Feelgood Style

Sometimes I find myself in quite a rut- focusing on the negative aspects of my life rather than the positive. The past year of my life however, has been quite incredible (and I need to remind myself that.) Jobs have fallen in my lap and people have been placed in my path for a reason. And at times, when I get muddled down by negative thoughts I have to remind myself of the opportunities I’ve been so gracefully handed. Which quite a few, wouldn’t have happened without my main source of income.

My full time job (amongst many small ones) has been working at the eco-friendly fashion boutique, Eco-Tique, in St. Paul, MN. During the past year working here, I have had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Terri Bly, owner of The Nature of Beauty, and being able to work not only for Eco-Tique but her company as well. So today, I give a shout out to Eco-Tique’s top fall must haves which can be found at The Nature of Beauty. Read the rest of this entry »

Linda shows off one of her gorgeous rings.

As Lucille told us in an earlier article, Clary Sage hosted a lovely trunk show with Linda Loudermilk’s collection taking up at least a quarter of the boutique. There were delicious hors d’ouvres, wine and plenty of competition to try on eco-couture. Linda has always been very experimental, and continues to push forward with the most cutting-edge eco textiles. Unusual raw materials like seaweed or milk are woven into clothing as gorgeous as any I’ve seen on the Paris runways.

Linda’s background as a sculptor ensures that the lines she creates within her garments are far more innovative than most. Clary Sage also has a great selection of Loudermilk jewelry, with variations on her famous faucet necklace, as well as some other great pieces. The faucet necklace is something she conceived to draw attention to the water crisis, and a portion of the proceeds go toward the UN’s “water is a human right” campaign. If you can’t make it to Clary Sage to pick one up, they’re also available online at inhabitat. Read the rest of this entry »

Shown above is eco style maven Linda Loudermilk and one of her stunning designs. Part of her mission as a successful entrepreneur is to educate others on world water issues.

This is a quick reminder to drop by Clary Sage Organics this Thursday to meet Linda Loudermilk.

Below are more of her enchanting designs: Read the rest of this entry »

Stewart and Brown is one of our favorite eco clothing brands. They’ve added a “late fall, curtain call” line to their collections. This playfully staged organic collection features softly draping chemise silhouettes and creatively tailored jackets for blustery autumn days. Read the rest of this entry »

PHOTO BY PR PHOTOs (Angelina Jolie in sexy black leather mini dress at Inglorious Bastards premiere) If there is one fall/winter garment Angelina Jolie knows how to work, it’s leather. In fact, aside from her lips, it’s probably the most well-known feature on her body.  And there is no doubt that, for fall 2009, leather is in. Unfortunately, the material stirs up about as much controversy as some of the larger-than-life celebrities that wear it. If you’re vegan, an animal rights activist, or just plain socially-conscious, leather is a material you’ve learned to live without…until now. Eco-fashion has finally caught up to demand and there are now ethical options for leather and leather-like clothing and accessories. In this 3-part series, I’ll give you the scoop on:

1.where to find ethical leather options
2.how to avoid looking gaudy in leather (no chaps for this lady!)
3.the #1 hottest, must-have leather piece that will pull any look together

Let’s start with exploring more ethical sources for leather…

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve always been thoroughly impressed with Bodkin. It’s one of those lines that I wish I could be the designer of (that would be a rather large boost to my ego) or at least own every single item they create. Even while perusing Bodkin’s website I get giddy with a slight bit of down right jealousy…wishing all the breathtaking garments were hanging in my wardrobe.

My eyes may have been too blinded by the incredibly unique clothing I was viewing on earlier visits to the site, or maybe my heart was pumping too much blood to my brain giving me a bit of a brain spasm, or, perhaps, I lost my breath and fainted-any of these are possible. But, on this visit, my eyes not only stared at the clothing, but what was written at the bottom of each picture. Words such as hand dyed with red onion and blessed by the Dalai Lama made me fall in love a bit more. Whether you care about eco-friendly clothing or not, wearing non-violent silk blessed by the Dalai Lama is gratifying and incredibly exciting. Read the rest of this entry »

Oslo, Norway based FIN, is an organic global fashion line we’ve admired for some time now.

Shown here are various looks from FIN’s Fall 09 Eco Lux Collection. The eco materials they proudly use are:

• Organic Cotton
• Wild non-violent Silk
• Organic Baby Alpaca
• All Fair Trade Fabrics and Embellishments
• Produced with Love
• Carbon Neutral

The organic collection features exquisite tailoring details as well. 

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Yesterday, I took a much needed nap. Basking in my soft sheets and surrounding myself in my glorious comforter, I fell asleep, dreaming peacefully of cupcakes and fairies. Upon awakening from my deep slumber I began to shiver. Rolling over while pulling my comforter over my head I tried to avoid the inevitable sound that my ears begrudgingly heard, a deep autumn howl from the great outdoors. My room was freezing, the unbearable sound of a winter wind creeping over the state of Minnesota swept through my room, my eyes opened to look out the window, I could see winter coming. Fall surrounded me.

It was eighty degrees two days ago. Without any warning or a pleasant transition period, fall has squashed our measly state with its prickly cold toes. Now, I’m left knowing that winter is right around the corner. Remind me to move somewhere warmer.

That being said, I put on my favorite She-Bible sweatshirt today, on this first day of fall- the season that foreshadows doom. So to lighten my spirit, I thought I would put together some of my favorite fall must haves… Read the rest of this entry »

I must admit, I spend most of my time drooling over clothing, pondering the possibilities of how to achieve the perfect eco-style. Recently, I came across Olsenhaus and my mind has wandered from high-waisted skirts and rock-star dresses to shoes. Not just shoes, mind you, but vegan, sexy, eye-bulging, stomach-fluttering shoes that gave me a kick in my- you know where- pushing me into an unknown territory. A world of shoe obsession.

Let’s not lie to ourselves, you can obviously see the photo above and understand why my heart is swooning.

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As a young girl, I was in love with Nancy Drew. Being inspired in sixth grade by Nancy’s sleuth skills I wrote my own mystery (starring myself) and called it, “The Mystery of the Purple Polka Dot Pajamas.” Lizz Wasserman, owner/designer of popomomo, herself inspired, created a fall fashion line with Miss Drew in mind. For some reason, and please correct me if I’m wrong, I think popomomo’s fall line will kick my sixth grade book’s buttocks. Read the rest of this entry »