Have I got great news for every single vegan, vegetarian, eco-conscious, and socially conscious fashionista out there. But before I get to the good stuff, let me make how much I myself am relishing this news crystal-clear.
When I was a baby, I had booties in every color of the rainbow. At age two, I had a red velvet winter cloak with white faux fur trim (despite living in steaming-hot LA). Up until I was about five and my rambunctious younger brother’s antics started placing more demands on the adults, I had a slew of adorable little outfits, several with matching bags (yes, even at that tender age), all handmade by Grandma. I LOVE beautiful clothes and accessories.
To this day, I dream of having one hell of a shoe closet. I imagine gorgeous shoes neatly displayed on library-style shelves (made of salvaged wood and painted with no-VOC paints, of course), with handbags (and my shocking-pink Schiaparelli hat box) displayed on the top shelves like a collection of priceless objets d’art. A watercolor painting of my favorite red handbag hangs on the back wall, its subtle color variations set off by a gorgeous vintage chandelier (do they make CFL bulbs for chandeliers?).
You get the idea. And if you love ethical fashion, you may have harbored a similar fantasy yourself. I know several of my friends have.
(A superficial goal? Well, yes. But let the record show that a. it’s far from being the only thing I want to accomplish in my life, b. I DO in fact care about serious environmental and social issues, and c. have touched on those issues in this blog in the past and will continue to do so in the future. If I can’t dance, it’s not my revolution.)
That fantasy is now a few steps closer to coming true, and not just for those lucky few veg*ns with trust funds or high-paying jobs.
When Matt & Nat, long the mainstay of fashionable, decent-quality vegan bags and wallets, started raising prices, I didn’t bat an eye. As a retailer, I get to see and handle the samples in person before placing orders, and immediately noticed the materials and workmanship were both of significantly better quality than in the past. One gets what one pays for. (Case in point: I have, courtesy of eBay, a pink Mini Manhattan made way back when Matt & Nat was still using shiny vinyl. There’s a reason those bags used to be dirt cheap, and one look at that bag will tell you why. As adorable as it is, it’s definitely a cheaply-made bag.)
When Matt & Nat bags started getting close to the $300 mark, however, the veg*n market balked. The bags were better than ever (it was the first season we didn’t have to send back any items with faulty zippers) and greener than ever (courtesy of really nice recycled materials). But, people who were used to paying $95 for a PVC bag didn’t like the idea of paying $285 for an updated version of the same bag, even if the hardware was much more reliable and the fabric was made of recycled plastic. I can’t blame them, but I can’t control what my suppliers choose to do, and fashion companies have to actually make a decent profit to keep doing new and innovative things.
A few months ago, I discovered Matt & Nat had a new line in the works: Samsara. Today, we received the Samsara autumn/winter catalog in the mail, and I squealed so loudly I’m pretty sure they heard me in Montreal.
The Samsara collection will come in two finishes (patent and pebble), and features a mix of new designs and a few that were clearly inspired by earlier Matt & Nat bags. They are gorgeous, and one of the available colors will be a great shade of red. Bonus: for every bag sold, Samsara will donate one dollar to the Enough Project, the Canadian Women’s Foundation, Earthsave Canada, or the WSPA. I can’t wait to get these on the shelves – and I’m tempted to order an extra “Martin” bag in red pebble for myself! (Sorry, ladies – I will not be posting pictures today as I lack a scanner.) The best part? All items in the range will retail for $28 (for a coin purse) to $155 (for a large bag). Beats spending $350 on just one thing, right?
If shoes are more your thing, get ready to scream.
I also got one of the trade papers in the mail yesterday. In it was a pretty decent roundup of eco-friendly labels…and five of the six featured brands are all-vegan! (I was also pleased to see the editorial staff held off on the snotty attitude they’ve previously taken with eco-friendly and vegan brands. Finally, a little respect!)
Beyond Skin, a British company which makes gorgeous animal-free women’s shoes, is introducing a new line, Beyond Skin Sole, which will be quite a bit more affordable than their primary line or the fancier Sui Generis range. To my British friends, Beyond Skin is relatively inexpensive, but when the exchange rate, duty fees, and shipping from the UK to California are taken into account…ouch. Were it not for that, I’d have had them on the shelves two years ago. But, the new line should run from $100-120 retail, which is more than reasonable for such beautiful good-quality shoes.
Charmoné and Olsen Haus continue to do what they do best, but as they’ll still run up to $250 retail, I’ll have to take a better look at them after the recession is over. Neuaura, of course, are already on the shelves, but they will be even more comfortable than the current collection, and there just may be a men’s line in the works for future seasons! (I know what I’ll eventually give my boyfriend for one of his birthdays…good thing he trusts my taste in clothes.)
My favorite piece of news comes from Mink Shoes, a label based in LA but handmade in Italy. The line is moving more toward 100 percent sustainability (let’s see a cheapo brand do THAT), with increased use of organic materials (gorgeous ones, not just coarse undyed hemp). Even better, the company wants to eventually bring the price point down to a VERY reasonable number. Who knows if that will happen this year, but if and when it does happen, I’ll be waiting…and the store shelves will be ready. (I’m dying to buy the strappy red velvet “Cat” sandal pictured in the article, though I do wish it had been available a few years ago, as it’s definitely made for prowling!)
So…if you love gorgeous shoes and bags that happen to be animal-friendly (and worker-friendly – all the suppliers listed are also opposed to sweatshops), you’re in for some fun when the fall-winter collections start to arrive at the end of summer. (I now get more excited about fall shipments than I do about my own birthday, which has fallen on a delivery day for the past two years.)
And now I have to wonder how I will ever LIVE until September.
