The story of Suno is the kind that makes me so happy. Designer Max Osterweis, whose “real” day job is as a screenwriter and film director in San Francisco, has been collecting traditional East African textiles for more than a decade.

With the objective of bringing work to local factories in the struggling Nairobi, Kenya, he commissioned about a thousand pieces to factories that specialize in hotel uniforms.

“Ultimately I’d like to have a full collection, if we can give people jobs and raise the skill level there,” Osterweis says.

Suno is available at Opening Ceremony, though unfortunately not in the shop’s new online store. They range from about $100 to $600, determined in part by the rarity of the print.

Via NYTimes Fashion & Style, with more info there and at The Pipeline.

Which may be why I keep looking at Boy by Band of Outsiders’s Spring 2009 line. I could keep scrolling, scrolling, scrolling through these outfits… Not to mention Kirsten Dunst!

I’ve done a bit of research, but I can’t vouch for any notable humanitarian or environmental efforts made by Band of Outsiders or designer Scott Sternberg. Not to worry — there MAY be a “how I’ll be recreating this look” post coming right up.

While I’m sitting at my desk looking forward to Project Runway tonight, I wanted to throw this up if you hadn’t seen it — Leanne’s winning design from two weeks ago is available on the Diane Von Furstenburg website. It’s beautiful! And I don’t know about the specifics of this dress, but DVF does have some green cred.

Speaking of this American Express-sponsored challenge, the show has been SO sponsored this season (first Saturn, then this) — and it’s moving to Lifetime next season to follow a better offer. Lifetime! Hm.

Marice, $113

Dotty, $99.99 on sale

Frances, $39.98 on sale (Deal of the day!)

Vicky, $174

Fay, $82.99 on sale (In black, $49.97 on sale)

Violet, $175

Other beautiful styles are available at Zappos, Piperlime, Amazon and other big online shoe players.

It’s not just Barry — Michelle Obama is looking HOT these days! Thanks to an entry from Kim at PaperMag.com for taking note of the first lady’s increasingly designer closet (making yet another likeness between Barack and JFK). But don’t expect Michelle to give up affordable wares; the $99 White House Black Market dress she wore on The View this week sold out everywhere immediately following. Without more info, I can’t write about the social responsibility (or lack thereof) of WHBM; the point of this post is this: Michelle, in all your intelligence and class, remember that your wardrobe can make not only a fashion statement but a political statement as well. Pound it!

Photo from Ebony magazine.

Rachel Comey dress, $410 $307

She Bible pantsuit, $154 $115

Linda Loudermilk dress, $460 $345

Prairie Underground jacket, $230 $172

Myth & Ritual skirt, $245 $183; dress, $345 $258

Moicun tie-front dress (handmade; various patterns available seasonally), $285 $213

Oh, to live in London! The newest reason (of countless) being that I could do the second-annual Visa Swap this summer. (And no, these words are not sponsored.) Beginning June 21 Londoners can take their unused high-fashion clothing to a temporary shop in Covent Garden where the value of the clothes will be credited in points to a Visa card. The more unique, the more points. Then everyone shops together during the weekend of July 19, where they spend their points on each others’ clothes.

Any leftover items will be donated to TRAID, a UK charity that raises money for overseas development projects by reselling used goods, while also advocating for clothing recycling and educating people on environmental and poverty issues.

Yay for Visa Europe, yay for the wonderful TRAID and yay for all the fantastic swapping going around! From SF to Kansas City to NYC to the UK (a hundred times over), search yours out or start your own.

Cue Alex Steffen: “We can’t buy our way to a greener tomorrow.” Right on… and besides all that, bartered clothes are the most satisfying, I swear.

Note: In many circles, the lede of the Visa Swap story is that Lindsey Lohan has signed as this year’s covergirl and shots of her in vintage (fully clothed, fully clothed) will be released in June. I guess freckles are here to stay.

Via WWD.

I sat down today to create a “Get this look” entry — to snag a sweet runway or on-the-street outfit and find some socially-friendly pieces to recreate it, but then I flipped through the Mon Petit Oiseau spring collection, and my work was done. No need to search out anyone else’s styling — these looks are gorgeous. (Who is this model and, more importantly, who cuts her hair? Seriously, call me.)

Designer Tracy Wilkinson, who lives in LA but hails from the UK, worked for companies like Banana and J.Crew for almost 20 years before starting her own house. Working with overseas factories for that long turned her off to the corporate process, so her own pieces are made in California, and many in the spring line are made of organic cotton.

UPDATE: How did I forget to tell you where to buy these sweet wares? Check out online shopping at Goldyn and Tobi, and bricks-and-morter stores on the site’s Stores listing page.

Via the ever-useful Eco Chick.

The pieces are ethically made of the brand’s proprietary blends: bamboo/organic cotton jersey, bamboo/cashmere/silk and hemp/silk.

And a Fall 08 sneak peek, as shown on an off-London Fashion Week runway…

Via Eco-Chick.

$1+: iTunes gift cards

No jewel cases or cross-country transportation required. (On the receiving end, I plan to immediately purchase Cat Power: The Greatest, Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Fever to Tell, Blonde Redhead: Misery is a Butterfly and Beruit: The Flying Club Cup.)

$1+: Not for Sale

Give some, get some! For a $50 donation, NFS will thank you with a signed copy of David Batstone’s Not For Sale book. For $75, the signed book and a gray NFS T-shirt. For $100, the signed book and a NFS soccer ball, and for $250, all of the above plus the NFS tee designed by Edun. (Bono is everywhere!)

$30: American Apparel Mustard Flared Skirt

Multi-seasonal AND multi-carry-all.

$34: American Apparel Cobalt Shiny Nylon Tricot Legging

Takes said multi-seasonal skirt from summer to winter.

$55: Jonathan Adler Bird Bowl

My favorite designer’s “happy chic” homewares are handmade with love in Peru.

$86: Leanimal Nadene dress

The fact that there’s just ONE lone article of each design on Leanimal’s Etsy store makes them that much more covetable.

$75 – $165: Matt&Nat

Take your pick! Each vegan-made Matt&Nat bag is printed with and emits the ideals of the brand’s Positivity Message:“choose life, choose positivity, choose the golden rule, choose to be at peace with yourself, choose salvation, scegliete di vare una differenza, choose to make a difference, choisissez de faire une difference, choose to be different, choose to be a rebel, choose to be funky, choose to be yourself, choose to create a fashion statement” $200: Sling&Stones at Self Edge

“For those that take everything into consideration, we present to you Sling & Stones.” The brand’s certified organic Supima denim is loomed in a small production denim mill in Okayama, Japan, and its pocket bags and binding fabric use certified fair trade, organic, hand picked Tanguis cotton from Peru. And if that weren’t luxury enough, S&S’s rivets, buttons and embroidery thread are all plated with 24 kt gold! Read more about the company and its affiliates at the sweetly-named Good Society.

$224: Nau sweater

If you haven’t already, check out the Nau website. This is a company that DOES want you to know everything about where their stuff comes from, down to where each garment’s fabric came from and production happened. In their stores, product info tags spill all.

$348: Emily Katz dress/jacket at Beklina

If anyone wants to splurge on me… thank you, Emily Katz, for providing an outlet. Always girly, beautiful and effortlessly feel-good.Happy giving!