Fashionably FIT Survey

When Sophie at SportsShoes offered a pair of trainers for me to try out as part of  the 'Fashionably FIT' survey, I jumped at the chance. I was in an accident over the summer where I badly broke my leg, so it came at a time where I was learning to walk again and now where I am learning to run. 

Now, all this came about because Jan Moir (of Daily Mail fame) wrote an article slagging Katherine Jenkins for wearing make up during the London Marathon. Katherine Jenkins responded to this saying that she wasn't wearing make up, but for me this is not the point. What right does Jan Moir have to put her down if she was? This should be a personal choice and we should not be judged on this. 

Make up and fashion within sport is no bad thing; it can be used as a form of expression as with the Swedish athletes: Emma Green Tregaro and Mao Hjelmer who wore rainbow nail polish in protest of Russia's laws banning "gay propaganda".

 On to the shoes... they sent me a lovely pair of New Balance WR10V2 running shoes, which are probably the most beautiful pair of trainers I have ever seen. I don't know much about shoe science but these are barefoot/minimalist running shoes, they are ridiculously comfortable and really helped me to correct my walking. They are also, of course, non-leather and animal-free. The first few days I did not want to take them off and they have become a fixture, not just for sport but for everyday wear. 

Slow Fashion Revolution

I'm probably being a bit 'slow' on the up-take, but being in Australia and trying your best to avoid technology does that to a girl, but it seems like there is a slow fashion revolution in out midst.

First hearing of it on one of my favourite online magazines, Ms Wanda's that Vivienne Westwood had declared that we should all: "Buy less, choose well, make it last". I support her and I urge that you should too!

This quote is to the core of my beliefs when it comes to all possessions, but particularly when it comes to fashion! I am a huge lover and believer of the Capsule Wardrobe, despite the fact that my plans have been put on holt due to travelling, and this definitely follows this ethos of having less, of better quality.

Will you pledge to the Slow Fashion Revolution?

Ethical Brand: Muji

Muji is a great place where I have only just recently started shopping. Muji have a very simple and straightforward philosophy, which really resonates with me! Making great practical products for all of life's needs from clothing to furniture.

MUJI is not a brand. MUJI does not make products of individuality or fashion, nor does MUJI reflect the popularity of its name in its prices. MUJI creates products with a view toward global consumption of the future. This means that we do not create products that lure customers into believing that “this is best” or “I must have this.” We would like our customers to feel the rational sense of satisfaction that comes not with “This is best,” but with “this is enough.”. “Best” becomes “enough”.

I love this message- of non consumerism- which is unlike so many brands on the high street! It really embraces how I feel of wanting to strip down to the basics and live a simple life, rather than being surround by unnecessary luxury possessions. So many of us, me included, mistake what they actually need with what they want. This is a message which we could all take on board!

Reused Yarn Top

Cotton Scoop Neck Dress

Luva Huva

I have just discovered ethical British brand Luva Huva and I love it! I have previously spoke about different ethical underwear brands and spoke of the difficulties of finding practical yet beautiful underwear. However this brand definitely seem to fit the bill!

Luva Huva are a British underwear brand which have great underwear and lingerie made from organic cotton and bamboo. I think it is great that brands want to bring together ethics, using the sustainable fabrics, but also to make it beautiful and to fit the needs of really women.

I also love these photos on the beach, they are so cute and quintessentially British!

At the moment Luva Huva have a Summer Sale on, so go check out what they have and grab a bargain! If you spend over £50 you get free shipping.

Graduation!!

I am going to graduate soon and I am very very excited!! I have been at the University of York for 3 years and I thought it would seem like such a long time but it's flown by. I'm actually a little bit sad to be giving up the student life! 

Anyway, I have my graduation outfit picked out and I will post photo's of my graduation next week. Until then though, I thought I'd show you some ethical formal wear items, which would be perfect to wear under your cap and gown!

