Halloween is right around the corner friends. Don’t (like me) wait until All Hallow’s Eve to see what garments lurk deep in your’s closet archives that are funky enough to constitute a costume…and then end up as the Nerdy Catholic School Girl or 80’s something or other.

Thank the Internet, we have Rob Czar and Corinne Leigh of Threadbanger.com to inspire us with some inventive DIY costumes that can be made from recycled clothes, fabric spray, glue, and some serious gumption.
Continue reading DIY Halloween Costumes: Wonderland To Neverland

Andira Rain Tees was founded by Beth Doane in 2005. The word “Andira” describes a tall tree that grows in the Brazilian Amazon and has been been used medicinally for centuries by indigenous people. Due to logging and deforestation, the species is rapidly disappearing.

Andira Rain Tees are 100% organic cotton and designed by youth living in endangered rainforests across Central and South America. The illustrations are what they see around them and each Rain Tee features their name and thoughts about what’s happening.

For every Rain tee sold, the non-profit Kids Saving the Rain Forest will receive a tree they can plant to replace one that has been destroyed. Though a sapling is by no means an equal to a tree hundreds of years old, it is a small start.

World Rainforest Week is October 12th-18th. Take a moment this week to learn more about what’s happening in the rainforests around the world and what you can do to make a positive difference.

The time has come to clean-up on Stewart+Brown goodies!  Personally one of my favorite and most worn lines, you can now get amazingly soft, luxurious organic cotton sweaters, dresses, t-shirts, tops and more at 60% off!   They have the best little shorts and tanks for sleeping, working out, or just hanging out.  Just about every piece is made to layer, making each style versatile and truly seasonless.   The organic cotton canvas bags serve as purse plus shopping tote it one, with beautiful, unique graphics.  Hand knitted sweaters will become heirloom pieces that you will want to keep and pass on, the craftsmanship superb.   There is something for everyone here.  Not into the sale offerings?  Be sure to also check out the new Stewart+Brown fall styles, with more to come very soon!  Shop early for the best selection!

If you haven’t heard of Colin Beaven yet, let me tell you- the man is inspiring. He convinced his Prada-loving, quadruple-vente-latte-addicted wife to join him in an experiment to reduce their negative impact on the planet. To zero. ZERO. No waste, no petroleum use, no plastics, no purchases of new items, no electricity. Did I mention these two live in Manhattan…with a three-year-old daughter? Yes. Bold..and mildly insane.

Somehow, the three Beavans made it out of the year long experiment alive with many lessons learned, a blog, a book, and a movie featured at Sundance. Here’s Colin and family in the documentary that pushed them to the edge of their marriage…

Inspired yet? Are you ready to ride your bike to work, buy bulk food, reuse everything, and turn off your lights after dark? Starting October 18th, No Impact Week is your chance to give it a shot. Check out the guide presented by the Huffington Post…



You can download the guide and share it, electronically of course,with anybody who you think might be up to the challenge. It’s a big thing to take on, but so fun. Who wouldn’t get at least a few laughs from attempting to wash their clothes in the bathtub…with their feet?  You can sign up here and keep the conversation going on Twitter by using the hashtag #nipweek and following @noimpactgroup. Except, it does require electricity to tweet, soooo you might have to scratch that last part.

The term “It Girl” was first coined by Elinor Glyn in 1927 to characterize up-and-coming starlet Clara Bow. Glyn, a well known novelist and screenwriter of the times, boldly described her new turn of phrase, ‘”IT’ is that quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force. With “IT” you win all men if you are a woman, all women if you are a man. “IT” can be a quality of the mind as well as a physical attraction.”

An “IT Girl” for the Green Movement is currently being sought out through the Project Green Search contest. Masterminded by Greenloop’s Aysia Wright and fashion maven Remy Chevalier, the contest is searching for more than a green model, they’re looking for “an all around green model citizen.” a quest for more than just a model, they are hoping for more of a model citizen. They’re looking for “the woman who wants to take a stand, get noticed, and align her career endeavors with her personal beliefs, to be an advocate for the environment, animal welfare, fair trade, and human rights.”

The judges are a who’s who of eco fashion and beauty superstars, including Alter Eco host Darren Moore, model-activist Summer Rayne Oakes, Eco Chick blogger and published author Starre Vartan, model and organic cosmetic line creator Josie Maran, talent manager and eco fashion design queen Deborah Lindquist, amongst others.

Aysia recently pondered what role models can play in the preservation of the environment.” Fashion is a very visible, tangible expression of where a society is at any given time…Models create an image that men and women aspire to emulate. Combined, fashion and the models who portray them, present a powerful vehicle for changing, using these mediums of expression to start a conversation about environmental and social responsibility, serving as a catalyst for change both within an industry that has long been callous to both human and planetary suffering. On an individual scale, each of us can use fashion as a mode of self expression, both aesthetically and ethically, choosing to support companies that are responsible and ethical in their practices, and spreading awareness through talking, one person to the next, about the stories behind the pieces we wear.”

