Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘sustainable fashions’

Shopping for Sustainable Fashions

Posted in Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on April 19, 2022| 3 Comments »

Vepublic in Walnut Creek Broadway Plaza

It’s Fashion Revolution Week! A good opportunity to rethink how we do fashion.

Earlier this year I stumbled upon Vepublic, a boutique in Walnut Creek. Stocking only sustainable clothing, Vepublic works with companies that make their fashions with methods as gentle on our planet as possible. This includes upcycled denim, jackets made from recycled bottles, shoes made from plant leathers, tops and bottoms made from organic materials. They keep in mind minimum water use, energy use, safe dyeing methods, zero waste.

Vepublic offers well-made basic pieces mostly in cotton and silk.

I bought a pair of cute socks from a company in Sweden called Swedish Stockings. Made with recycled yarn, the pink and yellow plaid design will be my go to for spring. Now, I know, there is the issue of shipping items across the globe and all the harm that causes, but we’re not going to find perfection. We can, however, at least stay conscious and try our best.

Read Full Post »

Fashionable Quote of the Week by Catherine Holstein

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Our ethos has always been about creating clothes that real women truly want to wear – revitalizing American classics to offer collectable pieces.

Catherine Holstein – American fashion designer and creative director of Khaite

Ms. Holstein was recently featured, among other up and coming American fashion designers, in Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

I like her idea of “collectable pieces.” I’m a collector and instead of buying more, I prefer to create new looks with what I already own. Since I create my own style, trends are not an issue. I’m more likely to weave in a trending color or accessory – for example hobo handbags are back and I just happen to already have one from years ago.

I’m concerned about the impact the fashion industry is having on our planet so I try to be careful about how much I buy.

Speaking of sustainable fashion, today kicks of Fashion Revolution Week, April 18-24, an annual event that recognizes the anniversary of the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, where 1,100, mostly women seamstresses, died and 2,500 people were injured. FRW is a movement that seeks to raise our awareness of what’s really going on in clothing/fashion industry.

From the Fashion Revolution website: Currently, there is a lack of understanding and appreciation of the true cost of clothing. Price tags fail to reflect the social and environmental cost of production, while as consumers, we don’t always care for our clothes in the way we should. We need to scrutinize what it is we’re really paying for. Throughout Fashion Revolution Week, we’ll educate and inspire our global community on the real value of what we buy and wear. 

Click here for more information.

.

Read Full Post »

Fashionable Quote of the Week by Jen Hewett

Posted in Arts, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The pleasure that I felt as a young adult when I’d shop for clothes at the mall has been replaced by the pleasure of selecting a pattern, choosing my fabric, and sewing a garment that fits perfectly. And the best thing about this process is that the pleasure is prolonged. I’m not engaging in a quick transaction. Rather, I’m spending days creating my clothing, enjoying the process as much as I enjoy wearing the finished garment.

Jen Hewett, Fabric designer and author of the book, The Long Thread: Women of Color on Craft Community and Connection.

This quote is from the book, Make Mend Thrift by Katrina Rudabaugh.

I completely agree with Ms. Hewett. I take great satisfaction from creating my own clothing and accessories. Every step from choosing the fabric to sewing on the last button is a pleasure. I take my time with every project (sewing only on the weekends as a special treat) and I enjoy looking forward to when and how I’ll wear my new skirt, dress, or what I’m working on now – summer handbag.

Read Full Post »

Fashionable Book Review: Make Thrift Mend by Katrina Rodabaugh

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 22, 2022| 1 Comment »

Fashion is having a moment. After years of binging on fast fashion the party is over and it’s time to find balance for the sake of our planet. For the sake of our future.

Katrina Rodabaugh’s book, Make Thrift Mend: Stitch, Patch, Darn, Plant-Dye, & Love Your Wardrobe (Abrams) speaks to this moment, offering guidance on how to make, mend, and care for the clothing we already own. She takes the reader step by step from pausing and really considering our clothing to sorting our closets and making choices on what to keep and what to pass along (and how).