Ethical Graduation by zoevgirl featuring a black jacket

Ethical Brand: Bourgeois Boheme

Bourgeois Boheme, affectionately known as 'BoBo', has been a favourite shoe and accessory brand of mine for many years. They produce and sell beautiful vegan shoes and accessories of their own design and vegan offerings from other designers such as Marco Tozzi and Melissa for both men and women. 

Over the years I have had some beautiful shoes from them including a gorgeous pair of sandals which have now sadly died and a great pair of tan cut out style brogues, which are still a firm favourite in my shoe collection. Personally the reason I love this brand so much is because of the good quality vegan shoes on offer in beautiful contemporary designs. You do not have to comprise with this brand and opt for plastic nice looking shoes that do not feel good or on the other side practical vegan shoes which just do not look good. I like brands that allow my ethics and principles to go hand in hand with style and fashion.

Definitely a brand to keep an eye out for and buy a pair of vegan shoes from!!

Ethical Beach Wardrobe

I'm not usually a huge fan of package holidays and where possible, I like to take green and eco travel options into consideration, but I am soon going on a short girly beach break to Lanzarote with my friend, L. I am really looking forward to some time to relax and unwind, while catching some sun and having a girly giggle. I am going to be packing colourfully, as well as ethically, so that it really feels like summer!

My Dream (ETHICAL) Beach Break Wardrobe:

Polyvore

Clockwise from left: Komodo Sugar Dress - Fair + True Print Vest - Anna McD Bird Cuff - People Tree Rainbow Necklace - Vivienne Westwood Lightning Shopper - ReLuxe Tropical Print Shorts - American Apparel Malibu Swimsuit - Fair + True Vegan Sandals - People Tree Teja Necklace

Capsule Wardrobe

Capsule Wardrobe: a set of clothing which can be mixed and matched to create a wide variety of outfits

Clothing Chaos

The concept of a capsule wardrobe is one that has interested me for a while now because of the many benefits that occur from dressing this way. After putting a capsule wardrobe together, the amount spent on clothes is very low, things are replaced when they are worn and only a few special items bought each year. Everything in your wardrobe works together, so no more clothes that never get worn! The benefits for the environment are great, because of purchasing less clothes, but even greater if the items in your capsule wardrobe are also ethical. And by having less good quality items, that fit together to make so many outfit combinations, you are guaranteed to always look stylish!

As I want to lighten my load, live more ethical but also stay stylish, it's become clear that this is the way that I would like to go. I want a wardrobe that works hard, gets me through every season and is timeless, stylish regardless of current trends! However, it has also left me wondering, how will this work for me? And how many items should I have in my capsule wardrobe? I decide to do a little bit of capsule wardrobe research to give me some ideas...

Mary Porta's talks of the three most important items for a woman's wardrobe: a 'wear-anywhere' dress, a beautiful pair of trousers and a great shoe. Great key items for a capsule wardrobe, but you'd obviously need to build on this.

Susie Faux invented the term 'capsule wardrobe' in the 70's. Her blog Confidence Tricks has great ideas for the modern capsule wardrobe. Susie's capsule wardrobe consists of 2 pairs of trousers, a dress or a skirt, a jacket, a coat, a knit, two pairs of shoes and two bags. My stomach turns when I think of this few clothes. I would not cope! So I look for a capsule wardrobe with more clothes...

In a great article for Red Magazine (which actually sparked my interest in the capsule wardrobe), Anna Berkeley wrote of 38 items for your capsule wardrobe which would result in over 400 outfit choices. This consists of: 4 coats, 2 jackets, 6 dresses, 4 tees, 2 knits, 3 tops, 3 shirts, 4 pairs of jeans, 5 pairs of trousers, 3 skirts & 2 shorts. For me this would be a bit bottom heavy, I'd prefer more tops, and I'm not sure if 38 would even be enough clothes for me...

