Watch Tommy Shaw of Styx “purge” (that sounds very LA) his closet with Closet Control author Barbra Horowitz. Highlights include him painting on an orange jumpsuit from his touring days and getting repeated spankings by his very involved wife.

Celebrity stylist Barbra Horowitz, co-sponsor of Greenloop’s 1st Annual ReShirt Cutting Contest and the author of style bible Closet Control, is in the business of teaching people how to dress themselves. Having learned the tricks of the trade from her fashionista mother, Barbra teaches people how to invest wisely in wardrobe and how to nurture those assets once they’ve been acquired.

One of her many lessons is how to transform garments from old & tired to fresh & fabulous by taking underused clothes you’re attached to- that family reunion t-shirt, cherished 80’s prom dress, or the oversized vintage couture piece- and cutting, dyeing, or tailoring them back to greatness. The woman is a closet alchemist.

In this video, Barbra shows you how to take a stained garment you’re on the verge of throwing away and dye it into something you’ll always want to keep. And it’s easy! Seriously, the whole video clip is so quick and painless, you might have to watch it again to make sure you didn’t miss anything. Check it out…

Calling all eco-fashionistas, aspiring sustainable designers and DIY gurus, here’s your time to shine! (And get free clothes.) Greenloop, together with Barbra Horowitz, present to you the 1st Annual ReShirt Cutting Contest. You know all those t-shirts in your closet that might not make it to next season? Is it too big, too wide, the neck is tight, or the style is all wrong…well, get out your scissors and get to snippin!’

Barbra Horowitz, author of Closet Control, is an LA-based style guru. In her book and attached DVD, Barbra shows you how to rework and revamp what you already own to get the wardrobe you really want. She also explains how investing in high end style and reselling it is beneficial for your wardrobe, the planet and your pocketbook.

Now it’s time to show Barbra Horowitz, the brains behind the original Tee Party, and Aysia, the woman behind the premier online eco-fashion retailer Greenloop, how you can rock a fresh t-shirt design armed with only a pair of scissors and your own personal design savvy. (more…)

WhoWhatWearDaily.com has put together this entertaining little video clip on what to wear…Eco-style. They pull from a couple of dedicated eco-designers like EcoSkin and Linda Loudermilk, but the majority of their picks come from mainstream, conventional designers offering a few eco-options mixed with conventional (read: non-green) items. Being completely submerged in the world of eco-apparel and accessories, to me, it seems just silly to pull anything but dedicated brands for a piece like this. That said, I have to realize that the average shopper may need to be eased in to the world of sustainable style, and this is not a bad way to do it….mix the familiar with the unfamiliar. Add to that the fact that eco-brands are not always easy to find (Hint: Shop ONLINE!) it makes their approach a little easier to understand. While I prefer to support designers that are green from the ground up, I do have to applaud at least token efforts to green up the operations of traditionally un-green collections. Now lets just hope those small steps inspire them to embrace sustainable design all the way around.

The charismatic couple of Conscious Living TV, Bianca and Michael Alexander, show us “Urban Fashion At Its Finest” in this eco fashion tour de force. From our sustainably fashion forward neighbors in Montreal to the funky vintage shops of Hollywood, Conscious Living TV takes us coast to coast uncovering edgy and retro designs, useful green wardrobe tips, and Michael’s bootilicious dance moves. Relax and enjoy the show-the fun (and the funk) of these two is infectious.

In the classicly edgy words of Mikey Koffman, Owner of eco fashion PR firm The Gallery Los Angeles, “Go green or go home.” With models like these, I will not be going home. The Gallery pulled off it’s second eco-driven show for LA Fashion Week and proved to the international fashion world once again that sustainable fashion rocks.

Housed in the hubbub of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Culver City, The Green Initiative Humanitarian Fashion Show was more than a mouthful of feel good words. Lady Muse by Mathilde, lilikoi by Barbara Boswell, M The Movement, Rene Geneva, Andira Rain Tees and Vintage China seamlessly blended style, sustainability, and social awareness on the runway. Each designer opened with a dance performance from a different culture, from Breaking to Ballet to Traditional Chinese Ribbon Dance…nice touch. M The Movement repped for men’s eco fashion in a big way. He dressed his opening b-boys as well as his Adonis-like male models in bamboo, soy, organic cotton, and the hot new addition to the world of sustainable fabrics: charcoal. (Apparently bamboo charcoal can be embedded in various fabrics as an odor-absorbing biodegradable blending material.)

Lady Muse kept her designs very French and very recycled, or “rescued” as she called them in her adorable accent. All of the materials used for Mathilde’s pieces were surplus fabrics, including gorgeous metallic brocade, from which she constructed her Victorian era-inspired jackets. lilikoi used hemp silk, bamboo, linen and organic cotton for her wrap dresses mixed with casual tees and sexy pencil skirts. (more…)

There is something inspiring about seeing just how creative designers can be in their materials selection. What really does it for me though are end-use products made possible by dipping into the waste stream…quite literally in some cases. Let’s talk trash…as it applies to fashion.

While they may not be totally practical for a day at the office, or even a night on the town, I’ve seen some amazing artistry come forth in dress form from some very unlikely materials. Take, for example, this little strapless number made entirely from recycled food bar wrappers collected an airplane flight. I love the banded top and the detail at the hemline from the overlapping wrappers. Do you think she’s afraid of giving the cab driver a little more tip than he bargained for should a few of those wrappers take flight?

Makes you think twice about where your Cliff bar wrapper might end up.

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