Voice of Fashion

My girlfriend doesn’t like big purse or handbags, she is the only girl that I know what doesn’t carry much in her purse. I’m inspiring her to be a bit more Eco-friendly, so for her birthday I gave her this fabulous Ecoist purse.

This purse is so unique that it works with all of her wardrobe! For her the accessories make the outfit!! And in these case purses allow you to make the most out of your wardrobe and that is very green!

I love Ecoist because they offer different purses and handbags in different sizes and shapes! Also, they are a very socially and environmentally responsible company. Their products are made of recycle materials, organic fabrics, and sustainability is applied in all areas of their business for a healthier planet for generations to comes! Now this is a True Eco-friendly (Green) company, so ladies don’t be fool with companies that pretend to be green!

If you would like an Ecoist bag, now is the time. They are having a Summer Clearance sale! Save up to 70% on summer merchandise. Use the code “BYEBYESUN” and receive an additional 15% off, only applicable on special offers and clearance items. Hurry sale ends 9-10-08!!!!!

I like to take care of my self and taking care of my lips has not always been easy. For the most part my lips are dry and I have to reapply lip balm through the day.

I have discover the perfect lip polish and conditioner that brings out the best of my lips and I don’t have to reapply it through the day! Artistry lip care kit gives me smoother, softer, and more touchable lips with a bit of shine!

I’m very pleased and I can’t wait to try other beauty products by Artistry! I will keep you updated and if you have tried them let me know!

Pearls are never out of style since Coco Channel popularized them back in the 1920’s and Audrey Hepburn took them to the big screen in the 1960’s.

Right now pearls feel modern and fresh, especially when done in a fresh and modern way. Organically shaped baroque pearls look stunning piled on three at a time.

When you feel minimalist just put on an extra long chain of  pearls, they look great knotted and twisted together. The best thing about pearls is no matter how you wear them, they make you feel like Audrey- even if you are in blue jeans!

My niece has always suffered of weak and unhealthy finger nails; they broke very easy and didn’t grow much. She tried many things to improve her nails and nothing worked. Until she discovered Nutrilite Complex for Hair, Skin & Nails!  Now her nails are nice, strong, and she can grow them as long as she wants.

Not only her nails got stronger and healthier, but her hair got healthier and shinier too! She is very happy and her confidence has gone up that she is a new girl! Nutrilite Complex for Hair, Skin & Nails helps you look your best from the inside out! Try for yourself you have nothing to loose and yet beautiful hair, skin and nails to gain!  

Are you a “green warrior”, an environmentalist or just someone ready to give the total effort to making your wedding as Eco-active as possible, consider the tips below:

The Cake
A green wedding begins at home. Rather than contracting professionals to bake your cake consider creating it yourself in your own home. Baking your own wedding cake in your home stove expends less energy than the commercial ovens used in professional bakeries, and you can control the ingredients. You can use free-range eggs, whole flour, organic milk and sugar, and other all-natural ingredients, creating a cake free of additives and preservatives. Transporting the cake to the reception yourself also prevents the bakery’s delivery truck from consuming fossil fuels and releasing exhaust fumes into the atmosphere. Of course, you need to ask a friend or relative to help you!

Favors
Give guests a favor that keeps the wedding spirit going, giving unique wedding favors such as seed packets allows them to create a growing memory of your special event. Seed packets are quickly becoming one of the more trendy wedding favors on the market, exactly because of their lovely finished product!

Flowers
There is an online company called Organic Bouquet, which sells certified organic roses and exotic flowers, all grown without chemical pesticides and insecticides. Organic roses are naturally fragrant and, because they are free of chemical pesticides, they’re also edible. You can safely use them to decorate cakes or cupcakes, sprinkle on salads, or to make rose-scented sugar (just toss a few petals into a bowl of sugar). Or save your organic roses and make potpourri; fill cellophane bags with the mixture and send them to guests with your thank-you notes.

The Gown
My opinion on wedding gowns is to choose the dress you love! The one you envision passing down to your children. This is the greenest thing any bride can do: Invest in an exquisite piece to be shared with future generations.

