Shop 4 Rwanda – Printastic African Dresses!

Posted on May 24, 2012 by admin

I have talked lots about prints this year, hence the use of my new favourite word ‘printastic’, partly because there seems to be so many amazing choices out there but also because they are probably my favourite thing to wear especially in the summer.

A few weeks back I posted about African prints and featured some amazing labels and since then I have discovered yet more amazing prints at Shop 4 Rwanda. The current collection features traditional African prints combined with contemporary styles but what also struck me about this collection is that it is really affordable. With skirts from £12 and dresses from £20, no one can claim that they can’t afford this ethical fashion and it probably costs far less than some of the imitation African print dresses that you will see on the high street.

Most people will have heard of Rwanda because of the genocide in 1994. But despite this terrible tradegy, the country, also known as ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’ has much to offer including these beautiful clothes made from fabrics and imported from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Many of the children who live on the streets of Rwanda’s capital Kigali lost their families during the genocide or were abandoned by their mothers. Shop 4 Rwanda is the charity’s retail outlet for the crafts that former street children make as part of their vocational skills classes at Centre Marembo, in Kigali, Rwanda. This is where dedicated staff help turn homeless children’s lives around by taking them off the streets and bringing them into a secure, loving and mutually respectful environment.

I really like the way this works, beautiful clothes at an affordable price without the gimmicks and the marketing. 100% of the proceeds from the sales of these clothes go back to the children who make them and help to support charitable projects supporting and helping vunerable young people in Rwanda. Which means you can afford to treat yourself – guilt free! What do you think?

With warmest wishes

Ceri X

Pin It

Can Ethical Fashion Be Stylish?

Posted on May 23, 2012 by admin

I love this film made by Esther Freeman of Ms Wandas Wardrobe featuring Saffia Minney of Ethical Fashion Brand, People Tree and Veronica Crespi of Rewardrobe.

Can Ethical Fashion be Stylish? of course it can and it is definitely time to to put to bed the notion that ethical fashion cannot be stylish! What do you think?

If you are still havings any doubts, you could also check out the latest outfit challenge on Ethical Fashion Bloggers. Some fantastically stylish ladies who know how to mix a print.

Hope you are having a lovely week and enjoying the beautiful sunshine!

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Grassroots Fashion – a Recycled Alternative to the High Street

Posted on May 22, 2012 by admin

With online Market places offering a fantastic opportunity for creative sustainable fashion businesses to get started, there are is some really amazing and creative stuff going on out there!

One such label which recently caught my eye is Grassroots Fashion which is available to buy exclusively from ASOS Marketplace here.

Charlotte Bobeldijk, founder of the recycled fashion label is a self confessed ebay addict. A few years back, horrifed by stories of unethical practices in the fashion industry, she vowed to shop more sustainably by only buying second hand clothes which led her to begin exploring boots sales, vintage fairs, charity shops and thrift stores.

She often picked up pieces because she loved a particular detail – an
unusual neckline, beautiful print or a striking silhouette, but would find that
something wasn’t right with it. Maybe the cut was unflattering, it had huge
padded shoulders or being vintage it was absolutely teeny tiny! Luckily she used her 5 years of experience as a pattern cutter and designer to alter them and make them look as she wanted.

Sometimes though, flicking through magazines at home Charlotte was be filled with a
desire for the latest high street trend and began to feel frustrated that
shopping 2nd hand often limited her to a vintage look. She wanted to wear the hot
new colour of the season too! Or rock the latest trouser cut or skirt shape. It
was from this frustration that the idea for Grassroots developed. Charlotte was
determined that through upcycling she could rework 2nd hand garments to look like
brand new shiny clothes that reflected the latest trends. Who needs the high
street?!

I really love this idea but also how she cleverly manages to create something fresh and contemporary from something old. For each collection she spends time thoroughly researching the seasons’ trends and identifying key items and looks – just as high street designers do.Once she has put together mood boards she begins sourcing her garments through donations from the public and also boot sales and charity shops. When I’m sourcing, she look for items that have at least one of the trends already covered. For example for her last collection she found a gold lace top. It was long sleeved, shapeless and a little on the frumpy side, but the gold lace caught her eye as it is key to the pretty, delicate trend for the summer. She knew I could work with it.

