THE VEGAN VOGUETTE: fashion

Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts

Friday, July 18, 2014

Currently Craving: The Bags of Summer

A roundup of the best (vegan) bags to carry you through Summer. Whether you're in the market for a new handbag or just in the mood for some major eye candy, this one's for you.

Reflections

Designer Spotlight: Arden Wohl x Cri de Coeur

Arden Wohl x Cri de Coeur Vegan Shoes Fashion Week Spring/ Summer 2014

Julie Dicterow and Gina Ferraraccio, the designers and activists behind the popular vegan label Cri de Coeur, have teamed with New York designer/ artist Arden Wohl to create a new collection of vegan shoes for Spring/ Summer 2014. The inspiration? Late 19th century Symbolism. A movement championed by artists like Gustav Klimt, Edvard Munch, and Émile Bernard, Symbolism is the idea that art should represent absolute truths, such as an emotion or idea, which can only be described indirectly. For Cri de Coeur and Arden Wohl, this absolute truth is ethical consumerism, for which they seek to attract "a new ideal not by persuasion, but through artistic expression."

Inspiration: A Case for Casual

chambray denim pencil skirt street style

Camel Coated

There is nothing sleeker nor sexier than being draped in a camel-colored coat. Camel seems to be the magic color that looks good on just about everybody. In a coat: it's classic, timeless, and gives you the kind of glow only seen in the halos of Renaissance-era angels.

Gift Guide for Her

Holiday Gift Guide for Vegan Fashionista

A few no-fail gifts for the vegan or animal-conscious, fashion lover in your life.

Gifts! gifts! and more gifts! Shopping for loved ones can be hard and by hard, I mean trying to avoid the inevitable, 'you go shopping with the intention of buying other people gifts, yet just end up buying more stuff for yourself' syndrome. My theory is that you're more likely to come out successful if you go in with some sort of plan of what you'd like to get those on your list. Before I go christmas shopping, I like to make a list of everyone I need to get gifts for, what I'd like to get them, and the stores I'd most likely find those gifts at...at least this way, you're more focused, less stressed, and there's a bit more hope for you coming home with something to put under the tree this year. And if this sounds like a post about what I'm planning to give other people this year, I've deceived you. It's actually, quite ironically, a list of all of my favorite and most desired items on my wish list this year. Yep, and now I've gone full circle. All the way back to buying gifts for myself.

Style Inspiration: January Jones

January Jones Street Style Stripes Biker Jacket

A Second Look at the S/S 2014 Runway Shows

LANVIN

BURBERRY PRORSUM

PROENZA SHOULER

CHRISTOPHER KANE

J.W. ANDERSON

DRIES VAN NOTEN

ALEXANDER WANG

These are different, no?

The S/S 2013 runway shows re-imagined into gifs by Paul Wagenblast on Dazed Digital.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Coat Craze: The Art of Keeping Cozy

Market to Market: Fall Ankle Booties Pt. 2

Street Style Vegan Ankle Boots Fall 2013

Necking in November: Tis' the Season for Turtlenecks

Currently Craving: That Leopard Fanny Pack

Leopard Fanny Pack by Hipsters for Sisters

Currently Craving: The Perfect Ankle Boots for Fall

Right now, I'm currently craving a pair of classic, black ankle booties for the chillier months of Fall and Winter. Personally, I like low-heeled versions best because I find they are easier to wear and can be dressed up or down to fit nearly any occasion (not to mention, your feet will thank you too!)

Here are some of my favorite vegan finds:

Pink and Pepper Vegan Duster Boot, Piperlime.com, $59

Ankle Boots with Metal Studs, HM.com, $49.95

Cri de Coeur Rogue Moto Boot, cridecoeur.com, $180

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

White Flag

Photo: Harper's Bazaar

Photo: Tumblr

Photo: Modaelook.com

BB Dakota Sebastian Wrap Skirt, $88, Shopbop.com

This week I'm currently craving this vegan leather skirt from Shopbop. Yes, yes, I know you're probably thinking that you aren't looking to read another post about the asymmetric skirt trend and I was there, too, just a few hours ago, but after finding this skirt from Shopbop... I couldn't help but change my mind. Not as dramatic as most asymmetric-hem skirts, this version by BB Dakota is basically a timeless wardrobe staple, and the discreet asymmetric hem and vertical zipper detailing give it a chic update.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Fur Real.

