(Sustainable) Christmas List

Hunting down and perusing through various sustainable and ethical online stores has become acceptable essay procrastination this past week. 

Call me Scrooge, but more often than not Christmas seems to be taken up with a lot of last-minute panicking and that horrible feeling that you're just buying for the sake of it. So, this year I'm trying to make sure that the things I've asked for and those I'm buying for others will be carefully chosen and hopefully long-lasting.

In the hope this inspires some of you to think about buying or asking for presents from sustainable outlets, I've made sure to include pieces of various prices as well as the website links. You'd find most of them going for a similar price on the high-street but generally lacking in quality and without the added bonus of knowing they've been carefully created using sustainable and ethical practices.   

1 Midi Dress at ASOS Green Room // £50.00

The ASOS Green Room is a great place to head to if you haven't shopped sustainably before, clarifying the often confusing technicalities of ethical shopping. I've put this dress down in anticipation of warmer weather, but it would look great layered up with cosy knits and leather boots.

2 Moisturising Cream at Faith In Nature // £6.65

I'm always on the look out for skin care lines made from natural (organic where possible) ingredients. Faith in Nature products contain no synthetic additives, are hypoallergenic and paraben free, and affordable too!

3 Juliet Top at Wool and the Gang // £140.00

I've been searching for sustainable knitwear for ages so was totally thrilled to come across Wool and the Gang on Instagram the other day. I love the off-the-shoulder twist that they've given this jumper - great for pairing with black skinny jeans. Wool is hard to beat in terms of sustainability as it occurs naturally and is highly renewable. On top of that, Wool and the Gang work with a no factory policy with pieces handcrafted by a team of artisans and makers from around the world. 

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4 DI Wallet at Matt & Nat £40.00

The zip fell off my purse the other day so a new one went straight to the top of the Christmas list. Matt & Natt stands for Mat(t)erial and Nature. They work specifically with the environment in mind, using various vegan leathers, up-cycled cork and recycled plastic bottles. 

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5 Leather Belt at Ting // £65.00

I've long been in need of a new belt and though I've been keeping an eye out in vintage stores am yet to find the right one. This Ting design, although pricier than vintage, is pretty perfect and is hand made in England from end of line saddle leather straps with a vintage metal buckle. 

6 Swing Shirt at House of Hackney for ASOS Collection // £75.00

I'm slowly succumbing to the lure of tartan.. this beautiful top stood out in the new collaboration between House of Hackney and ASOS, and can be found in the ASOS Green Room.  

7 Fitted Shirt Dress at Outsider Fashion // £135.00

I was lucky enough to meet Noorin from Outsider Fashion the other week at her pop-up shop in Stow-on-the-wold - interview coming soon! The beautiful pieces are all designed with versatility and longeivity in mind, and are made from carefully sourced materials, including organic cotton, wool and bamboo. I tried on a few things but very predictably one of my favorite pieces was this shirt dress, a more feminine and flattering alternative to my mannish white shirt.  

8 Marble Grey MacBook Sleeve at Manon. Garritsen // roughly £40

In order to celebrate the impending return of my computer from the Apple hospital I've been looking for a new case to keep it safe. I love the sleek minimalism of this design, which is made from un-dyed, pure, new wool felt. Manon Garritsen work with local suppliers and environmentally friendly materials. They've got some great pieces in the sale at the moment too!

Hats off to Keira

My love affair with Keira Knightley continues this week after she was pictured at a charity Gala in London wearing her previously recycled Chanel wedding dress out in public again. With stars usually vying for attention in the latest pieces off the catwalks, Keira demonstrates beautifully how a simple classic can be updated using clever accessories.

On her wedding day Keira paired the dress with a little tweed Chanel jacket, ballet pumps and Ray-ban sunglasses, while Tuesday night saw the turn of gold heels and a beaded sheer top worn underneath the strapless bodice.

Breaking the only-wear-it-once 'rule', Keira takes effortless cool (and sustainable chic) to the next level.

Oh Moschino

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, the end of term always seems to creep up on me and I've been ridiculously busy with essays and the dreaded dissertation…. I've also been cheating on my blog with a zine, which you might have seen as I've taken to shamelessly promoting it on various social media sites.

On Monday evening I joined the rest of the lovely Impact style team at the annual Notts Media Christmas Ball, which took place at Pitcher and Piano, a beautiful old renovated church. 

