Ecofriendly · Eco-Chick

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

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

Three Timeless & Timely Vintage Fabric Dresses

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by Starre Vartan · 05/15/09

It’s Spring, so I’ve been perusing dresses, looking to add to my beloved collection of interesting and ecofriendly frocks. Here are three that are all made from vintage fabrics that are perfect RIGHT NOW.

The Maria dress from Minna has that ‘wearable sculpture’ look, with a slightly exaggerated tulip skirt and an English-rose print that is so hot right now (but is an original vintage fabric, natch). I’m going to keep my eye on Minna, a UK-based designer; poking around her collection for sale on Fashion Conscience and then her own site, I became a wee bit obsessed with owning an ethereal piece.

This buttercup yellow gaillard dress reminds me of the pony I learned to horseback ride on. She was an adorable, gentle palomino, and the yellow with cream dots and the sweet collar and cap sleeves (and a drop waist, I’ve not seen one of those in ages!) make me want to take a wander through the woods looking for spring flowers like Trillium and Lady’s Slipper. A combination of vintage lace and remnant cotton from Makool.

Doucette Douvall’s hat-tip to the era of Mad Men, the Edith dress is a plaid and pretty print combo that would be flattering for the curvy or the not-so. I’m loving the Michelle Obama-like sleeveless but still modest top. Vintage materials repurposed.

ecofriendly, fabric, repurposed, vintage

Bamboo: Ecofriendly or Not So Much?

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by Starre Vartan · 10/15/08

I’ve heard bamboo flooring is more eco-friendly than traditional pine or oak. Is this true?
—Cara Truhlar, Montpelier, VT

At first glance, bamboo is as green as it gets. It grows like a weed (technically, it’s a grass) and can reach harvestable height in three to five years. This crop—also native to the Americas—sequesters carbon more efficiently than slow-growing oak forests, which can take 10 times as long to reach maturity.

Bamboo is grown most extensively in China for commercial products, but—here’s the hitch—it can become invasive if not properly managed. Widely acclaimed for its prolific growth, bamboo doesn’t usually require fertilizers and pesticides for optimal yields. However, once it’s cut, most bamboo is treated with chemical preservatives, as is the case with some other mainstream flooring materials, says Brad Salmon, president of the American Bamboo Society. These issues should factor into a product’s measure of sustainability.

The Forest Stewardship Council, the main green-wood accreditor, has just started evaluating U.S. bamboo producers, and so far it has okayed only one company, Smith & Fong Co. If you’re shopping for bamboo flooring, it’s best to start with taking a hard look at its source. Bamboo grows in some of the most threatened ecosystems in Southeast Asia and Central America.

Look for planks made from farmed, not wild, bamboo. Also “keep its whole life cycle in mind,” says Stowe Hartridge-Beam, program manager for indoor-air quality at Scientific Certification Systems, an industry-recognized third-party certifier. “How is the product manufactured and transported? Is it recyclable when it reaches the end of its life?” He says these questions must be asked of a bamboo floor salesperson or the manufacturer; they should be able to provide answers. Remember, bamboo, like any wood, needs additional sealants if you want to use it in a place that gets wet, like a bathroom or kitchen.

Ask for varnishes and glues that have low volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and that also adhere to California Section 01350, the highest air-quality standard for these products. Always buy the most sustainable products you can afford. You’re worth it.

For more details on the bamboo debate, specifically bamboo that’s used for clothing, check out the excellent coverage on The Greenloop’s blog.

This question and answer originally published in the Green Guru column of Audubon Magazine written by Starre Vartan.

bamboo, bath, car, carbon, clothing, ecofriendly, farm, magazine, mainstream, Organic, party, produce, sales, Shopping, sport, Starre Vartan, sustainability, sustainable, wood

Ecologique: Super-Styling by Kelly LaPlante

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by Starre Vartan · 08/14/08

Check out what Kelly has to say about the Lexus Hybrid Living Suite she decorated in Washington, D.C.’s Fairmont Hotel.

