Dress for Success scarf, Echo Designs, $30

The signature scarf was made in collaboration with Echo, who also made a scarf called the “Dress for Success” scarf, with words “Success” and “Believe” gorgeously printed on it. The best part is that when you purchase this $30 scarf, half of that goes to Dress For Success Worldwide, an organization that helps disadvantaged women gain confidence, professional attire and a supportive network to help them attain independent economic security.

Love Quotes Scarf, Tobi.com, $75

And finally, this chic and versatile scarf from Love Quotes is also a statement of it’s own. Each with a love quote on the tag, these scarves are made from Italian linen and are oh so soft. 15% of the sales from these scarves go to international children’s organizations.

Miami fashion is full of latin influences, bright and warm colors, vivid prints and sexy cuts. Skin is definitely in, due to the tropical climate and the hot night life. For accessories, add some bling (gold is preferred) and a bright scarf or cover up for the occasional breeze or light drizzle. Below are 3 tips to help you dress in the energetic city of Miami.

#1: Flashy MiniDresses

#1: Bold Minidresses

Short hems, tight fits and bold hues are the 3 ingredients for a stylish dress in miami. Here we have two dresses from Herve Leger, and the one in the middle is by Robert Rodriguez at Neiman Marcus. The exotic detail will definitely stand out at an upscale dinner or nightclub.

#2: Gold Bling

#2: Gold Bling

In Miami, gold is the default color of metal because it reflects warmth and compliments bright colors. Here are three of my favorite gold jewelry pieces: first, a lovely bracelet and a charming frog necklace, both from Lilly Pulitzer, and a bright and colorful collar necklace from Kate Spade.

#3: An Exotic Bathing Suit

#3: Exotic Swimsuit

When you hit up South Beach, wear some kind of exotic swimsuit that is both skimpy and unique. Diane von Fursternberg and Gucci both make great one pieces, with deep plunges or sweeping cuts (both from Net-A-Porter). And don’t you just love the ruffle shorties from J Crew? They are trendy but don’t leave embarrassing tan lines!

Main post image: The Coveteur

Plain Belt, $24, TheEthicalMan.com

I love the ‘plain belt’ which is made from recycled bike tires and a hemp lining. This belt has bold white stitching, making it go great with casual attire like some nice jeans and a sport coat.

Barnes Bag, MattandNat.com, $245

Matt & Nat is an awesome vegan company that sells bags, wallets, belts, and other accessories that are 100% vegan for both men and women. And I just loooove their barnes bag (for men) which is the highly versatile briefcase you’ve been looking for! The classic black on black stitching makes it snazzy and the material made from recycled plastic water bottles makes it highly ethical.

Kama Black, BourgeoisBoheme.com, £97.06

Bourgeois Boheme is yet another 100% vegan company, but they specialize in stylish shoes for men and women. I like the BoBo Kama shoes in black, which are your traditional black oxfords with a rounded toe and are made from faux suede. These babies are also made in white, perfect for your summer seersucker suit!

So, there ya go. You don’t have to look like a hippie to dress cruelty-free. You can look just as hip (actually, even more hip) then the next guy by dressing according to your morals.

One of the main reasons for all the toxins in conventional mattresses is that in 2007, it was made mandatory that all mattresses must contain enough flame retardant to withstand a 2 foot wide blowtorch open flame for 70 seconds. These flame retardants are usually not in your best interest healthwise, with up to 90% of the those in mattresses containing highly toxic chemicals.

1. Boric Acid: A flame retardant that can cause reproductive and developmental issues, and is often used as a pesticide.

2. Antimony: Antimony, a possible carcinogen, is also a flame retardant. It can cause damage to the heart and lungs. According to the EPA, the amount of antimony found in conventional mattresses is 27.5 times higher then the recommended amount.

3. Decabromodiphenyl oxide: This is yet another toxic flame retardant that can cause hair loss, memory loss, and possibly cancer.

Another component of mattresses high in toxins is memory foam and the cushion material.

4. Polyurethane: Polyurethane foam is found in memory foam and conventional mattresses, and is made from combining Toluene Diisocyanate and Polyol. Toluene Diisocyanate can cause asthma, headaches, nausea and disruptions in both your immune and nervous systems.

5. Adhesives: The chemicals methylene, chloride, benzene, and formaldehyde are the most common ones found in mattress glues and adhesives. These may cause lung, nose and throat cancers as well as allergies and skin irritations.

This list doesn’t even begin to cover the pesticides found in conventional cotton. It doesn’t even cover half of the chemicals I found in my research. So, is there a safe mattress out there?

Fortunately, many companies out there offer non-toxic, chemical free, organic mattresses. Some of the best ones I have found include European Sleep Works, Essentia and Nontoxicbeds.com.