Taylor Kraemer in Elle Mexico 2010. Photograph by Alexander Neumann

A few weeks ago, I have to admit I was a little caught off guard to find fur along the pages of nearly every fashion magazine I subscribe to. I'm not exactly sure why this time it seemed to shock me more than any other time I'd seen it appear in editorials--all I know is that this time it stung. and stung hard.

Fortunately, I was brought some relief a few days ago upon learning that one of my favorite fashion bloggers, Garance Dore, thought the issue of fur was worth addressing as well, having made it the subject of a recent blog post entitled, "A Fur Question." In her article, Dore offers an honest consideration of the issues surrounding fur based on her own personal experience and childhood growing up in a Corsican village which raised farm animals. What I like most about her article is how candid she is with her readers. While in the end she concludes that she is not against fur, I admire that she had the guts to even ask herself such questions and encourage her readers to do the same for themselves.

One thing that stuck out most was when Dore wrote that she struggles to understand why people's radical ways of thinking don't get pushed to their logical conclusions. This is why she admires designers like Stella McCartney (as a lifelong vegetarian, she refuses to use leather and fur in her designs), who not only have great ideas but also push them through. Dore has a good point here. Maybe if we were all more this way, we would have a drastically different and perhaps more humane world before us. So why can't we follow through with our ideas? Why is it so hard for us to do the right thing when we know in our hearts, what is right? Why is it so hard for me to give up eating fish when I've already sworn off eating all land animals? Is it just me, or are we all inherently hypocrites?

Stella McCartney doesn't use leather or fur, but she does use wool and silk. From what I understand, many vegans refuse to wear wool because of the inhumane mulesing practices incurred upon sheep, and silk, because silkworms are killed during the process of silk production to prevent holes in the silk. So is Stella McCartney pushing her ideas through as much as we thought? I would still say yes. According to a Q&A on her website, McCartney states that she struggles with the issues related to using silk and wool, and does what she can to source the most humane silks and wool available. She requires that her sheep be given anesthesia and proper wound care while undergoing mulesing, and continues to search for a reliable source of "peace silk," one in which the silkworm is not harmed.

So, why can't the rest of us seem to follow through? Is it fear of change, of going against what society has deemed socially acceptable, or simply fear of being held accountable? Perhaps, it's just that society by nature has a difficult time supporting radical ways of thinking until these ideas have become normalized and adopted into our culture. Think of how hard it is to find cute vegan sandals, for instance and just how tempted one might be after countless hours of searching for the right vegan sandal, to quickly and impulsively purchase the gorgeous pair of tan leather sandals that are virtually jumping off the shelf to come home with you. I guess, depending on how dedicated you are to your beliefs, sometimes the costs of "following through" outweigh the benefits.

While there is definitely something to be said for pushing your ideas through--of standing behind your beliefs and letting yourself be fully accountable for your word, there is also something to be said for doing what you can at a certain time. We have to start somewhere to eventually get where we want to be. There is nothing wrong with taking baby steps and contributing all that you can at a certain time and place--in my mind, not eating land animals is a good contribution and first step towards the ultimate goal of eliminating all meat and animal products from my life. While switching from leather to vegan leather is controversial for some (since wearing vegan leather still promotes the look and feel of wearing leather by pretending to be leather), for me, it serves as an easier and more convenient transition to an animal-free wardrobe that doesn't skimp on style.

In the same vain, I suppose that replacing one's fur with faux fur would also be acceptable due to the same reasoning. Although I'm not much of a fur lover myself, it is the baby steps that eventually bring us to where we want to be.