the clothing menu

Have you heard of “swapping?”  Swapping has become really popular around the country in the past couple years with the recession, primarily around swapping clothes, but also extending out to furniture and even motorcycles!  The logistics of each swap meet event varies, but for a small entrance fee or sometimes no fee at all, you [...]

this year, indie magazine, VivaLaModa, shared the results of a great contest in sustainable fashion, called Project Reconstruction. for the project, 12 independent designers created a piece of clothing constructed from a men’s shirt.  the results were everything from a dress to pants.  the winning design was this super-cute romper: the remaining designs are now [...]

last year, i asked some fellow bloggers and designers why they buy indie.  this year, i decided to ask a very similar question to people who know first-hand what it’s like to support independent artists.  i asked the designers in the clothing menu boutique, “why buy from an independent designer over a mass-market store?” and [...]

i recently found out about a brand new clothing line, dollparts, based in chicago.  the concept behind the line is really cool.  the designer, michelle, takes vintage/thrifted clothes and leftover/unused fabric to create new clothes!  she is very focused on ensuring that the clothing line is eco-friendly by minimizing the amount of fabric that is [...]

about a month ago, i contacted katherine at reiter8 about purchasing a custom recycled sail bag. she was very responsive and accommodating – getting back to my questions quickly and giving me choices on color and layout. reiter8 takes sails that are no longer being used and recycles them into unique bags, pillows, wallets, luggage [...]

Mallory from Miss Malaprop is a fellow blogger who is a big supporter of indie designers.  she even recently opened an online shop selling a variety of handmade and eco-friendly items!  since she’s always writing about new designers on her blog, i asked her to share some of her favorite independent designers with the clothing [...]

lucky for us, denim is big this summer.  bigger than jeans and jean skirts, denim is showing up in all forms – dresses, bags, denim on denim, colored denim, and the list goes on.  for more on how to wear denim, please read denim: the trend of the season and if you want to add [...]

this week i’ll be out on the west coast for work, where i’ll hopefully be able to enjoy some sun and napa valley wine! there are a lot of talented san francisco independent designers that i’ve read about online, which makes me excited to see the style and maybe bring some of it back to [...]

Nixxi is an independent ethical clothing line that carefully picks fabrics that are from fibers not treated from pesticides and works with a local production company to make sure the work environment is fair for employees.  on top of all that, the clothes from Nixxi work for any woman’s wardrobe.  they are versatile, comfortable, and [...]

one rumor about clothes made by independent designers is that they are expensive.  however, just like clothes available at the mall, indie clothes come in a range of prices.  some are expensive because a lot of time and artistry was put into the clothes and/or the fabrics and materials are of a high-quality.  but most [...]