Then the fun really begins with different chapters on: Sewing and altering clothes to reshape them into something new; Finding “new” clothing in thrift stores and personalizing them with a bit of natural dye; Mending! Ms. Rodabaugh (a Mills College alum) shows how to mend and this is not Grandma’s way. We learn how to turn a hole in a pair of jeans into an attractive embellishment. A rip in a woven shirt becomes an interesting patch. A beloved knit sweater will live again with colorful repairs.

Each chapter includes photos and an introduction to the concepts as well as commentary from various artists, designers, and authors who are part of the mending movement.

Making, thrifting, mending are the new trends in fashion. Pass it on.

Read Full Post »

A Conversation With Tyese Cooper

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2021| 5 Comments »

Several weeks ago a fashion colleague (and friend) of mine, Tyese Cooper contacted me and asked if she could interview me for her new blog post series. Of course I was happy to agree.

Based in Paris, Tyese is a sustainable fashion designer, business woman, and creative mentor/teacher. In her blog series, How to See, she talks to various artists and designers about creativity (I am honored to be included in this accomplished group).

On a certain day, Tyese and I successfully erased the time and miles between us by meeting on Zoom. Approaching the conversation in her own unique way, we began with the word start and what that word brings to mind. From there it was a wonderfully unexpected ride.

Click here to read my conversation with Tyese Cooper.

Read Full Post »

Fashionable Quote of the Week by Stephanie Benedetto

Posted in Fashion, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on December 10, 2018| Leave a Comment »

9baa7d28c628f14d175580c14bd74cddMaybe it means you buy one less T-shirt each year. Or maybe it means you buy one of higher quality because it lasts longer. Or you only buy vintage, recycled clothes from secondhand shops. All of the above works, and that’s the beauty of it. 

Stephanie Benedetto – co-founder and CEO of Queen of Raw.

This quote was taken from a Q&A with Mosaic magazine, November/December 2018.

Did you know that there are piles and piles of fabrics sitting in warehouses going unused? Brand designers sometimes overestimate how much fabric they need or a mill overproduces a particular fabric and voila –  we have fabric overload. On occasion these fabrics find their way to fabric shops but sadly, more often the fabric is burned or buried, according to the Queen of Raw website.

Queen of Raw offers unused textiles for sale that would otherwise be destroyed, giving them a second chance and us a greener way to go in fashion.

What a great idea for holiday shopping! Check it out here.

 

 

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Throw Back Thursday – The True Cost: A Documentary Film by Andrew Morgan

Posted in Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on May 25, 2017| 2 Comments »

TheTrueCost_Poster_2764x4096

(This was originally posted on May 20th, 2015. Let’s revisit!)

Have you ever wondered who made that T-shirt you’re sporting? Jacket? Jeans? Until recently I hadn’t, nor had the film director Andrew Morgan. Then in 2013, Mr. Morgan was reading in the New York Times about the Bangladesh factory collapse in Rana Plaza. Shocked and horrified to learn of the conditions those factory workers (and many others) endure, he began to ask some basic questions: Who makes my clothes? What are their lives like? Are they better off?

In his new film, The True Cost Mr. Morgan helps answer these questions by traveling the world and talking to people in the industry from designers such as Stella McCartney to workers in far away factories. He interviews professionals about the business of fashion, globalization, consumerism and the toll all of this must-have fashion is taking on our planet and the people who make our clothes.

Mr. Morgan insists that his film is not a guilt trip but an opportunity to “… open our eyes and hearts to this idea that there are hands, physical human hands that touch the things that we wear and those hands are lives and they matter …”

Click here to watch the trailer. (It just might change your approach to fashion.)

Read Full Post »

Fashionable Quote of the Week by Mike Schragger

Posted in Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Belgium-Honest-By-1

A lot of the resources that we use to make our clothing are not accounted for in the cost of producing those clothes. So, it has water that’s used to produce clothing, land that is used to grow the fiber, chemicals that are used to dye … those things all are inputs. As inputs they cost something and they also give outputs. In some cases good outputs – the clothing themselves, jobs. But in other cases bad outputs – harmful chemicals, greenhouse gas. And those things have costs as well. 

