What I’m also a fan of (as a conscientious bargain shopper) is quality. When I buy things I look for certain things to satisfy my frugal requirements. Plum Clothing has been a favourite of mine over the years because of these simple givens.

I follow them on Twitter and “like” them on Facebook. This summer they have generously put up fantastic pieces as prizes for their weekly jewellery contests.

Each week Plum Clothing posts a picture to each of these social media with the promise at a chance to win earrings or a necklace (so far). Each week it’s different and all you have to do is follow and RT (re-tweet) or “like” (them) and “like” the contest post! So easy.

Consider this blog an invititation to win some free awesome jewellery. Haven’t won, but why not try?

This week's giveaway

Follow them on Twitter: @PlumClothing or www.twitter.com/plumclothing

“Like” them on Facebook: Plum Clothing

www.plum.ca for locations and info

Less is more…

Against the comforting, neutral slate of the wilderness, she defines herself. In the cool snow, she revisits who she has been. Among soft fur branches, she becomes who she will be.

This season is about those times when we abandon what we’re told we should do, and instead we do what we feel. We take the time alone. We retreat. We step boldly into a quiet place. We look at ourselves in a clear mirror or a lake, and we confront our fears and our histories. We emerge more whole. We embrace the present. Sophisticated and gentle, the lily & jae autumn/winter 2010 collection tells a story through colour, texture and shape. From silken dresses to cashmere coats, this collection is suffused with warm 90s palette of burgundy, grey, navy, black and brown. Fabrics are natural, yet versatile, and rich in both content and texture – from custom printed silk to cheek-soft cashmere. Shapes are self-assured: timeless pieces with a hint of trend. Inspired by vintage silhouettes, and a touch of regionalism – warm wool-cashmere blends are made for the Canadian climate. A confident collection with earthy appeal and a complete array of looks…

ABOUT LILY & JAE:

Created by Jude Feller, lily & jae blends feminine and masculine styles to create a flirtatious line of contemporary women’s wear. Since the launch of its debut collection in spring of 2007, the brand expanded into the USA, followed by international recognition in Japan. lily & jae has progressed into a responsive fashion label with appeal to the contemporary woman. The brand has appeared in Teen Vogue, British Glamour, and Nylon, and has been seen on stars such as Lily Allen, Amy Smart, Ashlee Simpson and Sarah Polley. Although the collection is independently designed and manufactured in North America, each season is inspired by a different city around the globe – and we can’t wait to see where we go next!

The AW10 lily & jae collection is available in stores this August 2010.

Lola & Gigi is a hot, high-end weboutique for women sizes 12+.  The boutique has become increasingly popular in recent years, with their unique message that “when something doesn’t fit … it’s not you – it’s the dress!”  – Laura Caravaggio, creator of Lola & Gigi.

Lola & Gigi hopes to empower women by offering stylish clothes that fit perfectly regardless of the size on the label.  Lola & Gigi’s trunk show is coming to Vancouver on June 2^nd and 3^rd, 11am – 7pm at 130 – 49 Dunvley Ave (Railtown).  Sought-after brands such as Anna Scholz¸Melissa Masse, Tadashi Shoji, Diane Kennedy, Miraclesuit®, Not Your Daughter’s Jeans, Svoboda, Second Denim Yoga Jeans, and David Khan will be featured.  In addition, Laura Caravaggio will be at the shows, offering fashion tips and curvy body stylist advice.  So if you are looking for clothes that will love your curves, Lola & Gigi’s trunk show this week is the place to be!

Written by: WANYEE LI

With Al Gore’s thesis of The Inconvenient Truth, the release of 2012 and news of global warming inflicting its peril on our planet, it has never been a better time for folks to be aware of their consumption habits and be more “Earth Conscious” about what they do…

Alright, so the opening line is a tad bit unconventional to what we’d see in a fashion article, but it’s not far from the truth. Just recently fashionistas –and “fashionistos”- are diverting their attention away from lavish, pimped out, chinchilla fur coats –right…as if fur was in style- (and no, I did not reference that line to any sort Bubba Sparxx lyric), and looking more towards sustainable fashion.

