It can be intimidating to take your fashion fate into your own hands, but for some ethical activists, it’s easier to make the missing link yourself than to wait for someone else to do it.
Designers are no longer the only messengers of high fashion, and those dusty McCall’s patterns your aunt might have collected are no longer the face of DIY.
Thousands of blogs on the subject of doing it yourself have popped up as a sort of guerrilla fashion movement, stealing the power from the runways and putting it back in the sewing room where it originated. It’s no longer seen as merely frugal to go about designing your own wardrobe from scratch. On the contrary, those who have the skills are able to imbue their personal style with a certain edginess, the kind of coolness that accompanies saying “oh thanks, I made this myself” when responding to a compliment on a unique piece of jewelry or embellished dress.
Of course, you don’t need to be crafty to support DIY. Just by supporting those entrepreneurs who, to paraphrase Gandhi, are the change they want to see in the world, we produce the next generation of fashion visionaries who may just be the white knight for the green movement.
In the creative spirit that such motivation entails, we dedicate issue 12 of EthicalStyle.com to DIY.
Etsy.com has become the one-stop shop for handmade on the internet. Ethical shoppers flock to the website for fair trade goods made by small businesses around the world.Click here for a guide to this huge flea market of an online destination.
You may know them as the makers of some funny-looking footwear, but TOMS Shoes proves its commitment to its ethical philosophy by personally organizing its charitable missions to deliver shoes to the poorest of the poor in Africa. The company is a nice example of designer that goes above and beyond with its ideals rather than just writing a check to solve social problems.
We also test drove mineral makeup from Terra Firma, an up-and-coming beauty brand from Washington State. Find product reviews and recommendations here.
Madison, bless her soul, reveals that DIY projects don’t always turn out like the vision in your head. She braves the criticism to put her initial effort at knitting into the spotlight.
Finally, guest contributer Outi Pyy — the talented writer behind Outsapop.com – shares with E.S. readers a tutorial of how to make a Raquel Allegra-inspired shredded tee that you’ll totally wear out this spring.
What are you waiting for? Go forth and do it yourself!
