Eco Chic: The Fashion Paradox

First of all I'd like to thank the publishers Black Dog who were kind enough to send me a copy of this book for review and apologies that it has taken me so long to get around to doing so.

Eco Chic: The Fashion Paradox, is an excellent read for anyone looking to adopt a environmental fashion style. Written by Sandy Black, author of Knitwear in Fashion, it is a comprehensive and detailed look at the fashion industry's green credentials, from equating the very durable nature of high fashion with the ideals of green living, to the progress being made in design and on the high street to change production and purchasing habits.  

More of a text book than a coffee table light read, the four chapters 'The Greening of the Fashion Industry', 'Redesigning Fashion', 'Fibre to Fabric' and 'Fabric to Fashion' give a stimulating insight in to the practices of garment production world wide, all illustrated by beautiful fashion photography. A number of well known brands are profiled throughout, as are innovative ideas from lesser known artists. There is also some industry insider information, so if you've ever wondered about how cotton makes it from the field to the shop, or the waste products of various dyes, then you'll get an insight here.

Well written, with a good balance of fashionista and activist elements (discussing Fair Trade and ethical shopping) Eco-Chic  makes a great resource, but also a great read for those who want an good introduction to the subject matter. I'd also recommend this for anyone studying textiles or fashion design, regardless of their eco outlook.

You can buy online by clicking on the following link, and do take a moment to check out the other environmental and green living titles available through Black Dog, as they do have quite a good collection in these areas.

http://www.blackdogonline.com/all-books/eco-chic.html

Urban Angels Fashion Show and Auction

Urban Angels Belfast, a voluntary group of girls who want to make a difference in the lives of those who have been human trafficked, abused, abducted or living in poverty, are holding a Fashion Show and Auction tomorrow evening (28th December).

The event has much in common with Refresh Clothes workshop exhibition that I blogged about earlier in the month, in the sense that all the clothes are used, second hand or vintage, meaning that in addition to raising money for a good cause the event also promotes the awareness of re-usability, repair and revamp, over disposal and landfill.

This is a great way to spend an evening in the mid week lull between Christmas and New Year, and in my opinion is a far nicer way to spend a bit of Christmas money than negotiating your way through the apocalyptic battlefield that can be the late December/early January sales.

The event is being held from 7.30pm at Betty Blacks, High Street, Bangor, Co Down. Check out the Facebook Page for more information and contact details. 

Here's an information video from Urban Angels that tell's you a little bit more about what they do, you can also check out the website at http://www.urbanangels.org.uk


YourUrbanAngel.com - Charl Gambill Welcome from Your Urban Angel on Vimeo.

Belfast Cycle Chic

It has admittedly been a while since I cycled regularly, but when I did, there was one issue used to annoy me about the whole process, namely never knowing what to wear. Now at the risk of coming across as extremely girly, let me explain that this was more a question of finding something suitable rather than worrying if my bum looked big in this or that. For example could I get away with a skirt, could I wear sandals or flip flops without my feet slipping on the pedals, what trousers will catch and scuff, will my jacket restrict me? If I was cycling to work the headache would be double - what should I do in order to stay safe and dry (always a consideration in Belfast), yet at the same time smart and professional? More often than not I opted to take a change of clothes with me, which meant stuffing them into an awkward to carry bag, and leaving me running late and crumpled on more than one occasion.

I doubt I'm alone in this, so if this something that frustrates you as a cyclist (or even puts you off the idea of cycling all together), and you live in the Belfast area, then I suggest you check out Cycle Chic tomorrow night, for Cycle Fashion & Beauty 101.

In association with BikeDock Belles and part of Bike Fortnight, this free event at Taps 2 (see below for address details) runs from 6-8pm and will feature cycle fashion for those who refuse to sacrifice style for the sake of function (lets face it, why should we?) with clothes and accessories from Bike Dock and expert styling by Belfast hair and beauty salon Bellaire.  There will also be a range of looks from a number of Northern Ireland fashion and vintage stores, including Spiral Threads, Bean Boutique and the Rusty Zip, aimed at making the transition from cycling from day to night, as easy and chic as possible.

The event will also include highlights from cycle documentary Beauty and the Bike, the Darlington Media project that explores the differing attitudes to cycling held by UK women, in comparison to our counterparts in Europe and around the world.

Cycle Chic is funded by Travelwise NI, NICI and CTC, and takes place at Taps 2, Cotton Court (click here for Google Map), Thursday 24th June, from 6pm. I'll be heading down myself, and will hopefully pick up some much needed tips, to report back for those of you who either live out of area of can't make it down.

Funky Reusable Shopping Bag

Okay, so I'm probably stating the obvious here, but your run of the mill plastic carrier bag is bad for the environment. In terms of degradability it'll hang around longer than salad at a kids birthday party, and in terms of general litter there's nothing more rank than seeing a plastic bag caught up in tree for months on end. Thankfully many places now charge for these or offer incentives for reusable alternatives, and as such, it's pretty much accepted as good practice to stock up on a store's own bag for life, or better still, a fashionable and sturdy shopping bag of your own.

After the global success of Anya Hindmarch's I'm Not A Plastic Bag the fashion world got on the bus and started catering for our our weekly grocery transportation needs, moving the reusable shopping bag from the realm of all things granny into that of all things funky. One bag in particular recently caught my attention, namely this cute Strawberry Shopper courtesy of Emerald Isla on Facebook. Reusable and sturdy, I will acknowledge that water resistant polyester isn't the most eco friendly of materials, but it does have the advantage of being wipeable, so if something in your shopping bag leaks, you're not left with any permanent or smelly stains, meaning it could potentially last you a lifetime. What did appeal to me most though was the fact that the whole thing folds up and fits into one of these little strawberry holders that can easily hook onto your purse or key ring. Considering the mountain of things you need when leaving the house with a baby or young child, something like this is particularly handy, taking up very little space, and in theory you shouldn't find yourself forgetting it either.

I seriously recommend checking out Emerald Isla for price details and more information, not to mention some of the other great children and baby products she has on offer.

Emerald Isla Facebook