The Birthday Editions...

... the pieces I chose and how I'll wear them!

I want to talk to you about the clothes of course, but first I want to touch on the milestone:

10 years of a growing and (perhaps more importantly for me) a shrinking business.

Back when we were half way to this point, in 2020, the business was the biggest it’s ever been. Turning over somewhere around £300,000 a year and employing 10 people. In the grand scheme of businesses, that is still very much micro, but for me it was already way too much.

Apart from at that point, I didn’t know it yet.

I was strapped in tight on a trajectory of growth, perhaps thinking that would mean more ease or a richer experience. For me, not so. The sweet spot has been found on the other side of letting go entirely of any expectation or idea I previously held about what success looked like- the freedom that comes with releasing, and allowing your success to look different to everyone else’s, has been hard earned.

Right now, our team is three people strong and I’ve never been happier.

We do things better than we ever have. We’ve a lower returns % than ever before- way lower. I have zero ambitions to grow much bigger than this. This is where I want to stay: teenie, tiny, micro, all managed and made in-house by a team who know their skill set inside out, back to front and upside down and carry out every job with utter love and care.

Team Stalf knows its customers through and through. 85% of our customers over the last 5 years are repeat buyers, and many have been around and buying Stalf for that whole time, so perhaps getting to know you is an inevitability, but it’s actually more than that. We love to see what you’ve ordered, we remember what you went for last time, we muse over whether you’ll pair this garment with that, or else ponder which of our upcoming launches you’ll love.

When you email the brand, it’s me you talk to. When you send over a DM, it’s me who answers. Your feedback puts a smile directly on my face. When you signed up to this substack, it was me who gave a sincere jiggle of excitement.

There’s such a duality in running a small business right now. There’s pure joy (for me, anyway) to be lapped up in the downscaling. In the inevitable shrink that came with the tougher times. Growing and then, crucially, shrinking was what gave me the clarity to understand where my focus needed to be in this business- both for optimal and efficient day-to-day functioning and also to bring myself and my team joy. There’s an inescapable thread that runs through your day to day when your business is this teenie that tells you that the decisions you make have to make you happy first and foremost. If they don’t, it’s unbearable.

That’s not selfish, it’s essential.

I am the one propelling this ship. I am the one pushing us forward and striving for the targets and waking up with lists to jot down in the middle of the night. If this business doesn’t bring me fulfilment, it won’t be sustainable.

That is perhaps the biggest lesson I’ve learnt- within this business, I have to put my own mental health first. When your business is teenie, that much becomes crystal clear. For me, when the business was bigger, I lost track of myself- I put myself bottom of the huge pile, I completely burnt out and struggled day to day.

Being small allows you to be agile. Here’s the thing that I have learnt to shout about at full volume: Stalf is rare.

We are the real deal. Hand making every single garment from start to finish under our own roof is no mean feat and I’m incredibly proud of the way we work. It’s not the only way to run a sustainable, ethical fashion brand by any means, but it is one solid, strong way to know with 100% certainty that your clothing is manufactured in the way you’d like it to be. It also means at any moment we can change our plans, pivot, switch up the agenda to suit our needs. We are small but we are mighty in the face of uncertainty.

The duality comes from feeling deeply comfortable with being small. With having just enough.

We celebrate 10 years with the (re)launch of Stalf Dreams. A space on the site for me to lean into the strength in being small. A place where I can launch all the one-off, limited edition items that sit in my head. If you scroll down on the Dreams page, you’ll see you can even fill out a form and request your own one-off versions of your favourite Stalf garments.

Our Birthday Collection, as per the theme of this email, is modest in size, exquisite in detail and handmade from start to finish, with a huge amount of care and love, in-house:

Before we get into the styling, a moment for the organic cotton voile.

What a fabric- beautifully semi-sheer and delicate. We played about with double and single layers and adorned every piece with hand-gathered crinkles- to me they look like ripples of piped-icing on a cake. In The Birthday Dress alone, there’s almost 5m of frothy layers of fabric.

The White colour way is crisp, the Black is dense and solid, the Taffy is sugary and sweet- what’s more to love!

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Onward to the outfits…

The Birthday Blouse in White Organic Cotton Voile

This is perhaps the easiest of all the pieces to wear-and-go.

