With the hullaballoo and drama of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa (or for some folks all three), New Year’s Eve is a holiday that can easily sneak up on you. You can find yourself scrambling last minute for fabulous plans, the dress of your dreams, and the cash to make it all come true. Here’s some down-to-earth NYE options that won’t put the planet or your bank account in jeopardy.

Affordable Eco Couture

René Geneva Design creates the ultimate in glamazon party dresses. Her extensive background in eco corset design lends to super sexy well-constructed knockouts in shiny and colorful hemp silks, organic cotton, and non-GMO soy jersey. René Geneva designs are romantic, sexy showstoppers, so be prepared to turn heads. The most exciting part of all-affordable eco couture. You may have never seen these three words together before, but René Geneva is unique in more ways than one. Pieces range from $150-$285 and believe me, these are heirloom worthy garments. If you need to alleviate consumer-related guilt, check out René’s work installing solar panels in a Nicaraguan sewing cooperative, organizing the Scraps For Schools program in Austin, and guaranteeing that each and every piece she creates is carbon neutral. Even her website is wind-powered. René Geneva is a true green goddess of the design world.

Vintage Vixen

If you’ve watched any classic film from the 1940′s or 50′s, you can attest-those women knew something about glamor. Scour the fab local vintage stores in almost any city large or small to find a stunning New Year’s gown or party dress in your price range. If you don’t have a quality vintage boutique in your area, check out online vintage meccas like Vintageous and Blue Velvet Vintage.

The Little Black Dress

There is of course, always and eternally, the most steadfast and versatile classic of all…the little black dress. And if you want your little black dress to be a bit green too, there’s plenty to choose from for NYE 08. Whether you’re going clubhopping in Miami, LA, Vegas or Jersey City, the slinky bamboo and hemp silk numbers from ecoSkin should do the trick nicely. If you’re ringing in 2009 with champagne and swing dancing, the Kat Dress by Canadian-based designers Deux fm (pronounced doo-fahm) will be just the right thing to wear. For the most romantic New Year’s Eve dinner, in or out of the house, the Alison Dress by Sublet is easy to slip out of in a hurry. (What? It’s good to be prepared for any urgent NYE situation!)

Whether you spend NYE ’09 dancing, singing, chanting, praying, eating, drinking, or just hanging around in bed (again, this is a blog for adult readers, and I could have meant in bed sleeping), please be safe (as in driving) and have a very joyous and supremely blessed New Year!

So, where to begin? Your closet, of course. Do you any boots that could use a resoling or side zippers that need to be replaced? Maybe a strap has popped out of the sole of your favorite sandals and needs to be reanchored, or a dingy pair of Adidas needs a fresh pair of shoelaces to make them wearable again. Be aware that some fine, service-oriented companies like Mohop, may repair them for you. If you think your shoes fall into the Mom-And-Pop, luxury, or handmade categories, check their website to see if they’ll do the repairs in-house. Otherwise, you’ll need to find a quality cobbler near you. Use the Shoe Service Institute of America’s shoe repair shop locator. Just enter your zipcode and SSIA will serve you up a list of experienced solesavers in your neck of the woods.

It’s true there’s no more virtuous choice, environmentally-speaking, than making good with what you’ve already got. The second best option is to get high quality shoes on consignment. Consignment shops like Couture USA and Rodeo Drive Resale offer lightly used, designer goods at a fraction of the price. Jimmy Choo, here we come! Thankfully, there’s more and more high-quality sustainable shoe manufacturers coming online each season. Green Toe by Simple, Terra Plana, and Charmone are all companies dedicated to seeking out the most sustainable materials and manufacturing methods possible, while still managing to serve up up a healthy dose of style. Now if you only buy used or eco fabulous shoes from now on, be kind to them, and repair them for years to come, you may just make it into heaven after all for being so good!

Note how attending Catholic school for only one year in pre-school has affected my take on the eco fashion world. Curious. I could probably use a few Hail Manolos, I mean, Marys. (Darn it.)

Another level of cradle to cradle production is manufacturing items that are biodegradable and kept free of toxic dyes or materials. This is exactly how the wool for Helen Riegle’s Rain Bag is produced. In 2007, Chris Riegle, Helen’s husband and business partner, heard about a Cradle To Cradle-certified wool flannel made without toxic dyes. He sourced it from the mills of world-reknowned wool producer Pemberton. Helen took the C2C-certified wool and cascaded nickel studs down the strap and gusset, lined it with organic cotton, and trimmed it with PVC-free vegan leather trim to create the Rain Bag. Inside this spacious hobo, she put a zippered pocket, cell phone pocket, and a swivel key clip. The Rain Bag reflects the beautiful synthesis of fashion, function, and sustainable design prevalent in all of Helen Riegle’s collections.

When it comes to sustainable materials, Helen has also experimented with organic cotton, recycled polyester, hemp, recycled leather and micro-suede, which Chris has painstakingly sourced for the line. What’s next for HER? They will soon be incorporating a new Cradle To Cradle-certified material dubbed “eco-intelligent polyester” for the upcoming 2008 Holiday season. Chris explains, “It has been designed to be safely and perpetually used, reclaimed, and reused in high-quality products… not just downcycled into something less…For Spring/Summer 09, we plan to incorporate recycled cotton into several of our signature styles.” HER Design has consistently led the handbag industry in conscious design and remains a shining example of their credo: “Challenge conventions, live responsibly, embrace style.” Sustainability most definitely reigns at Helen Riegle.

I myself don’t normally spend editorial time ranting about things, but I’m going to take the liberty to second that emotion with the following:

Fashion is about two things: trends of the moment and timeless classics. A trend of the moment must indeed be current, edgy, fresh. A timeless classic is an 80′s hit by Prince, a Gaudi building, or a Chanel handbag-it is so well constructed and so genius, that one never tires of it. The phrase “Green Is The New Black” falls under neither category. It was actually quite bold in 2006 when Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair bravely devoted an entire issue of their magazine to environmental topics and titled his Letter From The Editor “Green is the New Black.” That was 28 long months ago. Since then, we’ve seen numerous articles, books, t-shirts, fashion shows, and tote bags galore trumpeting this duel of hues. “Green Is The New Black” is tired, played out, and stale like Christmas ornaments dangling in the hot July sun. My fashion phenomes, spread the word. Green is fresh, it is vibrant, it is versatile-it is the new classic. Black is black and beautiful and itself. Please free these colors from their identity crisis. Ecologically responsible practices are not a trend, they are a necessity of our times. Green Is The New Sane. Period.

Soy fabric, often called “soy silk” for its super smooth texture, is made by liquefying soy protein and shaping it into long, continuous fibers which are then spun into thread. Many compare the feel of the finished product to that of cashmere. Besides being biodegradable, soy fabric is a greener choice because its made from the recycled leftovers from soybean oil and tofu manufacturing. Eco designers like Anna Cohen, Linda Loudermilk, and Nina Valenti of Nature Vs. Future have been utilizing this fabric for years in sexy garments that make you look just about good enough to eat…Over rice with some veggies.