Inkkas: My snazzy ethical high-tops!

I spent most of my time at Who's Next scouting out ethical shoe brands, because like many others, I find shoes one of the most difficult things to buy ethically without compromising on style. Wandering around with my flatmate, we spotted the Inkkas stand from a long way off, thanks to its snazzy display of high-tops and low-tops made from stunning South American textiles. And their ethical credentials were on display too: all shoes are handmade in Peru, and 10% of every sale goes towards protecting the Amazon rainforest.

Inkkas only use authentic South American textiles in their shoes, which gives them their unusual look. The company is 'committed to ensuring the health, happiness and well-being of its workers', and ensures that their artisans are paid well above average, working in a hazard-free work environment, and following the 10 principles of Fair Trade. Inkkas also work with Amazon Watch, which promotes the protection of the Amazon rainforest and the civil rights of the indigenous people who live there.

It was really interesting chatting to the founder, Dan Ben-Nun, about his journey so far with this great start-up (only founded in 2012!). The brand seems to be doing really well already, and you can even find some styles stocked at Urban Outfitters. But for the full range, check out the Inkkas website!

Dan was kind enough to offer me a pair to test out. I opted for the Concrete Jungle high-tops - what do you think? I styled them up with the brightest outfit I could think of. You can never have too many patterns!

So what's the verdict? Really comfy shoes that look cool, give back, and that you can be either silly or sensible in (see above).

How would you style yours?

(...and as a quick note, I'm off travelling for the next month, so see you all in September!)

Sadie xxx
 

Disclosure: I received a free pair of shoes as compensation for this post but all opinions are my own!

Paris Ethical Shopping Guide: Hippy Market

I stumbled upon Hippy Market when getting rather desperately lost on my way to a vintage fair, and I'm glad I did. I knew there must be some sort of shop like this somewhere, so it was great to finally locate one - it's the sort of vintage shop where everything is neatly organised by theme, has a general price scheme, and where skirts and dresses come pre-shortened. A bit like COW vintage in England, I suppose.

I like how they decided to make '100% ethique, 100% récyclé' a selling point, too. Which it is! Along with the trendy merchandising, a clever little room just for menswear and a corner entirely dedicated to leopard print.

Definitely worth a visit, and it's very close to Hotel de Ville, so you can even throw in some touristy bits at the end of your shop for good measure!

There are actually two Hippy Markets in Paris (and in other big French cities)...

Addresses:
21 rue du Temple

75004 le Marais

3 rue de Turbigo

75001 Paris

Sadie xxx

Le Café des 2 Moulins (Amélie's Café!)

I visited Paris with my family a few years ago, and we spent an afternoon looking for 'The Amélie Café' using directions given to us by the man behind the desk at the hotel, which turned out to be completely wrong. Woops! We left without having found it, and everyone was rather disgruntled and achey after rambling around the steep hills of Montmartre for just a little bit too long.

So since moving here, it was an absolute priority to find the café, and indulge in a crème brûlée, à la Amélie Poulin herself (complete with gleeful cracking of the burnt sugar crust, obviously). It was my first ever crème brûlée, and was definitely not what I had expected. Who'd have thought it would be cold?! Anyway... I soon went back for my second, in the company of a friend who came to visit. 

Perfectly Parisian, with its mirrored walls, polished bar and wooden stools, I'd definitely recommend the café if you're visiting Paris. There are only a few hints of it being one of the main locations in the film: a couple of posters, an 'Amélie' menu option (crème brûlée plus a hot drink for around €8), and a little display of film memerobilia in the toilets. In fact, one of my colleagues said she used to hang out there on weekends - so it must be good, if the locals go there!

 

Contrary to what my family thought, the café is actually extremely easy to find. It's about half way up the road just to the right of the Moulin Rouge, right by the Blanche metro stop. There is another bar called Lux Bar just opposite, which is also well worth stopping at - cool art nouveau interiors, a shaped wooden bar and a lively playlist all day!

Address:
15 Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris

Sadie xxx

Paris Ethical Shopping Guide: Emmaüs

I've decided to start a little ethical shopping guide to Paris, as I've had a few requests for ideas on places to go!

First up is Emmaüs, one of the biggest (and best) charity shops I have ever visited! This particular shop is open on Saturdays only (get there early for all of the best stuff), and is located up in the north-eastern 19th arrondissement. The charity was founded by Abbé Pierre in 1949 in order to help the homeless, some of whom are actually employed by the organisation, to help in the shop and in the processing of donations.