Once Charlotte has got the garments she then looks carefully at each one to decide how best to upcycle it. Sometimes it’s easy and the garment almost dictates what is done, but other times it needs a total rethink to transform it into a completely different garment, such as the tie-dye scarf that she turned into a top. She will then spend time amending the garment which involves anything from dyeing or distressing the fabric to embellishing or completely picking apart the garment to create something new, before cleaning it and putting new labels in. The final piece looks like a brand new garment!

Charlotte commented

I think the high street is very appealing to consumers because of it’s ability
to offer cheap, fast fashion, but as we are all becoming aware, it also has a lot to answer for. I decided with Grassroots to take the pro’s of the high
street – the fast fashion fix and affordable pricing – but use upcycling to make it ethical. People aren’t going to turn their back on a quick fashion fix or cheap clothing unless there is a viable alternative and I believe that
Grassroots can offer that.

I think she is right,so many people have become completely addicted to fast fashion, it would be very difficult ot get them to give it up completely. This is definitely a great alternative though – sustainable, stylish and affordable! What do you think?

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Pin It

A Printastic Monsoon Dress

Posted on May 19, 2012 by admin

Dress – Monsoon
Scarf – Vintage/ second hand
Boots – a few years old
Silver bangles – gifts

For May the outfit challenge on Ethical Fashion Bloggers was to create an outfit that focussed on prints. Of course for me this wasn’t a difficult task at all as my wardrobe is rammed full with colourful printed clothes. I though that now would be the perfect opportunity to show off my new Monsoon Dress, bought a few weeks ago with my birthday money and worn for a night out in Bath on the May Bank holiday weekend, I have been saving the outfit picture ip up especially for this challenge.

The Scarf was from The Black and White shop, a fantastic vintage and second hand treasure trove which I visited when I was researching my recent Vintage and Second Hand Guide to Bath. Not sure if the two prints clash or compliment, either way I love how they look together and the pom poms on the scarf are the perfect finishing touch. Although some may consider this look a little full on, I love it and know I will be wearing it many times this summer.

If you need a new dress for a special occasion, Monsoon have some lovely choices with beautiful prints at great prices. They also have an offer of up to 25% off occasion wear and a fantastic sale on.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Pin It

Ethical Fashion Brands at House of Fraser

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin

I have been really interested to see ethical fashion starting to appear in some of the more well established high street retailers. Whilst there are so many new fashion brands that are dedicated to sustainability and ethical fashion appearing all of the time, I also think the emergence of ethical fashion on the high street is key to attracting the masses to a more sustainable approach.

House of Fraser is one of the most well known and established department stores in the UK with over 60 stores and a retail website. They have a social responsibility policy but more interesting to me is some of the brands that they stock. These are really beautiful and wearable clothes that also have some fantastic ethical credentials.

Chora Printed Dress

Xrill Dress

One key brand sold at House of Fraser has its own Company Code of Conduct, which is based on the Social Accountability International Code. In 2010, it also partnered with MADE-BY is a non-profit multi-stakeholder initiative set up to improve sustainability within the fashion industry. They are working with MADE-BY to set realistic and achievable internal targets to improve the social and environmental standards in line with its internationally accredited benchmarks. As a result of this partnership, they have also had access to expertise on sustainable fibres and are increasing the quantity of sustainable textiles used in their collections. You will can see some of their pieces made from organic cotton on the House of Fraser website, my favourite dresses are pictured above. This brand is also a Green 500 Member and in 2010 were given the Platinum award in recognition of their successful implementation of our carbon saving initiatives.

Indigo Crinkled Dress

Leila Print Dress

These dresses are by another fantastic brand stocked at House of Fraser, which is very much about fashion for women who love individual designs, natural fabrics, with an ethnic feel. This in itself works well with the idea of sustainability with clothing that lasts and doesn’t rely on current trends. Where possible they use natural and organic materials such as soft merino wool, organic cotton, beautiful silks, simple linens, wood and shell beads and even seed pods. They also actively support a number of charities including DISHA, a charity providing education and development of children with disabilities in Rajasthan, India and The Textile Industry Children’s Trust (TICT) is a charity supporting the education and welfare of children whose parents have worked or do work in fashion, textile manufacturing and retail in the UK.

And for my daughter, I love this organic cotton dress by a children’s wear brand, that makes contemporary classic pieces that that can withstand wear and tear and are handed down from brother to sister. Their philosophy centres around children ‘what’s best for children, environmental and social responsibilities fall into place. What’s best for children is usually good for adults too.’. They have a really comprehensive ethical and sustainability policy and some of their clothes are made from organic materials. They also have a Mama range stocked at House of Fraser (unfortunately SS12 will be the last opportunity to buy this though).