My reading about capsule wardrobes start to get like maths. I read somewhere else that 15 items can make over 50 outfit combinations. And I'm not sure if any of the capsule wardrobes I'm reading about would suit me and my needs. So I go to one of my favourite books for inspiration: Green is the New Black by Tamsin Blanchard. Her idea of the capsule wardrobe is not prescriptive, it just gives ideas of what can be/should be included, so you can work it out yourself (without going too mad on the amount of clothes). In fact, she talks of having 41 dresses in hers (although she doesn't condone this), which makes me far less worried for thinking that 38 items is too few.

This article over at Ethics Girls, has also been a great help to me!!

So I guess I will just have to work out my (ethical) capsule wardrobe myself... More to follow!!

Another wardrobe example. My friend L's three rails of clothes! However, much tidier than mine! 

Why I personally wont shop at Arcadia Stores

The Arcadia Group, known for such shops as Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridges, BHS, Burton, Evans and Wallis. These are the shops that dominate the British high street. But there is something that doesn't sit right with me about them... and that's tax avoidance.

Each year the majority owner of the Arcadia Group, Philip Green avoids hundreds of millions of pounds in tax, which he would have to pay if the company wasn't in the name of his wife who is a Monaco resident. At the same time the public sector, including Education and Health are having to make huge spending cuts to save the country money.

I don't doubt that the Arcadia Group are going some way to look at recycling and their impact on the environment which they talk about here, I can't help but feel that this is a gimmick and that maybe the issues they take in consideration are the ones that benefit them financially. Especially when they are repeatedly accused of using sweatshops to produce their clothing.

Another thing that doesn't sit right with me is that the government does nothing to stop this and is happy to take from the public sector when a lot more money could be added to the economy from the UK's richest. I fail to believe David Cameron saying that 'we're all in this together' in regard to the UK debt crisis, when clearly not all of us are.

I am not going to pretend I am hot on politics, my views may be considered naively constructed; and I also realise that the Arcadia Group is not the only issue when it comes to tax avoidance in Britain, but I can't help but feel that putting money into the pocket of these household name stores is completely corrupt. I personally feel by adding to their profits I am part of the problem and it questions my whole value base.

Ethical Brand: Brat & Suzie

Ethical Credentials: factories used to produce garments are part of the Fair Wear Foundation. The designs are then hand printed in the UK. Also, they are looking into producing an organic cotton range.

When I first stumbled across Brat & Suzie they were producing the beautiful t-shirts and vest tops with the cutest animal prints on them. They still do these, which I absolutely adore, but it seems that Brat & Suzie are expanding, now with a range of Men's T-Shirts and Dresses.

There designs are fun and wearable, that could work for so many occassions! They are guarnteed to stand out and attract compliments!

Until now, despite knowing about Brat & Suzie for a little while, I hadn't bought anything. Not because it isn't brilliant, but because of budget constraints (girl needs food over clothes) and also I have been having a lot of trouble picking out my favourite design as they are all so brilliant!

But for me, after visiting the Museum of Natural History in New York, it's all about Dinosuars! So I have got to go with the T-Rex T-Shirt! It's on order and I am so excited for it to arrive! I have so many outfit combinations in my head that this tee could go with.

You can find out more about Brat & Suzie on the About Us section of their website.

Swishing, Borrowing, Preloved & Vintage

Rokit

Swishing, Borrowing, Preloved, Vintage... all eco-friendly because of a similar principle: reducing your carbon footprint and reducing waste!

By buying preloved (second hand) or vintage, you are literally halving, or perhaps even more, the effect the item would have on your carbon footprint new.

Oxfam

You are doing the same by Swishing (as well as getting new items for free) and you are giving another life to clothes which may have ended up in the bin.

Borrowing is a similiar principle and just makes good sense! I often borrow formal dresses and share mine out to friends. Otherwise you can end up buying so many dresses that you only wear once!

