Seasalt Cornwall Striped Dress, a New Satchel and Some Thoughts on Organic Certifications

Posted on May 12, 2013 by admin

Tunic – Seasalt Cornwall
Leggings – People Tree
shoes – Melissa
Bag – My Green Bag

I have been admiring clothes from Seasalt Cornwall on style-is.co.uk for a while now, so when I got a bit of money for my birthday, I decided to invest in a striped tunic as stripes never go out of fashion and they are also really versatile. This tunic could be worn as a top with leggings or jeans or as a dress when the warmer weather finally arrives.

I was really pleased with the tunic and know I will wear it loads because it is so comfy and easy to wear. It is made from really soft certified organic cotton which is lovely and thick. The flattering cut also means it skims rather than clings which becomes ever more important the older I get. The high neck is also great for wearing with statement necklaces and definitely my favourite style for casual clothes. Seasalt Cornwall were the first UK company to use cotton certified by the Soil Association and they still use more than any other company in the UK they also clearly show their purchasing / ethical policy on their website. I feel really confident that Seasalt Cornwall clothing has been manufactured with respect for people and planet.

The bag was also a birthday treat and is from My Green Bag. The leather is a by product of the food industry and sourced in Bangladesh and Afghanistan where it is hand cut and sewn into bags. They are then hand polished in the UK using natural substances. It states on the website that the leather is ‘organic’. I am struggling a little to understand how it can be classed as organic. To me organic means that the animals were reared organically and the leather tanned using organic vegetable substances and also that there is some sort of organic certification to prove this. As far as I can see there is no guarantees of how the leather is tanned though or how the animals are reared as there is no certification. I was told when I asked by email that the leather is sourced ‘untreated leather directly from farmers market’. The website doesn’t really give me enough information to know if vegetable tans were used or animals reared organically but I am thinking not. Reading this article in the Guardian about toxic tanneries, I am even more concerned. The quality of the bag is not great, the zip keeps breaking. I am wondering whether I should have considered this purchase a little more carefully rather than just seeing the ‘organic’ label. What do you think?

This does kind of highlight the difficulties of consumers when trying to buy ethically and sustainably. How do we know if some thing really is produced sustainably and ethically if it doesn’t have any certifications?

With warmest wishes

Bank Holiday Weekend – Camping and Kites

Posted on May 9, 2013 by admin

Cardigan – charity shop
top – Zakee Shariff at People Tree
Leggings – People Tree
Denim Skirt – upcycled
Shoes – Melissa

The bank holiday weekend was our first chance this year to get away in our old camper van, Roberta so we loaded her up with beer and pointed her south. We stayed in a lovely campsite in Weymouth that we stayed at last year when the Olympics were on. Admittedly Saturday was very windy and pretty cold, I spent most of the day huddled in the campervan with my book whilst, the children played and Mr Style Eyes amused himself with cooking a barbeque and insisting it wasn’t that cold until eventually he gave in and put a jumper on. I am afraid due to the mass hair frizziness caused by the wind, I took no outfit photographs!

Sunset and the view from our campsite over Fleet lagoon and Lyme Bay

Top – SkunkFunk
Cropped Jeans – really old!

On Sunday, to my relief, the weather was so much better so we packed a picnic and headed down to Weymouth beach to check out the Kite festival, make sandcastles and enjoy a cheeky glass of cider in the beach cafe.

I won’t bore you with all my kite photographs as I think you really had to be there! But here are just a few

The time passed far too quickly and before we knew it, it was time to go home so we trundled across some of the most beautiful countryside home.Here we stopped off for a bit of lunch to give the old girl a rest (and let the queue of traffic behind us pass) after climbing the massive Spread Eagle Hill. It was well worth the effort as this hill has the most amazing views as far as the eye can see across Somerset (the Levels, I think) which you can sort of see in the top photograph.

I hope that you had a lovely bank holiday weekend and enjoyed the sunshine, fingers crossed for lots more of it.

On a more serious note, today I have read that yet more people (at least 7 people) have been killed in a factory fire in Bangladesh. So incredibly sad and needless, I hope that there will be change in the fashion industry soon. Yesterday I wrote a post for Ethical Fashion Bloggers about How Fashion Bloggers Can Make a Difference. I would be really grateful for any shares or comments as I thing this is a really important issue and we can all help to prevent more tragedies.

As I included in the post here are a few things that you can do:

Join Ms Wandas 1% Campaign calling for companies to invest a minimum of 1% of theirprofits to ensure the human rights of garment workers are properly protected. You could also tell your readers about these campaigns. Facebook and blog badges and Twitter Avatars are also available at Ms Wandas.

