Calling All Eco and Budget Conscious Fashionista's To MindyCara

I have a special treat for you today dear reader, another new fashion site to add to your list of favourites that you can refer too when looking for your next great discounted designer find. For those of you who covet designer fashion but have little room in your budget for it my guest writer, Dr. Robi Ludwig joined the Evolution Revolution to introduce you to Mindycara.com There is nothing more fabulous than a great deal AND fashion recycling. The premise of my business, Evolution Vintage is to recycle fashions past in a current way. The duo at Mindycara are doing the same thing with high end designer clothing and accessories, another ECO-CHIC fashion initiative that I am happy to promote.

You might recognize Dr. Ludwig as a fab fixture on Fox, HLN, CNN, MSNBC and Beyond. She is a psychotherapist, reporter, author and fashion lover! 

The beauty and brains that is Dr. Robi Ludwig is my guest blogger today with her fabulous and informative article,

" Eco-Budget-Conscious Fashionistas, This is Your LuckyYear to Shine!!"

 In the middle of a crowded and popular New York City diner on Madison Avenue, I had the opportunity to interview two lovely and dynamic ladies in the fashion world: Bonnie Levine and Stephanie Pietromonaco. This dynamic duo have been friends since kindergarten and are now the enterprising pair behind the luxury e-commerce consignment shop, Mindycara.com. 

    Budget conscious fashionistas are now in luck! This on-line store specializing in selling luxury, preowned designer clothes and accessories, is now available to anyone who wants to look like a movie star but has to consider the financial bottom line. The site, which originally launched on ebay, became Mindycara.com in 2013.

    What’s so striking about Bonnie and Stephanie is the passion and vision they have for their store as well as how they make others feel about themselves. After sitting with them for only a few moments, I too felt like I could have been friends with them since grade school.

    Bonnie and Stephanie clearly have an eye for beautiful clothes, but more importantly, they know how to take care of their valued customers. The Mindycara client becomes one of their special friends. The buyer becomes a friend who is taken care of and can trust these two owners to have her best interests at heart. Perhaps this is one reason Mindycara.com is becoming a favorite go-to-site among chic women who want to feel and look their best at a more economical price.

   It’s this nurturing approach that’s helped the owners to cultivate a unique clothing-owner-clientele relationship. The clients who share their clothes with them consist of New York City’s high profile, socialites, TV personalities, artists, designers, as well as the ladies who lunch crowd. 

Bonnie and Stephanie bring their respective professional backgrounds in business, marketing, fashion, in addition to their stellar artistic eye, to carefully curate authentic, quality clothes that have classic appeal. And whatever they are doing, it’s working, because they now have both worldwide clients and buyers who are hooked and loyal fans.

       Let’s face it, designer clothes are the dream of every fashion conscious woman. The magic behind these clothes is that they’re gorgeous, well tailored, and in some cases can even boost one’s social status. They almost always boost one’s visual self-esteem. Choosing the “right” clothes is not only about being fashionable, but enhances a woman’s take control attitude and that feel good from the inside out. Mindycara.com intuitively understands well-made, well-designed clothes which can enhance a woman’s appearance and empower her to do great things. I think we can all agree, when a woman is confident, she radiates a special kind of beauty and glow.

    Bonnie and Stephanie were recently honored when Mindycara Luxury Consignment was recognized among the leaders in the fashion industry. The fashion industry and environmentally conscious individuals recognized them as being a small business, helping to save the environment, by encouraging women to “recycle” their luxury goods, which might otherwise end up in landfills. 

    As we finished up our delightful lunch, a stunning Upper East Side Fashionista stopped by our table to say, “Hello” and to let these two ladies know she had more fabulous clothes to send Mindycara's eco-chic way.

    Mindycara.com is looking forward to a successful 2014. Bonnie and Stephanie plan to grow their business. Their secret for success is to continue to provide exemplary customer service to both their clients who trust them to sell their luxury items, as well as their exquisitely tasteful buyers, who now proudly come from all around the world.

   

MY FAV ITEM:  CHANEL WALLET

~ ~ Happy Shopping ~~

Happy Earth Day! Be ECO-Fabulous

ECO-CHIC – Movement? Or Marketing? (Previously Posted, now expanded)

The term Eco-chic represents a current trend merging the concepts of high-fashion, global responsibility and sustainability. This term has been circulating in main stream media for a few years now but I have often wondered if it is just a genius marketing ploy for large corporations to ride on the heels of scientific information and the global concern for our planet, to capitalize on the demise of the earth as we know it; Or is there really something to the whole Eco-chic concept as a mind set or a movement in the right direction? It seems that the latest must have fashion accessory is a social conscience and I say it’s about time! Eco chic to me is a lifestyle. To merge global awareness and living green into your lifestyle in all that you do, including how you dress.

Try these facts on: The U.S. generates approximately 9 billion pounds of used clothing each year and only a small fraction of that is recycled.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Council for Textile Recycling, used clothing and/or textile waste (which is also includes shoes, household linens and accessories) represents up to 5% of U.S. landfills.
How can YOU make an impact on the environment through fashion?

1) Buy Vintage, Used or Resale clothing. Purchasing vintage clothing and taking a look into fashion’s past is a wonderful way to recycle fashion. Choose vintage pieces and style them with the clothing and accessories that you already have. You can visit your local thrift, consignment, or on-line boutiques for vintage and contemporary, previously loved clothing, shoes and accessories. Having a passion for the past and styling vintage current is also showing your respect for the future by limiting your consumption.

2) Re-Style what you already have. Take a stroll through you closet, drawers and storage facility and put your creativity to the test. Re-style new looks using the clothing shoes and accessories that you already have, thereby avoiding acquiring more. It IS possible to revamp your own wardrobe, be gentler to the environment and your wallet.

