Eco Fashion Show : Fall Persuasion

Stewart+Brown Fairisle Dress

Not Just Pretty had the opportunity to show off their exciting new arrivals at the Fall Persuasion Fashion Show on September 10th. With a mix of Victoria’s trendiest boutiques participating, the show was a fashion knock-out!

“Eco-chic boutique Not Just Pretty showed that environmentally friendly fabrics and style have come a long way in recent years. Fitted blazers with detailing and rich earthy tones — forest green is finally back — had the crowd uttering audible ahhhhs. “

Read the whole article by Sarah Petrescu of the Times Colonist, Sept. 16, 2008.

The outdoor venue and perfect weather at Victoria’s Market Square added atmosphere and pure enjoyment for the over 1000 people in attendance. Proceeds were donated to the BC Cancer Agency.

Elroy Inula Jacket, NaturevsFuture Top, Loomstate Flux in Plum

Stewart+Brown Plaid Top, Edun Twilight Jeans

EcoSkin Marcasite Dress, Stewart+Brown Hooded Coat

Ecoganik Athena Dress, Stewart+Brown Hat

Myco Anna top, Del Forte Bluebell Jeans

Who’s Not Just Pretty?

Behind the scenes at Not Just Pretty

Katrina at Not Just Pretty

Many of the photographs of items in the Not Just Pretty Online Store are provided by the individual fashion designers.   All the others are shot in our photo studio by our photographer, Katrina Smith.

Since she has the inside scoop, we asked her:

“Who are your favorite sustainable fashion designers?”

Katrina’s absolute favorites?

“I love Ashley Watson for beautiful, unique leather purses. The attention to detail that goes into them is amazing!”

“I’d pick Myco Anna for one-of-a-kind pieces. I love that you’ll never run into someone wearing the same thing.  Plus I get about a million compliments whenever I wear one of their pieces.”

“Everything by Stewart & Brown – Their clothes make everyone look great!  Their styles are so easy to wear, yet chic at the same time.”

and last but not least:  “Thieves …beautiful, beautiful dresses that always get a second look from passersby!”

Katrina also added: “what a hard hard job it is to photograph the clothes for the website because you just end up falling in love with the clothes through the camera lens.“

We can relate! Thanks for the peek behind the scenes, Katrina!

It’s Easy Being Green With Stewart + Brown

Watch this very interesting video interview with Karen Stewart and Howard Brown, of the sustainable clothing brand, Stewart + Brown. It’s a segment of the show “It’s Easy Being Green” hosted by the well-known green activist Renee Loux. It is sweet that their inspiration for their company came from the birth of their daughter, Hazel…

In 2002 Karen Stewart and Howard Brown, partners in life and work, realized their destiny; They gave birth to a baby girl named Hazel Stewart Brown and a baby brand named Stewart+Brown.

Design for Karen and Howard is a passion and a way of life. Their professional journey stems from a union of creativity and purpose. Karen, a trained painter and New York native, and Howard, a graphic artist and Montana native, oversee every aspect of the product and brand themselves. Each Stewart+Brown collection, at an elemental level, is a fusion of experiences and insights filtered through their creative core and rendered into their own unique and personal aesthetic. While finding inspiration in all aspects of life, their collaborations are primarily influenced by art, design, culture, travel, and nature.

For more about Stewart and Brown see their website

The union of creativity and purpose is evident in their beautiful creations. Shown on the left is the Stewart & Brown Merino Bubble Sleeve Cardigan in superfine merino wool, and on the right is the Stewart & Brown Tie Neck Tee in heathered organic cotton knit. The Stewart and Brown Button Front Vest, made of Mongolian cashmere, is below.

I completely agree that being a parent can make you SO much more aware of your environmental impact!

(What do YOU think?)

Stewart and Brown Button Front Vest

Great Green Blogs!

Some great “Green Blogs” I’ve found…. I’d love to read more!

Eco-chick : “Because Mother Earth is a Woman” … Lots of GREAT articles and photos.

