Eco Nail Care

Keeping beautiful nails while maintaining an eco-conscious lifestyle can be tricky. Many nail polishes contain harsh chemicals and artificial ingredients like formaldehyde and smell noxious right when you open the bottle. Zoya nailcare offers a solution! Zoya nail polishes are formaldehyde, toluene, camphor, and DPB free. They're even safe enough to use during pregnancy! Zoya products nourish the nail instead of depleting it of moisture. Zoya has its own line of polish removers that are free from harsh chemicals and are also safe for moms-to-be!

The Green Lifestyle Guide!

How many times have you been going about your normal daily activities and wondered about your effect on the environment? The Green Book by Thomas M. Kostigen is a handy little guide that offers eco-conscious alternatives for everyday activities. Each section is broken down by by categories according to the activity. This book takes a holistic approach to suggesting environmentally sustainable practices regarding the purchases we make, the food we eat, the money we invest, and the vacations we take. The writers of this book present green living in an easy-to-read and easy-to-live format. It CAN be easy to be green.

Fashion Forward: Helping Haiti Relief and Eco Efforts

By now we've all seen the pictures of the destruction caused by this week's massive earthquake in Haiti. While fashion, ethical or otherwise, may be the last thing the mind conjures when faced with images like this, there are a handful of designers, boutiques, and creative houses putting their efforts towards doing what they can to act in solidarity with the relief efforts now underway. So, if you were already planning on purchasing something stylish this weekend, take a look at a few of these platforms for sustainable style that are donating a portion of your purchase towards help for Haiti.

Fashion Philanthropy has just extended their deadline for donating 100% of profits or 50% of revenue (whatever is greater) from purchases at their eco chic site. Donations will go to Hope for Haiti.

Resurrection Vintage is putting 10% of all sale purchases towards the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund from their online site, NY and LA boutiques. The sale takes 70% off vintage finds and lasts through January 31st. Resurrection specializes in vintage and "historic modern" collectible fashion, with many unique pieces for the vintage vixen in us all.

In the same vintage vein: Rice and Beans is donating 10 dollars from every purchase through this January 17th to the Red Cross efforts in Haiti. In the spirit of rebirth, I think this cheery Adrienne Vittadini skirt is fabulous, and at $50 it's not a bad deal.


Soles4Souls has set up collection points for gently used shoe drop-offs all over the US. With all the broken glass, raw sewage, jagged metal and other rubble exposed after an earthquake, a good pair of shoes can make a world of difference. You can donate money online to their cause or click here to find a drop off point for your own shoes in your area.

Of course the most direct way to donate is to give money directly, but be sure to check out one of the charity watchdogs out there to be sure you know what you're contributing to. One of the most popular and credible sites currently is Charity Navigator, which has a wonderful post on things to consider before giving to make the most change with your change.

Any more suggestions to share, please do!

Trends vs Classics

Each season, style aficionados vote with their pens and keyboards on whats hot and whats yesterdays news. While color and silhouette trends are forever changing, the classics never go out of style.

Choosing classics as go to garments for your wardrobe is a sustainable choice, but there is certainly, for me anyway, a desire to have fresh new twists on these classics each season. It gives me the same pleasure to update my classic wardrobe with trend-centric seasonal additions that it gives me to redecorate my space with a shuffle of furniture and some new pillowcases.

Spring 2010 looks allow women to dip into their closet to rework pieces from previous seasons plus invest in some transitional outfits which still reflect new trends.The classic shirt dress, the trench, the biker jacket and are just a few of the styles which continue to top hot trend lists for spring. Boyfriend loose fitting jeans and sweaters offer the opportunity to purchase trendy pieces for 2010 that will work as classic investments for years to come, and the floral prints and watercolor style tie-dye that is so hot on the catwalk will help me add some spice to my classic style.

Key looks for Spring 2010 include:

White

White is the new black, at least according to runway trends hailing from New York to Shanghai. Donning white from head to toe is not always practical, but I find that a seasonal purchase of fresh whites, whether it’s a classic blouse or white washed jeans will never go wrong. Many designers have taken a reality check in terms of transitional colors, in response to consumer demand for classic neutrals that will glide seamlessly from season to season.

