feeling. When I looked around, I saw that everyone else was wearing "sporty" winter clothes. Not exactly beautiful, I realized. Definitely not what I would be happy wearing, even if it made me blend in nicely. So, I decided that the difference I feel so keenly may well be a positive one.
     As an interesting coincidence, in today's newspaper there was an article about human rights problems in the textile factories of China. Now, at the moment almost 40% of clothes sold in Finland comes from China, and if you add to that other countries of Far East, the number climbs to around two-thirds. According to the article, auditions that some Western clients have started to make into the factories, have had little effect because the factories go to great lengths in order to cheat the auditioners. The article concluded, that at the moment, it is simply an impossible task to ensure that Chinese clothes are produced in conditions prescribed by the Chinese law. An interesting detail was, that even though China has had one child policy that has kept is child labor problem relatively small compared to some other cheap countries, now the use of child labor has also started to increase in China.
    What saddened me a little was the general tone of the article "this is just how it is, we better accept that for now, most of our clothing is produced in sweatshops." Well, I have no plans of accepting it.
After all this, I concluded that dresses are perfectly good clothing for me, and ordered material so I can try my hand at making them. I have a nice, easy-looking pattern to work with, as well as some good general instructions...

Hair: I noticed that my Tiger's Eye MT hairsticks coordinate beautifully with my brown dress, so I'm now wearing those. Yesterday was a sauna day, but I did nothing special to my hair. I found out that the department store where we do our weekend shopping does not carry my favorite XZ deep conditioner at all. They did carry a version of it meant for colored hair, and I bought that instead (there didn't seem to be much difference in the ingredients list). We'll see how it works. If I don't like it, I will have to find a new source for my deep conditioner- it is the only drugstore cone-free deep conditioner that I have managed to find. People in this country aren't obviously very "cone-conscious".

Yes, the assembly issue is bothering me too- there have been many cases in which complicated arrangements are made to trick officials to allow putting the "manufactured in EU" label to products. In reality, precious few clothing items have actually been made in EU, much less in Finland. Unfortunately, the problem of poor quality fabrics is not limited to fabrics only, but often readymade products are also of poor quality. I have been really annoyed by the fact that there is really no way you can tell a good quality (not to mention ethically) made garment from bad. Price, brand (or the lack of), examining the material etc- nothing seems to guarantee the quality of the purchase. Often, the clothes sold at stores have finishes that make the fabric appear to be of better quality than it actually is.

    I don't know how I would manage without the option of purchasing my fabrics via internet. While my experiences on internet fabric shopping are still limited, so far I have been happy with my purchases.
As to the more general problem of dressing as ethically as possible, there are many options. Which is good, because the people interested of ethically observant dress are also diverse! Here's a list of possibilities I have come up with. Not everyone can observe everything ( I don't!), and since the problems are so complex, most of these options tackle just a few aspects of it. But I think, that adopting even one of these ideas in a limited scale is good.
-Make your own clothing. Sew, knit, crochet. A "subcategory" of this one would be having a seamstress make clothes for you. Downsides: Finding fabrics, finding seamstresses, having enough time and having (or learning) an adequate skill level
-Buy second-hand clothing. A popular and frugal option. Downsides: Does not tackle the problem of unethical production, just extends the lifespan of products. Not everyone can find suitable clothing readily.
-Simplify your wardrobe. The fewer clothes you need, the fewer ethical problems you cumulate. Downsides: How much you can simplify depends greatly on lifestyle & circumstances. Eg. a Finnish person who needs clothing for 4 different seasons will never survive with as little clothing as someone in a more temperate climate.
-Invest in quality. If you can afford it, it is better to buy one high quality expensive garment than three cheap ones. Downsides: How to recognize quality is often difficult.
-Take good care of your existing clothes. Repair them, if possible. Downsides: Requires some time and skill.

I am, obviously, concentrating in the combination of making my own & simplifying. I don't buy second hand clothes -I have difficulty finding my size, and in general, I just can't bring myself to liking second hand clothing. I may invest in quality when it's possible, but my main hope is, that my own sewing done from good materials equals quality. At the moment, I can do some repairs, but I have much to learn at this field. Obviously, now that I am moving towards a lifestyle where in order to replace a broken article I have to produce a new one by myself, my interest in preserving my clothing in good condition has improved considerably!

Hair: Aisling(A Finnish LHC member who lurks on this board) was kind enough to drop me a couple of hints to my problem of finding deep conditioner. I have now two grocery store brands to check out and test- how fun! I will check the selections of The Big Store this week, and if I can't find the products she mentioned from there, I will see if I can find them from Helsinki. They are common brands though, so I am hopeful.
     Today, my hair is just perfect. I'm wearing it in a bun with my 3-tone brown Ficcare. I need more Ficcares. I wish, wish, wish that my transition from grant to a part-time employee somewhere goes smoothly...