Bursting with creativity in fashion and practicality, the NIXXI line came to fruition in 2007 by Saltspring Island designer Jada-lee. Much of the pieces created through the line are inspired by the observations and surroundings of the established designer. The result of this is pure genius: a hybrid collection that includes four major, showcase pieces; while the rest harmonize the collection with designs that are classic, clean and have a hint of simplicity. With pale pinks and classic -but feminine- designs dominating shops this season, NIXXI forecasts a spring line consistent with Jada-lee’s vision. This year also spells new avenues for the line, as it prepares for the launch of a girl’s collection, and an artistic collaboration with local artist Camilla d’Errico.

Though bridging the Saltspring Island- Vancouver gap has been a feat for her, the growing trend of sustainable clothing has made it easier to push NIXXI further into the limelight. With eco- fashion making its presence in the West Coast for both consumers and designers, it has never been easier to find eco-friendly pieces and suppliers that cater to organic fabric, prints and color swatches.

With a fusion of versatility, boldness and environmental responsibility, NIXXI creates a place of zen in a closet filled with the hustle, bustle and smog of the city life.

Want to be a enviro-fashionista? Check out NIXXI at your local Body Politic , Twigg and Hottie, Velvet Room and Secret of Identity.

OR

Go right to the source at www.nixxi.ca

Written by: GRACELLE BONIFACIO

Taking a break from designing his spring/summer 2011 collection, Drew William recently made some time to meet me at the VAG (Vancouver Art Gallery) to talk more about his fashion successes, most recently at Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW2010) April 7-11, 2010.  After all, it was that week, April 10 to be exact, when Drew officially revealed to the Vancouver Fashion Scene his women’s collection, making him a designer of both the guys and the gals.

When I approached Drew, he was looking so cool sitting on the concrete steps, leaning against the ones behind him with a coffee in his hand. Besides rocking a hoodie under a military-green jacket, a cameo cap, a pair of  Converses, and those mirrored pastel green-framed shades, you wouldn’t be able to tell just by looking at him, that this was a 24-year old whose designing career was about to take flight and soar.

As a student who by “fate”, ended up in the fashion industry, Drew joked about how he started designing: He was originally enrolled in Emily Carr for photography, which wasn’t where his heart belonged, because his passion had always been in fashion. He traveled to London for exchange at Central St. Martin’s, got misplaced in the wrong class (a design class), loved what he was learning, and the rest is history!

In 2007, upon receiving his degree and distinction in Fashion and Design, Drew began getting both feet in the fashion industry doors through opportunities where he was able to help out in various international fashion shows, such as those of European designer, Henrik Vibskov.  Travelling from Denmark to Copenhagen, to Paris, Drew took in and absorbed the inspiration and relevant experience he needed to start creating his own designs. This, combined with the lack of clothing in the market that he wanted to wear, resulted in Drew’s indefinite decision to start his own men’s line, Drew William.

VFW 2010-Vancouver Fashion Week 2010

It wasn’t until September of last year that Drew began designing women’s wear.  He originally set out to design clothes that he would like to wear, and he still does—but Drew now wants to focus on his women’s collection which he finds, receives more attention than his men’s.  And attention it did receive at the debut of his women’s collection at VFW2010 last month.  Drawing inspiration from artist Eugene Delcroix’s paintings, Drew William’s fashion show at VFW2010 was reminiscent of the French Romantic period, with his models wearing colors reflecting that time period such as beiges, maroons, blacks, and whites.  Some of the words Drew used to describe his show were “crashing masts”, “serene sadness”, and “sobriety of dead bodies” from Eugene Delcroix’s grotesque paintings.  Everything in Drew’s fall 2010 collection was done with an illustrative purpose: The hair on the models represented a reflection of clouds, the dark eyes exemplified zombies, or dead bodies, and the actual pieces that were worn by the female models were created with the illusion of “massive ships and sails”. The drapery on the dresses was magnificent, and Drew explained what most people probably were not aware of: “The technique on each dress is so important.  I actually had pieces of fabric cut into squares, and then turned them into the draping you saw on most of the dresses, to create the effect of a ship’s sail.”

