Swapping, Selling and Giving at Friendly Fashion

Posted on May 3, 2012 by admin

Denim jacket – swapped
Necklace – Made
Dress – Oxfam
Shoes – Dkode

We are all kind of guilty to a certain extent of buying clothes that we need or just getting bored with what we already have and fancying a change. Swapping, selling and buying preloved clothes is a fantastic way to refresh your wardrobe and it is better for your purse and the environment than buying new. I also think it is really fun and a great way of trying something new that you might not usually buy in the shops. I am so passionate about swapping that I set up my own clothes swapping website Posh Swaps a few years back to encourage people to get swapping. Since then there has been an explosion of Swishing (swapping) parties and clothes swapping websites which gives everyone plenty of opportunity for everyone to recycle their old stuff and get something amazing in return. The denim jacket in the image is the result of a swap I did and I wear it all of the time.

I recently recieved an email Friendly Fashion, a great new swapping site. They have some fantastic stuff listed on the site and I would definitely recommend checking it out if your wardrobe needs a little refresh. The site is free to use, allows you to swap, buy, sell and give away itmes and has a fantastic widget which can be customised and adding to your blog to help promote any items that you list.

Spring is the perfect time to have a good clear out. You can make yourself some extra cash or get something lovely and new in return for the clothes that you don’t wear. Here are some of my favourite items listed on the site.

I definitely have plenty of pieces of clothing I would love to swap. How about you? Have you every tried swapping?

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

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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

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My Shopping Strategy For An Ethical and Sustainable Wardrobe

Posted on April 12, 2012 by admin

Leather jacket, top, bag and shoes – all a number of years old, bought from conventional fashion retailers (not ethical or sustainable) and hoarded in my wardrobe!
Vintage lace skirt – Swap party at The Good Fashion Show
Necklace and ring - Made

Over the last few years, I have been gradually changing and developing the way that I shop for clothes with the aim of making it more sustainable and ethical. I have spent a considerable amount of time not buying anything new at all and about a year ago I made the commitment to switch to buying only ethical or sustainable clothing.

It’s not easy being green!

I can completely understand the difficulties that people face in making this switch. Not only may they have concerns over cost and lack of choice but also the whole question of exactly what is ‘ethical’ and ‘sustainable’ clothing and which ‘type’ or ‘brand’ of clothing is it best to buy, a topic which I could write about all day.

My work as a writer with a focus on ethical fashion has given me a greater understanding of the issues surrounding ethics and sustainability in the fashion industry and the variety that is available. Whilst I can’t say I have all of the answers, I certainly feel that I can make a reasonably informed decision most of the time and have totally bought into the fact that there is a fantastic selection of high quality ethical clothing out there that offers much better value than fast fashion and could definitely satisfy me in terms of finding what I want to buy.

How much is too much?

The difficulty for me in dressing ethically and sustainably comes into play when I try and work out how much is too much in terms of volumes of clothes. Obviously buying cheap poorly made clothes to wear once and then throw away is not ethical or sustainable. But I have never really done this, even the ‘fast fashion’ clothes that I have bought in the past have usually lasted for years and many that have managed to stand the test of time still remain in my wardrobe now. I treasure my clothes, shoes and accessories and I don’t buy anything that I don’t think I am likely to want to wear 3, 4 or 5 seasons from now. I get some inspiration from current fashions but I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a slave to it and would never discard a piece of clothing because it wasn’t fashionable anymore.

My wardrobe is stacked full of clothes, I am definitely a hoarder/ collector.

Do I really need to buy any more?

I love clothes and I live clothes in both my work and leisure time. For me there is nothing shallow about fashion. What I wear is so important to me on many levels - my self confidence, identity, comfort, success in work, the way others interact with me and treat me and also my own creativity and self expression (another topic, I could write all day about). I don’t need to but I like to wear lots of different outfits and I am constantly looking for and experimenting with new looks. Partly this can be satisfied by remixing, upcycling and recycling.

But

I also do have a desire to buy new stuff that if I am honest, I don’t really need. Through my blogging I discover so many amazing ethical brands. Not only to I love their clothes and want them but I also want to support these brands to try and help ethical become more mainstream. Supporting ethical brands is great but it isn’t sustainable to keep buying stuff that you don’t need. In order to change the fashion industry and the way it works, I think we all need to move away from the culture of constantly buying new stuff for the sake of it.

My Ethical and Sustainable Shopping Strategy

So here is the strategy that I have come up with, partly in a conscious kind of way but partly it just felt right. Since making changes to my shopping habits I have been really happy with my clothes and the high quality wardrobe that I am building. I never really struggle to find something lovely to wear and I always feel great in what I wear.

