Glamour and Green Living Are Not Opposites

There's a version of sustainable living that gets talked about a lot and it looks like deprivation. No this, less of that, give up the other thing. I understand why people find it off-putting. Nobody wants to be told their life is wrong.

That's never been how I've lived it and it's never been what I've tried to tell people.

I spent decades in the most glamorous rooms in the world. Amazing fashion, beautiful hotels, extraordinary food. I loved all of it. And I also grew my own vegetables, sourced my ingredients carefully, chose products based on what was in them rather than what was on the label. Those two things existed alongside each other completely naturally.

Sustainable living, done right, is actually more luxurious than the alternative. A really good organic olive oil is more pleasurable than a cheap one. A well-made piece of clothing you've had for ten years feels better than something that falls apart after three washes. A bedroom that smells of natural beeswax candles rather than synthetic fragrance is more relaxing. You're not compromising, you're upgrading.

The other thing I'd say is that glamour has always been about confidence and intention, not consumption. Some of the most elegant women I've met over the years were not the ones spending the most. They were the ones who knew exactly who they were and made considered choices.

That's all sustainable living really is. Choosing well, on purpose.