Earlier in August, the UK’s Sunday Times published a long look at garment manufacturing in Lesotho… and it was pretty scary. The scariest part? That this is where Gap’s Product Red is manufactured, initiated by Bono with the best of intentions, and yet so many adverse effects have gone on outside the factories. It’s a [...]
Here’s a shoe I wanted to be excited about: zoe & zac, the green line Payless Shoes released last month. But no, these shoes weren’t designed for me. My first impression was that they were designed for mainstream appeal, and I could get behind that, but wait — even collectively, we have better taste than [...]
Today in the Star, Jenee Osterheldt wrote a column about fashion as a sign of the times — that spring styles are increasingly comfortable and increasingly “classic.” She called me last week for my thoughts…
Janette Crawford, the blogger behind www.fashionlovespeople.com, says people are repurposing the clothes they already have, and when they buy, they get [...]
I saw this twice this week and liked it for some reason — masking tape to hang stuff up. It’s not permanent or pretty, but it’s temporary and cute. And sometimes that’s okay.
Top image via A History of Architecture via Le Bouton Studio.
Bottom image via ellybeth on Flickr.
Not to belabor the point, but. Coolhunter spotlighted Lego accents yesterday.
Iconic retro brands possess strong currency right now. The latest hails not from the annals of fashion or apparel but from the world of toys – we’re talking about LEGO, the multi-colored building bricks that we all grew up with. While LEGO is still one [...]
I’m thinking very hard right now. The NY Times’ amazing Nicholas Kristof published an op-ed piece Wednesday, Where Sweatshops are a Dream, that makes the reasons for supporting overseas manufacturing — even sweatshops — painfully clear. Most notably, because the alternatives to factory jobs are much, much worse.
As an ethical fashion advocate, I don’t ask [...]
Apparently it’s pure science, friends. A “perception expert” in the UK reports findings that horizontal stripes are more slimming than vertical. “Horizontal stripes don’t make you look fat. The one wearing the vertical stripes (as compared in the study) looks wider than the one wearing the horizontal stripes. Horizontal stripes, if anything, make you look [...]
Polyvore is beautiful and magical. Choose from separates and accessories to create perfect outfits. Even text and textures to make art! (I may or may not be working on a mumu haiku.) You’ll LOVE it. (Almost as much as I would love to receive these Minnetonka fringe boots for my birthday. Size 8.)
This year’s MAGIC tradeshow in Las Vegas — where fashion buyers connect with sellers from around the globe — introduced its first show devoted to all eco-conscience brands, Ecollection. Just doing their part to get socially responsible in front of the world’s fashion stockers… mad props. Follow a nice day-by-day report at Inhabitat.
The name “ecollection” [...]
In a sneak peek behind Prairie Underground’s inner workings, the excellently conscientious online boutique Fashion Ethic posted a pic of how they received the brand’s latest shipment. In a reused cardboard box!
Prairie Underground’s fall 2008 line (shown above) is now available.
Quoting The New York Times via Daring Fireball:
“Switching to wine in a box for the 97 percent of wines that are made to be consumed within a year would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about two million tons, or the equivalent of retiring 400,000 cars.”
I’m convinced… and it didn’t take me long to find box [...]
Yesterday, I heard two exciting reports about manufacturing that is bucking the globalization trend. You could call it the silver lining to high energy costs and the weak dollar.
From NPR’s report on Superior Products Inc., which produces gas fittings in Cleveland:
“When we go overseas now, a dollar-denominated price is something much more competitive — if [...]
You’ve felt it coming on for a while now — it’s a DIY day! A trip to your local craft store, and voila, you’re so in. Shop for any combination of:
+ Leather cord
+ Suede strips
+ Feathers (for the wing clusters, this may take a trip to an antique mall)
+ Seed beads / Metal beads [...]
Clothing with a second life. Entering a resale shop knowing exactly what size you wear. Thrift prices for your favorite brand. Um, what’s not to love about this concept?
Swedish brand Filippa K has recently opened its own secondhand store, selling exclusively lightly used clothes and accessories of its own brand. Founder Filippa Knuttson says the [...]
Leanne Marshall, one of our favorite Portland designers, is trying her skills on Project Runway this season! In her handmade line, Leanimal, she has increasingly used hemp, bamboo and organic cotton materials. We’ll see whether her eco-friendly influence shines through — which may depend more on this season’s featured fabric shop than on her. Here’s [...]