If it sounds like this job’s for you, register immediately-the submission period ends October 11th. Good luck ladies!

They keep telling us beauty shines from the inside out. It’s only skin deep. So why do so few people actually try to find out what’s really going on within themselves on an energy level to make it look that way? Sure, happy people seem healthier, if they don’t cross over into obnoxious, which is why I suspect so many fashion mavens tend to appear drab, detached or blase for fear of looming too elated about life so dreary. But it goes deeper than this. True charisma springs not from giddy angst, it rises from a deep sense of understanding about your well of being. And that takes a little bit of doing. Today, thanks to modern technology, we know that the energy flowing through our bodies is what gives us that glow. Energy is energy, fluid… like water, like electricity. It’s shared, it’s stolen, it’s borrowed. Life eats life. It follows universal laws of attraction. It’s all in this book, the latest science, engineering work, medical studies… Cyndi Dale has done an amazing job of editing the most thorough and up to date compilation on the subject. If you’re only concerned about hair color and lipstick shade, this book ain’t for you. But if you know you look your best without a stitch of make-up on? Well this is going to become your new bible!

This book is a gem, and no aspiring green model should be without it. It’s true blue, or true green… it comes from a place of deep conviction. It might be a little too much for someone who just likes to walk into a beauty supply house and pick from the shelves without reading the ingredients on the label, because it will teach you how to make your own natural concoctions. You can go into business for yourself if you apply Julie Gabriel’s dedication. She’s a pioneer. This book came out a couple of years before the big green cosmetic push. There wasn’t the slew of organic make-up brands that there are available in stores today. This will give you the basics, the hows and the whys it’s important to study very carefully all the things you apply to your skin, not just for yourself, your own health, but for the health of the planet as well. This is a how to, so if you’re going to develop a career as a model who refuses to put on her face foreign substances of dubious origins, you’ll need the tools to keep at bay make-up artists still intent on hording their wares to the highest bidder, making you suffer for it. This book is protection, like a book of law.

Soon we enter the voting period for Project Green Search, with nearly 80 women competiting for an opportunity to secure reputations as green models. Every single one of our contestants should delve into this book, written by one who invented the new definition. Up until SRO came along, the only dividing line at modeling agencies were girls who wear fur and those who don’t. After Summer things got a little more complicated. Though this book is not written with green models in mind, each chapter is experienced through the eyes of someone whose chosen profession makes her understand better than anyone else the difficulties of walking the talk. It conceals a how to be a green model underbelly. As more green companies get established, so will opportunities for intelligent models to respect themselves enough to pick and choose what they are selling. To make educated and conscious decisions about the products they’re endorsing. In her book, Summer hints at the reasons why all these choices are important, and leads the way for other models to follow in her footsteps.

Apparently the greenest thing about Portland Fashion Week is actually its DJ. Opening night of PFW was off to rough start with some rather ambitious music mixes by a DJ one can only guess was some executive’s little brother. Check out the musical stylings at Vigor Industrial, and you will see what I’m talking about. Ouch!

Sadly Defyance was not the only designer suffering from DJ trainwreck hell. Sportswear line Icebreaker was murdered by the tasteless 90’s classic “Ice Ice Baby” crashing into some whimsical Indie Rock jam. And then, WHAM!

Sorry to do that to you, the innocent reader of In The Loop. Thank goodness WHAM was there to finish it off. I never realized how soothing George Michael could actually be.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Am I crazy or does the whole situation just make you go, “WTF?! Just pay a professional DJ!” Sorry to go Perez Hilton on you, but it’s fashion week y’all. C’mon.

Mayor Villaraigosa has one major thing on his mind for this LA Fashion Week this year, and that’s green.  A far cry from last year’s eco-fashion preview on the lawn of the mayoral mansion, the “green” Villaraigosa pontificates about these days is more the cold, hard kind.

“Fashion is a $28 million industry, and it’s the fourth largest basic industry in the region. More than 200,000 people are employed in work which involves designing, producing and selling,” stated Mayor Villaraigosa at yesterday’s press conference at the California Market Center.

The Mayor’s singular focus was also illustrated in his only tweet regarding the press conference,”Kicking off LA Fashion Week – great to have creative talent, 53k buyers and sellers, and $50 million coming to LA!“

Though the press conference this year focused on the positive economic impact of supporting the LA fashion industry, there is actually a positive ecological impact as well. As one of the few thriving centers of manufacturing left in the USA, Los Angeles not only designs, but produces many of the country’s garments right in the middle of Downtown. Stimulating the LA economy through encouraging the local fashion scene results in significant reductions in carbon-heavy shipping on foreign imports. It turns out both shades of green will be in fashion for LAFW 09 after all.

If you’ll be in town October 12-20 or the 28-31, be sure to reserve your spot at one of the many events of LA Fashion Week.

***The most exciting runway show for us at LAFW 09 is of course, the eco rockstars of the LA fashion world, The Battalion. Sisters Linda and Chrys Wong will be showing their Spring 10 line on Thursday, October 15 at 5pm at MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art).