I will leave it to you to check out the House of Fraser website and work out which brands the dresses are from!

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Pin It

Ethical Fashion – Fantastic Spring Offers and Discounts

Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin

Today I have sent out my second Ethical Fashion Newsletter which is packed with fantastic offers and discounts for May. I thought I would share it with you, if you would like t sign up to receive future newsletters, you can do so here.

Monsoon

I love this Keiko jacket in the mid season sale but there is also plenty of dresses, tops, trousers and children’s wear in the sale. Two fantastic offers…

Up to 50% off in the mid season sale until 27th May
Up to 25% off Occasion Wear Until 20th May

nica vegan hope cross bag yellow Ethical Fashion Fantastic Spring Offers and Discounts

Fashion Conscience

Fashion Conscience have a fantastic selection of ethical and eco friendly
clothing including fresh and fun brands like Skunk Funk, Fair & True and
Komodo. This beautiful vegan bag is by

10% off with discount code May10 until 31st May

Yew Clothing

Yew Clothing makes awesome sportswear for active outdoor pursuits from
sustainable and eco materials, like recycled polyester
50% off all orders over £10 (excluding sale items) with discount code SPRING50 until 30th June

Spartoo

An online shoe store with a massive selection of eco
friendly shoes including my favourite brands Dream in Green and
Melissa.
10% off orders over £65 with discount code MAYSHOES10
15% off orders over £85 with discount code MAYSHOES15
20% on Orders over £125 with discount code MAYSHOES20
Until 31/5/12

Renewal at Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters own eco collection, handcrafted in London using upcycled vintage pieces, surplus fabrics and deadstock.
10% off with discount code UO10

If you are based in London, there is also a fantastic Vintage Fashion Fair on 10th June in Primrose Hill. Visit the website www.vintagefashionfairlondon.co.uk for further information and ticket offers.

(This post contains affiliate links and these offers are
not valid in conjunction with any other offers and unless stated are probably
not valid beyond the end of the week)

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

The New ASOS Africa Collection for SS12

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

I have loved previous ASOS Africa collections and couldn’t wait to see what they had in store for SS12. I have just realised it is now on sale and I have to say I am pretty excited by the whole collection. For someone like me who loves bright prints this collection is a dream come true but I also think there are some great choices there for the slightly more conservative fashionistas in the form of some great striped and plain pieces.

I love everything about this collection. It combines traditional prints with fresh and very wearable designs, it is very affordable and of course it is made by in collaboration with SOKO Kenya, a fantastic and ground breaking ethical company which allows underprivileged communities to establish sustainable business through local craftsmanship.

The collection consists of sporty dresses, trousers, tops and jackets in acid-bright zebra, giraffe and rhino prints, mixed with traditional Kenyan patterns. Fun, eye catching and contemporary, It moves well away from any of the old preconceptions of ethical fashion. My only wish is that there was even more of it!

What do you think?

You can see the whole collection here.

I have been a little sceptical of the ASOS Green Rooms in the past as I wouldn’t have classed many of the items in there as ethical and they seemed to lack information as to where the products where made and how they are ethical. I think they have got it spot on with this ASOS Africa collection though. They have also introduced some great new ethical brands and started providing much more information on the individual products.

Despite pledging to start a shopping ban just a few days ago, I have failed spectacularly and ordered myself a pair of trousers from this collection. In my defence, I have been looking for a pair of patterned trousers for ages. The shopping ban definitely does start today though.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Pin It

Birthday Week

Posted on April 29, 2012 by admin

Apart from the fact that it marks me getting another year older, I really love birthdays. I don’t have much time to myself most of the time so on my birthday like to indulge myself. This year I have managed to spread it out over a whole week of doing pretty much exactly what I want. I had some lovely pressies including delicious smelling Lush goodies from my sister, a beautiful mirrored jewellery box and a necklace from my neighbours and a vintage book from my friend but mostly I got money which I have used to treat myself to a few goodies (clothes of course!).

On Monday, I spent a very wet day wandering around the shops and researching my Vintage and Second Hand Guide to Bath, I did also manage to squeeze in some shopping and got this beautiful scarf from the Black and White Shop for just £10. I also got this amazing printed dress from Monsoon and a Monsoon cardigan from the Oxfam Boutique. I can’t wait until the weather warms up so I can wear the dress perhaps with the scarf for a really printastic outfit!

