Edinburgh

Last spring I visited Scotland on a bank holiday weekend with some friends. We had a great time... despite the almost constant rain. Our route started in Edinburgh and took us all the way up to Fort William. The scenery in Scotland is breathtaking, but it was its capital I most fell in love with. Walking through this place with its castles, crooked alley ways, secret vaults and grand Georgian houses it feels like history is about to come alive.
Edinburgh's streets are filled with quirky shops, cozy cafés and down-to-earth pubs. Here are some great ethical and sustainable places I found during my short two day stay.

STOCKBRIDGE

The Hibiscus Flower is a lovely little boutique on Stephen Street selling only ethical and fair trade fashion and jewellery. It was so nice to be able to simply go into a shop and try on fair trade clothes rather than having to order them of the internet all the time. Sarah, the shop owner, put together a great selection of pieces from brands such as Peopletree, Mudd and Water, Johari, Komodo or Rapanui - an eco-fashion brand from the Isle of Wight. And should you have to wait to try something on - you can pet Nelly the little shop dog in the meantime!

On the same street you will also find the fancy vintage boutique Those Were the Days which specialises in high-end vintage garments and the cute Relove offering second-hand children's clothes as well as a buggy repair service. 

OLD TOWN

In the medieval part of town, at Grassmarket you find one of the three branches of the vintage emporium W. Armstrong & Son. This is one of the best vintage shops I have been to so far, an absolute gem! When you step through its doors you're transported into a different era. The shop looks like the cabinet of curiosities of an eccentric retired show girl missing the glory of days past. It is a veritable smorgasbord of everything vintage. Don't get lost in there!

Walking up the curved Victoria Street towards Edinburgh Castle you pass a real mix of small touristy shops. My two favourites were Anta and the red door gallery. Anta sells classic Scotland-inspired homewares, furniture and accessories. Everything the shops sells is made in the country. (They may have moved in the mean time - you can find the new shop location on their website). The red door gallery is a shop and gallery-space selling affordable art and supporting young and up and coming UK artists. If you're looking for a truly authentic souvenir or a quirky gift - these are two great places to check out. 

If you've had enough of the big smoke and long for some country side charm - I recommend you go and visit the quaint little town of Pitlochry. We stopped here by chance on our way back from the Highlands and were completely taken in by this lively little place. True - it is touristy, but you will have a hard time finding a place that isn't. And on its streets you can discover some real gems, like the cute boutique Honest Thistle. It stocks a great selection of contemporary gift wares, carefully selected from talented Scottish and UK makers and designers.

I hope you enjoyed my Edinburgh feature. Have you been to the city yourself? Any discoveries you want to share?

Boston and New York Part II

My first time ever to visit New York, I spent a large part of my time realising that I was by no means cool enough! Everyone here seems to have stepped right off the pages of a fashion magazine, well, except for the tourists that is. Apart from being marginally depressing, it was also hugely inspiring and I left with a head full of new style and decor ideas.

As I was in New York for just a few days, I only got to see a fraction of this vast city. There are uncountable vintage shops in New York and just as many blogs advising you as to which ones are the best... Here are a few I stumbled upon and really liked, but I'm in no way claiming to be an expert. 

If you are looking for high-end, designer and more expensive vintage, then Soho, East Village, and Nolita (for North of Little Italy) are great neighbourhoods to check out. 

Spotted: the gorgeous Andrea shopping at Ritual :)

I really liked Ritual Vintage, a tiny vintage boutique on Broome Street. The store has some very unusual pieces and an amazing selection of pre 1950s dresses. Definitely some rarities to be found in this one!

If you like it even fancier than that, then there's Frock just around the corner from Ritual. Set up by Evan Ross, former celebrity stylist, Frock offers designer and couture vintage dating from the 60's to the 90's for the stylish fashionistas of New York. Even if you can't afford them, it's great just to go and have a look at the fabulous pieces. 

