Enticed by Design: Terra Plana

Another NYC find - this Terra Plana leather bag at United Nude. A steal at $75.

Officially, purses and shoes are exempt from our New Year's Resolution to buy only organic or sustainable clothing. But we had seen Terra Plana shoes on the Internet and were impressed by their aim "to be the most innovative and sustainable designer shoe brand in the world". So when we passed the United Nude Shop we had to go in and check out what Terra Plana shoes looked and felt like up close. The shoes were unique and desirable, but it was this purse that really grabbed my attention.

I was drawn to its simple shape, clean lines, and attention to detail. It's functional too - holds my laptop, cell phone and I-pod neatly, while having a few extra pockets for other items. The leather is vegetable tanned so that no chromium (a compound considered by the EPA to be highly toxic to humans and a probable carcinogen) is in its environmental footprint. And most of the remaining materials, such as the fabric on the handles and shoulder pad, are recycled from other discarded products.

So while I wasn't required by our pledge to buy only an organic or sustainable purse, Terra Plana enticed me by design to widen the scope of my resolve! And that feels as great as it looks!

organic tights

Every morning it's the same thing - I get up and go bleary-eyed to my closet and try to figure out what to wear to work. Sometimes it's easy, but lately, I find myself staring blankly because I am missing a crucial item that ties a lot of my pieces together - my tights. I just popped a jagged fingernail through the knee of my last pair of chocolate browns and now I have nothing to coordinate my boots to my skirts. It's a disaster!

And a real test of my organic clothing pledge.

It would be so easy to go to CVS and get an emergency pair, but I am determined to keep my promises! So off to the internet I went, and lo and behold:

Maggie's Functional Organics!
They sell all kinds of things from camisoles and underwear to flat and textured tights made of 73% organic cotton.

I liked what their website had to say about their company, which since 1992 has dedicated itself to seeking out:
-Raw materials that are grown organically and sustainably
-Processors that provide livable working conditions, and workers who have control of their lives
-Processing standards that assure quality with the minimum of "additives"
-Pricing and business policies that support partnership
-Customers that believe all of the above matters

So I ordered a pair of chocolate brown textured tights. After they arrive, I'll let you know how they look and feel, and after a couple washings and wearings, I'll tell you how they are holding up.

Meanwhile, what the hell am I going to wear to work tomorrow? Not those same trouser pants again - that my low heels are too short for causing the cuffs to drag on the ground, and my high heels are too painful for besides having the gift of getting caught in the cuffs and sending me tripping down the stairs or off the sidewalk. You know, the trousers with the grass stain on the left knee...

Speaking of wardrobe pains and dangers, here's a trick of mine that I devised to get extra life out of my tights after I have busted a toe through the tip of the foot, and want to keep wearing them despite the agony that will soon set in as the hole slips over any single available toe and tightens like a noose around a hanged man:
wear a pair of socks under them and a pair of boots over them that are higher than the sock-line! The sock keeps your toes webbed together so the sinister hole can't single one out for its death grip.

Maybe I should try this as a hole preventative in the first place!
Or get more pedicures.

BTW...does anyone ever darn socks anymore?
Happy greening!