Sign the petition Amirul Haque Amin, President National Garment Workers Federation in Bangladesh to ensure safety for workers & compensate victims of building collapse and the Clean Clothes Campaign petition telling brands to take responsibility and sign the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement then Share it through your social networks.

Write to the CEO’s of brands or contact them through Twitter and Facebook to ask them to take full responsibility for their supply chain ensure safety for those working in it.

With warmest wishes

Nancy Dee Trousers and Vintage Dresses

Posted on May 2, 2013 by admin

Last week was my birthday and with so much going on I haven’t found time to post about the the outfits I wore.

This is what I wore to see Liberty London Girl talk at Bath in Fashion, just one of my birthday treats. The dress and jacket are both from Rokit Vintage and the shoes Dream in Green.

I some how managed to stretch out my birthday celebrations and treats for at least a week (pretty good this year, I usually try for a month!). On the Sunday before I wore this to the Bath in Fashion Vintage Fair both the vintage dress and belt were from a clothes swap, the bags was from Oxfam Fashion and the shoes are El Naturalista.

As usual I got mostly money for my birthday so felt compelled to treat myself by buying a few new clothes. Obviously I really don’t need anything new but even though I didn’t really do well on the ‘buy less’ front, I am hoping I may have made up for it on the ‘choose well’ and ‘make it last’ front. The clothes that I bought were all by ethical and sustainable brands and also very carefully considered and chosen as items that would last me ages and compliment my existing wardrobe.

I have been after a pair of printed trousers for some time and when I saw these Nancy Dee trousers it was definitely love at first sight. When Think Boutique did a 20% discount on Earth Day, I grabbed the opportunity and ordered them up straight away. The jacket is from Rokit Vintage as before and shoes by Melissa. The other clothes i have bought will I am sure be featured in outfits soon!

Here are just few instagrams from my birthday week

Birthday tea with my girls!

A blow out at the local Chinese followed by a fortune cookie!

New necklace by Hiro and Wolf

New necklace by Mata Traders

So that is it birthday week over with, now for the bank holiday. Do have any fun plans for the weekend?

With warmest wishes

IFB Project – What Does Sustainable Style Mean To Me?

Posted on April 15, 2013 by admin

Jacket – charity shop
Pearl Necklace – vintage
T shirt – A Question of
Longer tshirt (layered underneath) – New Look
Leggings – People Tree
Shoes – Melissa

It is fantastic to see Independent Fashion Bloggers project for this week is about sustainable style. For such an influential organisation in the blogging community to be encouraging bloggers to post about sustainable fashion is really great and I am sure will help to get lots of people thinking.

Anyway of course I wanted to take part. so here is my entry for

What Does Sustainable Style Mean to Me?

I studied Environmental Life Science at University so have always had an interest in the environment but my interest in sustainable fashion really came about a year or so after I started fashion blogging.

As I immersed myself in a world of fashion and clothes which quickly changed from being just a hobby to a job, I started to buy more clothes just because I was exposed to so many different clothes on a daily basis and I wanted them. It suddenly dawned on me how wasteful it was to keep buying clothes that I really didn’t need and often didn’t even wear that much. I started looking for new ways that I could be creative with my style but without buying too many clothes. As I started to wear more charity shop clothes and explore sustainable fashion brands, I also came across many ethical fashion brands which were making a really positive difference around the world and felt inspired to choose clothes which not only had a minimum impact on the environment but also helped people in many different ways.

Sustainable style for me is about

Looking and feeling good – of course we all want to look good in our clothes but knowing that my clothes have had a positive impact on someone’s life makes me feel good too. My clothes are partly what gives me confidence and allow me to express my identity. Fortunately for me the concept of sustainability fits well with style because I find buying high quality clothes that will last always looks better than fast fashion.
Minimal impact on the environment – I think that buying less clothes that will last is key to sustainable style but I also minimise the impact of my clothing by buying second hand clothes where possible, avoiding dry clean clothes, mending and upcycling, looking for clothes made from sustainable materials including organic cotton, hemp, bamboo and recycled fibres. I also buy clothes that have been locally made and look for companies that have an overall commitment to minimising their environmental impact.
Ethical manufacture – exploitation is not a sustainable practice and for fashion to be sustainable, it should also ensure a sustainable livelihood for those involved in its manufacture.

Whilst many people may regard anything ‘sustainable’ particularly style as a bit boring, I think about it as exactly the opposite. To me sustainable style represents a way of exhibiting my own unique and personal style with quirky and usual vintage and charity shop clothes, luxurious fabrics, high quality and well made clothes, innovative styles, intricate detail (often found on fair trade fashion), bright and bold prints and something a little different from generic ‘fast fashion’, that will make me stand out from the crowd.