Even the music was specifically chosen and made for his show at VFW2010.  Drew gives a huge shout out to Patrick Goski, a Montreal musician and more importantly, a friend, who collaborates with Drew to write all the music for his shows.

What does the future hold for Drew William?

Says Drew on his spring/summer 2011 line, which will have a focus on women’s clothing: “I’m still playing around with concepts. I like to create concept driven pieces that are unified.  I want to design more dresses that are flowing and draped, but with structure”.

Don’t expect to see any generically pretty designs, or models working it like they do in America’s Next Top Model.  Drew is not a fan of models strutting down the runway, which he calls “unfashionable”, and he is definitely not a fan of “pretty”:

“I think pretty is boring. No one is going to remember anything conventionally pretty. I want to challenge people’s views of what is beautiful”.

You can expect to see more pants, skirts, and dresses made from silks and chiffons, which he did not get a chance to design for his fall collection.  Drew would also prefer to have a darker theme, than one that is glamorous and bright.  He is looking back to the 80’s, and to other fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen, Bernhard Willhelm, and Gareth Pugh, for inspiration in his next collection.

An obvious perk for Drew in designing is also his original goal when he began designing men’s wear: to be able to wear clothes that he wants to.  Drew would prefer if you walked out of one of his fashion shows saying you either loved or hated it, and not fall somewhere in between.  To him, that epitomizes great clothing; to be able to fall into the ‘love’ or ‘hate’ category and not a gray area.  It is a blessing for him to share his visual language through fashion, and translate what’s going on in his head.

The advice Drew gives to all aspiring designers out there is not to worry about what everyone else is doing, and to focus on what you are doing.

“Don’t take yourself too seriously.  It’s too hefty for shows. A lot of people think fashion is super serious, and it really isn’t”.

Fun fact: The idea for Drew’s last dress at VFW2010 came from Halloween night, while he was hanging out with his friends, drinking a bit of bubbly, and doodling in his sketch book. There are over 130 pleats in the dress, and it took roughly 40 hours to physically produce. Sometimes creativity sparks when you least likely expect it to!

For the time being, Drew William clothing can be bought from his website www.drewwilliam.com, where his web shop will be launched this month.  Or, you can visit the cute store, Marimekko in Yaletown, to find his designs there.  Hopefully, we will start being able to purchase Drew William clothing from retail stores in the near future!

Written by: EUDORA KOH
Photos by: ALEX YELIZAROV

The UBC based Chinese Varsity Club, better known to many as CVC, will be hosting its 11^th annual Fashion Show, Fashionably Ever After this Saturday, May 1^st 2010 at the Pendulum Art Gallery within the HSBC building in downtown Vancouver.

What sets it apart from the rest is that this is fashion for a cause. This year, the CVC has decided to donate all proceeds from its fashion show to the Cinderella Project, a non profit organization dedicated to helping less fortunate students ensure that they are given the confidence boost, right attitude, and of course, the formal attire, for their graduation festivities and events.  After all, every graduating student deserves to feel good about their big day!

Thanks to charitable organizations like the CVC, the Cinderella Project has been able to help struggling students for over 10 years break down tough social barriers and exude positive self-esteem.

So why not come out on a Saturday night to watch a funky and fresh fashion show, with an awesome lineup of hot local models and designers including Dope.Girl.Fresh, Killa, and Ark Clothing.  Tickets are $25 for non-members, and $20 for members. You can go knowing that you have directly contributed towards such a worthwhile cause, all for the love and passion for fashion. What a momentous occasion to bring together lovers of fashion and supporters of charities!

Oh, and be sure to have a cupcake (or two!) Big City Cupcakes will be in the house! So let there be fashion…and cake!

If you are in the partying mode after the show, join the after party at Aubar Night Club.  Your cover is included when you purchase a ticket to the fashion show. Win-win situation indeed.

For more information on Fashionably Ever After, including location, where to purchase tickets, and sponsors, please visit http://www.ubccvc.com/fashionshow/.

