Reformation has been the cool kid on the eco-friendly clothing brand block for awhile now. They're probably one of the first and the biggest brands to be anti-fast-fashion and all about sustainability. I find their RefScale to be an interesting way to keep track of how sustainable a garment is, and I love that Reformation works to reduce their carbon footprint by purchasing carbon offsets. They really are an example of an environmentally friendly and all-around thoughtful company. I think the bulk of their clothes are made in a factory in LA.
I am super blessed to live near a city that has one of Reformation's brick and mortar stores. Just like I did for Outdoor Voices, I wanted to visit their store to not only reduce my packaging waste from online orders but also to try a bunch of things at once without the upfront cost.
I had a really fun time shopping there because they have completely changed the retail experience. You can still browse the store as usual, but instead of taking that garment to a fitting room, you tell a sales associate and they input what you want in their iPad mini. Then when you get to your fitting room, everything is all lined up for you by some unknown person who works on the other side of the closet (which I think is their stock room). When you want to change the size, you can do it digitally via the screen in your room. Then you close the closet, they add what you want, and then like magic the garment is hanging there for you when you reopen the doors. You no longer have to deal with sales associate yelling at you through the door asking if you need another size (and the introvert in me loved this way of shopping). You can also just shop digitally on a big screen and they will add all those garments into a fitting room.
Each fitting room is also equipped with various lights and a place to plug in your phone for music. I played with the lights but didn't bother with the music.
In the 4 pictures below, I'm wearing Reformation's Galaxy top (100% silk, kind of reminded me of Grana's Georgette Satin silk) and trying out all 4 light settings. Also wearing my Mott & Bow jeans and Sevilla Smith shoes. I think the quality of their silk is good and I liked the cute frilly collar on this top but ended up deciding not to buy it since I'm actually trying to cut down on the number of silk items I own (since I never wear them).
But here's the thing about Reformation that is kind of a deal breaker for me (well actually three things). First of all, most of their clothes are made out of synthetics. I know a lot of it is dead stock so it's not like they're producing more synthetics to make clothes but rather finding already-made synthetic material and using it for clothes. But the end result is still synthetic clothing that not only requires dry cleaning, but also doesn't biodegrade or adds more microfibers to the environment. Also I just don't like the feel of wearing synthetics anymore. I've spoiled myself with Everlane, Grana, and Elizabeth Suzann clothing that are almost all made of natural fibers. The second reason I will never be a Reformation gal is that their styling definitely skews young, like 20's-ish. A lot of their styles is just not me. And last but not least, a lot of their clothing (dresses and pants) are made for tall people. The proportions just don't work for 5'4" me.
Wearing the Ray top here, which was my second favorite item
But again, I want to give them a fair shot and a fair review so I purchased my favorite out of all the items I tried on, which was this Cardinal dress in navy. It's made out of a material they're calling eco-rib and it's made of 88% tencel and 12% spandex. I haven't worn it out much yet since it's still so cold here. But I know this would be a cute summer dress and I love the long-ish sleeves and flared skirt. It reminds me of a figure skating dress.
I'll periodically update this review once I wear this dress more (and wash it).
Anyone else try Reformation and if so, what did you buy?