Sustainable style means so many things to me – a means of creative expression, a force for change in the world and a way of preserving our world and future, a hobby and also a job.

What does sustainable style mean to you?

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

P.s. If you haven’t already, please enter my sustainable outfit competition for fashion bloggers over on style-is.co.uk. There is a £100 shoe voucher to be won!

Leopard Print Dress and When Enough is Enough

Posted on April 7, 2013 by admin

Dress – Rokit Vintage
Shoes and Belt – High street shops (have had them for ages!)

What a wonderful surprise to get sunshine this weekend, the cold and miserable weather has made me feel quite fed up. The bright weather has even made us feel confident enough to book our first camping trip of the year, I can’t wait! Today I even braved the outdoors to take an outfit picture outdoors. Whilst natural light is supposed to be superior to artificial light for photographs, I can never seem to get the camera settings right for outside photographs. I am hoping to do some street style photographs for Bath in Fashion so hoping to work it out before then. Any tips greatly received.

Anyway today I am wearing a leopard print dress which I treated myself to from Rokit Vintage online store (as if I needed any more dresses!) I also got a woollen biker style jacket which I will no doubt be featuring in an outfit soon.

Looking at my wardrobe, it is pretty full now, I don’t really need to buy anything new except trousers which I have major problems buying and so have a complete lack of. I will have to admit there are some pretty amazing sustainable clothes around for spring and I am super tempted especially by the bright prints. The problem is that even buying sustainable fashion is not as sustainable as buying nothing. Perhaps I will treat myself to a few bits if I get money for my birthday but otherwise I think I need to seriously concentrate on enjoying the many clothes that I have instead of buying more! I also need a good sort out of my wardrobe but not sure I am feeling confident enough about the weather to put away any winter woollies.

When do you decide that enough is enough with your clothes? or do you think that you can never have enough clothes?

I hope that you are having a lovely weekend.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Charity Shop Faux Fur

Posted on March 2, 2013 by admin

So the weather has been pretty miserable and cold but I am looking on the bright side. I get the chance to wear some of my faux fur charity shop pieces!

Gilet – Local Oxfam Shop
Top- the back of my wardrobe
Necklace – MADE
Leggings – People Tree
Boots – Clarks

Dress- Johari
Leggings – People Tree
Shoes – Melissa
Coat – local charity shop

Gilet – as above
Earrings – People Tree
Ring – MADE
Top – Komodo
Trousers – back of my wardrobe
Bag – Accessorize
boots – as above

Have had yet another crazy busy week, I don’t know where all my time goes lately. I have been busy working on style-is.co.uk. We have some great new designers just added from the estethica collection at Yoox and also some lovely studded vegan boots. Please stop by and check it out if you have a minute, I would love to know what you think.

I hope that you are having a lovely weekend. I will be having a bit of a lazy one, catching up with work and house work and out for dinner with friends this evening. I have also been making lots of exciting plans for my birthday next month which will include going to Vogue Fest. and Bath in Fashion. What are you doing this weekend?

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Happy Valentines and a Mention in Metro

Posted on February 15, 2013 by admin

Dress – Oxfam Fashion
Shoes – Dream in Green
Scarf – Charity Shop

I hope you had a lovely Valentines Day. Here is new (old) red dress that arrived just in time from Oxfam online. Although I didn’t go out for Valentines Day as we didn’t have a baby sitter, I think it is important to make an effort after nearly 14 years or marriage, hence the red dress, a rare night off work, a bottle of fizz and the meal for two from Waitrose for me and Mr Style Eyes.

For anyone that lives in London that reads the Metro, you may have seen an article with some sustainable style tips in Tuesday’s edition. That is me at the bottom of the page next to Livia Firth! I was really excited to get a mention for my sustainable fashion website style-is.co.uk and really honored to be featured amongst some of sustainable fashions most inspirational people. You can check out the whole e-edition of Metro here, it also features an interesting interview with Bruno Pieters of Honest By on page 32.

Today is the start of London Fashion Week, whilst I can’t actually be there, I am really looking forward to hearing about everything that is going on. It looks like this is going to be a great season for ethical and sustainable fashion. You can read a post that I wrote about Liora Lassalle winning the Estethica Veolia Re-Source Competition.

If you are going to LFW, have fantastic time, if not have an amazing weekend.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

A Party Dress and Some Ethical Fashion Updates

Posted on February 12, 2013 by admin

Dress – People Tree
Earrings – Lily Grace Orginals
Shoes – given to me by a friend who had never worn them

Here is what I wore for my Mother in Laws birthday party that we recently held at our house. I decided to opt for something fairly practical as I knew I was going to be quite busy sorting out food, clearing up and generally attempting to be the perfect host. But I also wanted to add a bit of interest so I wore my ‘Josephine Baker’ earrings by Lilygrace Originals. If you love sparkly and unusual statement jewellery, I would definitely check out this website, there are so many pieces of jewellery, probably top of my wish list is the Frida Kahlo earrings and Day of the Dead cuff.