For more information about the Cinderella Project and its initiatives, please visit http://www.thecinderellaproject.com

See you all on Saturday May 1^st!

WRITTEN BY: EUDORA KOH
PHOTOS BY: CVC Photographer ALAN CHAN

In the heart of the city on a Saturday night, Landmark Empire Hotel shone like a diamond even more so than it already does, thanks to the glitzy and glamorous presence of Vancouver Fashion week 2010.

As I uncomfortably walked in the venue half an hour late (parking was ridiculous to find), looking like I had put together my outfit from the second-hand store down the street compared to the stilettos and leg-bearing shiny dresses everywhere, I tried to contain my excitement..and worry.  I breathed a sigh of relief when someone told me his show hadn’t started yet.  And of course by “his”, I mean the one and only Drew Williams.

If someone told you Drew was debuting his first ever women’s collection that night, you simply would not have believed them after watching his show, which revealed his upcoming fall/winter 2010 collection, for both the guys and the gals.

All of his 12 pieces (5 menswear and 7 womenswear) looked so meticulously crafted from their initial designs to their execution in sewing technique. Every piece was done with perfection in mind. And perfection they were.

The show witnessed an eerie, unprecedented feel with the models’ slow and heavy steps down the runway, as opposed to graceful and fierce struts.  This resulted in such a strong effect for Drew’s show, because it wasn’t about flowers or bunnies, or bright flamboyant colors or styles.  The models seemed to be zombified (is that a word?) with dark eye makeup and stepping in time to the music of the show, whose strong offbeat rhythms were also very fitting for the overall presentation.

As for his actual collection, Drew utilized a lot of sandy beiges, deep maroons, and blacks as the dominance of his color palette of fabrics.  His female models wore beautiful dresses—not so much dramatic evening gowns as they were flirty yet sophisticated for a night on the town—and each piece had a touch of mystery to it. The solid colors sometimes were seen within an ombre print, giving off a very subtle yet effective contrast in color tones.  Many of the women’s dresses had draping, allowing the audience to focus on the way the fabric fell and pooled off the body.  The collection varied slightly, but held true to Drew’s style of original beauty and individuality.

The final dress of the show was truly exquisite, and one that I looked to in awe: a lightweight white dress with a black sheer layer on top of it, with the drapes falling into a collection of feathers at the bottom of the dress, and under the sheer layer (Doing a terrible job at describing; refer to the photo). It reminded me of the elegance of a swan.   The piece was so unique looking that I’m sure it left such a strong and lasting impression on everyone at Vancouver Fashion Week that night.  And I’m sure it hadn’t even crossed their minds that this was the first time Drew Williams had stepped away from menswear, into designing and debuting his first ever women’s line of clothing. He sure did one hell of a job.

Congratulations Drew!

Written by EUDORA KOH

By: Jamie Cessford
Photos By: Alex Yelizarov

In a small, single square room along the outskirts of Gastown Allison Smith, the power behind the Allison Wonderland collections, reviews the photos sent to her by her photographer chronicling her upcoming fall collection. Alex and I, having arrived ten minutes late from walking fifteen minutes in the wrong direction, received the honor of being introduced to the unreleased set as Allison shows some of her favorites from the photo shoot. The model that posed for the casual, minimalist, and at times innocent, spring pieces is suddenly transformed into a new version of powerful, highly confident sexiness.

This transition decimated any implication of what the label Allison Wonderland meant to me.

Gone was the image of a naïve (yet stylish), innocent (yet sexy) Alice, fumbling around a chaotic, subverted reality, and in it’s place stood an Alice determined to dominate Wonderland, all the while breaking as many hearts as possible.

Simply put, Allison explains that she doesn’t limit herself to that kind of mentality while making clothes. Instead, she strives to make “clothes you want to wear”. “Not everyone wants to be a Space Cowboy all the time” Allison says, explaining her rational behind rejecting the pressures of maintaining a theme throughout her label. She tells me that it isn’t a unified concept that inspires these pieces; it’s merely the fabric and a desire to keep it simple that determines how her pieces evolve.

Evolution, however, is not anything new to Allison Wonderland.

