What's Old is New, or I love Hairy Mary's

One thing about buying new sustainable clothing, is that there are a lot of solids and not always a lot of color, often for good reason, as dyes and inks can be a not-so-eco addition to an article of clothing.

Usually I don't find myself wearing a lot of bright colors anyway, and my wardrobe is full of solids...so what's the big deal? I suppose it's a bit of the you don't want it until you can't have it. So, although there are definitely printed and colorful pieces of apparel out there that are sustainable and new, used clothing offers a great alternative, and is pretty much the most sustainable thing you can purchase.

One issue I generally have with buying used or vintage clothing is that I am a relatively big person, 6 foot to be exact, with a very long waist. This often spells lots of excitement when finding something great on the rack, to be followed by a huge amount of disappointment when I try said item on and find that I look like a sad kid who outgrew her clothes. So when we found Hairy Mary's on Sunday morning we were psyched. Not only did they have a nice selection of vintage clothing, but they also carried a ton of one-of-a-kind originals, all repurposed from old garments. The updates of the dresses and shirts often made them more flexible then the original, so they are able to fit a wider range of body types. I gravitated to some of the wilder mixes of prints, but they carried a wide range of patterns and colors.

The owner of the shop was also incredibly nice. He is a musician, and his wife is an artist and designer (they own the store together) . I felt good buying from him, I don't know if I would get the same feeling if confronted with the board of directors at Target or Gap, or Nordstroms for that matter. Who would I rather give my money to, a stuffed suit, or a genuinely nice guy who takes the time to sit and chat? Pretty easy answer I think.

Apologies for not having better pictures, I need to move beyond using the built-in camera on my laptop. If anyone wants to send pictures of great vintage finds, or other sustainable clothing, please email lichenthreads@gmail.com

love/hate NYC...or blogging at 2am

Every time I am in New York City I am always overcome with so many mixed emotions. Frank jealousy is usually one of the first to bubble up, mixed with a humbling adoration for the gorgeous bits of creative genius tucked in around every corner, plastered on any random wall, or most humbling of all, walking by you. By that I don't mean celebrity siting, that's not really my thing, more the random artist/writers/musicians that seem to be everywhere. The beauty of the sweet little boutiques filled with dresses that are nothing less than works of art, the subway tile at The Liquor Bar, breathtaking street art pasted to a crumbling wall, and the effortless eclectic style of the 20 something New York hipster are all things that fill me with a sense of awe, desire and lust. The creative force in NYC is undeniable.

But creating is a blessing and a curse. New York is full of creations, every where you look there is more to buy. For a person trying to shrink her ecological footprint by making better consumer choices, the sheer magnitude of non-green items can be overwhelming and a little spirit crushing. Shop after shop we went into, drawn by the gorgeous designs, but let down that the items we craved were not green.

Please, don't get me wrong. There were green purchases to be found, and had we carefully planned and researched where every green store in Manhattan was, we would probably have had better luck. But this was a casual fun weekend, not so planned out, and the casual sampling of stores did not yield a ton of results. Yes, I guess I was pouting like a baby being in the middle of stores who's aesthetics I loved, but had nothing green to offer me. And, yes, I had guilty pangs of jealousy watching a friend I was with fill her shopping bags with items I probably would have purchased in December before making my sustainable clothing resolution.

I was a little mopey by Sunday morning, when I found some awesome retail therapy in vintage clothing and original pieces from reclaimed materials at Hairy Mary's... which I will detail at length in the next blog because the store was so great it deserves more consideration and lovin then my bleary-eyed, exhausted self can give it at the moment. It's now 3:30 am and my insomnia is sure to bite me in the ass in the morning. I am also a little afraid to see what this rambling looks like with less groggy eyes and a cup of coffee.

Greenish

Before I get all ranty, I wanted to point out this great one-of-a-kind hoody I found from Brooklyn Industries, handmade from from t-shirt remnants and fabric scraps. It is not organic, but still pretty cool and green to make something out of materials that would usually be disposed of.

I know there are many out there that roll their eyes at the idea of buying only sustainable clothing for a year being hard, and I must admit that sometimes I am embarassed to view it as such a challenge. But I am amazed at how often people look at me like I'm nuts or think it's impossible. I am also surprised at how often people are ready to try and point out all of the hypocrisies of someone trying to do something green.

I've often heard things like, oh sure they bring their own bags but look at the car they drive. Or, they buy food at the farmer's market but then they go home to their air-conditioned house. Sure there is pretty much always a way to be greener, but it is not as if that means you should avoid doing anything at all. It also seems that as someone adopts one green lifestyle change into their everyday life, that others tend to follow, and sometimes doing a little at a time is a good way not to be overwhelmed.

I know I have been guilty of the hypocrisy finger pointing. I am not sure what makes everyone so eager to do it. Is it our way of protecting ourselves from having to do the same thing? I know it is not always done in ill will, and it is good to ask questions and be critical. But I also think that sometimes it acts as a protective shield against having to make any changes yourself.

So why not live and let live? We so often want people to think the way we do, and do things the way we do. I guess because it makes it easier on us. If everyone in a city biked to work, people would be safer on their bikes and not be expected to wear the same clothing as when some are biking and some are not. Conversely someone who loves driving to work, would be more likely to find a place he worked at that accomodated drivers with parking spaces, if everyone they worked with drove. So I guess it's in our nature to want the people around us to do what we do.

I admit that I wish everyone demanded organic materials for their clothing, because then it would be easier for me to find the things I want. In the meantime, I hope I can not be too pushy, and just try to show people some of the great things that are out there. There will always be greener people out there, but maybe if people see some average somewhat hypocritical Joe like me making these changes, that it's maybe not so hard to make a couple themselves.

Jenn H-L

Oh yeah, a side note, for those that haven't managed to bring themselves to bike everywhere yet (that would be me, but I swear it's on my to do list) you might try a Terra Pass to offset your car's carbon emissions.