For the past year I've been bemoaning shoe manufacturers for making shoes 'on the skimpy side'. But it was only recently that I contemplated the possibility my feet had grown. I've been a size 5 since the age of 14 so I found the discovery somewhat bewildering - I'm an adult, I should've done all my growing.

This has an obvious downside - a shoe collection that no longer fits - but also an upside - shoe shopping!

Luckily, having been forced to buy the size up due to what I thought was stingy manufacturing, I have some shoes in my collection that are already a size 6, so all is not lost.

I have made a small start on repairing the damage. My first purchase was a pair of TOMs - yes, I know, in the past I have called them 'bandages-with-soles' but I've grown to like them.


They're super comfy and I love the fact that they give a child in need a pair of shoes for every pair sold. And now I'm hankering after the pink pair and the pansy pair too (think of the children).


Next up, I found these whilst killing time in London recently. It really is better for my purse if I'm kept busy at all times but, well, just look at them!


I'm thinking team with rolled up skinny jeans and a slouchy top, wear with my stripe maxi and various summer shift dresses.

It took me a while to face the task of deciding which pairs had to go. In the end I waited until I was in a less than good mood, making me less sentimental, I ended up with quite a pile!


The damage? 5 pairs of ballet flats, 4 heels, 3 pairs of boots and 1 pair of brogues but much more room in my wardrobe. Luckily my gold brogues, my bronze heels and my silver sandals all survived! Hurrah! for metallics. The sad thing is I think there are still more that need to go...

But still more to buy (every cloud).

I adore my Dream In Green boots from Spartoo, but was curious as to what made them 'green'. The website stated that they were environmentally friendly due to 'vegetal tanning'. I wasn't sure what that meant exactly - queue Google, no results. No results - how can that be? I contacted Spartoo via their Facebook page, and it turns out that it was a typo. It should've read 'vegetable tanning', I should've guessed really...

Anyway, Dream in Green are - to quote Spartoo - 'profoundly eco-friendly'. They use natural and recycled materials and keep down the air miles by manufacturing everything in Europe.


I won these boots when I took part in the Style Is ethical fashion competition in early 2013 and so it seemed fitting to wear them for an entry - £100 of shoes up for grabs? Yes please.

If you fancy entering the details can be found here, the competition runs until the end of April.

Here is my entry - You'll have to use your imagination to put the photos together, after my tripod took a tumble not long ago and broke (along with my camera) it's been hard to take any outfit shots! I'm having to make do with placing my, new and fabulous, camera on bits of furniture in lieu of a tripod.

Thinking about it, the last time I broke my camera was just before one of these competitions - Ceri, have you jinxed me?


My outfit is almost entirely ethical (I draw the line at second hand under garments), in addition to my boots, I'm wearing a pre loved maxi dress from ebay, and a brooch found on ASOS Marketplace. I've had this for ages but haven't worn it until now, it seems the perfect embellishment for this dress.


So, there's my entry, will you be joining in?

Good luck!

A while ago I wrote about Measure Up, I was so pleased to find an easy reference guide to high street brands and their ethical practices that I had to share it.
Then today this tweet caught my eye, I clicked through to the Refinery 29 article and found that Zara, who on the Measure Up website seemed one of the better brands are deemed less so in the Refinery 29 article. Whilst they do use ethical fabrics and care for the environment, it's reported that their treatment of workers is pretty poor.

This is what it said;
'Despite this, there has been some controversy over how Zara treats its employees. According to the Daily Mail, factory workers, some of them children, “were made to work up to 16-hour days without breaks and were prevented from leaving the factories without permission.” And in Buenos Aires, claims were made that workers clocked in at 7 a.m. and didn’t leave the factory until 11 p.m. routinely from Monday to Saturday. No breaks.' Source 

There are a number of brands listed, but I picked out Zara as a brand I would potentially buy. It makes me wonder how often the details on Measure Up were updated - maybe I'm referencing out of date info? *sighs*

I shop on the high street and I find it so frustrating that I can't find reliable information. 'Green' brands don't offer the variety and you can only rely on pre loved fashion so much.

I don't want to wear clothes made by children working 16 hour shifts.

IFB Project #91  |  What does sustainable style mean to you?

I kinda gave away the ending in my title but, for me, pre loved is the most sustainable form of style. I haven't always had much luck in charity shops but I've learned the art of rummaging, realised that you have to be in the right mood and have plenty of time. A good rummage can not be rushed.

In addition to charity shops, I trawl eBay, ASOS Marketplace and Esty for pre loved items and handmade jewellery. I also love a good clothes swap. Every six weeks I organise a clothes swap in aid of a local charity, there have been five now and it's turning into a little community, I see the same faces returning each time and now I've begun to notice some of the swapped items coming back and going home with someone else. The idea that something has been worn before may not be everyone's cup of tea but I love the idea that an item is worn and enjoyed rather than languishing in someone's wardrobe. 