Initially, the clothes Allison made were crazy “going-out-clothes” that varied from florescent green waitress dresses, to bright pink hot pants. Obviously, as she grew up, Allison found herself less inclined to make such clothing, in which case, her personal growth is reflected in her design. However, her trek down the rabbit hole transcends a mere ‘coming of age’; the current state of Allison Wonderland is the product of more intense self-reflection, bordering on an existential crisis.

Fresh out of the two-year design program at Kwantlen College, Allison gained the experience of applying what she learned in school while working at a Menswear company in Montreal. However, upon only having a year’s introduction to the fashion industry, Allison became dissatisfied with her role within the company’s mandate, and left Canada to travel Europe. It was in Paris that Allison found herself in a compromising position, struggling to locate her place within the world of fashion.

Naturally, she acknowledges this as a definitive moment in motivating her to dedicate her life to Allison Wonderland, a namesake she became attached to in her final year at Kwantlen. She relocated to her home in Vancouver, at a time where Vancouver wasn’t even a blip on the global fashion radar.

Since then, however, Allison notes that Vancouver is definitely progressing as a fashion community and that the development of emerging scenes that focus on sustainability signify that Vancouver is becoming a fashion power. Allison also thinks that these emerging designers can compete with the designers out East. “I think the main difference is that Vancouver designers maybe make more realistic clothing”, Allison says. She continues to profess that making clothing that you can wear everyday and look good in on a day-to-day basis is an important quality of Western designers.

In her most recent collection, that’s just hitting stores now, Allison has applied the concepts of growth and improvement to her pieces by taking elements of past trends and placing them into her clothes without focusing on a ‘vintage’ look. She finds herself primarily drawn to the seventies because of the diversity of style that existed in the decade, but she does engage with other style periods. “When working on things,” she starts, “I reference some past eras, or certain details without it looking like vintage clothing. Sometimes I’ll take details from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, updated it, scale it down, or do it differently”.

With the release of her spring collection, and the completion of her fall collection, Allison currently hasn’t hatched a plan much further past planning the release of her fall collection. But deservedly, the rare downtime is always something to look forward to. “In this business, you get so caught up in what you’re working on immediately, so it’s hard to make future plans. You get bogged down with everything you need to. I don’t even know what I’d like to do!” she says as though this is the first time she’s even considered taking time off.

Although this work ethic is something that is required at finding any degree of success in the Vancouver scene, Allison doesn’t necessarily condone diving into that mentality right out of the gate. In her advice to upcoming designers she emphasizes that young designers “don’t rush into too soon!” She continues: “you’ve got your whole life. Live your life, do some travel, work for other people. Figure it out, make mistakes while working for other people so you don’t have to make mistakes on your own thing”.

Be on the lookout for her fall collection and you can find the new Allison Wonderland spring collection at Dream on 311, West Cordova Street, in downtown Vancouver.

Melissa Ferreira says she brings new life into old pieces, and as I look around her studio, I can see it as well.  There are boxes upon boxes of recycled materials and vintage blazers and dresses, just waiting to be used in one of her designs.  This reflects Melissa’s value in sustainability and quality, something that undoubtedly has something to do with her move to the nature-surrounded city of Vancouver when she was 12 years old.  Every Adhesif piece is unique, hand-made from vintage cloth.  They are tailored, but whimsical designs that inspire both elegance and quirkiness. What’s not to like?

Let’s talk about your vision for Adhesif and how you started.

Well, I worked as a vintage clothing buyer for about 8 years.  I still kind of do it, depending on who’s asking.  But I worked for True Value Vintage, and some other vintage boutiques in town. I actually even travelled to India to train people how to look for salvageable clothing, like, western clothing stuff. And then I just thought there are so many amazing fabrics that just end up in landfills that can still be salvaged and used in place of new materials to create clothing, so I thought, why not. That’s kind of how the whole idea started. I really didn’t realize it would be so popular and I’m really happy about it. The timing was really good with the whole ecosystem sustainability movement, but that wasn’t my initial idea to create an ecofriendly brand. It was more that I just loved the fabrics so much and thought they would make really beautiful designs.