1. I consider second hand or vintage is the most sustainable way to shop so I try and satisfy my whimsical desire to shop and constantly refresh my wardrobe in this way most of the time (it is also kindest to my purse!). Even with second hand and vintage shopping and I tend to end up buying too much so try and have in mind the sorts of clothes I am likely to wear and the colours and styles that will suit me and avoid just buying more of what I already have. I also upcycle, swap and readily accept donations of old clothes from friends. If and when I get bored of these clothes I just donate them back to charity.

2. Occasionally for a special treat I like to buy myself a piece of clothing from an ethical/ sustainable brand. This is often when I have some birthday or Christmas money. I always look at these purchases as an investment. I try and buy something that will be a high quality, stylish and flattering staple of my wardrobe for many years to come (if not forever) and will really add to and build on what I already have.

3. I only ever buy a piece of clothing that I really really love and tend to look for unusual and unique pieces. Where possible I try to buy from companies and brands that have made a company wide commitment to ethical fashion and sustainability and practice these principles throughout everything they do as I want to support then and help to push these practices into the mainstream.

4. Before I shop, I try and think carefully about what I need, what I am likely to wear and what colours and styles suit me. In the past I have made lots of mistakes. As I don’t buy as many new clothes as I used to and spend a little more on sustainable/ ethical clothing, I want to be sure that I get it right every single time . I have an ongoing wishlist where each item that I see and want is added, considered for some time and sometimes removed. I only buy something when I am absolutely sure that it will work for me in every way from making me feel good, to going with the other clothes I have to being practical and eco friendly to wash and care for.

5. I do most of my shopping online as it gives me greater access to a huge variety of ethical and sustainable brands and makes it easier to compare, consider, research and read up on ethics if needed. It also cuts down on impulse buys.

So there you have it, that is how I shop. Do you have a shopping strategy? how do you decide what is too much?

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

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?

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

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Ethical Outfit Competition – The Results!

Posted on April 2, 2012 by admin

I have been truly blown away by both the number and quality of entries in my ethical outfit competition. So many stylish ladies (and men!) all with their own unique look. I have had real difficulties in choosing the winners and wish that I had a prize for every single entry. Unfortunately I don’t and I had to pick just four winners. I have selected the winners based on a combination what I liked the look of and how ethical they are. Before I announce the winners, I would like to share all of the entries with you. You can click on the link under each image to visit each of the blogs and find out a bit more about each outfit.

ethical outfit 1 Ethical Outfit Competition The Results! Lady Bug Says

That’s So Yesterday

Sailing to No Where

Ethical outfit 4 Ethical Outfit Competition The Results! Country Girl Does Norfolk

Vintage Vix and Jon

Vintage Passions Just Like Mine

#GollyGosh

Perditas Pursuits

Honey Go Lightly

ethical outfit 12 Ethical Outfit Competition The Results!

Odd Socks and Pretty Frocks Sweet Monday

Faith, Hope and Charity Shopping Lulastic

And so on to the winners! I would like to reiterate how difficult the decision was as everyone looked so amazing.

First – Overly Selected

Second – Thats so Yesterday

Third – Sailing to Nowhere

Fourth – Little House in Town

Congratulations to you all, I will be in touch with all four asap to sort out the prizes.

I would also say a huge thanks to the competition sponsors, especially Nomads Clothing. If you haven’t already been over to check out their Spring Summer Collection, I would throughly recommend that you do! Please also let me know if you would like to be added to their press list.

If you are a fashion blogger and would like to feature more ethical / sustainable fashion on your blog, why not join Ethical Fashion Bloggers?, a great place to network with like minded bloggers.

Ethical Fashion or Vintage retailers that are interested in sponsoring my next ethical outfit competition, please get in touch (ceri@heathcotecommunications.co.uk).

With warmest wishes

Ceri X

Made In Britain

Posted on March 29, 2012 by admin

I have been really enjoying watching Mary Portas’s TV programme ‘The Bottom Line’ but also love the way that it has renewed the focus on clothing being Made in Britain. The funny thing is that I often go out of my way to buy Fairtrade and ethical clothing made abroad in countries like Africa or India so buying Made in Britain is the complete opposite. But I also think that it is important to support our own economy and help those in this country that are struggling to find a job and as the clothing industry is so huge their is probably room for both.

That said, I don’t neccaserily think that just because something is ‘Made in Britain’, it is ethical. For example, it may be made using cotton that is picked by children in Uzbekistan and grown using environmentally damaging pesticides. There are however some key benefits that I can see in buying clothes made in Britain, which include:

Supporting the British economy and providing jobs for those in Britain.
Preserving specialist skills for clothing manufacture in Britain.
Quality, British products are known for their high quality and workmanship.
Strict UK and EU working regulations ensure high standards in British factories and give greater confidence in that workers have been treated well.
Cutting down on transportation and therefore carbon footprint of clothing.