Invitations
Look for seeded paper that germinates when planted, tree-free paper alternatives made from hemp or bamboo. Or choose 100% post-consumer recycled stock produced from discarded newspapers, office paper and magazines. Also, ask your printer to use a soy-based ink; it’s a greener choice made from renewable soy beans, and the end result can be brighter, clearer printing.

Lighting
Let there be natural light conserve resources by getting married outdoors or in an area with plentiful natural light. Getting married in the temperate months of spring, when the days grow longer, allows for maximum lighting time available. If you’re getting married during warmer months, build a tent to offer shelter to your more heat-sensitive guests, decorating its sides and poles with fresh wildflowers. If your wedding goes after dark consider lighting up the night with bee wax or soy bean candles, solar lanterns they charge in the sun all day long and cast a soft glow at night. Hang them in the trees, or use them to line the lawn to create pathways. Since they need no special wiring, you can put the lanterns wherever your heart desires.

Place Cards
Pluck leaves from trees and hand write with a permanent-ink pen the guest’s name on each leaf; add an extra-skinny ribbon at the stem and tie the leaf around the napkin. Stamp large river rocks with guests’ names using an alphabet stamp set available at any craft store; rest a rock at each place setting and ask guests to return the rocks to a river, or add them to a garden or planter in their own homes after the reception. Use what you have: Lemons from a backyard tree could be marked with guests’ names using a Sharpie. Pieces of broken terracotta pots or ceramic tiles make lovely place cards as well.

Recycling
Ask caterers to recycle cans, bottles and aluminum foil and insist on a no-Styrofoam policy.

Wine
Organic wines, which are made from grapes grown without chemical pesticides, have improved by leaps and bounds over the years. Bonterra which translates into “good earth” is a high-quality, reasonably priced line available nationwide. An all-organic and biodynamic wine retailer in New York City: Appellation Wine and Spirits, offers a mind-blowing variety from both large and small winemakers around the world.

Food
Work with caterers and bakers who use organic and locally grown ingredients. If you were to use disposable dishware consider using biodegradable flatware and other earth-friendly items.

If you are a bride to be and planning a green wedding? I would like to hear the journey of your green wedding!

How is it possible to know if an item of apparel is truly sustainable/Eco-friendly/green? There is no Eco-police to patrol the fashion environment, there’s no way that I know of to prove sustainability.

That said, there are new developments in the field almost daily. The latest is Bernardo Green, a collection of “Eco-friendly” suede jackets where “green” production can be thoroughly traced and verified. According to a spokesperson for Bernardo Fashions, “each garment is completely green from its farm origins to the finished product. Created from biodegradable elements, every garment can be tracked by consumers to its origins by entering the printed code on the Bernardo web site.”

The belted blazer sells for $228 and is made from pigskin that is a byproduct sourced from Hormel Foods. The tanning process recycles water to be drinkable. The dyes that color the skin are all organic, as are the buttons and lining. Because 95% of the suede is organic, it is biodegradable.

Of course, the jacket is available in green, caviar, purple, seal, biking red, orange and black. Comes in sizes XS-XL, for questions write to Bernardo Fashions, 463 Seventh Ave, suite 706, New York, NY 10018. Isn’t this wonderful? We get to know the origins of the product. Hope to hear from you ladies who purchase this jacket and let me know if you tracked its origins.

Fall is upon us, a season of ultimate chicness and sophistication. We might be in summer but before you know it the stores will be stock up with fall fashions. Here are the three Key pieces to maintain your wardrobe up to date this fall!

Black is bigger than ever, sleek for day and sexy for night! The black little dress is being reinvented in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and textures. This little number is a classic and it should be part of everyone wardrobe.

As timeless as lace is, it is hot for fall. Black and colored lace will be a flattering way to show skin. You will see lace in dresses, blouses, purses, ans shoes! The key is just to add one lace piece to your wardrobe!

