Before I start, I need to get one thing straight.

I suck at taking pictures of myself. 


Each time I try a phone selfie, I see the thumb staring back at me, scream, and turn the camera off. The same pretty much happened when I tried to take pictures of myself wearing all the clothes I bought in my recent Peopletree haul. 

Except instead of me screaming, my camera broke and now I have nothing but poor quality, badly lit phone photos to last me until I buy a new one (which will be in about 2020, the way my finances are going).

What's a girl to do. 

So anyway, if you're looking for gorgeous pictures of Peopletree clothes, look elsewhere. If you're looking for an honest, unsolicited review of Peopletree (yep, I do these things for free, without being asked, such is the extent of my sucker-ness) you're in the right place.

So let's get started!

Why Peopletree?

Since visiting the International Slavery Museum on my trip to Liverpool last year, I've been much more conscious of where I buy my clothing from. Their exhibition on the modern slave trade was astoundingly eye-opening. It's not enough for high street brands to claim that they pay their factory workers a fair wage when the people producing the textiles are being paid a pittance for long hours in terrible conditions. Besides, there's something incredibly suspicious about how cheap mass produced clothes are. 


Luckily, here in Exeter we have an amazing ethical clothing and lifestyle store, Sancho's Dress. Michele and I found them just a few days after visiting the Slavery Museum and vowing to stay away from mass produced, unethical clothing. We're now great friends with Kalkidan and Vidmantas, the wonderful entrepreneurs behind the brand (to the point that they've even asked me to model some of their products, eek!)

Peopletree has been on my radar for a few years now after I read about them in a magazine. But until last year, ethical clothing just wasn't very high up on my priority list. And then... well, Peopletree can be pretty expensive for a girl on a student budget! Luckily their sale prices are awesome and I managed to get 5 pieces for around £100.

Delivery

UK Standard Delivery is free on all orders (hallelujah) and clothing arrives in a nice brown paper package which makes it feel like even more of a treat! My parcel arrived just two days after placing the order which isn't bad at all.

The Clothes

I'd never worn anything by Peopletree before and so ordered my loot in a mix of 10s and 12s, depending on what was available. Some of the items were quite low stock and so have sadly sold out since I ordered (plus I was planning on writing this post 2 weeks ago when they first arrived but life and work seriously happened so it was bye bye blogging for a while!)

The first thing I tried on was the Bryony gingham top (sold out). Made from organic cotton, it's light and airy (perfect for eczema sufferers, hooray) and the fit is true to size. I also hadn't actually looked at it properly before popping it in the basket and was pleasantly surprised to find some simple button detailing on the back, adding a little more interest to a simple top. I'm planning on throwing it on with jeans most days and pairing it with a pencil skirt for conferences #PhDlife.


The next item was the Abby flared dress (again sold out, but this is the last one that is, I promise!) The material of this dress was surprisingly thick and structured (excellent for hiding my inevitable food baby) and the wide neckline made my waist look smaller than usual which is a bonus. This dress kind of makes me feel like I can go out and do anything which means it's a winner in my book.


Because it's nearly Christmas, I'm currently an absolute sucker for velvet and velour to get me in the party mood - the midnight black Lucie dress (£20 - bargain!) was evidently made for me! Ok, so this is a pretty figure hugging dress and there's going to be no subtle sneaking away of extra mince pies in this one but I love it so I don't care. It also kind of made me feel like a middle-aged art gallery owner but in a cool way... not entirely sure why!


The Tracy check top (£14.40, cheapy cheap cheap) is made from the same lightweight cotton as the gingham top. I wasn't too sure about it when I was browsing the site but decided to go for it because I seriously need more tops (I think there's a top-eating ghost in our flat). It's yet another thumbs up from me - it's super easy to wear with the block pattern giving a little more interest to my usual top and jeans attire.


Finally, I went for the navy Aspen dress (£32) which I've had my eye on for a while. It's a real all-rounder and has already been taken out for a spin a few times - it works for the pub, for the office, for formal occasions etc. When I first tried it on I was worried it would ride up as I walked as it's a little snug on the waist and hips but it doesn't at all, even when I power walk (and I practiced in my lounge, many times, before going out in it!)


So overall, I am massively pleased with my Peopletree order and foresee many future raids of their amazing Sale and Archive Sale collections.

I feel at this point I should also disclose that I was NOT paid or asked to do this review at all - I just really want to encourage more people to buy ethical clothing. It can be expensive and there isn't always a huge selection of items but it's a growing market and if we increase our demand for fair treatment of the people who make the products we buy, then our spending has power.

Happy shopping!