Why she’s in the news:
Jen Pistor — and husband Remo, and daughters Madelyn, Sabrina, and Lily — are taking part in the Live Net Zero Challenge, which hopes to inspire Canadians to reduce their carbon emissions at home.
What does she do for a living?
Pistor’s full-time gig is a stay-at-home mom to an eight-year-old daughter and five-year-old twin daughters.
“My part-time gig is I have my own personal fashion blog with a slow-fashion, sustainable fashion focus,” she said. “I've worked in the fashion industry for over 30 years. And it's been within the last, I'd say five to eight years that I have really fully been shifting into this, where I try to show people a different way of looking at fashion.”
What’s Pistor’s new focus on fashion?
“Consuming things slowly. Using what we already have. Wearing the clothes that we have. Consuming less. Supporting small, ethical and sustainable brands, to really understand where our garments come from and that a lot of our clothing that is being manufactured is not with people and the planet in mind, and that there is a way to do it better and that we can all be a part of that,” she said. “It doesn't cost us anything to be a part of that movement, which is very cool.”
What’s slow-fashion and fast-fashion?
“Fast fashion is those big companies that are coming out with new items weekly, sometimes daily, in their stores. They're producing millions of garments every year. And we consume them in a very quick way,” Pistor said. “So we're buying them, we're wearing them a couple of times, we're done with them and we donate them or throw them out if they have fallen apart.”
And slow fashion?
“You're going to take a more mindful approach,” she explained. “That slowness might just be you really putting two months into thinking about what kind of jeans you want to be adding in (to your wardrobe) and then doing a little research on the company. It might be going to your local consignment or thrift shop and finding something that way. And then every garment that you bring into your wardrobe, being something that you plan on wearing for many years to come, hopefully.”
How has Pistor’s fashion journey changed?
Increasingly, Pistor’s fashion blog and her own fashion journey have focused sustainable fashion.
“I think when people hear about sustainable clothing, it can be a bit of a barrier at first because they think, ‘Oh, that's going to cost me more money and it's going to be more expensive.’ And then, once you really start diving into it, having conversations with people and telling them, you know, part of it is just wearing the fast-fashion pieces that you have in your closet, getting something fixed or tailored. Or thrifting or being really resourceful,” she said. “Once people realize that there is an actual way to get into it without investing a bunch of money, they're much more receptive to hearing what you have to say.”
Sharing body positivity:
Through posts on Instagram and on her blog, Pistor also promotes body positivity – a message that’s close to her heart.
“That's been a big a big one for me,” she said. “Especially with three girls, I want to do whatever I can for them in that arena, as well to hopefully push a little change and have them have a little bit of a different experience then I had.”
Where you’ll find her:
You can find Jen Pistor’s fashion videos and posts on Instagram at @JenPistor and on her blog at www.jenpistor.com.
Follow Theresa McManus on Twitter @TheresaMcManus
Email tmcmanus@newwestrecord.ca
