Phoebe was determined not to let her son become rowdy, truck-obsessed, or dress only in blue. But her attempts at building a gender-neutral wardrobe for him were more complicated than she expected.

As an immigrant and woman of color, finding my community helped me repair my burnout from years of striving to fit in. It also inspired my entire approach to beauty and wellness.

Tattoos are fascinating, beautiful and paradoxical forms of expression. In this tattoo tour, contributors bare their souls and share what having tattoos means to them, especially when it comes to connecting with their own bodies.

My chronic disease causes “monster hands,” ulcers in my eyes, and other body horrors, and I’m happy to talk about all of it (plus poop).

I’m an adult who collects dolls. I’ve freed myself from the stigma associated with this hobby, but now I’m starting to confront the hyper-consumerism and environmental repercussions that come with building a collection.

Some of us don’t want — or can’t afford — to buy vintage clothing. I developed a practical, comfortable, liberating, second-hand style that’s all my own.

When I was in college, I started a style blog just for fun. But when I tried to blog for a living, I fell into a cycle of over-consumption and guilt. This is my journey recovering from blogger burnout.

Reaching the free shipping threshold when shopping online is always tempting. As someone who has worked in the trucking industry for years, I know that free shipping hides the true cost of moving things around the world.

Paying your dues is an out-of-date and backwards attitude found in many industries. In my field, graphic design, there is no lack of old timers who love to tell stories about the abuse they endured, almost relishing it like a badge earned. I’m not following that path.

My possessions survived the wildfires that swept through Paradise, Calif., In 2018, but I wasn’t able to return home for six months. That rootless feeling comes back to me every time I worry about being displaced again by an ecological disaster.

I’ve been lucky to inherit my grandmother’s embroidered artwork, which represents an artistic and adventurous spirit I’ve also inherited from her.

After wildfires rolled through Paradise, Calif, I didn’t know whether to mourn or hope as I waited two months to find out whether all of my possessions had gone up in smoke. I also didn’t anticipate how much guilt I would associate with my attachments to my stuff.

As a professional creative, I have put boundaries around which aspects of my creativity are for sale. Although my job is “creative,” I fiercely protect my true creative passions from a capitalistic mindset.

A fashion industry professional reflects on her experience of meeting maximal expectations with minimal resources and how this erodes the quality of our garments. What if we didn’t accept exhausting work conditions that dull our ethics and inure us to unsustainable business practices?

Mite bites and fruit flies were the last straw for a cosmetics counter manager at a small department store in Berkley, Calif. This is what she did about it.

Knitting has seen me through the darkest chapters of my life; here are its benefits and my tips for forming a knitting habit.

How do Pantone colors impact the way we consume? We have to examine our ability to be conditioned to like and to want, and how color trends fuel unnecessary consumption.