Weekly Eco Fashion Wrap Up October 16th, 2010
Happy Saturday from the Big Apple's Upper East Side....CMar here giving you the latest and greatest in eco-fashion 
So let's get to it!
What to Read:
ECO Fashion by Sass Brown
Awesome new book from FIT professor, Sass Brown. Brown examines eco-fashion trends around the globe in this fabulous new read. Check it out today at your local book store or online. We can't wait to get our hands on a copy
What To Eat:
Photo Courtesy of http://girliegirlarmy.com
We are HUGE fans of The Girlie Girl Army weekly blogs with awesome recipes for the healthy chick! Check out this great and yummy recipe for Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake by Raw Food Star Ani Phyo.
What To Do:
Photo Courtesy of Refinery 29 Blog
We aren't going to lie....Halloween is one of our favorite days of the year! Make it eco fab by picking up some cool finds at your local thrift store and then letting creative juices flow.... Once you have the perf outfit then rush over to a cool haunted house in your city to really get in the Halloween spirit! If you are in NYC be sure to check out the recommended Haunted Houses by one of our favorite daily blogs, Refinery 29! We are thinking Blood Manor tomorrow....anyone want to join??? Hehehe
News from c. marchuska:
Lots of awesome new posts for our amazing friends and fans to check out including new features like: AskHim and new posts: Introducing Christina Blacken: Six Questions in Six Minutes and How's My White Tee Bad: Demystifying Eco Fashion
Oh and some new projects in the works....let's just say CBS News stopped by....and a new web series has contacted our fav eco-fashionista.....SHHHHHH! Can't give more deets at this time, but stay tuned
Alright stay eco-chic my darlings and enjoy this amazing weekend!
xoxo
CMar
How’s My White Tee Bad? Demystifying Eco Fashion
I have an addiction to a great sale. And not just any wimpy "buy one get one 2% off" type deal, but a sale so good you feel like you're stealing from the establishment (just kidding..sort of:D). So this itching for some good ol' saving inspired another passion...thrift shopping.
Now thrifting serves two distinct and lovely purposes in this fashionista's life 1) I save big bucks...ever know what it feels like to walk out of store with 5 great staple clothing pieces for under 40 dinero? probably not..get like me!:) and 2) thrift shopping allows me to find distinct pieces that are timeworn and well made, but still affordable.
Thrifting should make anybody this excited:D photo courtesy of blog.timesunion.com
Photo courtesy of 20something.ca
With those two things in mind, I scour racks of Salvation Army, Goodwill, Beacons Closet (insert any standard thrift shop name), searching for that next stylish blazer, blouse, or vest that will amp my wardrobe. But, in the midst of my budget loving frenzy, I was completely unaware I was becoming apart of a movement, a change in an industry so large, not one person on this planet can avoid interaction with it (unless you're a nudist, and if so good looks on great body image confidence:D lol). I am apart of a movement to completely change the apparel industry, by supporting eco fashion and sustainable consumption. Funny how it all started with a slick vest at a thrift shop.
So I know you're thinking "whooa whooa hold up Christina Blacken, what exactly is wrong with my white tee, yup with my white tee? And what's this funny buzz word 'eco fashion'? Also, how is thrift shopping all eco and such?" Well I'm glad you asked! Read on my lost cyber friend read on:..
Have you ever wondered, if a shirt could talk, what stories would it tell? If my shirts talked to me (glad they don't, that's certifiable wacko but you get me?) they would enlighten me on where they grew, whose hands stitched them, and how they ended up in a retail shop down my block. But since shirts shouldn't be talking to ya, consumers are left very disconnected and in the dark about how their clothes are made and what impact those clothes are having on the future of this earth.
Sounds heavy I know, but the effects of the current structure of the apparel industry are detrimental at best, devastating at worst. The C. Marchuska team is spreading the message of the environmental, economical, and social importance of eco fashion through this blog, and will feature a Monday blog spot giving an insider's look at the apparel industry, where your clothes come from and their impacts, and how eco fashion is leading a necessary change in consumption. With 6 billion people each rocking some type of frock, clothes aren't fickle baby, they're crucial and affecting us in ways unbeknown to the public.
Keep your eye's peeled for next Monday's rundown on what major impacts are occurring from the fashion industry. In the meantime I leave you with a quick vid to get your feet wet..educational and all:D
http://www.bbc.co.uk/thread/blood-sweat-tshirts/
til we cyberbond again,
stay fly
-CBlack
Weekly Eco Fashion Wrap Up October 8th, 2010
Before we kick off our fabulous week in review, by new eco chic CMar blogger, Krystal Williams, we thought we would finally announce the Winner of our London Chic Vocab Contest! Lucky for us, we have a resident fashion forward Brit, Ajay Nayyar, on board at c. marchuska. Ajay looked through all of your awesome response, but quickly assured us that we Americans actually call the accessory in debate the same word used by our English brethren....yup that is right ladies and gents....Brits actually call scarves the same thing we, bold and sometimes brash, Americans call them....scarves! Somewhat a bit of a trick contest question, but still we think it stirred up some interesting debates on London fashion vocab Now, for the real moment we have all been waiting for.....drum roll please!!!!! The winner of one NYC made, super soft, super sexy and totally eco c. marchuska hunter scarf is.....Derek Sanderoff! Congratulations Derek and thank you for participating and of course, thank you for your support! Alright, let me hand it over to Krystal...