A simple, crisp Summer blouse in classic white (organic) cotton. The Birthday Blouse has just enough detail to feel super special without detracting from how effortlessly wearable it is for everyday.

It’s great with just denim:

Just pull on with your most reliable jeans and trainers and add a sprinkle of sparkle. This style is easily layered over a vest or cami for extra length (and for a little more coverage should you desire it.) FYI, I’m wearing with a bra here thats’s not too far from my skin tone, but I’d happily wear with white also.

Below is how I’d wear this style on holiday/in the heat. I nabbed Sam’s swimming trunks (they’re great, from Patagonia) and paired with sandals from a few years ago:

For evening, this blouse is the perfect accompaniment to your favourite dressy, black trousers. Of course, our Wide Trousers or Tulip Trousers would be perfect here- I’ve gone even dressier below with a crepe pair that’ve served me for years.

In an attempt to illustrate this blouse’s versatility, I layered under my favourite Dress.

What I will say about this style is that it is PERFECT for layering. It fits close enough to the body (through the waist and shoulders) that it sits brilliantly under a whole host of items you’ll likely already own.

• Would be great under a loosely knitted, low fronted knit or open cardi. Even better- a knitted vest with those sleeves poking out!

• Layered beneath Dungarees (new Stalf version launching this week, watch this space.)

• As the base for your favourite dress (see below.)

• Topped with a linen/cotton/flannel shirt.

Here, I’ve layered under my most worn dress, the Crinkle Cami you can get it in 4 colours here (love the double crinkle with this pairing.)

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The Birthday Suit in Black Organic Cotton Voile.

I daydreamed a LOT about wearing this set in the run up to its launch.

It has something of a Sleeper Pyjama set in my opinion. I can easily see myself wearing it with heels for dinner with friends (see below) but for day, I’d do this:

I love black in summer. Black outfits accessorised with a tan and a sprinkle of freckles, 10/10.

Make the most of the fact that we rarely enter into full summer mode here in the UK and pair with suede DM’s.

If you wanted a visual of this set dressed up for dinner, I’d say don’t mess with it too much, just add heels, a bejewelled bag and a suit jacket slung over your shoulders:

The Birthday Dresses in White, Black and Taffy

This dress is hot on the heels of the blouse in terms of versatility- perhaps even trumps it if the slightly shorter length of the blouse puts you off.

I have worn The Birthday Dress to so many occasions already: work, school run, dinner and drinks out, weekend hosting at home, on holiday in the heat.

I have the Taffy and White, but after shooting this segment, I’ve also popped an order in for Black.

This is how I’d style the Taffy dress to make it sing! All pink. Perhaps for a summer garden-party-wedding or day event. Clashing pink will never not work in my opinion.

See below, worn on the school run, sans-make up and paired with years old cashmere and Tevas from a few years ago- the Taffy still works! Do yourself a favour and don’t save this one for best. Wear it everyday and pop it in the washer when it needs it.

Below was the outfit that sold the black to me:

Just a tote bag and DM clogs, but the dress sings enough for the whole outfit.

…and of course, for evening the black is beautiful:

The white version of this style is perhaps the most classicly “Summer” of all the dresses. Light, breezy white cotton in the summer will never not be beautiful. This is the perfect dress to pull on over a swimsuit on holiday to see you from beach to dinner.

For day to day here at home:

You know I love me a waistcoat. Add one in here. Brightly coloured, patterned, textured, knitted, velvet, silk- all would work beautifully with the white cotton.

The Birthday Bottoms in Taffy Organic Cotton Voile

These trousers were the curveball love-affair, for me. I didn’t think I’d order them - I was all set with the black co-ord and the white blouse. Then I pulled on the Taffy bottoms.

They are the perfect trouser to pair simply with a vest/loose linen shirt and sandals in the summer. These are the trousers I will pull on and feel like there’s just enough going on with my outfit without making too much effort.

I wore them like this last week:

Which is your favourite piece from The Birthday Collection?

Cheers to 10 years, Stalfers. Whether you’re brand new here, or have been around for the full shebang, you are tremendously valued and appreciated by the whole of Team Stalf (all three of us!)

Have a fab week!

Paris x