I am not going to write any more about Mary Portas and her Kinky Knickers as I think most people will already have watched the programme. If you haven’t, you can find out more here. Instead I wanted to share some fantastic brands that are both ‘Made in Britain’, ethical and probably most importantly when it comes to fashion, look great!

The dress that I wearing in the pictures above is by Nancy Dee, an ethical and sustainable fashion brand that manufactures all if its clothing in the UK using a variety of sustainable materials including organic cotton, Bamboo, soya bean and modal. It is definitely one of my favourite dresses. It is beautifully made, unique and individal with only limited runs of designs using their own specially made fabrics (I have not seen anyone else out and about wearing my flamingo print dress), washes well and is really comfortable to wear. I also love the flattering cut. If you like the sound of Nancy Dee, please check out there website here which has a fantastic sale at the moment, including the Flamingo dress that I am wearing.

Who Made Your Pants a campaigning ethical underwear brand based in Southampton. Their pants are designed to sit flat under clothes, have no VPL, and be comfortable and all day fabulous. I saw a selection of them at the Good Fashion Show and I can vouch for the fact that they are beautifully made. They use fabric sold on by big underwear companies at the end of season and stop them ending up as landfill and they employ refugees from war torn countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, the Sudan in a woman only environment where they can feel safe, learn new skills and provide themselves with an income.

Another exciting ‘Made in Britain’ brand that has caught my eye recently is Hiut Denim. A brand that is all about reviving the jeans industry is a small Welsh town called Cardigan. I spent many childhood holidays in Cardigan which is a seaside town in West Wales and also where my Grandparents lived and my Father grew up. My Grandfather was the Principle of the local technical college. Sadly over the years many young people have been forced to move away for Cardigan due to lack of job opportunities and the closure of the local jeans factory which employed 400 people and made 35,000 pairs of jeans a week in part contributed to this.

Hiut denim is bringing employment back to the area and allowing the people of Cardigan to do what they do best. It seems to be focussing on simplicty with just a few styles of jeans (at the moment) made incredibly well using the expertise from the people who were originally employed in the factory and high quality denim including organic and selvedge denim.

The brand is also trying to move away from the idea that clothing is a throw away commodity, instead making jeans that will be valued and treasured. They are the first ever company to make jeans with a history tag. Customers can register their jeans unique number with the HIstorytag website and then upload memories (or where you went, what you did). If the jeans are every passed on or donated to a charity shop, these memories will go with them.

I know there are many more amazing ethical ‘Made in Britain’ brands, many of which I hope to share with you soon. I will continue to support Fairtrade and brands which are working to alleviate poverty in other countries but I also love the idea of buying more locally and supporting people a little closer to home. As I don’t buy any fast fashion clothes manufactured in sweatshops, I definitely think it is possible for me to do both and as a result build a very stylish wardrobe packed with beautiful high quality clothes.

What do you think?

With warmest wishes

Ceri

Antiform SS12

Posted on March 27, 2012 by admin

Antiform are a sustainable label based in Leeds making quirky clothes using recycled and reclaimed fabrics. They combine heritage and contemporary styles. They source everything including materials from within 20 mile of their studio boutique in Leeds.

For SS12, their collection combines inspiration from folklore, heritage and sportswear. If you want to check it out for yourself then why not pop along to the collection launch on 29th March between 4 & 9pm in Dalston London. You can even enjoy drinks and a fabulous 20% off.

You can find out further details and shop the collection on the Antiform website.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

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Up to 50% Off Monsoon Clothing

Posted on March 22, 2012 by admin

There is a fantastic sale on at Monsoon until 26th March with lots of amazing Monsoon clothing reduced by up to 50%. You might just think of Monsoon as a regular high street shop but actually Monsoon is one of the most ethical retailers on the high street with a strong commitment to ethical and sustainable fashion, not only in its sponsorship of Estethica, the part of London Fashion Week dedicated to ethical fashion but also with its promotion of longlife fashion, support of craft communties, working towards greater use of sustainable fabrics, the clothes for life scheme and the Monsoon Accessorize Trust which helps to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and children in Asia.

I have always loved Monsoon, even before I realised all of this. For me it is about the quality clothes that look modern and stylish but don’t go out of fashion. The bright colours, the beautiful prints and the close attention to detail, something that seems to fairly rare on the high street these days.

Anyway, If you needed something new and haven’t ever bought from Monsoon before, this sale is a great opportunity to give them a go and see how lovely the clothes are. Here are just a few pieces that caught my eye.