Little Fox Cafe, pic from sollifestyle

Close by on Kenmare Street is the cozy Little Fox Cafe, where we thankfully stretched out legs (you end up doing a LOT of walking in NYC) and enjoyed a great cup of coffee while entertaining ourselves with people-watching. 

Not all the shops in lower Manhattan are fancy boutiques though. Head on over to East 11th Street and check out Buffalo Exchange. If you're on a budget, then this is the place for you! 

Opening the doors to its first store in 1974, Buffalo Exchange now has shops all over the US and there are four in New York alone. Similar to the Garment District in New York (see last post), they will buy your old clothes off you for store credit or cash. Buying 80% of their clothing directly from local customers makes this an incredibly sustainable and environmentally-friendly retail model. 

The selection of clothes is great too, with lots of good quality and designer second-hand ware at great prices. My sister almost had to drag me out of the shop!

Another part of the city you cannot miss out on is Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 

You can take the subway straight to Bedford Avenue and enjoy a stroll past numerous hip coffee shops, craft beer pubs, organic grocers and great vintage and second-hand shops. There's a Brookly Flea market here every Sunday from 10am - 5pm, which I would have loved to visit.

Just off Bedford Avenue, you will find the famous Beacon's Closet. Based on similar principles as Buffalo Exchange, Beacon's Closet buys and resells customers' vintage and modern clothing. The selection is a little less mainstream than in Buffalo Exchange and the focus lies more strongly on vintage. The shop is huge, with clothes organized by colour on rails. You need to be in the mood for digging, but with a selection like this one, you're bound to find something. Beacon's closet also donates left-over clothes as well as a portion of their profits to local charities. 

pics from Beacon's Closet Website

Another great place to check out is Amarcord Vintage. This funky boutique on Bedford avenue sells upscale vintage from the 40s to the 80s. The garments are beautifully presented and in immaculate condition. The shops beautifully styled and dressed mannequins are great if you need a little outfit inspiration

Monks Vintage is another inexpensive place to buy vintage and second-hand. Located on Driggs Avenue right next to the Williamsburg Buffalo Exchange, this shop has a thrift store feel to it and sells everything from clothing and accessories to vintage books and boots. Staff were very friendly here and the changing room is a red phone booth with a suitcase that gets put before the door for a lock!

New York can be a rather expensive place to stay, so one last tip of mine would be to check out airbnb, a website that lets you list, discover and book unique accommodations. We used it for the first time  and got to stay in a lovely apartment in the Upper East Side. It's more formal than couch-surfing and a great way to meet some locals. If you don't mind staying in someones place, then it might be something for you.

I'm sure I've missed out on tons of great placesWhat are your favourite shops and places in New York?

Boston and New York Part I

Over Easter break, I went for a short city trip with my lovely sister to Boston and New York. As we were only in each city for a few days, I didn't have time to properly scope out the most ethical or best vintage places to shop. I did keep my eyes wide open though, and here are some cool places I stumbled upon.

With Macklemore singing their praises, thrift shops have become rather famous. Located close to MIT and as old as I am, the Garment District is not exactly a thrift shop, but it certainly has that feel. The grungy store's tagline is to be an "alternative department store" and it certainly is huge! Lined up on rail after rail scores of vintage clothes from all decades and second-hand ware awaits the customers.

It can be somewhat overwhelming and you have to be in the mood to dig! My suggestion: don't go there at the end of a full day of sight-seeing or you'll stumble around, dazed by all the colour and diversity. If you've got your shopping mojo on full go, then this is a great place to find some amazing bargains.

The Garment District also takes in clothing, which is great for waste-management, and allows you to make a few bob from your old clothes. In real thrift shop manner, there is an area for buying clothes by the pound. Unheard of in the UK, this is quite common in America. You basically get a bag, fill it up with clothes that in piles all over the floor and pay by weight... It's hardcore... a bit too hardcore for my taste!