My personal challenge was to try and source a sustainable outfit for the evening (a la Livia Firth), which I’m pretty proud to say I accomplished. I wore a vintage dress that I purchased many moons ago whilst in Cambodia on my gap year. I've never worn it as I've always felt it was lacking a certain something. That something turned out to be an amazing Moschino waist-belt that I've stolen borrowed forever from my super stylish mother- thanks mamma. Shoes are Zara from last summer, an amazing colour that transcends really well into winter and brightens up my uniform of black, navy and grey.  

In other news I’m tempted to invest in a really naff Christmas jumper this year… What do you think, good cringe or bad cringe?

Midi Inspiration

Not content with the level of sophistication that a wide brimmed hat brings to my wardrobe, I’m now on the look out for another classic, the midi skirt. I love the idea of taking a twist on this super feminine piece by adding a masculine shirt, high-necked tee or sneakers for a slightly more androgynous feel.

Pictures taken from Pinterest

Tartan Delight

Introducing the other half of my oversized coat duo. I had been on the hunt for a coat in this shape and style for a long time and finally stumbled across this vintage one around Christmas time last year. Although after I got it home I did find the lining was torn in a few places, I don’t notice it on a day-to-day basis and it is to be expected when buying second-hand. For £25 I'm happy to overlook a little wear and tear.

For someone that tends to play it safe most of the time in muted colours of black, blue, grey and white, I took myself by surprise with this pillar-box purchase. Part of me is always a little wary of vintage shopping, as it often involves making a snap-decision or buying on an impulse as chances are you won’t see the piece in question again and can’t return it if you change your mind. This time though it was a no-brainer, the coat ticked all the boxes and I knew it would definitely work with and brighten up the monochrome madness of my wardrobe.

One year later I still love it and coincidently it's bang on trend this season. Big thanks to Phoebe, Jill, Stella and co. for sending oversized checks down the runway and letting me latch onto the tartan fashionistas that are gathering en masse.

 Photos taken by the very lovely and super patient Rosie Keighley.

The cunning high street and how to use it sustainably

Britain is famed for its flourishing high street, with numerous stores offering customers a huge variety of clothes at affordable prices. Affordability is a fantastic thing but it can also trick you into thinking you’re saving money when you’re not. The high street actually has the innocent customer in a tight chokehold as cheaper prices come at the cost of poor quality products. And so we are drawn into the vicious circle of buying more clothes, more often, to replace those that are falling apart.

The high street also increases our accessibility to catwalk trends by providing various interpretations (or often exact copies) at extremely low costs. Customers are becoming increasingly infatuated with the latest must haves and bargain prices allow us to freely indulge in these fickle trends. We no longer seem to enjoy love affairs with our clothes, but instead brief flings and awkward silences.

Last week I tagged along to a Geography lecture recommended by a friend to hear about the perils of the fast fashion industry and the inner workings of fast fashion extraordinaire Zara. A few statistics show just how easily we fall into the trap of treating our clothes as temporary, disposable items.

Zara’s success plays upon its ability to respond very quickly to the latest trends. They can produce a new line of clothing in as little as three weeks as opposed to the industry average of nine months. 85% of in-house production happens after the season has started so as to mimic runway trends and quickly offer customers designer looks at affordable prices. It is anticipated that pieces will only be worn about ten times, so by the time the seasons up, so is the extremely short life span of the clothes.

With regards to sustainable fashion, for the foreseeable future at least, the high street will remain somewhat of a question mark. Affordable clothes will of course remain a necessity, but what needs to change is the disposable culture they promote. As the customer, you can change the way you use the high street; avoid the cheap flimsy pieces that you know will fall apart after three washes. Instead, seek out the mid-range quality staples that the British high street still excels in, and that will last you multiple seasons.

Hold on to your Hat

Photos from a few weekends back, enjoying this beautiful Autumn at home before St Jude's storm set in. On the whole, the Cotswolds seemed to escape the barrage, although I would strongly advise against wearing a wide-brimmed hat when high winds have been forecasted...

Despite its impracticalities, I'm still in love with this hat, especially on a bad hair day. It brings a touch of glamour to an outfit, particularly in the case of my second hand roll-neck and black skinny jeans; both of which I'm very reluctant to take off at the moment. 

Photos taken by Jamie Biles