The fabulous and accomplished Kelly LaPlante’s gorgeous first book, Ecologique, is a breath of fresh air. For several years now, ecofriendly decorating has had a definite aura of cool modernism, as if there was only one way to design a green interior, and that’s with lots of (sustainable wooden) cubes. LaPlante has different ideas. As she writes in the introduction, “Reconsider what you think you know about “the green look” — bamboo flooring, modular furniture, neutral colors, and all other icons of the sustainable design movement. Green is a standard, not a style.”

LaPlante proves that you can foster any style sustainably, by showcasing a pretty wide variety of decorating challenges she has take on over the last few years.

There’s the electric-car driving California politician’s office done up 50′s retro style, (with vintage typewriter to add interest and a houndstooth print rug made from recycled and recyclable carpet tiles), and the themed eco-cottages in Venice Beach gussied up with restored and creatively used antiques, recycled polyester fabric-covered sofas, and art by locals.

And then there’s the celebrity homes; Ally Sheedy’s Manhattan apartment that’s painted with low-VOC coral paint, edged-up with Sheedy’s own guerilla girl poster collection and mellowed out with antiques. Amy Smart’s sunroom is now complete with an organic cotton-covered sofa and vegetable-dyed area rug, and Michael Rappaport’s restored junk-store ‘tombstone chair’ which finishes off his Barton Fink-inspired bedroom.

You have to see these gorgeous spaces to believe them, each unique to the people who live in them, each one compelling in visual presentation but still completely livable.

Ecologique book cover

In LaPlante’s own words, “Ecologique is an invitation to apply a sustainable approach to your own sense of style, and to feel good doing it.” 100% of the books net proceeds benefit Global Green USA and The Blank Theatre in Los Angeles.

Ecoloqgique is available for order at Kelly LaPlante’s website.

decor, decorating, ecofriendly, Furniture, vintage

Best Ecofriendly Coffins

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 06/10/08

I had read about people being cremated and adding their remains to coral reefs, but the other day, while perusing the Happy Hippie site, I noticed this tidbit on an eco-friendly company that sells many sustainable options if one is going to have a burial.

I realized that there are a few interesting biodegradable options when choosing a mode of interment:

-The Eco Pod (seen above) coffin lets you enter the ground in recycled paper.

The coffin table with it’s covers on to be utilized as a coffee table before death

Remove the top covers to store games, books and magazines, and eventually in which to place the body, which will biodegrade through the bottom slats, which the designer also said “mimics the human skeleton”

At Brooklyn Designs this year, one of the most innovative ideas was from Charles Constantine of the Pratt Insitute. This beautiful “coffin table” is meant to bring death into the center of family life (literally) by being used as a coffee table until such time that it is needed, so that it serves two functions. Charles said that in this way the family could become comfortable with death and be a part of the final resting place of the person who has passed.

-The Everybody Coffin is inexpensive and simple to assemble (?!) I am not sure who is going to want to build this after experiencing a loss, but maybe a family would get together to build it as an homage to the deceased. From personal experience, when my father died, I don’t think any of us would have been able to manage something like this, during such an intense time.

I like the idea of building it as a way to honor a loved one. You could incorporate flowers, botanicals, notes, letters, natural paints, and make it unique. Otherwise, if the family is too bereft, green funeral homes would assemble this for you. Since it doesn’t contain harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde, this could also be used for a cremation.

This wicker casket a nice option if one wants to go au natural and is planning on a ceremony. At first, we found it hilarious that you could go out in wicker! I have a “thing” about wicker, for some reason, so my hubby told me that if I get too cantankerous in my old age, I’m going out in one of these.

There are also biodegradable urns if you do go the cremation route.

And where to put that biodegradable coffin? Check out some of the natural burial grounds in the United States:
-Green Springs Natural Cemetery 93 acres in NY State
-Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve – 350 acres in Florida.