Vegan Sale and Vegan Purchase: Edun Live

Edun Live, the companion site of Edun, is holding a sale now through August 31: 50% off all blank t-shirts (including long-sleeve . . . perfect for the upcoming fall and winter seasons). Edun Live makes t-shirts that support sustainable economic development: they employ people in Africa who might otherwise be unemployed, meaning the shirts are made in Africa by Africans. The shirts are high-quality: if you can get away with wearing a nice cotton t-shirt underneath work suits, these are perfect.

I purchased the organic t-shirt for women in deep purple (pictured) and super maroon. Each originally were $25, and I got each for $12 on sale. Thinking of the impending colder weather, I also purchased the long-sleeve crew-neck tee (for women) in classic navy (also pictured). It originally was $28, and I got it for $14.

Find the organic t-shirt here (available in many more colors), the long-sleeve tee here (available also in forest green), and all the blank t-shirts for women and men here.

Vegan on the Weekend: Miscellaneous Weekend Tees

Where I live, it rained and rained during the week. Miraculously, it cleared for the weekend. So, yesterday, I ventured out for a walk and did a little browsing along the way. Of note, I stopped in Gap and Banana Republic. Gap is offering a 3-day only (June 5 - today) 25% off sale on dresses. No dresses struck me as particularly amazing, but I did really like Gap's cotton summer t-shirts, especially the dip-dyed ones (pictured left in the cocoa). The shirt comes in a variety of faded colors, including gray, blue, and, my favorite, purple. The t-shirts are on sale -- 2 for $30. Find them here and here online, though there is much better selection in-store.

Banana Republic also is holding a summer dress event -- all summer dress $98 and under -- sale ends today. Again, nothing struck me as particularly amazing. Though, I did enjoy the pleated flutter-sleeve top (pictured right in the "nepal green"). The top also comes in a "deep pink." I think the top would look great with jeans for a more dressy-casual look on the weekend; it also might look good under a suit for work. Made from rayon and lyocell; $39.

While on the subject of weekend t-shirts and tops, I've been meaning to highlight Gaiam's "thoughtful tees." Each t-shirt has a "message that makes a difference" and ten percent of net sales from every thoughtful t-shirt goes directly to select nonprofits. The shirts come in a variety of colors with either long ($28) or short ($20) sleeves. They are all made from 100% organic cotton. My favorite is the "have a namaste" short sleeve tee in black (pictured). Find them all here.

Friday's Vegan Accessory: Autrepeau Collection

A sizable portion of the clothing items I post requires the addition of a camisole or other shell lining underneath. And I have found just the collection of "innerwear." Autrepeau, which is French for "other skin," makes camisoles (with adjustable straps), scoopneck cap-sleeve skin-tight tees, pant liners, v-neck 3/4 sleeve skin-tight tees, scoopneck tanks, sleeveless turtlenecks, and long-sleeve skin-tight tees and turtlenecks -- perfect for putting under sweaters to add extra warmth, wrap dresses, and suits. All the items are made from nylon and spandex. They range in price from $36 - $44. For a limited time, enter the code DCDEAL at checkout and receive 50% off. Find the collection here.

Vegan on the Weekend: Casual T-Shirts

My typical weekend outfit consists of flip-flops, casual jeans, and a t-shirt, preferably a t-shirt in a subdued color such as navy, gray, or an army-ish green. So far, my favorite t-shirts are from James Perse and Banana Republic, but, of course, I am amiable to expanding my collection.

Recently I stumbled upon Edun Live, a brand of organic cotton t-shirts. I love their mission statement:

T-shirts need to assume an elevated status in our society. If they really mean so much to us, why do we wear them so carelessly, toss them in stinky laundry piles, sully them with stains of coffee, ale, or blood? The t-shirt deserves to have a noble cause behind it, something that matches in intensity and relevance our love for these little pieces of cotton. Hence, EDUN LIVE. We make t-shirts that support sustainable socioeconomic development. . . . Our shirts are made in Africa by Africans. We support communities, give jobs to the jobless, and teach skills to people who lack specialized training. . . . We feature 100% certified organic cotton t-shirts in our product line and make great efforts to help farmers transition from conventional cotton farming to organic farming through our development of the Conservation Cotton Initiative with the Wildlife Conservation Society. . . . This, finally, is an endeavor that is worthy of the holy, sainted t-shirt.

I agree. Find the t-shirts here. My pick is the Eve - Gal's Organic Tee in the black (of course), deep purple, forest green (pictured), or graphite grey. $28; buy three or more of the same style, color, and size and save 20%.

I'm also intrigued by the boyfriend tee style that is becoming more prevalent, such as the Frenchi boyfriend tee I saw at Nordstrom last weekend as I zoomed past the juniors section (pictured left in "heather antler"). I know, it's juniors . . . but, it's a baggy weekend t-shirt, so I assume the fit isn't very "junior"-ish in the end. The tee is made from polyester and rayon and is $20. Find it here. If you're not convinced that "junior" is for you, similar to the Frenchi tee are Trouve's v-neck boyfriend tee (polyester, cotton, rayon; $28) and Trouve's one pocket boyfriend tee (polyester, cotton, rayon; $28).

Finally, renewing my love of James Perse, the relaxed v-neck tee seems to be his version of the boyfriend tee (cotton; $50). Also, Bluefly is offering James Perse's cotton crewneck t-shirt on sale for $32 (originally $53; 40% off) -- here.

Clickety Click

I am not a fan of mass forwarded emails . . . not at all. I recall only ever responding to one -- and it resulted in a week-long email debate in which I wrote the equivalent of a short book; this post makes two. Apparently the Breast Cancer Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "donating a mammogram" for free (pink window in the middle). Click here.