I don't mind were an item is originally from as long as I like it. I've never found any great designer or vintage pieces but that's not what it about for me, I'm not saying I wouldn't be thrilled with such a find, but it's more about cutting down on waste and, let's be honest, it's great for the purse too.

I do shop on the high street because not everything can be found second hand and what's more I believe there needs to be a balance. I was thrilled to find Measure Up, a website that rates high street stores on their ethical credentials, because it means I can make more informed choices about which high street stores I use. 

I know many of you love pre loved, what's your favourite find?

Love

I had the opportunity to go to a few AW13 preview events recently. I know that some folks find the whole PR 'I went here and did this' post really dull, but I was intrigued and so took the opportunity to see what they were like first hand.

The final event of my day in London was the Amanda Wakeley AW13 preview, which turns out was an event for bloggers. We were told that Amanda Wakeley recognised that bloggers are an important part of social networking, which was interesting in the wake of LFW's backlash against the blogger.

The event had pink champagne and mini cupcakes, the room was lined with rails of gorgeous clothes that we could rummage through, photograph and try on if we wanted (I wasn't brave enough and I kick myself for that now). There were models, erm, modeling the clothes and we were given a short presentation about the new day wear line that had been added to the collection, 'Clean Glam' were the words used to describe it.



It's a lovely collection in spicy and rich, autumnal colours, a good splash of monochrome and some fantastic evening gowns, embellished with beads, chains, sparkles and some with ostrich feathers, and accessories including some really lovely clutch bags (I am partial to a clutch bag). Many pieces I loved, but none that would look good covered in pet hair and mud though, which is pretty much a standard requirement for me being a farm dwelling cat owner.



I overheard someone ask how much a 'cinnamon' coloured pair of cropped trousers would retail for. Two-six-five came the answer, two-six-five, not two hundred and sixty five pounds just two-six-five. I winced as I stood there in my t-shirt that cost me 'eight' and my jacket - in the sale the previous day - for 'ten'. I suddenly wished I'd worn more blend-in-black and less look-at-me pink! What was I thinking? That said, I did get complimented on the jacket so I couldn't have got it that wrong.

Further wincing ensued when I retrieved my eight year old coat, which suddenly seemed very shabby in comparison to the garments that surrounded me - the Topshop label was on full display. Then I had a word with myself - no one was going to concern themselves with me when there were so many fabulous things to hold their attention.

Everyone was lovely, the cupcakes delicious and me? Well, I felt like a complete imposter - but, what the hell, its good to step out of your comfort zone. I had fun, saw some gorgeous clothes and got to meet Sherin, we've been reading each others blogs for ages so it was a real treat to meet her.

AND someone photographed my gold brogues as I walked down Regent Street earlier in the day - it was a very proud blogger moment for me.

Love

Today I spent the day with my best friend. The combination of her crazy teaching hours and my freelance work taking up all my time, we don't see each other very often. Which is a shame because she is brilliant and we always have a great time when we get together.

Today consisted of shopping, lunch, and some more shopping. And several cups of tea.

One shop we found ourselves in was Waterstones. I love book shops and although I often buy my books from charity shops, car boot sales and, more often, Green Metropolis, I do like to support book shops on the high street. If we don't use them, they'll eventually disappear and I'll never again lose large chunks of time to wandering the shelves, flicking through books, and occasionally sniffing them.

Today was no exception, there was flicking. There was sniffing. And there was most definitely purchasing. Six books. SIX! When I already have all of these at home in my to-read pile.


Which begs the question - if I can't find the time to see my best friend, when am I going to find the time to read all of these?!

Still, it's a nice dilemma to have...

When do you read?

Time for Two Birds Inspiration Monday again. It's Allessandra Ambrosio this week - no idea who she is but what a fabulous name!

I went outside earlier today to take some outfit shots, a gust of (freezing cold) wind blew over my fixed-once-with-superglue tripod and snapped the top clean off. The camera took a beating too, luckily it was my compact digital camera and not my new Samsung. It still works - in a fashion - it's stuck on one setting now.

That's two cameras that have perished in the making of this blog!

So, with no tripod I had to make do with good old fashioned mirror shots, I don't think the result was too bad.


I knew I'd wear this as soon as I saw the inspiration picture, it's a Monsoon tunic from eBay, I believe I paid £5 for it. I really like it but probably wouldn't have worn it with a belt if it wasn't for this inspiration. It's another thing that was bought with the thought 'it'll look lovely with sandals in the summer' running through my mind. It's amazing how many items get purchased because of that thought, so many that you'd think we were blessed glorious hot summers. If only!

Hope you've had a lovely Easter weekend.

Love