New Luri & Wilma Issue

Local lifestyle magazine, Luri & Wilma, has a couple of great sustainable fashion features in their current issue.  One is the styling of a vintage dress from Etsy, and the other is an interview with Athena Bentila of MuMu Organic.  Check them out.

You Look Fabulous! Tari Boutique

So you are finally coming down off the fence.  You have decided to go out and celebrate fabulously on Inauguration Night.  Except that you only have that 1980's sequined mermaid-y gown.  Save that for remaking into a real mermaid outfit for Mardi Gras, and head to Tari Boutique at 1525 Wisconsin Ave, NW (between P & Q).  The stylish staff there will kindly help you find the perfect fabulous gown from their designer/vintage/couture collection of upscale consignment items.  The prices are not inexpensive, but they are fair (50-70% off retail) for the big name designers they carry, and there is a range of prices.  (I got a nice tweed longcoat there for $85.) There's a lot of great eye candy so I'm just going to regale you with pictures:

Men this includes you too.  They have a fine menswear section that as of Wednesday included tuxedos.  This one is a 42R Ermeneglio Zenga for $365:

In fact it is amazing all the good things they have put into this space.  There's a women's shoe room (with shoes arranged by size, which I like).

These mod yellow off-season shoes were only $44

Ooops.  I got distracted by the shoes.  I had meant to share Inauguration gowns.  Tamika Wilkins there echoed my fondness for this Christian Lacroix lace dress:

which promises to be $425-worth of fabulous on the right body.

Can you hear it saying, "Please try me on?"

And there were non-black items too:

If you have a nuanced stance that you only wear 2nd-hand fur ("No animals harmed recently"), here's your chance to sneak a tuft.  It is winter after all.

Well I could go on and on with pictures of gowns, but I have to mention the accessories.  Look for locally-made upcycled bags by Chic Saks, and jewelry by local designers, Kolton.J and EE Cuffs.  Also be sure to enjoy the terrific exhibit of fashion creations by Andrew Nowell Designs and others representing different DC neighborhoods:

Georgetown and H Street creations

That exhibit (originally assembled for the DC Fashion Foundation)

is worth a visit on its own (and probably a blog post).  Suffice it to say that owner Sara Mokhtari has put together a really

Boutique owner, Sara Mokhtari

top-notch consignment boutique. 

If you have top-notch items to consign, make an appointment for Tuesday or Wednesday after 1pm.  Consignors get 50% of the sales price.

So go to Tari and go to the Inauguration and have fun!

Inaugurate This

Fortunately for those of us in DC who like to dress up, the holiday/party season is not over.  There are the Inaugural balls-- the nation's many celebrations of another smooth transfer of power.  And what a power it is.  We donated what is, for us, a lot of money to the campaign, and I hope to have a chance to put together a formal outfit and do some dancing.  I fear, however, that my husband is hiding our ball invitation because I mentioned how great it would be to wear a dress made from recycled military uniforms:

from Etsy Shop Lummed Designs

This Finnish designer, Tiina, had another ensemble* with black tulle detailing that is my dream Inaugural outfit.  I had it in my Etsy favorites for the longest time.  She finally took it down-- as is her prerogative since I had not put together the cash to buy it.  I might have to wear the peacock dress I made and wrote about in June:

I would want the jewelry to be by local designer, JesseWalker.  

http://www.realmbyjessewalker.com/

 He could rock a formal peacock necklace challenge.

If I needed to buy some formal wear, my first visit would be to Tari Boutique in Georgetown for a fabulous consignment piece.  I'll be blogging about Tari next with lots of pics from the store.

If you feel like celebrating, I hope you find the perfect event and that you feel great in your skin.  Forward in 2013.

*POSTSCRIPT:  It's up on Etsy again:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50024839/khaki-canvas-skirt-fitted-zip-up?ref=usr_faveitems

Holiday Bounty

The holidays often entail lots of stuff.  Toward the end of the winter break, I finally asked my kids to put away their presents, and the 13-year-old whined, "What's with all the housework?!"  Suck it up, little man.  No one said being upper middle class was going to be easy! 

I gave my Mom a fridge magnet stocking stuffer (SOoo necessary) a few years back that says, "She believed that the holidays were no time to show restraint."  Actually my parents do not get me a lot of stuff.  Despite all physical signs to the contrary, they seem to think I am still a teen, and they give me money-- which I enjoy spending on my favorite eco-friendly/fabric art finds.  Here's what I splurged on this year: 

This from Baltimore fabric artist Lauren Hinds.  This padded laptop holder looks like a manila folder down to its closure and silk-screened postage.

 

I first came across her work at the Vis ArtsCenter in Rockville.  Lauren's Etsy shop shows some of her smaller items, but she also does fanciful chair refashioning work that is tremendous.

This next goodie was no splurge at a wildly inexpensive $10.  Sorry, I got the only one of these:

 

But there are many other great upcycled finds at Etsy's Rehashed Fashion:

 

Looking for something a little more office-friendly?  Check out the tremendous fair-trade African fabric peplums at fashion-conscience.com.  The company Fair+True makes them-- plus peplum skirts, plus lots of other great clothing-- in all different patterns,.  I got the orange and blue top on the far left.

 

Speaking of fashion-conscience.com, I have a very stylish friend Leslie Zucker, who came across the brand "Skunkfunk" on a recent trip in Spain.  She suggested I check them out; then there they were comprising a bunch of the bestsellers on fashion-conscience: 

 

 

Good synchronicity, huh? I can vouch for their stuff because it looked great on Leslie!  By the way she's a life coach, if you're looking to make a new start in 2013.  Happy New Year, fabulous people!