Our Mission: Bringing Bold Beauty Back

We are The Moon and the Mad Moth, and we are sick of beige. How have we let this bland, boring world creep up on us? It started innocently enough, with neutrals providing a visual pause in a world full of stimuli, or giving a blank slate for our flowering creativity. Then it slowly took over, spreading soulless voids that cover our public spaces, workplaces, then our very homes! We live our lives searching for something true that says what we cannot, suppressing the urge to be scream just to be seen. This blanding has even invaded our closets, filling them with "acceptably" neutral, non-attention seeking clothes designed to make us fade into the crowd. If you are afraid to be seen, it is because you have been trained to be prey. 

Now, we are all for comfort. The pandemic taught us that pajamas are awesome. We want to get compliments while being blissfully comfy. Our dresses hug your curves but are made to be a close to pajamas as possible, because there is nothing sexy about clothes that pinch. And yes, our pajamas are amazing too. Silk just has the perfect feel against the skin, like it sings your harmony.

"We want to give voice to your silent self, enliven your inherent bombastic being, and give you a way to express your unique brand of delight."

Ethical Production: Fashion Without Exploitation

Another thing we are committed to is social and environmental justice. We contribute to a roster of organizations that aim to correct the injustices of the past, and redirect our energy toward the promising future.

In addition, our products are produced in facilities committed to workers' rights. We source exclusively from companies that are accountable for their labor practices, and are committed to ending forced labor. 

Our Impact:

Sustainability: Made to Order, Minimal Waste

We are horrified by the amount of garbage we collectively create as a culture. All of those garments that don't get bought up, and the packaging that goes into most purchases really adds up. In the past we have marveled at the tissue paper, boxes, cards, and tins that arrive from well-meaning vendors. All of that stuff just goes right into the garbage, enclosed in a plastic bag that lasts 1000s of years and shipped to Whoknowswhere. That place isn't imaginary, but exists here on our planet. We know first impressions mean a lot, but we're going for the lasting impression.

Our Solution:

• Made to Order: Products might take a little longer to get to you, but thousands of pounds of clothing are not created just to rot in a warehouse
• Minimal Packaging: We use minimal packaging to reduce the garbage we send to your house while ensuring everything arrives in perfect condition
• Local Production: Usually less shipping time than when products are shipped from the other side of the world

The Legend of The Moon and the Mad Moth

Where Our Name Comes From

Where did the name come from, you ask? This is the story of The Moon and the Mad Moth:

There was a very serious moth named Alastair, with wings of pearl and gold, a fashionable bow tie, and the fuzziest face. He was born in a disused textile facility in North Carolina. When young he went about his studies, which involved the mysteries of the universe, with diligence and ardor. He found logarithmic spirals in snail shells. In spider's webs he analysed proportion and in leaves asymmetrical balance.

Then one night he was passing by a window he realized there was a whole world on the other side! He immediately found a crack through which he flew, the wind rustling his antennae. He flew through a garden and counted the leaves on lilies, buttercups and daisies. He studied Fibonacci's sequence in sunflowers. He was dazzled when he came upon a porch light. This was his first lightbulb!

While he sat on a buttercup, after being slightly frazzled by the heat of the lightbulb, he looked up to the sky and beheld the moon. Possibly because he was still bedazzled, or because the moon opened itself to him in a way hitherto unseen by other creatures, the moth found to his surprise fractals in more colors than we can imagine emanating from deep within the moon's glow. So far beyond the glow of the bulb, the moon held everything—every color, every pattern, every secret.

The once serious moth mustered up his courage, and decided he was going to fly to the moon to find what he knew were answers to all of his questions. He strove upward, following the guiding spiral of light emitted by the moon.

The Four Winds:

He was blown sideways by the South Wind, the gentlest of the winds. "You are not going to make it," the wind blew. "You are too unskilled."
"I will learn as I rise," the moth replied, with a determined set of his proboscis.

He rose again and was blown sideways by the East Wind. "You are too small," said the East Wind.
"I am as big as my wings can carry, and I will make it to the moon," he replied.

He flew skyward again, a look of fierce determination on his fuzzy face. He was once again blown sideways by the West Wind. "You are too feeble," said the West Wind, with a concerned wisp.
"I am as strong as my will, which is made of iron," he asserted while his wings drummed a marching beat. "I will reach the moon."

Again he flew straight up, and found himself blown sideways by the ferocious North Wind. "You are too insignificant," said the North Wind, with a terrifying blow.
The moth flapped his gorgeous wings and stated back, "I am as important as you are, and I will make it to the moon."

He set off again, undeterred. "I am glorious, and I will rise," he said to the universe, and flapped and flapped and flapped. He flew so high he began to get dizzy from lack of oxygen. Still, he kept going, the fractals drawing him in an unending spiral until he passed out from anoxemia.

In his stupor he was visited by the goddess of the moon. "All of the answers are within you, little moth. Just as they are in me, in everything. You don't need me to solve the world, because you are solving it yourself with every breath," the moon instructed as her face exploded into a dandelion puff.

The moth woke falling toward the earth at an incredible speed. His limbs were limp and his wings unresponsive. The four winds blew, one after another, keeping him safe from the impending ground. They kept him aloft, and he drifted in wider and wider circles, until he became part of a swirl of leaves gently floating to the earth.

"I can't believe it," said the North Wind.
"What a moth," said the West Wind.
"With such a will," said the East Wind.
"Strong as iron, with wings of gold and pearl, a moth of such grandeur we've been lucky to meet," said the South Wind.

As the moth listened to their praise, he marvelled. "What happened?" he asked.
"You made it to the moon," the East Wind replied.
"We are sorry to have doubted you," said the West Wind.

The moth rose up and stretched out his wings. At the tip of each wing was now a silver crescent, glittering in the moonlight.

The moth folded his newly enhanced wings and curled up for a well-deserved sleep, watched over by the moon, the four winds, the flowers, snails and spiders.

Join Our Movement

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