shopping for clothes

[spicecake]

i've really just recently come to an awakening about the clothes i wear. i've never bought fur, but most of my shoes are leather and i have a bunch of wool and silk items. i'm not going to get rid of the stuff i have, but i'm going to make better decisions in the future. and the reason i'm posting this is because the future is now (haha). i'm really in serious need of a wardrobe spruce-up. mainly i need basics, plain colored t-shirts, some spring/summer dresses. my style is a little more urban i guess you could say, not so much earth mama. anybody have any suggestions for things to look for when going shopping? i don't want to do catalog stuff because i really need to try things on to ensure that my girls don't look super bazoomy and that the clothing falls in a flattering way. what i'm also worried about is not letting my concern for human rights fall by the wayside in my concern for animal rights. the gap has plenty of cotton stuff but... so, does anyone know some global brands that are safe bets? and also maybe label things to watch out for? i'm fairly new at this, i'm embarassed to say.

[Veganitaliana]

I understand what you mean. I'm still in the process of slowly phasing out my leather shoes and stuff, but I'm loathe to get rid of them until they're worn out. I'm thinking of giving them away, but then I have to buy others and it's a question of finances.

As for clothes and stuff, I don't know if you have places like Value Village stores (used clothing-with a chunk of the profits going to local charities). I like buying stuff used because by doing so you recycle, cut down on disposal and it's cheap.

I've also started paying much more attention to ethical trading practices in the stuff I purchase with fair trade chocolate and the like.

I hope this helps some.

Ciao.

[spicecake]

hello again! we do have second hand shops here of course, and i figured i would go there for some things. i, like you, figure that this way i am recycling. this is so difficult, really! because when you get away from animal clothing products, you get into synthetics, which of course includes petroleum in the production process. *sigh* i need to chill out because this stuff has been consuming my thoughts lately. i dreamt last night that i was explaining my changes in thinking and behavior to my mother (who was vegetarian for many years before she became pregnant with my brother. she craved meat with him, and didn't with me. oddly, my brother is a meat and potatoes man, while i'm obviously not. hmm...)

i plan to go shopping sometime this coming week. i have barely bought any clothing in 3-4 years because money was tight (husband was still in school). i got by on what i had but i'm sick of wearing the same old stuff. a big thing i need is t-shirts, which shouldn't be hard. i know of a store that sells bio cotton shirts, but they're pricey and kind of shapeless. i work from home and generally have a casually dressed lifestyle, so i'm not going to need to go out and buy new office wear, but at the same time i don't want to dress in potato sacks. i'm glad this is only spring shopping so i don't need to get into wool substitutes. hopefully come fall/winter i'll be a bit more well versed in all this stuff so it won't be such a learning process.