Whilst I am on the subject of statement jewellery, I am really loving Tatty Devine jewellery at the moment. I was really pleased to have been able to add them to my website (style-is.co.uk) via Rock My Vintage. Despite their growing popularity worldwide, they remain committed to ‘UK manufacture’ making their jewellery in a workshop in East London.The only problem is the more I write about them/ look at them/ do stuff on the website, the more temptation is put in my way!

There seems to be so much going on at the moment with ethical and sustainable fashion at the moment (which is great), I thought that there were a few things I should share.

Fashion ComPassion are hosting a fantastic event next week and its open to everyone! It’s the first in a collaborative series of events to bring emerging creatives to London’s fashion & art scene. The evening will showcase unique Ethical and Socially Conscious Fashion, Art and Lifestyle with a chance to buy the limited edition products on show. These eclectic brands( Palestyle, Nawa, Numa, Lost City & Inaaya) will be combined with works of artists at the gallery. Enjoy complimentary cocktails courtesy of FAIR Spirits, music and a great crowd. Even if you don’t manage to make it along, I would definitely recommend checking out the Fashion ComPassion website for yet more amazing accessories.

For bloggers with an interest in sustainable fashion, I would also recommend checking out Ecoluxe London on 17th and 18th February.

Unfortunately I am missing LFW including Estethica, Pure and Ecoluxe this time round. But looking forward to reading all about it on my favourite blogs so please do let me know if you post about any of these.

Finally, I have set up a new Feel Good Fashion Directory on the blog, it doesn’t have much on it at the moment but I am gradually building it up. I have also started running a Feel Good Fashion Friday (#FGFF) Twitter party for anyone with an interest in ethical/ sustainable fashion. The next one is on 22nd February, you can find out more about it here.

That’s it for now. I hope that you are having a good week.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Johari Style Challenge

Posted on January 27, 2013 by admin

I was recently contacted by Johari to see if I wanted to take part in a style challenge. Of course I agreed as not only do I love a challenge but I also love the bright and bold designs at Johari and love that each Johari piece is handmade in Kenya by the social enterprise Johari designs. By wearing Johari you are empowering vulnerable young adults to build a living for themselves and their families.

They sent me out my choice of dress to style in as many different ways as I could. I chose this bright pink Tafriji dress with a leopard design and chiffon overlay. In fact I loved the dress so much that I didn’t want to send it back so ending up buying it and keeping it!

I managed to style it a few different ways but I think there are pretty much endless possibilities for this dress and it also looks great just worn simply with black tights and heels.

Outfit 1

Vintage bag – from a local charity shop
shoes – Irregular Choice

Outfit 2

Scarf- a pressy from my sister
leggings – People Tree
Shoes – Melissa

Outfit 3

Necklace – a pressy from mum
shoes – really old/ high street

I wore this dress as in outfit 2 when I went for a Chinese meal with my inlaws. The great thing about the loose fit was that it was super comfortable despite eating my own body weight in food!

Would you be interested in joining the Johari Style Challenge? if so please leave a comment and I will pass on your details.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

African Prints Mix Up!

Posted on January 21, 2013 by admin

Jacket – Second hand (from mum)
Top – by YouMeWe at Sapellé
Trousers – ASOS Africa
Shoes – Dream in Green
Vintage Bag – Local Charity Shop
Necklace – a Christmas pressy from my mum
Ring – Made UK

Admittedly, it is not really the weather for this outfit a great big woolley jumper would probably be much more practical but I have never been much of a fan of winter clothes and I was desperate to try out the top that I got for just £16.50 in the Sapellé sale. I thought if I added a jacket, then I could perhaps get away with it when the weather warms up a little.

This outfit is my entry for this months Freestyle challenge over at Ethical Fashion Bloggers. I also thought that I would enter it in the Observer Ethical Awards. Much to my excitement, they have introduced a ‘Well Dressed’ award sponsored by Eco Age and Fru-Gal Challenge, if you have some sustainably stylish pieces in your wardrobe, why not enter? you can find out more here.

For those that want to share their sustainable style or ethical fashion brands that want to share their story or latest collection, plus anyone else with an interest in sustainability and ethics in the fashion industry, I will be arranging a Twitter party on the last Friday of each month (starting this Friday). Please join me for #FGFF (Feel Good Fashion Friday)

I hope that you have had a good start to the week despite the snow and cold weather.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x