Veggie Tanned Leather

The soft leather jacket and either boots from ankle length to mid thigh, leather is hot for Spring (literally), but leather tanned with veggies? (don't laugh...it might be dyed with some), but actually veg-tanning is a process which uses the "tannins" from the leaves and bark of trees (like the oak or chestnut tree). While not a vegan option, veggie tanned offers a choice for those of us who shy away from chemical treated leather...you know the smell. A butter-soft biker jacket has become a wardrobe staple whether 20-something or 50-something. This is one fashion piece well worth the investment.

Lingerie-Inspired Trend

Innerwear as outerwear with lingerie-inspired lacey chemises, tap pants, camis and boyshorts. My sister tuned me in on pairing a sexy cami with jeans and a jeans jacket for date night chic. Thanks sis!

Jumpsuits and Capris

Jumpsuits continue to flourish in everything from sporty with hoods and zips to single-shouldered jumpsuits with sequins to workmanlike denim overalls. I love them with a cropped jackets and baby rib tank.

No more nappy-shaped trousers, last year’s harem pants have morphed into sleeker capri length classic jodphurs that speak to my love of the Gatsby era.

Shorter-than-short Shorts

Sexy hotpants and boyshorts are back, so ladies that daily walk we are doing for head and heart will pay off in spades as we show off our gams.

The Timeless Trench

Fashions love affair with the timeless trench. From fitted to oversize, the top coat is my must have update this season.

New Colors for Spring 2010

Spring wouldn’t be spring without a touch of red, white and blue. Whilst head-to-toe white makes a fashion statement all on it’s own, navy and chili red are all over the runway. Soft neutrals provide a sound color base which can transcend seasons.

Deconstructing Vintage

I have a secret to share with you. I am a closet vintage vixen. Back in the day, I would clad top to toe in fab finds from "op shops" (that short for opportunity shops) so popular in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden where I spent my school days and even small town finds from US vintage stores. I even had not one but two pair of Audrey Hepburn style vintage skinny ski pants. These days my vintage taste has refined specifically to the deconstructing vintage movement. Deconstructed fashion is providing some of the most innovative, sensual and playful looks around. And the growing eco-chic movement is being redefined by designers who love to break the rules. But it also inspires mainstream consumers and fashion-lovers like me to reinterpret our own old clothes. One of my favorite ways to incorporate vintage into the mix is by pairing "something old with something new" as the saying goes. I popped over to the Jak & Jil Blog and saw this pictorial on Catherine Baba.










I love this antique kimono dating from the 1920's to 1950's, paired with skinny pants and what looks to be a Gilligan style cap to keep the rays at bay. Catherine, you are particularly spectacular in vintage with this pop of red!




Vintage kimonos provide a wonderful inspiration for deconstruction.

Check out Glamorwrap for deconstructing vintage kimonos like the one shown below.

Re-purposed from a 1940s kimono, this GlamourWrap is unusual in that the fabric is almost sheer in a lightweight woven silk. The silhouette can be worn in a myriad of ways, transforming from a vest to a dress, from a cape to a belted jacket, and back into a kimono again, and work as wonderfully over jeans as an evening dress.

Best of all, Shrimpton Couture is running their all new ANNUAL event once a year (hence the annual part) to clean out the racks and get the site ready for new stock for the new year. ALL the designers that work with vintage will be taking part and pretty much every vintage item on the site will be marked down. This is NOT a 10% off event - this is a almost every item is 20-60 and even a few are 70% off event!

A New Year, New Resolutions

As 2009 came to a close, have we given enough thought to our impact on the enviroment in the new year? When most people choose to make new year's resolutions, they often opt to work harder, to lose weight, or to manage finances in a more effective manner. Why not choose to improve our eco-conscious efforts? Caring for the environment is one of the few resoultions we can make that has a direct impact on the globe and creates a better world for our planet's future inhabitants. Recycle gift bags given to you with gifts from this holiday season to use next year! Choose to use soy candles instead of parrafin wax candles, which emit harmful chemicals and rely on foreign oil production. Change lightbulbs to more efficient, low wattage models. Begin a carpool or rely less on the car! Small steps equal big changes when more people participate, so share ideas with friends and family. Here's to a happier, healthier planet for 2010!