Thanks for the picture!  That is exactly what I was picturing in my mind, but now I know for sure what your simple dresses look like.  A good, well designed dress can take you anywhere and allow you the freedom to move about and do what needs to be done around the house and yard.

Mixing and matching the aprons can give you the feeling of more variety and style.  A black, pink or red apron would look nice with the brown dress. 

Congrats on the hair length!  Those little ends that are tickling your waist will soon be joined by many more!

Thank you!  This bun is something that I believe you should be able to do, especially as you think your current styles may not be working as well with your longer length.  Look at the bigger picture in the Show your Locks thread and try to guess how it is done!

SNOW!  After suffering thru a snow draught here, the snow has finally come for us as well.  We received about 12" of snow last week and another 6 - 8" are predicted over the next 2 days.  Yippee!  And to make it even better - the temps are just sitting in the 20's (just below freezing), so it is "warm" to us (especially after the frigid cold we had a few weeks ago).  I can just imagine your garden/orchard covered in a lovely blanket of snow.  

Thinking of your practicality dressing, around here, many women who are living a more simple life wear a long skirt with a shirt and an apron to protect them both.  The 2 piece outfit gives them the flexibility of changing the top without having to change the skirt as well.  Many of the skirts are made of denim or other twill - a very durable fabric.  The tops can be varied based on the temperatures - long sleeves in cooler weather, short sleeves in warmer weather.  Color can also then be introduced via the top, leaving the skirt a basic neutral color - dark blue, brown, black or tan.  A basic skirt can be very easy to make, especially if elastic is used for the waist.  Jumpers are also a nice variation - more than a skirt, less than a dress, which also allow the variety of being able to change the shirt/top.  I have 2 favorite jumpers - the top is very simple, their are buttons on the side at the waist, and skirt is slightly gathered.  (An BIG pockets on both sides!)  I wear these jumpers a lot in the spring, summer and fall.  Winter I tend more towards pants because I have a hard time putting on tights and I get really cold easily.

Have fun browsing thru your seed catalogues and picking out the best for your garden.

The snow melted, and my snow works were destroyed before I could take pictures in daylight. T took some pictures in the dark though. This is SO this winter- just after we've got some snow, the weather warms up so that much of it melts away and we end up having just a thin, much-suffered looking ground. In this condition, it's probably better if I just start dreaming of spring.
     My hair is just fabulous this day- it obviously liked all the pampering I gave it! I'm wearing it in a bun with Raspberry Swirl pair. I don't think I will ever get tired of this pair. It is my first pair, and has ever been among my most often used pairs.

Work: Work -or rather the ending of my grant- sucks. Because I do not have any social security or unemployment benefits, I will need to find a job of some sort ASAP. With T's approval I am now searching a part-time job close from home. A part time job will mean less money to our household (which is why I wanted T's approval, in case you wonder it), but on the other hand I will still be able to work with my Ph. D work and we can maintain our current lifestyle that relies heavily on my being able to spend a significant amount of my time doing house & garden work.
   I hate the system, I hate the society that thinks that I'm more useful as a cleaner or cashier (I mean no disrespect towards those jobs. They are important and worthy work) than as a scientist I'm educated to be, creating a new theory. But then, I knew what I was getting into before I chose to try working on a grant, and accepted the rules of this unfair playground. I don't regret it, and now, all there is to do is to deal with the facts and to find that job. It is hard enough as it is, there are few part time jobs in general, and the job markets of this area aren't that big to start with. Obviously, I am also overeducated (and not really appropriatedly educated at all) to the jobs that are most commonly offered as part time jobs.
But I will do my best, and trust that it is the will of Light that I am now in this position. I have sent two applications today, and am doing internet search every day. I hope that all will go well...

Politics: Parliamentary elections are nearing. We now get brochures from Center Party and Christian Democrats instead of Coalition Party...it's not a change for the better, but it is a sure sign of that we have also politically moved away from the backyards of Capital to outskirts of Rural Finland. As usual, the worst traits of democratic system are out on display, and yet- I still feel that it is my duty as a citizen to vote. Even when I don't believe in democracy as far as I could throw our Prime Minister. But, there are so many candidates in this region...maybe one of them will be relatively ok.

Did you get to see the lunar eclipse?  although I couldn't see the whole thing here in MN (it had started before the moon rise), I did get to see most of it.  It was a beautiful clear sky and the moon was very bright, so the eclipse was easy to see.  Hope you had the wonderful view that I had. 

Galadriel wrote on Mar 2^nd, 2007 at 10:42am:


Hi Galadriel

What areas are you involved in ? And a new theory sounds interesting !  

Galadriel wrote on Mar 6^th, 2007 at 12:39pm:


Hi Galadriel

Just noticed you're into Environmental Ethics, very hot topic these days....

Wish you all the best !