Denim Dress

Cross Stitch Dress

Lady Blue Jumpsuit

Leandra Maxi Skirt - reduced to £35

texas top1 Up to 50% Off Monsoon Clothing Texas Top

Fusion Odette Top

I hope that you are having a good week and enjoying the sunshine. I certainly have been. In case you didn’t already know, I am running an Ethical Outfit competition for bloggers with over £200 of ethical fashion to be won. If you would like to enter, you can find more details here. Closing date is 31st March.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

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Blogger’s Ethical Outfit Competition – Over £200 Of Ethical Fashion To Be Won

Posted on March 14, 2012 by admin

Following on from the success of my last Ethical Outfit Competition that I ran in November last year (you can check it out here), I have decided to run another competition. I hope to promote ethical fashion, show how amazing it can look and inspire others to give it a go so please help me by spreading the word and sharing with any bloggers that you know.

The competition is open to anyone based in the UK with a fashion blog and twitter account. All you have to do is create an outfit which contains at least ethical piece, that could be something from your favourite ethical fashion brand, vintage or charity shop or something you have upcycled. If you can fit more than one ethical or sustainable piece into an outfit, even better.

The Prizes

£100 of Vouchers for Spartoo.co.uk

Spartoo have an amazing selection of shoes and a great collection of green or eco friendly shoes including some of my favourite shoe ethical brands including Dream in Green, Melissa, Pikolinos and Po-Zu.

£75 Voucher for Spring Summer 2012 Collection at Nomads Clothing (valid for use until end of April 2012) shortsleeve dress1 Bloggers Ethical Outfit Competition Over £200 Of Ethical Fashion To Be Won Nomads Originals have a fantastic seletion of versatile and comfortable fair trade clothing made from sustainable fabrics including organic cotton and recycled fabrics. For Spring Summer 2012, the debut collection is designed by Niki Groom (formerly with Monsoon). Inspiration includes the coast and tea parties with a very tempting range of pretty fifties dresses, tailored jackets, statement printed coats, light weight summer dresses and mix and match separates. You can also find some high quality pieces at affordable prices in the Boutique range which are perfect for a special occasion.

£20 Voucher for Fashion Conscience

Fashion Conscience is an amazing online retailer stocking a wide range of sustainable and ethical fashion brands including some of my favourites: Komodo, Fair + True, Monkee Genes and Skunkfunk!

A Kenja Mojo Bangle from Made UK

This beautiful hand-made stack bangle set (worth £30) by ethical accessories brand Made UK is made up of nine alternate twisted and solid brass bangles with brass attachment and Made logo. It comes complete in its own fair trade pouch.

If you would like to enter, all you have to do is post a picture of your outfit on your blog with a link to www.ethicalfashionblog.com and mention which aspect of your outfit is ethical. Then follow me on Twitter (@StyleEyes) and tweet me the link with the following:-

’I’m rocking #ethicalfashion for the @StyleEyes Blogger’s Outfit Competition’

Before the end of 31st March. Easy Peasy!

I will choose winners from 1st to 4th place based on how stylish, creative and ethical their outfits are, on 2nd April. The first prize winner will get to choose their prize first, the second next and so on. All winning outfits plus perhaps some of the others or even all of them will also be published here.

I can’t wait to see your outfits!

For those that have an interest in Ethical Fashion, you may be interested in joining a new group that I have just set up www.ethicalfashionbloggers.com. You don’t only have to just blog about ethical fashion, it is for anyone that is interested in networking with other bloggers, working with ethical brands, joining in ethical outfit challenges, DIY and post round ups and coming along to meet ups. We also love vintage, charity shopping and DIY.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

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Outsider

Posted on March 6, 2012 by admin

Outfit 18 301c Outsider

Outsider was one of the brands at Good Fashion Show that I unfortunately missed out on seeing. I have since been over to check out the website and I really loved what I saw.

I really love their vision that ‘Ethical Fashion should look just like fashion’ and their clothes are ’Inspired by fashion but designed to be classic, wearable and beautiful, Outsider garments can be worn and loved season after season’.

I definitely think that they have succeeded in achieving this vision, the clothes stand out as simply beautiful and they are desirable way beyond their ethics. London born, designer Noorin Khamisani has worked with Avant Garde labels Ann-Sofie Back, Jessica Ogden and Susan Cianciolo in New York as well as high street retailers including Debenhams, Ted Baker and Hobbs. Whilst she has a deep understanding of the impact of garment production and has spent several years researching sustainable fabrics and production methods, style and quality in her designs for Outsider is equally as important as ethical production.

The SS12 Outsider collection is filled with relaxed luxury interpreted in a modern way, combining different textures including denim, peace silk and jersey.

I can’t make up my mind which dress I like the best, at the moment I am torn between the peachy coloured draped dress and the mullet hemmed maxi shirt dress, sigh …

What do you think? do love this collection as much as me?

With warmest wishes

Ceri X

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