If you’ve been following along, you know that I’ve really leaned into loungewear during the pandemic. Today I’m reviewing a lounge set that TAMGA Designs sent to me. TAMGA Designs is a Canadian brand that proves sustainable clothing doesn’t have to be minimalist and neutral. Their clothes give off feminine boho vibes with bright floral prints, ruffles, and high skirt slits.

My style leans towards the minimalist, so to be honest, most of TAMGA Design’s cuts and prints are not for me. But there are a few prints that spoke to me. When TAMGA Designs asked me to pick out something to try, I gravitated towards the Zahara Lounge Set and its more tropical prints.

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This post contains affiliate links as well as gifted items from TAMGA Designs. If you shop through my links, I may earn a commission. As always, all opinions are my own and I only write about items I’m interested in. Thanks for supporting Welcome Objects!

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Sizing & Materials

Fabric: I ordered the Iris colorway, which reads as a red-orange to me on the site. But in person, it’s a more muted color with a bit of brown to it.

The fabric for the lounge set feels lightweight and smooth, like a light cotton.

The fabric is Lenzing EcoVero, which is a brand name viscose. Viscose is a type of rayon that comes out of dissolving tree pulp (with the help of chemicals), forcing the solution through a machine called a spinneret to create filaments, and then spinning those into yarn. While the raw material comes from plants, the process to create fibers can be super polluting.

Lenzing EcoVero uses wood from responsibly managed forests. Lenzing says the process for creating EcoVero generates 50% lower emissions and water impact compared to generic viscose.

The fabric for the lounge set feels lightweight and smooth, like a light cotton. It’s perfect for warmer days. The dyes in it are also eco-certified. So far, it looks great after washing. I washed in cold water and line dried.

Where It’s Made: Ethically made in Bali.

Sizing & Fit: Here’s a 5′ 9″ model with a 32″ bust and 25.5″ waist wearing a size small in a different colorway.

And here’s 5’4 me with a similar bust, but a larger waist wearing medium.

I’m happy to report that the shorts have pockets, and not puny pockets either.

Sizing is available in XS to XXL. In most brands I wear a small, sometimes an XS, but after scrutinizing the garment measurements, I decided to size up to a medium in this set because the shorts run a little small in the waist. In medium, the shorts have a 26.7″ waist (unstretched). I feel this was the right decision for me, even if it meant the matching shirt was a little big as it already has an oversized fit. (The medium shirt has a 43.3″ bust.) But since I intended to sleep and lounge around in these, I don’t mind the shirt being loose.

I’m happy to report that the shorts have pockets, and not puny pockets either.

Styling the Zahara Lounge Set

I fully intend to wear these at home as pajamas. BUT, if I wanted to venture out in them, I could get away with it. Tucking in the shirt makes things a little more polished.

This look is giving me flashback to the ’90s when my mom wore matching sets like this. Except hers were not as flattering. (Sorry, mom!).

You can also style the pieces as separates.

Environmental & Cultural Considerations

This is my first time trying TAMGA Designs, and so far I’m happy with the quality and feel of the fabric. That the clothes shipped in a plant-based compostable mailer bag also impressed me. While I’ve seen brands used recycled plastic bags, this is the first brand I’ve encountered that used a compostable mailer.

TAMGA Designs also partners with Canopy Style and the Sumatran Orangutan Society to preserve the rainforests in Indonesia, the country where it manufactures its clothes.

Kimono is not just a generic word for robe-like garments. It refers to something specific.

I’d like to see this thoughtfulness to the environment extend to culture as well. Several of TAMGA Designs’ items are called “kimono.” But as educator and sustainable fashion advocate Emi Ito writes in her article “My Kimono is Not Your Couture,” kimono is not just a generic word for robe-like garments. It refers to something specific, and throwing the word around to describe all sorts of clothes is appropriative and orientalist.

“Contrary to what Orientalist art and contemporary brands might have you believe, kimonos are not just clothes,” Emi writes. “They are garments worn for celebrations, sacred ceremonies, and life’s milestones. They are part of our family stories, which for some of us, are the stories of what was left behind and the people who are no longer with us.”

I passed along a link to Emi’s article through the affiliate marketing firm that TAMGA Designs works with. Maybe they don’t know about the history and meaning of the word. I suggested that they rename their items labeled “kimono” and hope that they do. At the time of this writing, they haven’t changed them.