Portland Fashion Week held a cadre of green runways last week with designers from Samunderneath to Nike. While the PFW shows ran on Friday night at 14 Square, an alternative show appropriately dubbed “Runaway” was held down the street at the swank art mecca, Someday Lounge. New looks for Spring/Summer 09 sauntered across the stage by Reif, Moth Love by Gretchen Jones, Dust by Julia Blackburn, Paige of Paradox, sword + fern, and our favorite PDX designer-Emily Katz.

Emily featured fresh white frocks with accessible retro cuts. Katz’s style is always very wearable and very chic; she gives you well-constructed classics you can hold onto for years. This Spring/Summer collection gave us the perfect dress for a real date or a style-heavy social hour. Depending on how rigorous your social life is, you may want to get yourself more than one.

Portland Fashion Week is here once again, and we at Greenloop are of course, quite excited about our hometown’s big green fashion event. Last year, we saw heavyhitters of eco fashion, like Anna Cohen, Stewart + Brown, Del Forte, and NatureVsFuture strut their stuff on the emerald catwalk. In 2008, Nike Considered returns as a sponsor and designer at the event. Another PDX native, Sameunderneath, is returning with their sustainable ready to wear line and egalitarian message, along with IDOM and Alula. Tons of fresh faces are hitting the 2008 runways along with the PFW veterans, like Collier, Salvationware, Revival Clothing, In Harmony, and Strung Out by Peniche. All will be showing their Spring/Summer collections for 2009, and all will be vying for the attention of buyers and press alike.

Portland Fashion Week is the only fashion week in the US completely devoted to sustainable designers; sustainable fashion means sourcing, manufacturing, packaging, and/or shipping in ways that are the most considerate of the ecologies and communities they effect in the process. PFW focuses mostly on the talent of indie designers, and aims to give these emerging business owners a leg up in the fashion world by making the show very affordable to participate in. PFW also seeks to draw national attention to this gorgeous city itself, and it’s unique blend of art, commerce, and sustainability. Portland is indeed a lush, green metropolis devoted to artisanship and strong community, making PFW the ideal scene for Portland’s design mavens to show the world what they got. The event runs from October 8th-12th at the Portland Design Center in the 14 Square building of Portland’s posh Pearl District.

There was a time back in the early 90’s when I thought a midriff length shirt was hot…really hot. I used to rock baggy jeans and sneakers with just a sports bra, like I was in TLC or something. I have noticed over the years, that many of the fashions I chose to wear as a teenager are the exact opposite now (thank goodness), including my shirts. I love them long. It’s not that I’m embarassed of my stomach, it thankfully hasn’t changed a bit. I just don’t want to share my bellybutton with my bank clerk or my landlord…unless I’m trying to get some sort of deal or something. Just kidding!

I used to have to search high and low for tops that didn’t expose my little four-pack, but to no avail. During the big low rise craze, shorter shirts were all you could find and women were completely unable to mask their crack problems (and I don’t mean cocaine.) In Fall 2008, fashion is following function once again. The lengthened tee is a welcome trend that has been trickling forth for the last few years and has finally caught fire. Now you can relax tummy muscles and save your hot body for only the people that really deserve to see it-like Gael Garcia-Bernal or Johnny Depp or Angelina Jolie or Taye Diggs or…you get me.

Hey guys, Point Blank Progressive has got you covered for election gear in a totally groovy way this fall.

Even though this funky t-shirt looks like it could be the hottest thing for Election ‘80, it’s actually so you can Barack-it-out in ‘08. This 100% organic cotton tee is made right here in the USA, so you can feel like a true patriot in more ways than one when you don this T.

Point Blank also has organic retro styles for the neutral “Proud Voter,” and even ones for the man still hanging on to the woman he once loved, Hillary. If you’re the kind of guy who wants to get behind a GOP kind of lady, the 100% organic McCain-Rice 2008 tee over at Cult Classic T’s is perfect for you…weirdo.

Since 2001, Beyond Skin has been turning out handmade vegan and vegetarian shoes in their family-run factory in East London. To create a deeper level of sustainability with their product, their designers focus on creating durable, stylish footwear that can be worn year round, rather than seasonally.

In regards to their vegan materials and their resulting environmental footprint, Beyond Skin says, “Every attempt will be made to stay as informed as possible of more natural, organic fabrics as they are developed and become more available on the market. Our packaging is produced using materials from a sustainable source and all our promotional material is printed on recycled paper using soya based inks.”

