Is this the best we can do at this moment? I ask myself that question at every step of making Atèlette. For me, sustainability isn’t a finish line. It’s doing the best we can with the knowledge and means we have, and doing better when we can. It’s people over profit. It’s joy in the craft, and reverence for the heirlooms that inspire our work. I’m an immigrant from the Philippines, and I believe well-made, thoughtfully sourced clothing shouldn’t be a luxury. This belief is what helps shape our values for Atèlette.

We design with natural fibers, cotton above all. When I begin a design, I look first at the deadstock fabrics and trims that already exist, before having anything new made. Using what’s already out there means fewer new resources, and often fabrics and trims you won’t find again.

We believe the most sustainable garment is the one that already exists. Choosing something made decades or even a century ago, and giving it another life, is the most direct way we know to ask less of the earth. Nothing new is grown, spun, dyed, or shipped from a factory, and a piece that has already lasted this long has proven it can keep going.

That’s why our Heirlooms collection sits at the center of what we do: antique chemises, early 20th century blouses, found linens, and other old things we’ve gathered and cared for. They’re also the pieces that inspire our designs, from the pintucks and lace of our Louisette top to the prints we reproduce from museum textiles. We hope you’ll wear them often, mend them gently, and pass them on someday. Explore Heirlooms →

Many of our prints are our own, inspired from antique textiles. Just a few examples... Midnight Sun (on the Persephone and Calais dresses) were from an 1850s quilt block and the prints on the Florenzia, Sandrine, and Appalonia dresses are reproductions inspired by 17th and 18th century textiles preserved in museum collections.

Our first hand block printed pieces, the Terrasse collection, are printed by hand in Jaipur, India. We choose from an existing portfolio of blocks, and the fabric isn’t printed until we’ve decided to make something from it. We make every effort to use all of it, which is why you’ll often find a small accessory or two in a print. Read how it’s made →

From concept to production, each piece can take 12 to 18 months. We work in small batches and draw from vintage silhouettes, designing timeless pieces, rather than chasing trends.

We work with women-owned and led manufacturing partners in India that we stay in regular contact through video calls, photos, and behind-the-scenes footage of production. We haven’t been able to visit in person yet, but someday we would love to! One of the reasons we choose to work with women owned and led manufacturing is my own mother was a seamstress in the Philippines and also a child laborer for a garment factory (along with many of her siblings!) from about the age of 7 to 11.

Our orders ship in plastic-free packaging and we make every effort to use materials that are compostable and bio-degradable.

We keep our overhead as low as we can so you aren’t paying for add-ons we don’t think are necessary, like elaborate international photoshoots. We’d rather put the money into the garment itself. We believe in accessibility, and in pricing well-made clothing fairly.

We’re not perfect, and we don’t claim to be. We often hesitate to tout ourselves as a sustainable clothing brand because we know there is so much more we could be doing. We believe that by designing timeless silhouettes, choosing natural fibers (like Cotton, Tencel, Bamboo) and the practice of using Deadstock materials when they are available and also consuming as much (if not all) of the fabric and material we do produce are just some of the ways we're Consciously Crafting Clothing.

Gardening is part of how I practice sustainability. I’m an avid gardener and I garden without pesticides, and tending a patch of soil has taught me more about patience, attention, and caring for living things than almost anything else.

It’s also why we recently opened a Garden department, with new and found gardening gifts, tools, and supplies. We think a life in bloom includes the work of growing things, and we hope these pieces make that work a little more joyful. Visit the Garden →