Eco fashion seems to be creeping onto the runways and even onto the red carpet more and more. Let’s face it, we were all in awe when Emma Watson rocked her Met Gala gown crafted with material made from plastic water bottles. Designers and artisans are becoming more conscious about where their materials are sourced and who exactly they are affecting. The best part is, you don’t have to have a specialty Calvin Klein dress to be a conscious Fashionista/o! Gravitating yet again towards neutral tones, I took a collared dress creating a fun and casual look for summer days, a trend that Stella McCartney dove into for her 2016 resort collection.
When an opportunity comes knocking to spend a morning exploring the city; minimal, practical and comfortable immediately jump to the top of my list. When I stumbled upon the brand United By Blue I knew we were going to get along just fine. United By Blue is a company that embraces the responsibility of taking care of our planet and oceans as they are the global link between us. It’s in their name, we are in fact united by blue. They take action through each purchase by removing trash from waterways and make conscious decisions when choosing materials for their clothing.
I’m not sure why it hasn’t caught on yet, but if you ask me, everything needs to be made out of tencel. Tencel has a positive impact over alternatives as it is created from a pulp extracted from eucalyptus trees. Why are eucalyptus trees such an awesome asset for the fashion industry you ask? Well since you asked; eucalyptus trees have an extremely fast growth rate taking very little water and essentially zero pesticides to mature. After the pulp is extracted it is then turned into a fiber that can be used for clothing. Tencel can be blended with other materials such as organic cotton and with a little help from a design team, the final product is your perfect combination of casual but classy dress for summer, fall, winter, spring and everything in between.
To make my look practical for a city adventure, I paired the dress with a fedora made from salvaged and sustainably sourced materials. It covers any bad hair day and is perfect for blocking the sun. My day tote is made from one hundred percent organic cotton and doubles as a purse and reusable shopping bag. In order to keep the look light and simple, I wore a single wrap bracelet and threw on my Mayari Birkenstocks in order to keep my feet happy.
Get My Look: 1. Banbury Dress. 2. Fedora. 3. Day Tote.