If you're more of a boutique-kind-of-gal then Charles Street in Beacon Hill is a great place to go. All red-brick gorgeousness the street is lined with artisan food merchants, cute boutiques and high-end vintage shops.

Artifaktori Vintage looked especially promising. The beautiful boutique sells eye-popping, colour-loving and pattern-mad vintage clothes that are bound to make you smile. Good News, you can buy their things online on their Etsy shop.


On the same street, there is also Crush Boutique. The cute basement boutique was co-founded by childhood friends Rebecca Penner and Laura Macris and sell well-established as well as up and coming designers. Prices are rather high but if you're looking for something unique and fresh, I'm sure this would be a good place to start.

Pic from here

One last place to mention on Charles Street is the Ruby Door. A paradise for any magpie, this tiny shop sells luxuriously hand-crafted jewelry. Many of the items are made in-house and owner Tracy Weiss reworks vintage pieces into exquisite modern pieces. If you're on a budget, you may want to skip this place, albeit you'll be tempted by all the glitzy gorgeousness. 

Pic from the Ruby Door

My last suggestion for any future Boston-visitors is to head to Newbury Street in Back Bay. Perhaps a little more mainstream than Charles Street, it is nevertheless a great place for sustainable shopping.

Me on Newbury street, note the fairy lights!

First of all, you can find Second Time Around (STA) here. By 'find' I mean, you literally can't miss it as there are numerous ones doted all over Newbury Street. This up-scale second-hand shop is a treasure trove for barely-worn designer clothes. All of the clothing sold here is carefully selected and in perfect condition.

For all the Cowboy-fashion lovers, a visit to Vintage Boots is a must. Tucked away in a basement on Newbury street, this quirky place specializes in vintage cowboy attire. You'll literally find anything here from cowboy boots, to belts and flannel shirts.

If you're the outdoorsy type or looking for a cool t-shirt for a male friend, then you should check out Life is Good a little further down Newbury Street. The local brand started out selling t-shirts and has expanded its range to include baby's clothing, backpacks and car tire covers. The aim of the brand is to spread optimism and it certainly makes me happy to hear that they donate 10% of all its net profits to children in need. 

After all she sight-seeing and shopping we were exhausted and in desperate need for some food and relaxation. Luckily, close by was Trident Booksellers & Cafe, where we got a tasty meal and well-deserved local beer. Selling quirky books, gifts by local designers, hipster trinkets and fair trade chocolate, the Trident is a great place to explore and you can easily lose an afternoon here.

Have you ever been to Boston, or do you maybe live there? Any other suggestions you'd like to share?

A Trip to Zurich

I'm back from a little trip to my snowy home country Switzerland... and aside from a lot of eating, drinking and catching up with friends I explored beautiful Zurich in search of fairtrade, Swiss-made and sustainable fashion and accessories. If you ever visit Zurich, here are four shops you must see!

 Ankerstrasse 14, Zurich, www.luxplus.ch

Situated just off the buzzing Langstrasse, one of the many cultural hubs of Zurich, is the hip Boutique Luxplus, where shoppers can buy high-end vintage garments and accessories, as well as unique pieces from Zurich Designers. Upon entering the shop, I'm immediately struck by the elegant and sophisticated feel of the place. Here, every item seems carefully selected to fit in with the overall design aesthetic; which makes for such an assortment of incredibly beautiful things that I am tempted to buy them all. Unfortunately the prices, although still affordable, are on the rather high end of the scale.

Bottom: my friend is having a look through the cute Luxconcept dresses

Under their own brand Luxconcept, Luxplus sell a range of cute dresses that are made in direct cooperation with a seamstress in Bangkok. The pieces are not fairtrade, but at least there is no middle man and the consumer knows where the goods are made.

The shop also sells a range of luxury fairtrade accessories by La Nomada. Pascale Krippendorf, the face behind the brand, explains to me that she sources her products from various faitrade cooperatives and enterprises all over Asia. I personally fell in love with this hand-died mustard yellow to golden brown scarf!

