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Fashionista Compassionista - new collection from Bourgeois Boheme

New collections, online shopping, Vegetarian Shoes No Responses »

Feb 212008

Liberto from Bourgeois Boheme New veg shoes alert! UK veg fashion boutique Bourgeois Boheme has launched a line of ethical yet affordable footwear for both women and men.

From the press release:

Handmade and ethically produced in Portugal and India, Bourgeois Boheme’s Espiritual and Jiva ranges offer both men and women an alternative in the world of mainstream fashion, where shoe production is often linked not only with animal suffering but also with workforce exploitation and environmental destruction.

The range is made of microfibre, the highest quality and most eco-friendly leather alternative, and is 100% animal friendly. Even the glue used is water-based.

Each of the designers and factories has been handpicked for their ethical work conditions and kinder-to-life sensibilities: it is important to Bourgeois Boheme that from design to finished item they know exactly how their shoes have been made.

Aside from the warm tingly do-good feeling, this new line thrills me because the shoes are made with a broad range of ethical considerations (take note, Te Casan). Sure, you can find some cheap non-leather PVC shoes at Tack-Mart. But can you really feel good about that? This line aims for compassion in more than one sphere. Non-leather, eco-friendlier materials, ethical work conditions for production, and supporting small business rather than a faceless clone-o-mart. Lalita Earth from Bourgeois Boheme

From the women’s line, I like the Lalita Earth. Simple and classy design, but with funky gold faux lizard. The other women’s shoes in the line are not to my taste so much, but luckily Bourgeois Boheme has a wider selection of veg ethically sourced shoes outside of their own collection. And I know this is a shoe blog, but damn, they have some really great bags. Curse my budget.

Even better though, this line includes some really fabu men’s shoes. My partner has an impossible time trying to find non-leather dress shoes at the local mall, let alone ones that are high quality instead of the usual fug cheapo department store brand with matte PVC and frayed contrast stitching. Quelle horreur.

Queen Amidala does footwear

celebrities, Designers, Vegetarian Shoes 4 Responses »

Jan 132008

Recently, fashion & style blog FabSugar announced that Natalie Portman is launching her own line of vegetarian shoes with New York shoe boutique Te Casan.

They report that the collection is due in February and that the shoes run around what they call, the “$200 soft spot”. I don’t know about you, but for me, 6 bucks at the Value Village really hits the spot. $200 is about a third of tuition for one class. But still, for ‘designer’ vegan shoes, that does sound pretty good.

If those gorgeous red shoes in the promo pic are any indication, this may be a really great collection. They look like they have a really nice shape to them, clean lines, and that price bracket would hopefully bump you out of sweaty, scratchy, cheap PVC territory.

Now if only Christian Louboutin would design a line of his swoonworthy shoes cruelty-free, and I somehow could afford them. A girl can dream, can’t she?