Ever since I have started embracing these four options it has really changed things for me. I have more options of what to wear and I make great savings from buying preloved. I really love going into charity shops, they are full of hidden treasures if you're willing to hunt and look through the racks full of clothes, or alternatively at Oxfam online.

What is your favourite second hand treaure?

Ethical Underwear

Ethical underwear is not an area I have been comfortable dipping my toe yet. Luckily, I had collected a fine amount of underwear before going completely ethical at the start of 2011, but soon the time will come when I have to face the challenge of buying ethical underwear and I have to say I am really worried. I am worried about the bras, how supportive they are, prettiness and sizing. I am worried that their wont be a lot of pretty lace knickers, in a variety of colours for me to be able to buy. I basically, have no clue if ethical will be able to satisfy my underwear needs, so a bit of research is in order. (this research includes bra and pants, I don't include vests as underwear as I would wear it as clothing or sleepwear, there are loads of ethical vest tops on the market)

Greenfibres (left) is a brand I have heard of much before who make clothing, underwear and hosiery out of organic and sustainable fibres. They do a range of basic underwear, which looks quite practical. However, they don't help my ethical underwear phobia, as with the exception of the bra to the left, which I would stock as a basic/practical underwear, I personally don't find them attractive, and they don't stock this is a 32...

People Tree (right) are one of my go to ethical brands, I trust them to provide what I need. They do a jersey bra and matching knickers in 3 different colours. They aren't spectacular but they are good enough to be practical underwear. I still want something more beautiful, pretty, the sort of underwear that makes you feel good about yourself. 

Ciel (left) are one brand who has me rather more excited. They don't have a huge range, but stock some pretty separates, including their Organic Cotton Cache Coeur Bra which comes in a range of colours. What has me most excited are their Liberty Print Pants, they are amazing, making a great gift or knickers for best.

Enamore (right) are a brand who do very sexy burlesque style underwear. They are so very beautiful and made from sustainable materials. They also do a great bridal underwear collection.

Sandmaiden (left) make gorgeous underwear with cute designs and sexy ones! They are handmade to order, so they are made for you and should be the perfect fit.

Other Brands...

• Pants to Poverty make absolutely great pants/knickers!!
• Life's Not Fair... for knickers
• Patagonia also for knickers
• MajoRey for the cutest and sexiest panties
• Bliss Ecowear for practical bra's and pants
• American Apparel for knickers and bra's - very large range
• Great knickers and men's boxers from Greenknickers
• Hopeless Lingerie does fantastic, sexy, bra and knickers
• On The Inside Lingerie stocks beautiful bras and knickers, made to your specific measurements

Although I am still a little worried, I think their are some great ethical underwear brands out there and when it comes to facing the challenge of underwear I feel more prepared. I would love to see more mainstream ethical bra brands in stores, so you could be fitted for the bra and more padded/formed cup styles. Do you know of any other ethical underwear brands? Or are there any brands here you think you'll try?

Ethical Brand: Ascension

Ascension's Ethical Credentials: their clothes are fairly and ethically produced and they strive to use organic material where possible. Read more about their ethical vision here.

Ascension is a brand I bought from around a year ago, when I bought a couple of pairs of jeans. They sell loads of different clothing, for women, men and children, as well as stocking other ethical brands. What I most like Ascension for though is their really reasonably priced, very attractive organic and fairly made jeans. I have two pairs of jeans from Ascension, a beautiful flared pair which I regret no longer fit and will have to be sold on soon and a pair of smart skinny ones. I love their jeans so much, I am thinking of purchasing one of the pairs picture above, I especially like the ones in the middle which would be good to dress up and I prefer a straight legged or skinny style.

Cat Love

 I have in this past week moved from York, where I go to uni, back to my parents in Derby, so I can sort out where I am going to be after the summer. It has been such a great weekend, so lovely and sunny! I love nothing more than lazing on the patio, reading and playing with my cats. I am a huge cat lover and I am drawn to clothes and jewellery which are cat inspired, which is why I love this top/dress so much.

