Showing posts with label fashion and beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fashion and beauty. Show all posts

Monday, January 11, 2010

Winter Coats: Be Warm and Not Look Ridiculous

I get a giant F for posting in 2010. I realize this. I'm trying though.

Anyway, I just wanted to share some awesome winter coat ideas for vegans living in Columbus. It may seem easy, but I remember my first year living in Ohio as a vegan. I think I was in Macy's for hours with my mother-in-law looking at every single label on every single coat. It was madness. But this year I'm smarter, wiser, slightly more savvy. And I think I've discovered the best ways to get NICE looking winter coats. Not to knock on veganstore.com or the like, but their coats are ugly. [[I guess that's kind of knocking, but it's true!!]]

Case in point:Very drab and shapeless. $199.95

Ugly and expensive? Seems ridiculous. Therefore, I bring you my favorite places to get really cool, really cheap vegan jackets. It's f-ing cold out there, so this seems appropriate. I'm not posting links, since websites frequently update and in a few months they'll all be dead links. I just want to give you a sampling of all the awesome vegan coats you can find in various stores.

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Forever 21:

You'd think every cheap store would use synthetic materials or cotton instead of wool just for cost purposes, but they don't. Places like Old Navy like to sneak in a little "10% wool" on you. Forever 21 does that too, but for the most part, you can find faux-leather jackets and non-wool pea coats that are really affordable.

100% Polyester, and really freaking cute pea coat trench. And at a whopping $37.80.

White faux leather jacket. $32.80

This cute little hooded number: only $32.80A black knit trench coat: vegan, chic and only $34.80

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American Apparel:

This kind of seems like a "duh" but American Apparel has some really awesome HEAVY vegan coats for women and men. They have a lot of cool things like faux leather hoodies, but they aren't very warm so I won't post about them.

This unisex, 100% vegan coat is sherpa lined, heavy and great for Columbus winter. Andrew calls it his sherpa coat. A little pricier at $157.00

Unisex snow vest, 100% polyester, $50.00

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Gap - for the men:

Gap is really good at getting cotton, non-wool items for the men. Not so much for the ladies though. There are a few thin, cropped trenches and a puffer coat for women, but their pea coats tend to be all wool blends. So here's a little info for guys about where to get good looking, cruelty-free stuff.

the barracuda jacket: cotton and polyester and really nice, only $79.50

100% cotton, camo and awesome. $98.00

All cotton and nylon, this carrignton twill coat is only $88.00

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Anyway, this was just a brief vegan coat tour. If you have any other suggestions, by all means, share. I hope you all are staying warm in a cruelty-free way.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

New Shoes: For Shame

I know I have complained in the past about how expensive Olsen Haus shoes are and how I'm cheap when it comes to clothing... but sometimes things change.

Recently, my boss has complained that the office looks too casual, because we all wear jeans and sandals. So, that was kind of an excuse for Andrew and I to go buck wild and buy new stuff. Somehow that included these...

I'm ordinarily a size 9.5 to a 10, but Olsen Haus doesn't make half sizes. I went for a 9 and they fit perfectly. They're white vegan patent leather with a thick heel and a peep toe. Inside the shoes, they read "Olsen Haus: Pure Vegan; There is only the Truth". I'm not sure what that means, but I'll assume it's some pro-vegan propaganda. If you go to the Olsen Haus website, she has some interesting diagrams under "the 'truth' about animals" [[more references to "the truth"]].

Anyway, I think they're cool shoes and decently comfortable for a heel; a habit I'm slowly coming into. I had to grow out of my 10 dollar sandals and t-shirts someday...


Monday, July 6, 2009

Zoe & Zac: An Eco Shoe Line

I have a lot of issues with my feet. I'm a little more than 5'6'' and they're a whopping size 10. Most of the time when I go to the size 10 section, the options are slim. All of a sudden the cute stuff I saw on the size 7 rack has been relinquished to bright pink rhinestone heels and strange assortments of wedding shoes. Now that I'm vegan, I'll often see a pair of shoes that I love and then quickly realize they're made out of leather. And since the size 10 rack is bad enough, I'm pretty much out of options at that point. Even when I find pleather shoes, if they're closed toe, it's a no-go. I'm slightly ashamed to share with you all that pleather makes my feet sweat. And when they sweat, my shoes become horrendously smelly and completely unwearable. I think it's safe to say I have major shoe issues.

Recently, I wrote a post about Olsen Haus and how awesome her shoes are but how I couldn't bring myself to buy them. And as much as I love what she's doing, I'm glad I didn't. Payless has an eco, vegan line called Zoe & Zac that's really adorable, cheap, and doesn't make my feet sweat.

You should definitely check out this line. Their shoes are made of organic cottons [[which thankfully, breath well, heh]], 20% recycled rubber, and nickle-free metal and hemp. I'm a huge fan of the ballet flat [[at my height wearing heels makes me feel like a giant]] -- which is usually made of leather or pleather, all bad things for me. This weekend I picked up their cotton black flats, the Snapdragon Ballet, for 10 dollars. They also have some cool wedges and interesting sandals, along with a line of accessories.

A lot of people are concerned about the hidden ecological costs of these shoes. Importing these shoes from China isn't great for the environment, true. And the fact that they can charge 10 dollars for these doesn't speak well for the manufacturing conditions. To this I say, I do what I can. I'll buy American when financially able, but until then I have to settle for the lesser of the evils.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Vegan Shoe Shopping: Olsen Haus

I'm the cheapest girl I know when it comes to clothing. I cringe at a 20$ t-shirt. Anything over 40$ for a pair of jeans is just out of the question. My favorite jeans are the 2 for 50$ at PacSun. The cardigan I'm wearing now was 10$. I'm wearing bagged underwear from Wal-mart. I won't lie -- I rock the target clothing. And I'm sad to say, even their prices are too much for me sometimes.

When I met Andrew, he got me into American Apparel. It took me a minute to get used to buying 40$ cotton t-shirts. The thing that gets me is that I'm paying for a cruelty free shirt-- no humans were demoralized in the making of that shirt. I always find myself crawling back to my old favorites, though.

And since becoming vegan, I notice it's harder to shop at those cheap places I once loved. I find an amazing pair of shoes and pray as I search for the label, hoping to read "man-made materials". The good ones are always leather, though.

So, when I found Olsen Haus, a pure vegan online shoe store, I was sooo excited. Finally shoes that look cool without skinning a cow [[and no, they're not the same cows you eat, for you delusional meat eaters out there]]. AND THEN, I found these super edgy, paint splattered pair of green wedges.

I don't even want to talk about them, I'm so upset. Who would pay 175$ for a pair of shoes? It's outrageous. I could buy them, but it just feels wrong. Where is this haven of cheap, vegan shoes that don't look like something my grandma would wear?

HOWEVER, Haus is pretty cool and very into spreading vegan awareness. Their website includes a bit entitled "the 'truth' about animals" [[You should TOTALLY look at that link. It's the coolest thing I've seen. A clever way to show the truth about your clothing.]] . I'd almost consider buying their shoes a donation to a cause. For now, I'm just longing for them from afar until I mustar up the courage to buy them... maybe.