Colored suede in rich autumal shades will be hot in footwear! A pair of these shoes will be a great accent to the little black dress!

There is nothing pretty about knock-offs, they are ugly and of course fake, real fashionistas can spot it as a fake. So don’t humiliate yourself with fakes, here are tips to avoiding buying a knock-off/fake. Sometime spotting a fashion knock-off is more difficult than you think.

1. Location, Location, Location
First and foremost, purchasing luxury goods at a brand’s boutique, website or authorized dealer is your best bet to insure buying a genuine product. Items at flea markets, home parties, street vendors, or unauthorized websites are likely to be fake.

2. The Price is Right
Quality and exclusivity account for the high price of luxury goods. Thus, if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is.

3. Construction Sites
Craftsmanship is a main point of distinction with luxury goods. Sloppy stitches in less visible areas—such as the underside of a product or inside pockets—is likely the result of counterfeit production.

4. Package Deal
Luxury retailers meticulously package their products, including tissue paper, authenticity cards, product care information, superior quality boxes, and shopping bags. If you see a plastic wrap covering or a flimsy dust bag, it’s probably a fake. For example, counterfeit manufacturers will often wrap the handles of handbags in plastic.

5. Spell-check
Counterfeiters will often misspell designer names. Check for letters that are swapped or a letter that is capitalized that shouldn’t be, and vice versa.

6. Check the Hardware
With most luxury accessories, you will find the logo on all the metal pieces, such as zippers, latches, snaps, and buckles.

7. Read the Label
In a genuine article of luxury clothing, most often the label is stitched in, whereas counterfeit clothes are likely to have a less expensive hangtag. Also, check the country of origin on the label.

8. Timely Tips
Makers of fake watches may not replicate unusual features, such as a helium relief valve. If the feature is available, often times it does not function.

Thinking of buying a Fake?… Get Real… Criminal activities connected to the sale of counterfeits/ fakes/knock-offs of luxury goods are child labor: Very often the workers are children as young as eight years old. Most of who live on the premises with little or no adult supervision. They are worked ragged in barely tolerable conditions, turning out everything from faux-luxury brand handbags, wallets, and belts to cell phones. They eat what they are given and isn’t much. They are thin and dirty; their faces look tired, sad and hardened. This is the true price to pay for buying a fake, is it worth to you?

How NOT to buy a Fake!

• Don’t buy luxury bags from a discount store like Wal-Mart.
• Don’t Shop wholesale markets like those in Chinatown, the fashion district in LA, or the flea market.
• Don’t buy online for prices that are significantly lower than normal.
• The best way to guarantee that you are NOT buying a fake is to purchase directly from the brand or high end stores like Saks.

Please Don’t buy a Fake… FAKES are NEVER in style…….

Hamnett stormed off the fashion stage four years ago after her appeal to use organic cotton fell on deaf ears. She was ahead of her time and people didn’t see her vision. However, the designer who’s oversized T-shirts with slogans like “Choose Life” and “Use a Condom” were all the rage in the 1980s is now enjoying a return that “ethical fashion” is in vogue!

British designer Katharine Hamnett is enjoying a comeback now that the fashion industry has caught up with her campaigning notions about clothes. Hamnett’s return comes as western shoppers increasingly demand clothing made without sweatshop or child labor and develop a fondness for environmentally-sound fabrics that are made with recycled materials or cotton grown without pesticides.

Today, she is not only enjoying a revival of the slogan t-shirt look – the fabulous Sarah Jessica Parker wore one in the “Sex & the City” the movie. Hamnett also plans to launch an “ethical denim” jeans line that proves ethical doesn’t mean frumpy. She is trying to convince designers that going ethical makes business and fashion sense. Studies shows that companies that followed ethical practices are more profitable and favored by consumers, Hamnett says organic cotton adds only 5 percent to the cost of a t-shirt but raises profits for poor cotton farmers by 50%. In other words, fair trade is important and allows everyone to live a decent life.
Its obvious eco-friendly clothing with fair trade is not a passing fashion fad! What you do you think?