Correct me if I am wrong, but, you weren’t raised in Vancouver am I right?

I was raised in Montreal up until I was about 12 years old, and I moved here and I’ve been here ever since.. for a while now.

My next question is, what do you like about Vancouver? Do you think it has influenced your line at all?

I love Vancouver for the obvious reasons that everyone does; it’s a really gorgeous place to live. It’s really relaxed, it’s laidback. It’s a completely different vibe altogether. It actually took me a while to adjust to coming from a big boom city 15 years ago to city that was nothing like it is now, it’s really developed. It’s really starting to become a more progressive city, but it’s definitely more chill. There’s a definite relaxed vibe about it that I really love. I’m a pretty laidback, down to earth person. And in the sense of nature, yes, because I’m quite the environmentalist. I donate to Greenpeace and all that. I’d like to protect the environment, yes but aesthetically wise, people say, it makes sense that you’re from Montreal. They’re known for being very European influenced. I don’t really know where my aesthetic comes from but in a sense of pegging it down into a city, definitely love vintage clothing, so it’s almost like my contemporary take on a vintage piece.

What makes Adhesif unique, aside from the fact that, obviously, each piece is one-of-a-kind?

Well I can definitely say that every single piece takes a huge – it’s quite a thought process, it’s very involving. I’d like to think that every single piece has a bit of me in it, in the sense of there’s so much personality that every single little piece has a breath of its own. So that can’t be duplicated. That’s very hard to try to teach someone to do, and I’ve had an intern now. I call her my assistant even though we don’t talk about it. It’s like, ‘hey intern, hey designer’. We’re more just buddies and we work really well together. She’s definitely on the same page as me creatively. But it’s taken years to try to train her to come up with compositions that mimic the aesthetic I’m looking for. Because I think everyone has their own take on how to put together patterns and stuff. In that sense, it’s very original and it cannot be reproduced so aside from the fact that every piece is one-of-a-kind, I can definitely say that it’s almost like creating paintings. It can’t be mimicked; it’s hard to try to teach that to somebody.

Do you think that Adhesif is going to expand in that direction, since you have a new intern now and you’re going to have new ideas?

Inevitably, I want to continue to create the designs in this way. I just think anything else would not be Adhesif and that’s not the vision or the long term idea I have for the line. With that said, I’m always…you never stop learning different ways to develop and progress and grow, which is where I find myself right now. Initially I thought it was just going to be this little professional hobby but it’s like more and more and more people are just…as things grow and progress, people are catching wind and want it. I’m faced with a ‘how do I mass produce and still stay grassroots and maintain that special desirable quality’ because once you start to mass produce, you lose the special-ness of it, and, that’s not the idea for it. I’m fine tuning every season, trying to find a way to mass produce and maintain a unique quality about it.

You mentioned the long-term goals for Adhesif. Can you talk about that a little more?

I have so many ideas, and they’re always shifting changing. I feel like I’m on this sort of ride or machine that is very well oiled and self-lubricated and it is just taking me on this journey, and I’m just open to many possibilities and I don’t want to say there is no way this would happen, but it is like its own life-form, this thing, this company that I created so I kind of let things go where they need to go.  But that being said, I would love to have my own boutique at some point.  I am not quite sure where that would be, but I do have quite the fan club here in this city and I don’t think it would make sense to have my first boutique anywhere else so that is definitely in the makes for the coming years, as well as many other things including film.  I don’t want to get too much into that because I don’t want to jinx myself but I would love to do costume designing for films and such.  With that said, I am celebrating because I just got a store in San Francisco, which is really exciting, and two new stores in Montreal.  I almost feel like I have to clone myself and the people I do have, because there is just a sort of common sense that happens.  The more you work with this style of clothing, the easier it becomes to decipher how to make the line work. So, I am looking for an intern.

What are some of your favourite pieces for this season?