The shop itself is more like a giant warehouse, with a quirky-yet-tastefully-merchandised boutique-feel. The ceilings are high, the décor is bright and colourful, and large wooden structures artfully divide the huge space into specific zones. There is a section for second-hand haberdashery goods, men's, women's and children's clothing, white goods, other electronics, furniture, shoes, books and CDs, as well as a little vintage section. I even spotted a little knitting class taking place on some comfy looking sofas in a quiet corner. This place has everything you could ever want!

I left with some 60s flower-shaped elbow patches, a giant bag of buttons, some balls of wool and a chic little black cardigan, all for under €15.

Address:
42 Rue Riquet

75019  Paris

Sat: 10am-6pm

(I recently discovered another one, about a 5 minute walk away, over at the Centquatre):
104 bd d'Aubervilliers

75019  Paris

Weds-Fri: 3pm-7pm

Sat : 10am-7pm

Sadie xxx

Monkee Genes!

When I made the decision to start buying ethically earlier this year, I was a bit worried about how I'd buy

ethical jeans, having not heard of any companies who sold them - or at least, companies who had a choice of more than one or two styles. But Monkee Genes have saved the day with their huge range of design options... with 'Skinny', 'Supa-Skinny', 'Skin', Flares, 'Slim Fit', Shorts AND Chinos to choose from, in the largest selection of different fabrics and finishes I have ever seen (have a look here).

I chose their 'Skin' Fit style, which is the skinniest of all the styles available on their website. And I must say I'm genuinely very very impressed. These jeans use their 'Bamboo' fabric which is made from natural fibres known as Tencel (more sustainable than cotton), making them super soft. But the best thing I noticed about the fabric is that it somehow maintains the shape of the jeans. I've worn them most days since they arrived and they still feel as good as new every time. Nothing worse than baggy knees!

The jeans are made in a factory in Indonesia which is certified by the Soil Association, and has commitment to not using sweatshops and child labour - one of the brand's biggest selling points in my eyes. That, and the fact that they are so well made... I doubt I'll have any trouble with zips breaking or seams ripping after a close inspection of the details.

It's surprisingly hard to model jeans but I hope these photos give you an idea! Thought I'd roll up the legs a bit as it was a sunny day :).

Jeans c/o Monkee Genes, Vintage Lace top: Carboot, Vintage Blazer: Charity Shop, Shoes: Vintage shop in south of France!

For these photos I dared to venture to a public place with my tripod and camera remote. I spotted this location on my university campus a few weeks ago: a strangely 'forgotten' old changing room that is still in use as a ladies bathroom but contains hints of its former use (and décor!). The pipes I'm standing on were still connected to the central heating, and I assume once heated benches under the pegs. As soon as I walked in here I knew it needed to be used as an outfit location... just needed to pluck up the courage to face the risk of people walking in and having to awkwardly explain that I'm a 'fashion blogger', not just really weird...

So... who here hates posing for photos in a public place? I'm never doing it again, haha!

Sadie xxx

P.S. Monkee Genes have kindly offered 20% off for the rest of the month if you enter SADIES1220 at the checkout :). I'd really recommend them if you want to invest in a good quality pair of jeans. And they do half sizes too! Who'd have thought you could buy size 9 jeans?!

And then it was gone

'And then it was gone' is the latest fashion film by photographer Claire Pepper, showcasing ethical designers such as People Tree, Made, Hattie Rickards and Hentrietta Ludgate as well as vintage items in this stunning setting, an old victorian school building in London. The video draws attention to the ways in which we use our resources, and how they may eventually be gone.

As a fashion blogger, I love a good fashion video, especially ones as pretty as this! I really appreciate the fact that this video specifically showcases ethical fashion, showing that it can fit just as seamlessly into an elegant fashion video as its unethical counterpart.

I think perhaps ethical fashion has had a bad name in the past... hemp yoga pants anyone? (I do secretly own a pair of these, but purely for household wear!). It's great to see the recent surge in fashionable clothing 'with a conscience', and it's lovely to see videos like these doing justice to the designs.

Sadie xxx

Clothes Show Live: an ethical perspective

I was lucky enough to be given a press pass this year's Clothes Show Live, so yesterday I ventured to Birmingham's NEC all on my lonesome to join the masses of shoppers at this humungous event. If I'm honest, I was kind of dreading it - several football pitches' worth of fast fashion terrifies the living daylights out of me. But I wasn't really there for that: I had given myself the challenge of looking for ethical fashion brands, which thankfully were sprinkled in and amongst all of the rest of it.

For any of you who might be heading to The Clothes Show over the weekend, here is my ethical fashion round-up...