Mike Schragger, director Sustainable Fashion Academy

Have you ever considered what goes into your clothes? The natural resources? The labor? The skills?

There’s a trend among some in the fashion industry to take a closer look at our clothing and ask questions. Just like a few years ago when we asked about our food and where it comes from, we want to know:

  • Where are our clothes made?
  • Who made them?
  • What’s in the fabric?
  • What is the TRUE cost of our cheap clothes?

The UK based non-profit organization Fashion Revolution is sponsoring Fashion Revolution Week, April 24-30 to honor the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, in which 1138 workers died and many were injured. Also during this time people around the world are planning events to highlight the true cost of fashion and inspire us to think and question.

One of the many campaigns is #whomademyclothes? Sport a piece of clothing inside out so the label shows. Take a selfie holding a sign that says – Who Made My Clothes? Post on Instagram and Twitter with #whomademyclothes? Make sure to share with the brand you’re wearing.

Join Fashion Revolution! Click here for more information.

 

 

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Global Change Award: Help Reinvent Fashion

Posted in Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, tagged , , on March 29, 2017| 1 Comment »

HM-Global-Change

Image: Global Change Award.

Here’s your chance to vote and help reinvent fashion!

The non-profit H&M Foundation awards new technology ideas that help make fashion more sustainable. (The H&M Foundation was founded by the family behind the fast-fashion chain H&M.)

The Global Change Award is in its second year. Sorting through nearly 3000 submissions from 130 countries, a panel of judges chooses five winners. Then the public (YOU) is invited to vote. Each of the five is a winner but there’s a first place, second place and so on based on the number of votes. First place gets the biggest pot of money – $326,000.

All of the ideas are impressive: Manure couture, Solar textiles, Content thread, Grape leather, Denim-dyed denim.

For example: Solar textiles makes fashion fabric with water, plant waste, and sun. This fabric can replace oil-based nylon and other man-made fabrics, which create green houses gases.

You can read about each one, watch a short video, and vote your choice. It’s informative. It’s empowering. It’s fun! Tell your friends.

Voting is open now through April 2nd.

Click here and help reinvent fashion:  https://globalchangeaward.com/

Read Full Post »

Project Intermission: Fashion Experience In Paris With Tyese Cooper

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on February 1, 2017| 4 Comments »

img_1608_5593367248_o-moja

Stylist Tyese Cooper from Project Intermission.

When my fashion friend Tyese Cooper announced last summer that she was moving to Paris I was super excited for her. Then I found out what she was going to do and I was super impressed.

In December 2016 Tyese launched Project Intermission. Hey, what’s that?

Project Intermission is a Fashion Experience.

Read on:

Using her skills and talent as a stylist, Tyese consults with visitors to Paris who want to step-up their look or want to incorporate something different to their current style. It starts with a coaching session at a neighborhood cafe where discussions are about clothing and style, art, and the influence of French culture. Then it’s off to a gallery or a long walk – some space and a little time to open the mind and get inspired by the art, architecture, streets, and people of Paris.

Next, Tyese introduces her client to exclusive independent Parisian designers. In these ateliers (not boutiques but working studios) you get to meet the designers, see first hand how fashions are put together, and order a bespoke piece of clothing. Tyese says, “It’s special because once you have an insiders view of the ‘how’ of fashion, feel natural textiles, and customize what you want from each designer, you wont ever want to let it go to the landfill.”

(A key aspect to these designers handpicked by Tyese is that each one is committed to ethical and sustainable fashion, something that is important to her and a current movement in France.)

I think this is such a unique idea. Anyone can pick up a whatever from a corporate- branded boutique but Project Intermission offers a deeper fashion experience. It’s a chance to make a connection with French designers and French culture. In the end you have a story to tell and something special to add to your wardrobe.

Click here to find out more about Tyese and Project Intermission.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »