Gone are the days when I’d buy sky-high heels or feminine flats on a mere whim. Even though I have greatly simplified my closet over the last few years, I still have a soft spot for gorgeous vegan shoes. These days, I’m just as selective about my fashion as I am with food I eat and what beauty products I’ll slather on my skin. It all comes down to research.
For me, the people behind any vegan fashion product, and their philosophies, are just as important as the items they produce. Veteran vegetarian footwear designers Nancy Dong and Carlotta Fiorini, say they wanted their passion for beautiful shoe design to have a positive impact on the planet—and to be very much part of the solution. Sounds good to me. Plus, their shoes are divine.
The passionate fashionistas have ensured wearing earth-friendly fashion doesn’t mean you have to wear hemp sacks on your feet—doing good for animals and the planet can be done in style (without forsaking comfort, either). Inspired by the social entrepreneur business model, they created the very vegan and ecological Do-Ni. Made from high-quality Italian leather-free materials, their Do-Ni Nobilia ballerinas (see below) are held together with water-based, animal-free glue and adorned with pre-consumer recycled components. Love!
For Nancy and Carlotta, doing good hasn’t stopped with simply creating eco-friendly footwear. With the direct sale of each pair, 100 percent of retail proceeds are donated to non-profit organisations, with the buyer given the choice of exactly where the money goes. To look great and give back, head to www.do-ni.com for more info.
If you’ve not yet discovered Etsy, the site where all things handmade rule, some may well say you haven’t lived. Here, a few of the world’s artistically-talented souls gather to sell gorgeous wares, some of which are vegan.
Here’s a preview of some of my favourite Etsy fashion finds of the moment…
Cloche hat from Giant Dwarf
Made from recycled peony pink faux cashmere sweater, embellished with 10 hand-cut grapefruit and ginger fancy felt petals, assembled into a single flower. The over-sized blossom is topped with a hand-pressed button. $USD45.
Soft Cotton Bracelet from Eastern Sky
While these sweet bracelets above are made from vegan-friendly cotton, the shop also makes some of their pieces from Merino wool, so be sure to look carefully when choosing. $USD12.
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2010 has hit full force. You can feel the electricity in the air.
I ended 2009 by cleaning out, dusting, getting rid of all the old, stuck energy in preparation for the new year. And now the start of a new decade has arrived, it’s time to dig even deeper. It’s time to get knee-deep into my wardrobe.
I’ve decided to box up everything I haven’t worn in the past six months, clothes I’m not really sure about, stuff that’s too big, too small, wrong colour. Even the items I don’t wear, but am sentimental about. Yep, they’re going too. My chosen charity awaits.
The year 2010 is about giving back. Living more simply. Thinking of others less fortunate. Giving without expecting anything in return. Just thinking about living that way feels good. So to do it must feel even better—for the giver and receiver.
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For every one celeb that goes on drunken binges and late night joy rides, there’s at least two who spend their time doing positive things. Take Charlize Theron for example. The talented actress has teamed up with Toms Shoes, the company that gives a pair of shoes to the needy with every pair sold—a one-for-one-deal.
Charlize co-designed a pair of the unisex, limited edition slip ons for her African Outreach Project. The design (see below) was launched on the footwear website just yesterday.
Made from all-vegan material, Charlize’s shoes were inspired by the baobab tree and feature the tree’s silhouette, which is embroidered on blue and orange canvas.
A portion of the proceeds from each pair will go directly to the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, which provides education about the need to provide sustainable health, education and recreational resources to remote areas with high rates of HIV/AIDS.
“I’m thrilled to have Toms Shoes as a partner,” Charlize says. “We are so grateful for their generous donation of shoes to the students that we work with. They are passionate about the kids and have been incredibly supportive of the work of the Africa Outreach Project. It’s exciting that we’re able to come together in such a cool and creative way to bring attention to the needs of many South African youth.”
The limited-edition, vegan shoes are available for $US54 and are sold exclusively on Tomsshoes.com. Best get in quick if you’re keen to snap up your own pair … the women’s style is already on backorder…
I’m affirming to the universe that these gorgeous vegan shoes from Olsen Haus will appear under my Christmas tree this year. Or at least I’ll drop some really big hints in the direction of some key family members…
Blondie 100% Vegan Faux Suede, $265 USD
Balance 100% Vegan Faux Suede Heel $205 USD
I love shoes. A girl can never have enough. I dream of building a wardrobe solely (pardon pun) dedicated to glam high heels, sweet ballet slippers, rock star boots and flip flops to flip over. A shoe heaven, if you will.
Going vegan of course not only changed my diet, but my wardrobe. Now this presents quite the challenge to any girl (or guy) who has a love affair with footwear. But a challenge, I believe, is merely an opportunity in disguise.
Once I started looking, I discovered a world of shoes that were created without killing another creature. Celebs such as Natalie Portman, Stella McCartney and Pamela Anderson have done great fashion deeds, pleasing vegans the world over with pretty pumps and other stylish goodies.
So fashionable are many of the vegan footwear options, that the Jewish community are following in our footsteps and stocking up on brands such as Moo Shoes, Olsen Haus (released by an ex-Calvin Klein and Nine West designer) and NoVacas.
A story today in Jewish rag, The Tablet, sings the praises of these shoe designers who are, for the first time, allowing them too to step out in style with their conscience fully in tact—and not a pair of Crocs in sight.
Clockwise from top left: Vegan Tahoe Blue slip-on and Vegan Wrap Boot from Toms, Swell Shoe from Olsen Haus, Olivia pump from Novacas, Stella McCartney animal print ankle boots (as seen in The Tablet).