Oxfam Fashion
I couldn't not mention Oxfam Fashion here (I am one of their blog contributors, afterall!). I was pleased to see that they had two stalls, one filled with vintage clothing, and another for clothing customisation. They were selling vintage cashmere jumpers for a mere £15, so I snapped up a lovely green one. Wish I bought two now!

I watched one of the volunteers expertly customising a baby blue jumper with a pretty lace peterpan collar and some buttons - it makes all the difference, and is so easy to do (who needs Topshop?). Here is her work in progress...

Oxfam were running a competition at the show, to win a dress and necklace as worn by Beyoncé! It also included a 10% discount for their online shop. Very generous...

Vintage
My second stop of the day (actually a happy accident... I had no idea where I was at any point, despite having a map), was the vintage section. Buying vintage is one of the most ethical ways to consume, as it means clothes are recycled rather than going into landfill, and it also means new clothes aren't created. And as a vintage lover, I'm not complaining...

I'd like to say a quick hello to the lovely lady who recognised me!

Brooches, necklaces, earrings, bracelets... at Sallys Jewellery

My top picks from Anita's Vintage Fair... can't believe I left that mod dress behind. It was only £25!

Ethical Brands

I was deliberately searching for ethical brands, but unfortunately only came across two! Nevertheless, these two t-shirt brands really stuck in my mind. Here are my favourite t-shirts...

On the left: This was from a selection of fairtrade t-shirts made from a rage of ethically sourced and sustainable materials, including bamboo! The illustrations were all original designs by Tomoya Hiramatsu - I found this particular design rather creepy but characterful! The people on the stall were very chatty and I so very nearly bought this t-shirt, priced at £25. You can find them online at Conquer Gear.

On the right: I wanted to buy this T-shirt at last year's show, but couldn't quite afford it (same applies this year). It is from the Environmental Justice Foundation, which successfully campaigned to get the poisonous chemical Endosulfan banned in many countries. They were selling a range of organic fairtrade t-shirts featuring illustrations by prominent fashion designers. This one by Luella Bartley was my favourite.

Sknitch

This is a rather innovative section of Clothes Show Live, and offers the public the chance to learn new skills and how to upcycle old items of clothing. They had an 'Inspiration Stage', upon which an appliqué competition was taking place when I walked past. There were also two knitting workshops which looked like a very good place to relax after a tiring day shopping.



So, what did I buy?

I thought I'd treat myself to a lovely green cashmere jumper from Oxfam Fashion, which I have already worn once - it's so cosy! I also stopped off at Dahlia to see what all of the blogosphere fuss is about. I picked up a peter-pan collar dress on their £10 rail - the dress was originally £60! And finally, a book on Eco Fashion from Laurence King, which I'm hoping will help me work out where I aim to work in the future.

I hope you enjoyed my guide... sorry it was a bit long!

Sadie xxx

Out and About

On Saturday, the boy and I headed into town to have a look around the vintage shops. Digbeth in Birmingham is filled with hidden gems, and on our trip we discovered a shop we had never seen before - a great find as it was filled with extra cheap items (£4 for a blouse... yes please!). I'm a bit fed up with vintage shops charging extortionate prices, so this was a very welcome addition to my list of shopping haunts. The shop had some very pretty displays, including a row of russian dolls keeping an eye on customers from a central table, a pile of retro suitcases, and even an old Biba bag. I love finding places like this on roads I wouldn't usually wander down!

I made a few purchases in Digbeth (no doubt to be featured in a blog post soon!), then we headed to the dreaded Bullring to spend a voucher I received for my birthday. The Bullring is a complete no-go zone on a Saturday... I struggle to comprehend the amount of money that must change hands there in an hour, if the queues for the escalators alone are 15 people long. Seeking a bit of tranquility, we popped down to Selfridges for a nose around at all of the interesting food on the ground floor, as well as a quick look at the really expensive handbags next to the champagne lounge...

Anyway, on our way out, and with the enthusiasm of two excitable young children, we decided to try out a sushi bar! We were watching the conveyer belt go around for a good 15 minutes, waiting for some Vegetable Tempura to pop up, before a kind soul pointed out that you can just request for something if you ask a waitress! Dur. At least the wait allowed me to take (far too many) photos of the conveyer belt. It was very entrancing.

Note to self: brush hair before having photo taken on expensive camera!

If anyone wanted to visit the vintage shop, it can be found at 91 Allison Street, Digbeth, Birmingham. I'd highly recommend it! There is a good little vegetarian café on the same street called Warehouse Café - another favourite of mine.

Sadie xxx

P.S. Stay tuned as I have a giveaway coming up at the end of this week!