Photo by Egert Milder
Piret Järvis: I Support Local Whenever and However I can
Piret Järvis is an Estonian girlboss – journalist for Public Broadcasting and a former singer, guitarist and songwriter for girl group Vanilla Ninja. She is designer’s inspiration in her conscious and forward thinking. We are happy to share some of Piret’s thoughts with you.
Do you consider yourself more as a design or a fashion person, why?
The older (and hopefully wiser) I get, the more design-oriented I become. The more I want to pay for local design and the less I visit global fast-fashion stores. The more I care if my clothes are made out of good-quality fabrics and look timeless and the less I care if they are fashionable. One important trigger that has led me to care more and more about design and designers is the fact that for two seasons I have produced a TV-show for Estonian Television called “Kapist välja” (“Out Of The Closet”) which is focused on introducing Estonian designers. While shooting the show I have been in contact with many local designers and my respect for them has risen immensly. So whenever or however I can I want to support them.
Photo by Egert Milder
How would you describe your relationship with clothes?
Me and clothes have always had this very passionate relationship, that has constantly been changing, has had its ups and downs but in the end there has only been love. I have always been very fascinated with clothes and that´s probably because of my mother. She studied sewing technology at the university and therefor since my childhood our home was always filled with “Burda” magazines and she was constantly sewing something for me and my brother and sister.
When I turned 18 my band Vanilla Ninja took off and I started to work for TV and being on stage and on screen meant that I had to think about how I dress even more. It was a time when i got tons of free stuff from sponsors, plus I was buying a lot of clothes myself, which ended with me practically drowning in clothes. At one point I counted and it appeared that I owned more than 50 different pairs of jeans, which seems totally unreasonable now.
In the end it all got quite overwhelming so I decided that it was time to make a change and get rid of everything excessive. Now I have two favourite pairs of jeans that I wear quite often, a couple of different pairs of black-coloured footwear which match with everything and some really basic tops and sweaters that make up my everyday wardrobe. Plus, I own several really cute design-pieces that compliment the basics. So I still love clothes but I have come a long way from being very extravagant to being quite minimal.
How would you describe your style?
I have always really enjoyed combining masculine and feminine elements when it comes to clothes and I guess that this is something that describes my style the most. To visualise what I mean – I rarely wear a pretty dress with high heels, usually in my case a dress goes with a pair of Dr. Martens boots, and high heels go together with a wide t-shirt.
What do you value the most when getting new pieces for your wardrobe?
There are three main factors that I consider when I look for new clothes. I want the item to be very unique or on the contrary very classic, I want the item to be made out of good-quality material and I want to feel that this is “my thing” the moment I look at it. Recently my favourite places to shop have been local design stores in Tallinn or in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, plus eBay and Etsy have also offered some good finds.
What are the most precious pieces in your wardrobe, why?
Emotionally the most valuable pieces are the ones that have been made by my mother. She is great both at sewing and embroidering and she can make beautiful things. The most time-consuming garment she made and embroidered for me is an Estonian national dress, with the traditional Lihula parish pattern. But at the moment my favourite garment is one of the coats that she made for me. These garments matter as I know how thorough my mother is when she’s making her handicraft. Plus I really love the fact that during the planning and execution process we get to spend a lot of mother-daughter time together.
Do you have any rituals related to clothing you every now and then do?
I’m not sure if that can be considered a proper ritual but just recently I bought myself a steamer, which has made getting my clothes wrinkle-free so much easier! So every now and then I really enjoy taking the time to steam my clothes.
Do you ever dress for the others?
I suppose that in a way I do it all the time. Of course the main thing is to feel comfortable and confident myself but I wouldn’t mind if others liked what they see as well.
Photo by Egert Milder
Who are your style icons? What inspires you about them?
As a teenager in the 90s I had several style icons that in a way influence me ’til this day. Different rockstars and different women in music were the ones I looked up to the most. My biggest style influence was the “Tragic Kingdom”-era Gwen Stefani who was so feminine and beautiful, wore perfect make-up and had perfect bleach blond hair but at the same time was dressed in very masculine baggy pants, heavy flat boots and punk jewellery. But I also really adored the style of Debbie Harry as well as the Sex Pistols. So this kind of rock’n’roll ethics and badassness of it has always appealed to me.
What to you think today’s fast fashion world?
I think we are living in the middle of very hopeful times. People are becoming more and more conscious of the impact of the fast fashion and I can only see things getting better in this matter. Hopefully in a couple of years there won’t be any child labour used anymore and the fast fashion brands will use more and more recycled and otherwise eco-friendlier materials than they do now.
What are the values you are holding on to the most in your everyday?
I think kindness is the key. Life would be so much easier if everyone just decided to be kind to each other, no matter what. The mom of Cinderella summed it up the best: „Have courage, and be kind,” and everything will turn out okay.
What are you dreaming about?
At the moment I am dreaming of a warm weather and sunshine!
