Eco Chic NYE: How To Dress

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!