Fair Trade, Organic Skirt

Here is an interesting skirt that I purchased a while back from a consignment shop. It is a funky, long, draw-string skirt with adorable detailing on the about a foot and a half of the hem. The color was an unsual peachy-beige. The style was both casual and pretty enough to look like I cared about what I put on that day, so I picked it up for about $10. The tag was 'still' (*or put back) on it.

The backside of the tag reads:

Global Girlfriend specializes in style and human rights with our fairly traded line of apparel and accessories hand-made by women and communities in need. We work with over 20 women's non-profit organizations globally to design products that not only fit your unique style but really make a difference!

Below that there was a clear sticker which reads:

This Global Girlfriend item was made for you by:
A women's non-profit in India run by an order of Franciscan nuns who employ and care for 120 disadvantaged and handicapp women. Our garments are made from 100% organic cotton, which is farmed locally by a group of 300 oranic cotton farmers in Maharashtar India. Each garment is lovingly produced from seed to sewing machine.

How COOL is that?
My friends like the skirt and have asked me about it. When I told them the story from the tag they swooned. The best news? The skirt is still for sale, in even prettier colors. The site has a number of different items, and I am NOT recommending all their apparel. But this skirt does get my vote for both MODESTY and STYLE. (I don't know about those nuns making the above-the-kness, low-cut dresses -- eventhough I realize that the designers are from Global Girlfriend in Littleton, Colorado.) The only thing is the skirt needs a good, solid, long slip. The fabric is a fairly light cotton, and even with a good slip you won't be too hot even in the hottest of days. It looks a bit longer on me (perhaps because I am only just barely 5'3") than on the model in the inset pic. The details are also a bit hard to see in the pic: it has a few, sewed-in ribbing contrasting the mini ruffles along the bottom of the skirt. It's very cute with flats. I washed it in cold water and let it hang-dry, and I didn't notice any shrinking.

Continue Reading...

Superstar Unconstructed Skirt

Sometimes a piece of clothing is so cool, it needs to be billed as a supporting character.

This is an a-line, decontructed, "cargo"* (*but sans pockets) skirt off of Monarch of the Glen (a BBC show that ended a few years ago). The skirt is casual-dressy --- appropriate for an outdoor, social, not-too-formal social event. It's main features are that it is from that "unconstructed" phase, that never got it's just due. Designers did it too much for shock value than for tasteful fun, and could have done more to make accessibly modest designs for the younger (or young at heart) crowd. I'm not letting go of the destructured look as it still has its place when the cut is right, it has the right top and is applied for a semi-formal, outdoor event.

The details are marvelous. There is a zipper in the front, which is appropriate for a casual skirt. There is a sweeping of pieces of fabric from one hip towards the front, which contribute to the flowing movement, giving it an assymetical look which doesn't detract from the generously, flowing a-line. The fabric, which seems to be a basic twill, is smart: heavy enough to make it a parody of a work skirt, and soft enough to keep a feminine look. And, of course, the finish on the hem is purposely unfinished. The wardrobe designers did an excellent job in matching this with the right footware and understated jacket, with dark bands to match the boots.

Smart and funky: it's a rare thing!

My friend and I are dying to co-op one or two other patterns to try to get recreate this look. If anyone has any pattern suggestions, please feel free to comment!

Continue Reading...