Photo courtesy of Chris Crawford.

How You’re Being Fooled, Why it Needs to Change and How to Change It

Corporate Powers Rule Your World
Contrary to popular belief, the consumer doesn’t really have much power in this market. Say you want to buy panties. What are your options? You have national chains like Victoria’s Secret, large department stores like Macy’s, and discount retailers like Target. Let’s say you pick Victoria’s Secret. You go into the store, and because the difference in the sale price and the retail price is so significant, you buy what they tell you is on sale and how many pairs you have to buy for that price. “5 for $25.. pick within this selection”. They tell you to purchase what is most profitable to them. Then the money goes straight to the top. Yes, relatively small bonuses trickle down, but the bulk of the money goes to faces you’ve never seen. The problem with this system is that the employees of the retailer, both the managers and the sales associates, can work their butt off trying to get the next promotion, the next bonus, or to even keep their job, and at any second the company can let them go because they are no longer ‘profitable’. When you work so hard for a company and then you’re fired, you have nothing to show for it, but they have their company that YOU built up. This destroys communities and families. What we can do to change it is to shop local, always. Support your local small businesses because then the money goes into the community and stays in the community.

The worst part about the relationship between the large corporations and the consumers is the fact that they hide their manufacturing processes because they know you wouldn’t want to support them, as described below.

Their Business Practices are Hardly Ethical

-Environment

Tannery pollution in Bangladesh

Many products in the fashion industry are detrimental to the environment. Take leather, for example, which requires formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, cyanide-based oils and finishes to treat the skins. Even more, the majority of leather in this country is chrome tanned, which is considered hazardous by the EPA. Cotton, one of the most pesticide intensive crops on the planet, is the main product in many of our fashion products. Cotton happens to have cyanide, dicofol, trifluralin and propargite, which are known to cause cancer, in addition to toxins that the World Health Organization calls “hazardous”. This is flooding the earth and then seeps into our drinking water and onto our food. In order to change this practice, buy organic, eco-friendly, and environmentally sustainable products.

-Animal Welfare

A cow bleeds to death in a standard Indian leather slaughterhouse. © Anthony Lawrence

The trend of vegan fashion is small but growing. The fact that animals (usually cows, calves, goats, and sheep but also seals) are slaughtered so that we can wear their skins is not something that can be accepted by our society any longer. It’s inhumane and unnecessary. Many other natural and synthetic materials can replace leather in the industry, and these are often more eco-friendly as well. Take Matt & Nat, for example. This company designs vegan bags, wallets and laptop bags that are made out of recycled plastic water bottles. What we can do to fuel this trend is to never buy leather, wool, fur, or reptile skin. Buy vegan.

-Sweatshops and Child Labor
When you purchase clothing, shoes or accessories at a national retailer, odds are that it was made in a sweatshop because that is the most efficient method of production, which is what those guys go for. This is blatantly inhumane. Some companies that you wouldn’t expect to use sweatshops do, including J.Crew, Gap, Target, and Abercrombie & Fitch. If the CEO’s of these companies decided to take less of a paycheck (all in the millions per year plus stock options) then they wouldn’t have to rely on cruel sweatshop practices. Some argue that in order to buy cheap clothing you have to have cheap labor. Well, that is an interesting point because to exploit workers for cheap goods means that you, in a way, depend on them to always be there. What happens when they decide they don’t want to work in a sweatshop any more, what if their economy becomes stronger then ours? Then those products that YOU depend on are gone, and the only option is to buy “expensive” (ethical) goods or to not buy anything at all. What can you do to not support sweat shops? Do research on a company or brand before you buy it. If the company doesn’t have a solid statement against it, chances are that they are hiding something. So, again, the answer is to buy local from people you can trust, faces you can talk to and get the answers you deserve.

You might be fortunate in never seeing the consequences of your purchases, but just know that even if it’s not on your mind, it’s still reality, it’s still happening.

Stop being fooled, start clearing your conscious, and start living compassionately.

Firmer: Dove had the audacity to market skin firming cream in their ‘Real Women’ campaign. Does this make sense? The most amusing part of the ad is the fact that a qualification for all of the models was to have (quoted from the casting call) “flawless skin and hair… No Scars… beautiful hair and skin is A MUST”. That doesn’t sound to real to me. Check out the ad for the casting call for yourself.

Softer: If you’ve heard the buzz about Dove’s new deodorant ads for ‘Ultimate Go Sleeveless’, then you already know that apparently armpits are ugly too, and in order to be beautiful you need to purchase Dove’s deodorant. It’s not just about body odor anymore, it’s about softer skin. And, it will give you better looking armpits in only 5 days! It’s just what we all need, right?