This line is very feminine, and very whimsical, the pieces are pretty playful and colourful and fun.  But I think this is the most feminine and fun and light-hearted collection I have designed so far.  There are a lot of recycled silk scarves and lace detail.  With that said, my most favourite piece is the most androgynous-esque type piece, which are the suspend-shorts.  I just love the high waistband, I love the button detailing, and it is all made with recycled t-shirts, so it is very light, it doesn’t wrinkle, it is very easy to wear.  You can wear them now with tights and boots, or in the summer with sandals.  They are very comfortable, the back of the waist is elastic, and the waistband is very high, you all know how waists are very much in fashion right now, and the cat-eye buttons here are old, they are about about 50 year old shell buttons.  They are very special, but also very easy to wear.

What pushed you to do the whole eco-fashion side of the line?

I feel like there are a lot of ethical and moral issues, and for me, it goes beyond fashion in many ways.  It comes to what the message is behind the clothing.  You know, there is mass consumption.  We are so lucky in the western world to have an abundance, and that everything we need is readily available to us.  We are just really used to consuming needlessly.  So this is a way of saying, stop, hold up for a second, buy something that is helping to save the environment as well as something that is quality. It is also helping to sustain local communities and local economies because everything is produced and hand-made locally.  It is literally a win-win situation.  You are getting something that none else in the world owns, and I think that is really really special, especially in a world where that is lost.  It seems like we are all clones sometimes you know, and this is like wow, it is special, it is hand-made, it is almost like it was made just for me, like something that your mom or grandma would do for you.  I am giving old things a new life, and I feel like it is giving back to the world and community that you live in.  You look great, and you feel great about it.

Where can people find your pieces?

A list of all the shops that carry my clothing can be found on my website, www.adhesifclothing.com.  The best, most convenient way to shop is to go to www.adhesif.supermarkethq.com.

What are some ideas that you have for fall?

Fall is very heavily inspired by the 1930’s and 40’s.  It is very refined, there is a mademoiselle-feel to it.  There are clean lines, and lots of tweed and leather.  I am getting more mature with my designs, but that being said I think there is still a sense of immaturity that comes with all of the designs.  They are all whimsical and quirky.

Despite the many efforts we make to go green, let’s face it, our efforts are much like our new year’s resolutions; we (and myself included) tend to fall off track when it comes to following goals for the betterment of anything these days.  And although we are given the help of environmentalists and pro-eco activists, sometimes their efforts to get the rest of us lazy bunch active in saving the earth, bats at zero when we become guilty as creatures of our own bad habits.

So where can the average person turn to, to contribute, when the most minimal of efforts to avoid littering and recycling become almost, always “forgotten”?

Me + You. And with no pun intended, “together we can help…” says Jenny Hughes founder  and designer of Me + You, a local Vancouver company carrying eco-friendly, reusable shopping bags that have become the talk of the town (to say the least).

Influenced by the changes in life, nature and people, Jenny puts her designs to life using eco-friendly, high-quality materials and adds a little flare with logos and statements to grasp our attention. And grasp it she did indeed. Me + You carries an array of fashionable bags not only bought by Vancouver locals, but celebrities, who are among the many being spotted carrying her designs. “There [are] many celebrities that have a passion for being eco-friendly such as Woody Harrelson [who] got a bag and that means a lot to me cause they have so much influencing power… Showcasing the bags as swag bags for the celeb’s at TIFF was an honor.”

As Me + You reusable shopping bags continue to stir up the fashion biz and the environment across Canada, the US and Europe, Jenny Hughes strives to continue to help us (lazy bunch) with easier ways to contribute going green. “We are starting an ambassador program and are taking our message globally. We want to not only supply a great quality alternative to plastic bags but also educate and inspire others to get off of plastic!”

So while we indulge in her creative designs and get lost in the excitement of consumerism and this absolute must-have item, Jenny Hughes reminds us why she started this company in the first place.  “The best part of Me + You… is knowing that the brand is helping to spread a message to STOP USING PLASTIC BAGS.”

written by KATRINA PERALTA

____________________________________________________________________________________________

***EXCLUSIVE TO MODLINE READERS!

Me+You would like to offer YOU 20% off their bags, online.
Visit the many styles available here; http://www.meandyou.ca/shop/catalog/on_sale
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http://www.meandyou.ca/