A Year of Ethical Fashion

I've decided to sign up for 'A Year of Ethical Fashion', which has been launched by Pip Lincolne on her Meet Me At Mikes blog.

Here's the Year of Ethical Fashion (#YOEF) pledge for 2014...

If I'm looking for things to wear I will only:

a) Buy from ethical makers or
b) Buy second-hand or
c) Make it myself  or
d) Wear things I already own or
e) Borrow or swap garments with friends

I had been thinking about doing something along these lines myself, but it will be so much more powerful to be part of a group!

If you want to join in, you can sign up here and there is also a facebook group.

People are going to take a variety of different approaches to this. Some folks are planning to do a lot of home dressmaking, but I am more likely to wear things I already own, buy second-hand and buy from ethical makers.

Here is an example of the kind of ethical fashion I tend to wear. This second-hand denim jacket came from a dress agency.

Over the next year, I'll be trying other options for ethical fashion, including ethical knickers, jewellery and fairtrade footwear. I'll be writing about this on my Minibreak Mummy blog.

Here are the ethical fashion blogposts I've written so far:

• Slow Fashion from People Tree
• Who Made Your Pants?

Magpie Monday - Boden jacket

The jacket I love most, and wear the most, came from eBay. It is a dark grey cotton Boden 'Photographer' jacket with a boxy shape and four pockets.

Here is a picture of me wearing this jacket with a grey dress from Hobbs. The jacket looks good with dresses - and the pockets are useful.

There is also a lovely printed lining which can just about be seen on the photo below.

I had really coveted this jacket when I originally saw it in the Boden catalogue a couple of years ago, but the full price was £69 so I resisted buying it. Then a year ago saw it on eBay where I managed to buy it for £36.99. And it has been a really good buy as I have worn it 2-3 times a week since then and it washes well.

Update - while writing this post I had a quick look on eBay and found the more recent version of the  'Photographer' jacket for sale through the official Boden eBay shop for a 'buy it now' price of £34.50 including postage. So I have just bought that one too!

Linking up with the Frugal Friday Fashion Show at Family Budgeting and Magpie Monday at Me and My Shadow.

 

Rohan 'denim plus' skirt

This is a picture of me wearing my bargain Rohan 'denim plus' skirt. I got this skirt from eBay for less than £13 (including p&p). The full price of the current version of this Rohan skirt is £57.

Rohan stuff is always excellent and I am particularly pleased with this skirt. It has a bit of stretch and is very comfortable to wear. The 'denim plus' fabric is lightweight and designed to be easy to wash and quick to dry so it's great for travel.

I buy quite a few items of clothing on eBay. As well as saving money, it also feels good to re-use pre-loved clothing in this way. Sometimes people are de-cluttering, or getting rid of stuff after they have lost or gained weight. There is some good quality clothing available, though I tend to stick to familiar brands where I know my size. That way I am unlikely to have to return items.

The photo above was taken for FrOctober - which involves wearing dresses and skirts throughout October to raise awareness of, and money for, peri-natal illness including post-natal depression. 

I will be linking up with Magpie Monday at Me and My Shadow and the latest Frugal Friday Fashion Show at Family Budgeting.