Self Esteem? Nope. Now that large companies realize that directing their marketing efforts to manipulate women’s self consciousness is so effective, they have decided to test this method out on men. Unilever, Dove’s parent company, is the same one that markets Axe products, which are detrimental for both women and men. Obviously the ads don’t paint a real good pictures in young girls minds: sluty girls desperate to have sex with some guy because he is wearing axe deodorant. Yes, that’s a real good way to boost self esteem. But what does this do to the men who watch the commercials?  I mean, it basically is saying “if you want to get laid, you have to spray chemicals on your skin that we call Axe.” Because you don’t have any natural sexiness, it’s all in the can.

By the way, this is also the same company that sells SlimFast. Because you have to be slim to be beautiful! Oh, and they’re also on Peta’s list of companies that test on animals. I think it’s safe to just not support them, what do you think?

Do some of your own research on the leather industry to see for yourself exactly how bad (it’s really bad) it is. But for now, let’s talk about the budget-friendly eco-conscious cruelty-free shoes! Cri de Coeur (to “cry from the heart”) has 2 lines of shoes: one which is their higher end line with prices ranging from $250 to $450, and the second being Hearts of Darkness, still of amazing quality and style but with prices under $150. And, the Hearts of Darkness spring collection is really fun, with those extra little details like tassels and fringes, wood heels and booties in all shapes and sizes. Below I have picked 5 shoes from the collection that I think best represent the entire line, but feel free to browse it yourself here.

#1: The Sweep Fringe Slingback

#1: Sweep Fringe Slingback in Umber

#2: Cloud Crochet Bootie

#2: Cloud Crochet Bootie

The Cloud Crochet Bootie is a gorgeous flat with intricate detail. Comfy and cute! $110.

#3: Shag Fringe Slouch Boot

#3: Shag Fringe Slouch Boot

The Shag Fringe Slouch Boot is my favorite! These are the boots being worn in the first picture, and as you can see they make your legs look great (it could be the 4 inch wood heel). Don’t you love the fringes going down the side? $155.

#4: Delicate Crochet Flat

#4: Delicate Crochet Flat

I’m just loving the crochet, and the flat is a great shape that is flattering on your feet! $100.

#5: Skate Lace Up Open Toe Boot

#5: Skate Lace Up Open Toe Bootie

This bootie isn’t your typical shoe… it is made from distressed denim and features a sexy peep toe. The laces are very hip right now too. $130.

#1: The Whole Seersucker Suit: Coat and Pants

#1: Jacket and Pants

When wearing the entire seersucker suit, you’ll want to break up all the seersucker with either a bold tie or shirt. The red bow tie looks great with the suit, but I also LOVE the navy polka dot tie with it seen in the first picture. While a tie isn’t necessary, it really brings the entire outfit into one sharp look. Pair it with either white shoes (which look great in the summer!) or brown.

#2: Seersucker Coat Over Khakis or White Slacks

#2: Seersucker Jacket over Khakis or White Slacks

You don’t have to wear the pants every time you wear the jacket. Here I have pictures of a seersucker jacket over light khaki and white slacks. Obviously, this is a much more casual look. The picture on the right features a lovely jacket from Bergdorf Goodman, and looks crisp and clean over a white shirt and white pants. On the left, the jacket is over a pink polo with a yellow sweatshirt around the shoulders (WARNING: VERY PREPPY LOOK!). This looks best with brown shoes.

#3: Seersucker Coat over Jeans

#3: Seersucker Coat over Jeans

This look is by far the most casual, and even a little bit edgy. I mean, it takes a little bit of balls to pull this look off. As you can see in the picture on the left, you don’t have to wear dress shoes with this outfit. The outfit on the right is actually a mix between dressy and casual, since he pairs a tie with it. Not a fan of the busy tie and shirt combination though. One thing to make sure of when wearing a seersucker coat over jeans is that they are dark in color and great in quality. Trust me, it shows!

#4: Just the Seersucker Pants

#4: Seersucker Pants

You can also mix and match with the pants. They look great with a solid dress shirt or a polo (once again, we see the pink polo with seersucker). In addition, you can wear a navy sport coat with seersucker pants, which looks great!! Pants from RalphLauren.com and BrooksBrothers.com.

1. Stella McCartney’s Floral Print

1. Floral Print by Stella McCartney

2. Polka dots by Marc Jacobs

2. Dots by Marc Jacobs

3. Turquoise Kissue by Lilly Pulitzer

3. Turquoise Kissue by Lilly Pulitzer

4. Stripes by Jil Sander

4. Stripes by Jil Sander

5. Apple and Dots by Miu Miu

Miu Miu Spring Apple and Dot Print

Enjoy your weekend!