My actual birthday was really all about eating cake. I ordered up this beauty from Patisserie Valerie, it was delicious- sponge, cream, fruit and white chocolate. I did manage to fit in 2 hours of excercise classes which hopefully went some way to offsetting some of those calories.

On Thursday, I had a cup of tea and chat with the lovely Noorin Khamisani of Outsider, a fantastic label that is all about classic, wearable and beautiful clothes (that just happen to be ethical too) . I really love her latest collection which features some very lovely dresses, one of which she happens to be wearing in this photo.

It was yet another horrible and wet day so I resorted to wearing jeans (organic cotton from M&S) and boots (Dream in Green) with my new Antiform top that I got from Mr Style Eyes and the girls. I did give them a little help in deciding what to get me. Well actually I just bought it ,myself from Think Boutique. Antiform is another label which I really love and well worth checking out if you love unusual pieces. They use reclaimed fabrics and mix fashion forward shapes with heritage crafts.

I also got this People Tree top from the Zakee Shariff Collection.

And this dress by Frank and Faith (another amazing and very afforable brand) from Ethical Superstore which I wore out to dinner with my friends on Friday with leggings and necklace by People Tree, swapped denim jacket and shoes by Simple.

I have also ordered myself a few more goodies in the Ethical Superstore 20% off sale and some Melissa shoes (to keep my feet dry) which I will share once they arrive.

So that is it birthday week is over, back to reality, sensible, healthy eating and a complete shopping ban until at least the autumn, I definitely don’t need any new clothes now.

I hope you have had a lovely weekend, despite the rain!

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

This post contains some affiliate links

Pin It

Ethical Prints For Spring Summer 2012

Posted on April 14, 2012 by admin

Prints are massive news at the moment! I have always been a lover of bold, bright and beautiful prints even when minimalism was in fashion but now they are everywhere that I look, I am even more tempted by them. Bold and bright prints is just one area where ethical fashion comes into its own with traditional methods of printing and local inspiration being used create contemporary fashion pieces in Fairtrade cooperatives and ethical fashion initiatives around the world. Let the high street copy and take inspiration from the prints of Africa, Asia and South America but I would much prefer the real thing because prints this beautiful transcend fashion and trends.

Check these Out!

Lalesso uses the creative talent of Kenyan artisans after realising the raw talent, incredible design aesthetics, rich resources and beautiful people that the country has to offer.

Modahnik is a US based label founded by Kahindo Mateene, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sika is a fantastic brand that I have only just discovered (and really glad I did!). They use fabrics sourced from local Ghanaian markets and hand-made using natural methods, creating exclusive limited prints. Each unique piece defines an area in West Africa’s vast textile landscape, using traditional fabrics such as tie dye, batik’s and wax prints.

Fair + True are a contemporary brand with an eclectic collection of clothes made in Kenya and Malawi under a Fair Trade schemes.

suno 4 Ethical Prints For Spring Summer 2012 Suno is a New York based womenswear label which produces clothes in Kenya, India and Peru using combination of traditional, local techniques and high-end tailoring, with an emphasis on fit and fabric.

Choolips is London based brand working with batikers in Ghana to revamp traditional techniques and producing clothes in Kenya, Ghana and India.

What do you think? tempted? I have also heard that the new ASOS Africa collection will be released very soon, I will keep you posted.

Have a lovely weekend!

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Pin It

Sustainable Jewellery – Crumple

Posted on April 6, 2012 by admin

Top – high street shop (3 or 4 years old)
Belt – handmade
Skirt – Oxfam sale
Shoes – Irregular Choice
Necklace – Highstreet shop (many years ago)
Earrings – Crumple

I was recently contacted by Crumple, a new sustainable jewellery brand celebrating the power of nature and the beauty of wild flowers, bees and icy glaciers. The earrings are made in Oxford from responsibly sourced card and non-toxic glues. The hooks are sterling silver.

I loved the inspiration behind these earrings celebrating the power of nature and the beauty of wild flowers, bees and icy glaciers, they reminded me of being outdoors. I also loved the delicate detail and bright colours. I chose the Hyper Love pair which were inspired by Tears, Songs, Poems and other expressions of love. They featured a colourful print on one side and on the underside of one a punched bee symbol.

For each pair of earrings 20p is donated to a conservation project. The earrings can also be easily be recycled.

Here are a few more designs.

Have a lovely Easter! I will be getting very close to nature and most likely very cold as well as eating my fair share of chocolate. What will you be doing?