Dress · Eco-Chick

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Emma Watson’s Sustainable Style Collection for People Tree

by Haley · 11/22/10

The newest installment of Harry Potter (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1) came out this past weekend and the world could not wait to see their favorite actors battle with the evil wizards that aim to take down the good (for good!). If you are a fan of the series, you’ve seen Emma Watson’s Hermoine mature from a timid, supersmart wizard-in-training to one of the most powerful Muggles on-screen.

Actress Emma Watson, who plays Hermoine, has also grown up, from cute girl to fashion icon, with her latest modelling contract for Burberry. But Watson’s more than just a poster girl, she’s an ethical fashionista too, having recently collaborated with the UK’s super-sustainable line People Tree.

Emma’s line is called “Love from Emma” and though it’s technically for girls, there are some really cute pieces ladies of any age could rock. To ensure the sustainable characteristics are met, People Tree works with 50 Fair Trade groups in 15 countries. That means more work for more artisans. In other words more work means better conditions which leads to the alleviation of poverty (now that is cool.)
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art, car, collection, cotton, dress, dyes, eco, environment, fabric, fabrics, Fair Trade, fairtrade, fashio, Fashion, labor, local, materials, men, natural, Organic, summer, sustainable, UK, website

Lara Miller: Eco Fashion’s Quick Change Artist

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by Starre Vartan · 07/27/10

Eco Fashion designer Lara Miller is an Eco Chick fave; her supermodern, often convertible, sensuously romantic, yet travel-friendly designs are deceptively simple but always on point.

Lara says she didn’t plan her designs for the travelling types (though they suit us so well), but that her ideas come from a playful, fun place that happens to result in highly variable separates (think dresses that can be worn three ways, or trousers that have adjustable hems):

I graduated from a very conceptual design program at the School of the Art Institute where I researched Eadweard Muybridge images and architectual theory by Gregg Lynn. I was fascinated with the idea of animation and gestures in every day life, especially when getting dressed. I wanted to give the wearer a relationship to their pieces and allow them to be more individual. As my line and I have grown up, the functionality has really become key.

The Fern Flip wrap in recycled cotton
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2010, art, car, Chicago, clothing, cotton, design, dress, dresses, eco, fabric, fabrics, fall, fish, News, newspaper, north carolina, ny, paper, recycle, recycled, spa, t-shirt, t-shirts, Theory, travel

Eco Fashion Basics: An Ode to the Perfect Little Black Dress

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by Starre Vartan · 01/07/10

Wearing my Carol Young LBD at the Mini Exhibit at the Go Green Expo in LA.

It is only this year, my 32nd, that I have truly understood the value of the Little Black Dress. Of course I have heard the legend; what woman hasn’t? This mythical raiment could be worn anywhere, tarted out or demurely cover up, achieve figure flattery whether one was surviving on a diet of tropical fruit and raw macadamia nuts or daily chocolate bars and creamy pastas nightly. A frock that would work equally well with flats or heels, could be thrown in a bag and would never wrinkle, and be made of fabric that would dry quickly after a drenching but keep you from perspiring in the blasted sun (and could even hide said dampness when it inevitably made its moist mark). And of course it had to be impossibly chic.

This Little Black Dress from the very specialized boutique, Little Black Dress Shop

Frankly I had more faith that unicorns still existed in some ruddy-mudded and tangled corner of Eastern Europe.

art, car, corn, dress, Easter, eco fashion, ecofriendly, Europe, fabric, farm, Fashion, fruit, natural, skin

Behind the Scenes of the Project Green Search Model Competition Finals

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by Starre Vartan · 11/17/09

Project Green Search, the first-ever green model competition, has a winner! Rachel Avalon hails from Los Angeles, California, and beat out over 130 other serious contenders for her new title as Green It Girl (read more about Rachel and her plans here). But before the winner was chosen, there were activities, photo shoots and some very good times.

The Ten Gorgeous (and Green to the Core!) Finalists Photo by Courtney Dailey.

Judging Project Green Search was lots of fun; I got a chance to go to most of the activities with the finalists and got to know them; what an impressive group of young women! From an Indy racecar driver to a natural nutritional counselor, to a college activist and an environmental educator, this was a talented and driven group of contenders. And as you can see, all of them were gorgeous too! The judging crew and I (see below) had our work cut out for us.

The judges! From left to right: Michael Zaliski, CEO of Omniquest Media, Anna Griffin, editor-in-chief of Coco Eco Magazine, Starre Vartan, author and publisher of Eco-Chick.com (I’m wearing an organic cotton dress by Doie), Remy Chevalier, Co-founder of Project Green Search, Deborah Lindquist, ecofashion designer, Josie Maran, former model and force behind Josie Maran Cosmetics, and Darren Moore, host of AlterEco and founder of Ecovations.

Day One: I got a chance to meet all the girls at a breakfast at our hotel, The Standard on Sunset Boulevard. Everyone was so excited to be there, and Taryn from EcoDivasTV started filming right away, and off we went!

Vanessa Meier even looks gorgeous in curlers! At Shades salon in LA. Image by Remy Chevalier for Lu Magazine.

art, bamboo, cashmere, community, contest, cosmetics, cotton, denim, design, designer, dress, Eco-Chick, ecofashion, electric, environment, farm, Fashion, fur, Furniture, garden, green model, greens, Hair, hemp, Home, interview, it girl, Josie Maran, Los Angeles, magazine, media, model, natural, nontoxic, Organic, organic cotton, pictures, skin, Starre Vartan, tv, video

Romping About in Samantha Pleet's Fall, 2009 Collection

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by Starre Vartan · 08/13/09

Designing since 2005, Samantha Pleet was quickly recognized as an up-and-coming designer, earning her a collection with Urban Outfitters called Rapscallion.

Now, Samantha has gone ecofriendly, and her Fall, 2009 collection is locally made in New York City (Samantha lives in Brooklyn) and her factory is powered by wind! Fall collection pieces include organic cotton and organic wool and definitely has that hipster/piratey wenchy/magical thing going on.

Samantha Pleet’s Romper and Jumpsuit are available at Kaight, whose blog first alerted me to this fab designer.

Now I know what I’ve been missing my whole life! A gorgeous cape to wander through the woods in, with purple piping to delight. This one is made from organic wool.

The ruffle detail around the hips of this dress makes it sweetly sexy and very flattering by accentuating the waist and hiding the bum.

Perfect jumper for exploring the wilds of autumn, and could be worn with thick tights and high boots on mild winter days too. The military button detail is just exactly right.