Soon we'll have a longer post...

I'll soon have a longer post on something wedding related but until then, I am in love with this song. Here's Sia performance of "Soon We'll be Found" on Later...with Jools Holland

Going Green: Shower Routine

Want to go green on a budget? These are some of my favorite shower and hair care products which are paraben-free, budget-friendly and can be found at your local Whole Foods and drug store. Best of all, none of these products are tested on animals! Elle Woods would approve.

Disclosure: All products reviewed were purchased by yours truly.

Soap: Yardley London Oatmeal & Almond with Natural Oats

Buy it here

I use this in the shower and while it exfoliates lightly, it's also gentle enough to use on my face if I don't have a facial cleanser handy. It smells great and doesn't leave a scummy film.

Shampoo/Conditioner: Tie between 365 Everyday Value and Organix
I have wavy/curly hair and I love these products because they don't dry my hair out unlike traditional shampoos and conditioners which contain harsh chemicals. They smell pretty great too.

365 Everyday Value

Where to purchase? Your local Whole Foods Market.

My favorite scents is Mint, but they also carry Citrus, Lavender and Fragrance-Free versions.

Organix

Buy it here

My favorite scent is Nourishing Coconut Milk, but they just introduced a bunch of new scents. I can't wait to try Cherry Blossom Ginseng. The brand also carries several other scents such as pomegranate green tea and passionfruit guava. Yum.

Curly Hair Product: Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Style Mousse

Buy it here

If your'e a curl-girl like myself, you know how hard it is to find a product that no only works but is also earth and animal friendly. This isn't marketed specifically for curly hair, but I have loose to medium curls and this provides just the right amount of hold without making my hair sticky, greasy, crunchy or any other unpleasant adjectives. I just finished my first bottle and bought three more. What? I have long hair!

What are your favorite eco-friendly products? Share with us in the Comments section!

Livia Firth on Sustainable Red Carpet Gowns

I was thrilled when I discovered Livia Firth's Green Carpet Challenge Blog. We totally heart this milk fiber dress by Linda Loudermilk she donned for the SAG awards!


Image Source: Vogue UK

I'm really happy to see an emerging market in sustainable fabrics, especially in luxury goods and hope more designers will follow suit in designing garments that are not only vegan but also good for the environment. If couture and luxury markets lead the trends, mass markets are sure to follow.

We're taking notice and incorporating some of these ideas into our etsy shop. Some of our hats and scarves contain post-consumer recycled yarn.

Our vintage items speak for themselves, but we're really excited to start offering accessories, some of which will be made of repurposed fabrics. We'll offer some ready-made pieces as well as take custom orders. If there's fabric you really love and would love to be made into this kind of a hair pin/broche, contact us and we'll work with you to create something.

Who and what are your favorite eco-friendly and animal-friendly designers and brands? Please share - we'd love to repost.

Anka

Multi-Designer Sample Sale Presented by Dream Sequins!

Today we're going to the APEX designer sale at Tribeca Grand organized by our friend Deanne of DreamSequins. The sale is from 5-9pm at Tribeca Grand Hotel TODAY! There'll be a sponsored bar, music and awesome shopping, and most importantly, 20% of proceeds will benefit APEX, a nonprofit for inner city youth. Can't make it tonight but would like to shop? Don't fret, there's also an online sample sale going on today only at Cutdrop. Click on images below to shop:

For more info, please read here: Dream Sequins: Ready Steady Go! Please feel free to repost and share with other fashionista friends.

Happy Friday!
Anka Papuli

A totally uneducated gripe

Photo most likely from Style

This has nothing to do with the Etsy shop or our own collection of works. This has to do with a recent review of John Galliano's couture collection for Christian Dior. I am not a defender of Galliano; for every year that I find one of his couture collections ethereal and otherworldly, the next year I am sure to be disappointed. With that said, when I love his couture collection I really love it. I still have pictures from his collection in 2004 when he did the Egyptian theme. I have close ups of the make up and jewelry because I really thought it was an eye opening experience. I had always had Galliano in my periphery, but it was the collection in 2004 that made me fall in love with his work. Obviously, in the next few years he did that Marie Antoinette thing, which I was not particularly fond of, but still appreciated the artistry and skill that went into the clothes.

Photo from New York Times

Apparently, certain people are tired of Galliano's historical contextualizing in couture. If Galliano was stuck in a historical understanding of clothes without a calling forward to modernity, I would agree with this point of view. I don't want to see Victorian clothing outside of the Victorian era; however I do want to see clothing for 2010 which is an update and an extension of Victorian era clothing. In fact, I do think Galliano sets his collections in a historical setting and takes off from that setting and brings it forward into the present and to the future. Here's what it comes down to, I don't believe that the historical context of most of Galliano's work is a lack of creativity on his part, but an acknowledgment of the fact that what is today is the product of what was yesterday.

Photo from New York Magazine

Fashion, like all art, is shaped by an anxiety of influence. I don't think Galliano should be penalized and called boring for the fact that he acknowledges that anxiety in the most theatrical and yet subtle way possible.

I am neither a fashion expert nor a historian, but I am very interested in art, artistry and the anxiety of influences and the review inspired that interest in me to come forth. Perhaps I give fashion and fashion designers too much credit? Let me know what you think!

- Papuli

Our First Sale

We made our first sale! The etsy store finally feels real and to thank our first customer for getting our shop going, we made her a very special surprise. It is a handmade accessory that can be worn as a pin or as a headpiece.

These will soon be available in our shop. The options we're considering is to make these from silk organza as we originally did, from reclaimed fabrics or to take custom orders. What would you like to see available?

- Anka Papuli

Ruffling our feathers

Both Anka and I (and anyone with eyes) noticed that the big trend at this year's Golden Globes was ruffles. Chloe Sevigny drew most of the attention, I think, because of both the little mishap when she won her award and also because of the theatrics of her dress. Don't get Ms. Sevigny or the house that Valentino built wrong, that dress was Couture with a capital C. Leaving aside whether Valentino himself would have gone for such an over the top look, I think the lesson we can all draw from the dress is what we're supposed to glean from most couture: it's aspirational and inspirational.

I can't carry that dress off myself; I don't have red carpet events to attend and running around in downtown Manhattan in a lavender ruffled dress would draw some looks. But I can take adopt the ruffles and adapt them into my personal style. One way that I'm currently adopting this style trend is through ruffled scarves. I find fun and trendy scarves to be the best way to update my look while keeping to the core of my own personal style.

I wear a lot of scarves, and by a lot I mean, a whole lot. I have boxes and drawers full of scarves and shawls I've either made or bought. I love them. Once when I was in London visiting Mr. Fiance, I forgot a scarf at his parents' house and didn't notice that it was missing till a year later when I went back and saw it hanging in the closet there. This year I added ruffled scarves to my collection and last week I wore a plain white t-shirt from Uniqlo with a gray ruffled scarf like the one pictured wrapped tightly around my neck and it added both volume and flair to an otherwise boring look.

We just put a ruffled scarf up on our shop and if you've been to the to store you'll have seen this blue scarf.

I'm currently just a few inches away from finishing the same style scarf but in a dark pink color and I think it would be a great look to wear both the blue and the pink scarf intertwined together over a neutral color.

As soon I go back on my word and purchase the pink yarn again I'm going to finish this scarf and put it up on the site so you can add a bit of candy pink ruffle to your wardrobe...everyone needs some candy pink ruffles :)


-Papuli