SOL SEARCHING
Happy International Women’s Day! Heck – it really takes more than just one day to celebrate women, shouldn’t it?
Welcome to Sojourn – an outlet for random musings and thoughtful rumination – I’m glad you’re here. It’s been a long time coming but if I have learned anything these last 2 years, it’s that there isn’t always a right time for things and waiting for the perfect timing is often an excuse. So let’s just dive in!
As a label that was founded on the pillars of self-care, sleep health and mindfulness, we are in the business of helping you rest better through SelfWear – a consciously made collection of sleep and lounge apparel that elevates your everyday at home. In 2019, I had the idea of launching a brand of “indoor clothes” that would put the focus back on what we wear when we’re at home – the time I believe you can truly unwind, relax and be most comfortably yourself. Then in 2020, as the pandemic reared its ugly head at us, homewear finally got its 15 minutes of fame and skyrocketed to become the most popular category in apparel. Three years on and with us hopefully closing the chapter on this dizzying era, I want to continue to vouch for homewear – or SelfWear – as we like to call it because SelfWear is for self-care, it’s for everyday but most importantly, it’s for you.
A few years back, I had the epiphany of a 30-something who realized she spent most of her younger years chasing sleep and short-lived indulgences of dress-to-impress clothes. Looking at all the one-off fashion trends, wedding guest party dresses and impulsive purchases that morphed into wasteful buying habits did not sit well with me anymore. I wanted the next decade of my life to speak more to the person I was becoming and represent the values I wanted to stand for. Reorienting myself, I imagined a lifestyle where less was more not just in terms of versatility and sustainability, but in overall fulfilment.
Personally, the one area I never thought to invest in was homewear but if you ask me what my favorite thing to do when I get home is – it is immediately changing into clothes that put my mind in rest-and-recharge mode. This led to my pursuit in finding modern sleepwear for women that calms them at night and rejuvenates them in the morning. My search proved futile and showed a gaping hole between ragged old t-shirts, traditional pajama sets and lingerie-inspired labels. This personal experience became the bedrock for SOL.
You may be wondering: “How does a line of sustainable loungewear have to do with gender equality for women?”
We, as women, try hard to do it all. Be bosses, employees, entrepreneurs, mothers, friends, spouses, sisters, caretakers; we want to get that promotion, be a great mother, cook like a chef, stay fit, socialize with friends and still make time for that 3-hour scenic hike everyone’s Instagramming about. And through it all, we’re conditioned to serve others before ourselves. While that is an incredibly honorable feat, we are also that much more susceptible to depleting our own tank of self-nourishment throughout the process. And in my experience, it is rare for anyone to come out better for it!
SOL is created to give time back to yourself – so you can rest better, sleep better and do, whatever it is you want to do, better. So yes, we’re here to celebrate you, today and always. We make SelfWear for self-care – and we try to keep the journey light-hearted and fun.
“The journey toward self-discovery is life’s greatest adventure” – a quote by one of my favorite authors, businesswomen and sleep enthusiasts, Arianna Huffington. In her determination for gender equality and making it to the top of the corporate ladder, it took a near mental and physical breakdown to realize that we are no good at all the things we want to achieve if we don’t first attend to ourselves. Her books The Sleep Revolution and Thrive really influenced how I saw my self in connection with the world and made me recognize that we can participate in the rat race called life without letting it define us and that the fine line between breakthrough and burnout is often just a sprinkle of self-love.
My hope is that the SelfWear we make and the content we create will empower you to take charge of your life and inspire you to become more conscious about the rituals of rest and sleep.
Lois x