And while you're there, and the point of this post, check out some of the cute vegan merchandise the site has for sale. Most of the stuff isn't professional office appropriate . . . but . . . I am a fan of: the pink & white polka dot lunch bag (made from polyester and PVC, $7.95, here); the Wind of Peace organic tee (pictured, made from organic cotton, $26.95, here); and the bamboo birdhouse ($14.95, here).

Tuesday's Work Appropriate Clothing Item: Lutz & Patmos Flutter Sleeve Tee

I found Lutz & Patmos via last week's Daily Candy Deals email. From browsing the site, it seems they specialize in overpriced sweaters, knits, and accessories made from mainly cashmere and occasionally organic cotton. Many of the items are really, really cute despite the huge pricetag. Such as their Organic Flutter Sleeve Tee. 100% organic jersey cotton; scoop neck (may require a cami to deal with the scoop); double row of ruffles at the sleeve -- perfect to go under a lighter colored suit for the spring / summer. Unfortunately, the "tee" is $185! Yes, $185 . . . for a cotton t-shirt with lovely ruffles . . . I hope they don't succumb to the economy.

Lutz & Patmos has other insanely overpriced cotton items: a gorgeous flounce dress ($310, here); a belted crewneck cardigan ($395, here); a ruffle cardigan ($195, here). As of last week, if you enter DAILYCANDY30 at checkout, you will receive 30% off your entire order.

Vegan . . . With A Vegan Message

A friend sent me a link to a cute t-shirt a couple days ago: the t-shirt says "there's no right way to eat a rhesus" and has a little money above (see picture of graphic on t-shirt right). I think it's darling. Clearly not work appropriate, even on the weekends, but cute nonetheless. The t-shirt is available through mental_floss here. 100% cotton; $17.97.

My Favorite Vegan Suit

I am wearing my favorite vegan suit today, so I thought I would highlight it this morning. It's from Ann Taylor's mix-and-match triacetate suit collection. The collection includes black and brown jackets, pants, and skirts that can be worn interchangeably (as long as the colors match, of course). The pieces are made from triacetate ("a soft, fluid fabric made of blended man made fibers") and polyester.

Of all my suits, these items are the most packable: they don't seem to wrinkle . . . ever . . . seriously. And I get the most compliments when wearing this suit. Most items come in petite, regular, and tall.

The suit collection has been around for years and years, so if your pants wear out before your jacket (which always happens to me), you can replace the pants and still have a full suit. And since I only wear skirts to interviews (and even then only occassionally), I like that I can purchase a skirt and not have the matching jacket go to waste.

Of the items Ann Taylor currently is offering, I like this "classic mid-length" jacket (pictured right, $198) and these pants "slim boot cut leg" pants (pictured left, $128) best. Both are pictured in the toasted brown color.

Ann Taylor also is having a sale on this "shirred boat neck tea" (pictured right in the purple). The tee originally was $24, but if you purchase it online, it is $14.99. 96% cotton and 4% spandex. In addition to the purple, it comes in green, cobalt, black, white, and "lipstick" (a bright deep pink). With its shirred neck, I think it would look good under a full suit.

Kenneth Cole's Awearness Campaign

Today marks the nationwide protests against California's proposition 8. I thought this Kenneth Cole t-shirt (100% cotton) is particularly relevant today:

To the left is a blow-up of the t-shirt's graphic. It reads "Love Is . . ." followed by depictions of a bride and groom, two grooms, two brides, one groom and two brides, and then a groom and two sheep (I assume these are all depictions of "marriage").

The t-shirt is part of Kenneth Cole's "Awearness" campaign under which the company has established a non-profit organization that will continue Kenneth Cole's philanthropic efforts with a special focus on amFar and Help USA. Historically, Kenneth Cole's philanthropic efforts have included supporting socially relevant issues.

In addition to the non-profit organization, the campaign is releasing a book titled "Awearness: Inspiring Stories About How To Make A Difference." According to the "Awearness" blog, the "book consists of 86 essays and conversations by individuals who have been inspired to do their part to effect meaningful social change."

The campaign also includes a line of t-shirts and accessories for women and men, such as the t-shirt pictured above. The accessories include a drawstring bag, a canvas tote, and a large zip tote that looks similar to Lululemon's and Puma's gym bags. Of the items, I think only the canvas tote is vaguely work appropriate, such as to carry some extra books or gym clothing. All of the items are vegan, except for the large zip tote, which is made from leather.

Although I am all for "awearness," I find it strange that one of the items used to market the campaign incorporates leather. That doesn't seem very "awear" at all. And although I enjoy the above t-shirt for its positive message about sexuality and equality, I have some issues with it.

First, though I don't have totally concrete views on polygamy, I am disturbed that polygamy is only depicted as a man and two women. Where is the woman with two men? The fact that the t-shirt really only depicts polygyny (one man having more than one wife), as opposed to polyandry (one woman having more than one husband) is unfortunate and glosses over women's (include lesbian's) fight for equality.

Also, I do have views about bestiality. It is rather impossible to know if those two sheep consented. I don't think bestiality has anything to do with the fight for gay rights and I think it shouldn't be on the shirt. In fact, as with using leather to market "awearness," depicting bestiality as "awearness" is actually anti-awareness. And why is it two sheep with one man? Why not two men with one sheep? Or a woman with one sheep? What does the depiction say about who is dominating what?

Finally, I understand that aesthetically the five "instances" of marriage may need to be arranged vertically. But, I find the order very telling. Looking at it, it seems as though it is ordered from most legitimate to least legitimate: traditional marriage, two men marrying, then two women marrying, etc., etc. The underlying message may have been more powerful if the depictions were ordered differently. Just a thought.

Kenneth Cole's "Awearness" products are available for purchase online here. The accompanying blog is available here.