Soya, that’s so British. Well, it sounds like they’re into the vegan thing, but not quite there yet with petroleum-free, chemical-free materials; though they do use some organic cotton. With their polyvinyl and synthetic leathers, Beyond Skin seems to consider every way they can make the more eco choice.

Well, they’ve certainly have turned out a gorgeous line of vegan shoes, so if nothing else we, can be cruelty-free and quite stylish with Beyond Skin.

(Is it just me or is the name “Beyond Skin” a little eerie for a vegan shoe company? Just checking.)

For two years, TOMS Shoes has been a shining example of a For Benefit company. Toms has a One For One program; for every pair of their Argentinian-style canvas shoes (known as alpargatas) sold, one pair of TOMS is given to a child in need. Founder Blake Mycoskie and team have travelled to Argentina and South Africa for their soon-to-be-famous “shoe drops,” where they fit the kids personally with the new shoes.

This season, Blake’s come up with a new out-of-the-box design-”The Wrap Boot.” Inspired by his polo playing days in Argentina, Blake modeled The Wrap Boot after the “polo wraps” wound around the bottom of a horse’s cannon bone during a match, which serve as both decoration and tendon support. The Wrap Boot is made with a classic alpargata base and a stretched elastic upper with velcro closures, and comes in five colors. If you’re a TOMS fan, welcome to your new Winter shoe.

With the launch of this new boot, Blake has made it a TOMS Shoes mission to eradicate Podoconiosis, a debilitating condition found primarily in rural districts of Ethiopia which causes swelling and ulcers in the lower legs and feet. The disease is 100% preventable by wearing shoes that are able to keep the soil completely away from the skin, so TOMS has pledged that for every pair of wrap boots purchased, they will give a pair of specially-designed footwear to an Ethiopian in need.

In addition to playing polo, this Renaissance man also has a past with screenwriting and directing, so Blake headed back to Argentina to shoot a short film to promote his new shoe. If you’re in SoCal, there is a screening tonight of No Polo Widow at Huntington Surf and Sport in Huntington Beach starting at 6pm. The Toms team will be there in full swing with music, food, drinks, and of course, shoes. Vicky and Fernando Aguerre (Founder of Reef) will be hosting. The film is a little bit Disney, a touch Almoldovar, and a healthy dose of 80’s style Cinemax after hours. Fyah. If you are one of the billions of people who do not live in Southern California, you can check out the scintillating No Polo Widow right here on In The Loop…

No Polo Widow from TOMS Shoes on Vimeo

Honestly, the concept of disposable plastic items has got to be one of the most stupid ideas in human history. On par with nuclear energy, disposable plastics are made for a one-time use, then end up as toxic waste that lasts almost forever. It’s “convenient” and cheap in the short term, and polluting and cancer-causing in the not-so-short term. A shocking factoid: Americans use 2.5 million bottles every hour. Oh my.

So, what to do my friends?  Make a resolution to stop using them. It’s easy. Get yourself the most fabulous water bottle you can find and carry it with you wherever you go. Concerned about water quality? Pepsi’s brand of bottled water, Aquafina, is the best-selling brands of water in the country. It’s tap water. Coca-Cola’s brand Dasani, tap water. If we have filtered tap water at home and the office, why don’t we just fill up our reusable water bottles when we’re there? Much cheaper. Much chiccer. Concerned about what your friends will think if they’re not doing it yet? Believe me, they will be in a few months and then they’ll be so impressed about what a trendsetter you are. And with all the fabulous choices for water bottles on the market, the most difficult thing about getting into the habit of using them is picking which one you want!

OUT…………………………………………….IN
Plastic Shopping Bags……………….Fashionable Canvas Totes
Poland Spring and Evian…………..SIGG and Klean Kanteen
Plastic Utensils……………………………Reusable To-Go Ware
Disposable Party Plates……………..Mismatched Vintage Dishware
Styrofoam Takeout…………………….Eating In

Is the trend apparent? With Peak Oil on the horizon, our petroleum-based products are naturally headed OUT. Conscious and cute everyday tools are very much IN. Let’s change the number one selling item at Whole Foods from plastic bottled water to stainless steel water bottles, and turn our future landfills into future land trusts.