Greetings, Fashion People! It’s Krystal with the Week in Review. Things have been heating up this week in the Ecosphere. Check out our fav picks of the week!
"Q&A with new CMar blogger, Angel Lenise"
Here's an excerpt from the post - check it out here and stay tuned for future CMar blogger interviews including an upcoming Q&A with yours truly "Well it has been a little over six months since we started our new social media campaign and we have some new exciting changes as well as new additions to our team! So for the next three Wednesday posts we will be featuring our fabulous new team members and why they are passionate about fashion and the environment. Today we are kicking it off with Angel Lenise. We met Angel through a casting call for our latest web spot featuring some of our favorite c. marchuska dresses."
“Eco-Fashion: Going Green”
Photo courtesy of the The Shoe Dish blog www.theshoedish.com
From May 26-Nov 13, the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology will be showcasing ecofashion of today and yesterday. Ecofashion is often linked to the environmentalist movement and the hippie culture of the 1960’s, but rarely are fashionably eco-friendly styles before the mid-twentieth century discussed. This exhibition explores the ways in which the value of clothing has transformed in the past 200 years, putting into historical context of today’s eco-fashion movement.
For more info about this exhibition check out FIT’s website at www.fitnyc.edu.
Issey Miyake’s 132 5 Eco-Friendly Collection
The buzz on eco-fashion has been on high recently in the fashion world, but revolutionary Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has taken things to a whole new level with the release of his innovative, origami inspired 132 5 Collection. What is the story behind the name you ask? One piece of clothe with a three dimensional shape that folds into a two dimensional shape. The space equates to the time that it takes from completion of the garment to the moment when someone puts it on and the five is equivalent to the number of permutations for each piece. Here at CMar this all adds up to 100 percent eco-fantastic!
Photo courtesy of evon-.blogspot.com
Some things I’d like to highlight before I let everyone get back to their fabulous weekends:
Eco Lover and Project Runway contestant Gretchen Jones is having a giveaway for a Pearl Crescent blouse. According to the EcoSalon website, “Her Pearl Crescent blouse is made from low impact, hand dyed, locally sourced silk and is versatile enough to wear with pencil skirts and heels or torn jeans and sneakers.” Go here for a chance to enter to win the blouse.
Photo Credit: www.ecosalon.com
Vancouver wrapped up its first bi-annual Eco-Fashion Week last week. Check out photos and a wrap up of the earth friendly fare here.
Photo Credit: Vancouver is Awesome (Blog)
Alright everyone - that's it for this week! Thank you for reading and if you like what you see - please feel free to tweet, share and comment!
xoxo,
Krystal, CMar & Ajay
Monday’s Fashion Focus: London Chic Vocab
Happy Monday Everyone!
We are starting a new weekly blog series at c. marchuska this week. We have received your feedback and want to give you, our community, what it wants So every Monday we will be demystifying what fashion means to the masses. As most of us return from a social media filled weekend (totally recommend the Social Network movie - go see it NOW!) and get back into the grind of the week I thought we could focus this week on our brethren on the other side of the pond. I mean after all Prince Charles is now singing the praises of eco fashion so what better time to decipher the terms used by most fashionable Brits....
Whenever I travel to a new city, country, etc I want to go into the experience well informed. I want to know where the locals eat, where they play and more importantly how they speak. So on a recent jaunt to London I realized none of my Lonely Planet or Zagat's Guides could give me what I really needed....the fashion terms they used and embraced. I mean c'mon now....fashion is my passion and no amount of fish and chips will ever satiate me when it comes to Ted Baker, John Smedley....and (gasp) Burberry.... So here goes nothing your Monday fashion guide to the UK:
Jumper: no that Hugh Grant look alike is not referring to a cute little silhouette you wear over your button down... a jumper is a sweater in London....preferably one made of cashmere...
London Fashion Lesson #1: a Jumper is a Sweater
Pick up a John Smedly jumper today at: http://www.sherrys.co.uk/
Waistcoat: actually not a coat, nor is it some random too short to wear to the office dress pants...a waistcoat is a vest...hopefully Dolce & Gabbana and found under a suit
London Fashion Lesson #2: a Waistcoat is a Vest
Braces: oh I know this one....yeah those horrendous things that the dentist puts on your teeth to make puberty about a million times worse...sorry kiddies - but not in London....braces are suspenders....so classic and found frequently at Hermes....
London Fashion Lesson #3: Braces are Suspenders
This trivia is fun...but what is even more exciting is giving out some c. marchuska ecofashion swag.....as we enter my favorite season ever in NYC...um, yeah, FALL....check out the three web spots below and tell us what the hottest accessory (hint: hunter scarf) would be called in London and win yourself your very own sexy bamboo viscose unisex hunter scarf. Here's what you need to do to win:
1 - Comment on this blog and tell us what they call scarves in London
2 - Share this blog on your facebook page (more points rewarded to those that share it on twitter, gchat status, etc)
3 - Like this post on our c. marchuska fan page
Get it? Got it? Good! Now for your inspiration....check out these fab web spots we filmed to inspire your senses....
xoxo,
CMar