Happy Frog FrogBlog : Blog for BC’s Green Directory and Sustainability Community – live green, have fun!

Fancy Green Blog An excellent site with reviews of sustainable fashion designer clothing. “Dress Better, Look Better, Feel Better : Nobody should have to sacrifice fashion to live a greener life–especially when there are so many fancy green clothes out there.”

Green Thinking Blog : Smart and entertaining!

Ecostreet.com : (The Blog Formerly Known As TreeHuggerMum) has green directories, job postings, articles, a forum, books for sale and more…

Go Green Ego : forward ideas for green people

The Accidental Eco-maniac : A super-pretty site with lots of articles about all things eco!

Consciousconsuming : “Conscious Consuming seeks to increase awareness of the impact of buying decisions on our health, happiness, and environment.”

Greengirlsglobal : “an international weblog about people from various different places with various different experiences, skills and interests talking about how they and people where they live are trying to live a life in a way that is positive for the environment, people and animals.”

Hautenature : “Ecologically based creative ideas, art & green products for your children, home and lifestyle……..an eco guide blending high style with sustainability”

Hippyshopper : Green news and more!

Sustainablog: “regularly features environmental leaders, experts in alternative energy and green technology, and real people trying to lighten their environmental footprints”

Thedailygreen : The consumer’s guide to the green revolution.”

Also not really a blog but TreeHugger is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream. TreeHugger’s blog is Hugg

Environmentalfriendlies – “kind-to-nature online alternatives” is a super-pretty site with excellent articles on sustainable issues.

La Marguerite – An “environment blog”, with excellent articles and discussion, focused on behavioral solutions to global warming.

** Let me know of any I haven’t found or forgot to list! **

Mix and match with Polyvore!

from their site:
What is Polyvore?

Polyvore is a free, easy-to-use web-based application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web. It is also a vibrant community of creative and stylish people.

Polyvore lets you create sets composed of individual images using an easy to use, drag and drop editor. After you have created a set, you can publish and share it with your friends and the Polyvore community.

Try it – it’s easy and fun!

Natural Fabrics, Natural Style

Monday Magazine, a weekly from Victoria BC Canada, celebrated Earth Week with the headline “Green Chic – Natural fabrics, natural style“, and an article about sustainable fashion. Not Just Pretty is featured prominently in this week’s issue – on the cover, the lovely Moe Bell is wearing a beautiful green Myco Anna Cami Agave top. Her bag is a Red Flag Sail bag – made of recycled sails!

Here’s an excerpt from the article “Is Green My Colour?”:

Green is the most important fashion statement of 2008—and not on a colour wheel. From manufacturing practices to fibre sources, components of the apparel industry are spurring the next major shift in the market for an organic—or, at least, more carbon-neutral—lifestyle. New fabric choices, like bamboo and soy, are allowing apparel to become eco-friendly, while remaining stylish and modern

Salts Organic Hoodie

Ecoskin Copper dress featured in D~luxeList

The D~luxeList, a “chic guide to beautiful things”, have featured this chic and beautiful Eco-skin Copper dress in their fashion finds…

It’s so great to see eco-friendly fashions going beyond great basics by offering super-stylish dresses and tops that are every bit as fashionable as your favorite contemporary lines. The Copper is a super-soft fabrication comprised of 67% Bamboo, 28% Tencel, and 5% Spandex. The banded hem, soft gathers at the neckline and elbow-length sleeves are cute details that take this piece from basic to beautiful.

Understated, sensual and feminine in its approach, Ecoskin is inspired by the Italian Riviera and the women who live and play there. Her confidence is apparent to everyone around her. There is a freshness to the ease of this collection. Nothing is overwhelming or overdone. Always with the purity of nature in mind, colors are clean and rich in their approach.

“I wanted to give women a hip, sophisticated collection, as well as a sustainable product that would not leave a footprint on the environment,” says designer, Sandy Skinner. “My vision is to continually raise women’s awareness of their options. We can combine eco-friendly fabrics with a high design aesthetic and collectively we can take steps toward creating an environment where humans, nature and animals live in harmony.”