Marktgasse 10, Zurich, www.changemaker.ch.

Okay, Change Maker was possibly my favourite out of the four. This shop is so gorgeous, I would love to move in and live there till the end of my days. But not only is the space bright, airy and beautiful, but the products sold here are also just wonderful. As is clear from its name, this shop does things differently. Change Maker specialises in ethically-made, sustainable and eco-friendly home-wares and accessories. To make the shopping experience even easier and more transparent, change maker has devised seven little icons that inform the customer about the product. There is a little hand that signifies hand-made products, a light bulb indicating energy efficiency and a plant lets the customer know that the item is made out of organic materials.

Some of the beautiful products to be found at Change Maker; Top left: the fun felt stones and pebbles by Ronel Jordaan

wallets by Karlen Swiss

One of the highlights at Change Maker were definitely the ingenious felt pebbles and stones (image: top left) by Ronel Jordaan. They look so real, it was a surprise to find out they're actually soft pillows and cushions! The label Ronel Jordaan gives unemployed women in Johannesburg the opportunity to learn a trade from scratch and offers them employment in the company.

Change Maker also promotes Swiss designers and locally made products. These wallets, purses and bags made out of old Swiss army blankets are a classic. Designed by label Karlen Swiss, the accessories are hand-made in a quaint village in the Swiss mountains.

Change Maker has been highly successful and has opened shops in seven Swiss cities, including the capital Bern, Luzern and Winterthur. You can also buy their products online on their website.

Ankerstrasse 14, www.sausbraus.ch.

Top: Fairtrade trolley bags; Bottom: Made in Switzeland,
a skirt from Let's Rock.

Also situated on Ankerstrasse, Saus & Braus offers young and up-and-coming designers a retail space in the heart of Zurich. The shop offers a wide variety of clothes, accessories and jewellery.

Some of their pieces, such as this modern take on the granny trolley bag, are fairtrade.

Under their house label Let's Rock, Saus & Braus sells quirky and colourful dresses and skirts that can be produced and changed to the customers' wishes. You can even chose the fabric you want, or bring your own! Let's Rock garments are made in the shop's studio in Zurich.

And finally one for the men! In Saus & Braus you can also buy the cool Swiss label Tarzan that sells hip and affordable hoodies, jackets and t-shirts for guys. Almost all of the ethically conscious label's collections are made from organic certified cotton.

This was also the perfect excuse to get the husband to pose for my blog! He is wearing a Tarzan shirt with hand shadow animals.

Preyergasse 6, Zurich, www.fizzen.ch.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2012, Fizzen has been around for a while. The company started out as a dingy second-hand shop in Bern and has evolved into a versatile boutique selling vintage & second-hand, as well as recycled and new clothing in Basel, Bern, Luzern and Zurich. Despite a revamp to make the shop look brighter, it's kept its treasure trove feel and is by far the most affordable out of all the shops. Fizzen is a paradise for hipsters, students and retro-maniacs alike.

The branch in Zurich is split into three sections; new clothes by small independent labels, reworked vintage & second-hand products on the ground floor and a 'pure' vintage section in the basement. The vintage section offers the usual leather bags, jeans jackets, fair isle jumpers and 80s stretch-pants.

Top: The Vintage Section, Bottom: Reworked dresses by Fizzen

The reworked garments are produced by Fizzen either in Bangkok by their label Ark or in the Fizzen workshop in Switzerland. Vintage garments are given more modern shapes, old leather jackets are reworked into laptop or ipod cases and every product is unique. I was tempted by that little rose petal dress (picture: bottom right). The reworked products also promise that no sweatshop labor was involved in their making (yay!).

There is, of course, much more to Zurich than just shopping, so make sure that you hit some sights, drink excellent Swiss coffee and taste the best chocolate in the world between checking out the shops! To make shop-hopping even easier for you, I've created a little map.

Have you ever been to Zurich? What were your favourite places? Wanna share any other vintage or fairtrade treasures you discovered when travelling?