“Slow fashion is about consuming and creating fashion consciously and with integrity. It connects social and environmental awareness and responsibility with the pleasure of wearing beautiful, well-made, and lasting clothing (as compared to the immediate gratification of fast fashion)… Slow fashion is the intersection of ethical, eco, and lasting fashion.”
— Kat Collings, Editor in Chief at Who What Wear

While I was designing our signature sleeveless shirt, I was watching Game of Thrones, Vikings and Wonder Woman, and fell in love with the costumes and the women warriors who wore them. Plus, I was going through the tail end of a very challenging time in my life, so I wanted to instill my clothes with an aura of strength to help get me through the day. 

To me, being a warrior in today’s world is about dealing with the daily struggles of life, whether they are a life threatening illness, the challenges of being a parent, or countless other obstacles. I find that wearing certain items gives me a little extra confidence, whether it’s the perfect pair of leather boots or my husband’s wedding ring. I derive strength from wearing these things. They are my armor.

One of the definitions of armor in the Mirriam Webster dictionary is “a protective outer layer”. In the Tangle Syx world armor isn’t made from chainmail. Instead it's made from materials like heavyweight 100% linen that feels as good as it looks, and is designed to fit and flatter your curves, which encourages a certain confidence and inner strength. It’s also about the fun derived from feeling a little badass. 

We use linen and hemp for their durability, and because people have worn clothing made from these fibers for thousands of years. Wide shoulders give an aura of strength. Topstitched seams make a visual statement, as well as add durability. I also design clothes so they won’t hinder your movements. Clothes you could fight in (if you had to) or run after an errant toddler (more likely).

These are my warrior elements. Perhaps they are all in my head. Or perhaps you see them too. Either way, I hope that they help you to hold your head just a little bit higher and to face your day with a bit more strength and courage, knowing that they were made with the intention to support you and all that you stand for in this thing called life. 

It means the pattern pieces are cut on the diagonal (instead of the straight grain). This changes the way the fabric drapes over the body and also allows the fabric to stretch a bit. If you want more of an explanation, Google it, or watch our video.

Spandex can make fitting garments much easier, but it is a petroleum based product, and blended fabrics are harder to recycle. In our quest to be synthetic and plastic free, we rely on the natural stretchiness in knits and from cutting woven fabrics on the bias. Plus it’s hard to find clothing that doesn't contain Spandex these days, so we want to be an option for people who are looking for clothing made without it.

Hemp textiles are made from industrial ‘cannibus sativa’ fibers. Hemp plants grow very quickly, without the use of chemical herbicides or pesticides and produce high yield commercial crops which optimize both land use and available resources. Hemp also returns a significant amount of the nutrients it takes from the soil leaving it rich and ready for new crops. Exceptional tensile strength, naturally hypoallergenic, offering UV protection and with the ability to help with thermo-regulation, hemp textiles are multipurpose and multi-functional.

If you want to know more about hemp, Google it or read the article "What is Hemp--And is it Sustainable." There are a lot of rabbit holes you can go down when researching hemp; many of them worthwhile.

Linen fibers grow with little to no irrigation, and require far less chemical inputs than other natural fibers like cotton. This fiber is made from flax and is naturally once of the most environmentally friendly fibers. Linen is breathable, lightweight, slightly textured, and softens with time and wear. Linen can withstand high temperatures and absorbs moisture without holding bacteria.

Starting from untreated, natural seeds, organic cotton is grown without synthetic fertilizers. Organic cotton crop rotation and composting maintain the health of naturally moist soil by creating a biodiverse, balance ecosystem. Organic cotton plants are more resistant to pests and disease, therefore eliminating the need for pesticide usage which are often carcinogenic or neurotoxic. As a result of the cleaner growing process, farm workers are afforded a healthier work environmental and the resulting uncontaminated plant waste can be used for other purposes - feed for livestock, oil production, etc.

Just throw it in with the rest of your laundry. Machine wash and dry on whatever temps you like to use, and iron on high with steam if you feel like it. Yes, really.

If you’ve got the time or you have strong feelings about it, feel free to treat it to hand washing and line drying. These methods are probably more sustainable, but we’re busy women, so we design clothes that will hold up to being thrown in with everything else. However, you can be more eco-conscious by washing it less often. If it looks and smells fine, hang it up for another wear before throwing it in the wash.

No, or at least not more than 1-2%. We machine wash and dry the fabric before we cut it out, and then we wash and dry the completed garment to settle everything out before we send it to you.

All Tangle Syx garments are designed, cut and sewn in our workshop in Maine. It is a lovely office space with lots of light that is a great place to be, when we’re not hanging out with our families or whatever else in life needs doing.

We want you to love your Tangle Syx clothing, so if it isn’t right, you can send it back within 30 days of the day you received it, for either a refund or an exchange for a different size. However, our designs won’t work for everybody or every body. So if after trying three different sizes, it’s still not right, we will refund your money and go our separate ways. No hard feelings.

If you need to return an item, contact us for instructions or just send it back to us at: Tangle Syx, PO Box 385, Blue Hill, ME 04614

We sell them locally at periodic sample sales out of our workshop, or keep them as samples for people to try on when they come to our workshop.

Umm…they’re free. But seriously, we are a young company, product testing is ongoing and mistakes can happen. We use organic cotton thread (instead of the standard polyester thread) because we believe it is a good step toward sustainability, but we have not tested the longevity of that thread in our garments past several months of washes and wears. So if a seam ever rips out or the threads pop, no worries. We'll take care of it. We don’t have a set turnaround time on repairs, but it will probably take a few weeks to get it back to you. We ask that you pay for the shipping to get it to us, but we will do the repair for free and will not charge you for return shipping. We’ll even fix other tears and damage, just because we want to cultivate a more sustainable mindset about repairing clothes instead of throwing them out. It might be visibly mended or it might not. It depends on the nature of the damage. However, for stubborn stains you’re on your own. If a stain just won't budge, Google “visible mending” for ideas and cover it with something decorative. Then send us a photo or tag us in a social media post. We'd love to see it.

For free repairs, mail it back to us at: Tangle Syx, PO Box 385, Blue Hill, ME 04614

In the interest of keeping your Tangle Syx clothes in circulation, we can alter them for a reasonable fee. So whether that means taking in a shirt due to weight loss or shortening a dress because you are handing it down to a friend, we’re on it. Keep in mind that we can only work with what’s there, we cannot make a shirt larger or lengthen a dress, because both of those require adding fabric, which is more complicated and would likely change the nature of the garment, so in that case it would be better to pass it on to someone else or send it back to us for recycling. Contact us to discuss the nature of the alteration and to get a quote.

We’re still figuring that out. Many of the larger scraps are cut into bias strips and used in edge finishing. The smaller scraps are cut into 4” squares and sent to customers as swatch samples. That still leaves a bunch of odds and ends, which for now we’re saving for future projects of some sort.

No, due to shipping costs, customs duties and the complexity of navigating international shipping, we are not shipping to other countries at this time.