3) Donate clothes from your personal collection and pay it forward. Give someone else an opportunity to style your used clothing into their Eco chic wardrobe. Take your clothes to a consignment shop or a donation center and recycle them the same way you recycle your cans and bottles. Many organizations like women’s shelters or other social programs can always use clothing.

4) Re-purpose and re-design your clothing buy making minor alterations to make the garment new and fresh. You love your black long sleeved tunic what about removing the sleeves to give it a new appearance and style it with accessories, a bag and/or shoes you have never worn before.

This is not to say that you will never purchase any “new” clothing or accessories, that notion would obviously be unrealistic. Perhaps consider choosing selectively the new articles you bring into your wardrobe and try to merge, in a multi-purpose way with your other items. Also consider for every new item, donate, re purpose or pass an older item along to a friend or organization where women/men need it.

The concept of Eco chic should not encourage more consumerism but inspire a lifestyle change and adaptation to a new view of your wardrobe and all it’s possibilities. Give those creative muscles a work out and try to recycle, re-style fashion and respect the environment. Let’s face it, fashion is one giant business based on the premise of recycling; new designers use the past as a point of reference and recycle past silhouettes and ideas into something “new” – YOU can do it to!!

Be Eco-Fabulous today. Step outside of your usual fashion confines and try something unique AND Eco-Chic = VINTAGE SHOP: http://www.evolution-vintage.com/

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." ~Native American Proverb

Eco Chic: Movement? Or Marketing?

The term Eco-chic represents a current trend merging the concepts of high-fashion, global responsibility and sustainability. This term has been circulating in main stream media for a few years now but I have often wondered if it is just a genius marketing ploy for large corporations to ride on the heels of scientific information and the global concern for our planet, to capitalize on the demise of the earth as we know it; Or is there really something to the whole Eco-chic concept as a mind set or a movement in the right direction? It seems that the latest must have fashion accessory is a social conscience and I say it’s about time! Eco chic to me is a lifestyle. To merge global awareness and living green into your lifestyle in all that you do, including how you dress.

Try these facts on:

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Council for Textile Recycling, used clothing and/or textile waste (which is also includes shoes, household linens and accessories) represents up to 5% of U.S. landfills.

According to data from the EPA (www.epa.gov) In the US an estimated 12.4 million tons of textiles were generated in 2008, or 5.0 percent of total municipal solid waste (MSW) generation.

What about the clothing and textiles that DO sit in the landfill, besides taking up space they are toxic to the water and soil. This presents real problems as synthetic fibres do not decompose and while items made from natural fibres like cotton do, they produce methane which contributes to global warming.

According to: http://www.anturwaunfawr.org/English%20site/clothes_recycling.htm
"Textile waste in landfill contributes to the formation of leachate (is the liquid that drains or 'leaches' from a landfill) as it decomposes, which has the potential to contaminate both surface and groundwater sources. Another product of decomposition in landfill is methane gas, which is a major greenhouse gas and a significant contributor to global warming.

The decomposition of organic fibres and yarn such as wool produces large amounts of ammonia as well as methane. Ammonia is highly toxic in both terrestrial and aquatic environments, and can be toxic in gaseous form. It has the potential to increase nitrogen in drinking water, which can have adverse effect on humans "




SOME people are getting the message: The textile recycling industry annually prevents 2.5 billion pounds of postconsumer textile product waste from entering the solid waste stream, according to the Council for Textile Recycling.

and a UK recycling website suggests "If each person in the bought one recycled garment each year, it would save an average of 371 million gallons of water and 480 tonnes of chemical dyestuffs. (http://www.anturwaunfawr.org/English%20site/clothes_recycling.htm)

How can YOU make an impact on the environment through fashion?


1) Buy Vintage, Used or Resale clothing. Purchasing vintage clothing and taking a look into fashion’s past is a wonderful way to recycle fashion. Choose vintage pieces and style them with the clothing and accessories that you already have. You can visit your local thrift, consignment, or on-line boutiques for vintage (pre 1989) and contemporary, previously loved clothing, shoes and accessories. Having a passion for the past and styling vintage current is also showing your respect for the future by limiting your consumption.

2) Re-Style what you already have. Take a stroll through you closet, drawers and storage facility and put your creativity to the test. Re-style new looks using the clothing shoes and accessories that you already have, thereby avoiding acquiring more. It IS possible to revamp your own wardrobe, be gentler to the environment and your wallet.

3) Donate clothes from your personal collection and pay it forward. Give someone else an opportunity to style your used clothing into their Eco chic wardrobe. Take your clothes to a consignment shop or a donation center and recycle them the same way you recycle your cans and bottles.

4) Re-purpose and re-design your clothing buy making minor alterations to make the garment new and fresh. You love your black long sleeved tunic what about removing the sleeves to give it a new appearance and style it with accessories, a bag and/or shoes you have never worn before.

The concept of Eco chic should not encourage more consumerism but inspire a lifestyle change and adaptation to a new view of your wardrobe and all it’s possibilities. This is not to say you will not or do not buy new items but give a second look at what you have. It is unrealistic to assume that you would not purchase new items or consume new clothing or accessories. However, my ECO-CHIC message is simply that you could reduce the amount you consume being gntler on the environmant, fashion-forward AND stylish! Give those creative muscles a work out and try to recycle, re-style fashion and respect the environment.

My final thoughts: Making the decision NOT to be Eco-Chic is real GARBAGE!

L
XO

SHOP FOR VINTAGE AND DESIGNER RE-SALE ITEMS ~ www.evolution-vintage.com