 Top: American Apparel, Shorts: pre-2011 High Street, Sandals: pre-2011 High Street.

We got our cats from the Cats Protection League. There are so many unwanted animals in the world, so we usually get rescue animals and give them a good home. Maggie, above, is so small and cute and she loves sitting for a fuss when I read and Oscar, below, is a hefty cat who still thinks he is a kitten and gets covered in gross old leaves and bugs.

What do you love to do in the summer? More posts to come now that I have unpacked my camera and laptop!!

Ethical Brand: howies

howies ethical credentials: produce eco-friendly clothing and use mainly organic cotton. Read more about their beliefs.

howies (with a small h) are a fantastic brand producing cute outdoorsy clothes. They aim to produce clothes with a lower impact on the environment and although they do not claim to be fair trade, they offer complete transparency about where their clothing is produced. They also use a lot of organic cotton as well as recycled materials. They also have two shops, one in London and the other in Cardigan, if you want to pop in and have a look!

I am a huge fan of howies after I visit their London store last year and picked up some great things (blurry picture below). They sell practical and pretty clothes and I have got a lot of use out of the shirt, trousers and shorts I bought there. I have since then also bought a pair of trousers for walking online, and although they aren't very glamorous, they are great!



howies is definitely worth knowing about and you have great peace of mind when shopping here because of the great quality, low impact and transparent production.

An evening in Leeds

Yesterday afternoon/evening, my friend, L and I went to Leeds for shopping, Wagamama and to see John Ford's play 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore. It was such a wonderful evening and the play, which I hadn't read or seen before, was amazing! Very dramatic and tragic.

L took some snaps of me in Millennium Square when we went for a drink, today's outfit is particularly ethical and it got me thinking that I am going to make sure that all my outfits have at least one ethical piece I can talk about in these posts and avoid outfits that are all high street, which I bought before this year.

My shoes and sunglasses are both purchases I made on the high street before 2011. My shirt is from Howies, they have a shop in London and they sell wonderful clothes made out of organic cotton. My skirt is one my favourite things to wear! It's from American Apparel. I love how swishy it is and how elegant in makes me feel. My belt is a simple one from Bourgeois Boheme, who do great vegan shoes and accessories. My tapestry bag is also one of my most treasured items, it's vintage.

As you may be able to very subtly see, in this windy photo above, I am wearing eyeshadow- very strange for me in the daytime when I usually just wear mascara and usually save eyeshadow and glitter pots for the evening. I got this eye palette from Marks & Spencer, it is BUAV approved and therefore cruelty free, for only £6. I am fairly impressed with it and the colours are so bright and beautiful for summer.

Ethical Brand: American Apparel

American Apparel's Ethical Credentials: produced ethically in their LA factory & also some organic cotton pieces

As you may know from some of my posts, I am a HUGE fan of American Apparel! They are great for basics: tights, tops, dresses; they always have loads of stuff that I want and they always have a lot of on trend things- which is great for my conversion to fashionable ethics.

Another thing I love about American Apparel is that they have shops, like everywhere! I love ethical fashion, but there isn't many opportunities to actually go into the shops and try stuff on, which is were American Apparel fills a gap.

What I want!

I love this double-layered chiffon skirt. I love the coral and also the cobalt, these will be my next purchases from American Apparel.

My American Apparel Stuff!

I also have a big range of tights and vest tops, but they aren't that interesting to show!

A lovely skirt which I don't wear enough. Reminds me of old English picnics.

Great jersey shorts, good for everyday summer wear and the beach.

 Another skirt I don't wear enough. I think I struggle with wearing skirts, I am working on it. I LOVE this one. Before this skirt I did not care for anything long and now I am smitten with long swishy things.



So what do you out there think of American Apparel? And would you buy from here over other places for your basics, knowing that it's produced ethically?