Ethical Fashion Blog

Grab yourself a copy of the back-to-school edition of Justine Magazine on newsstands now. Justine is a national magazine filled with fun, positive, and empowering content for teenage girls. This month the mag features fair trade clothing from our Fall 2011 line, out this September.

INDIAN STREET STYLE – MEN’S FASHION EDITION

Last summer in India, Maureen pointed out to me how some young Indian men have a flair for fashion. As soon as she mentioned it, I started to notice these guys who dress to impress.

IT’S AUGUST ALREADY?

This summer has been scorching. Also, this summer has been the busiest. Lots of exciting projects! I’ve pretty much resorted to wearing dresses only. This slightly cuts my prep time in the morning – dresses are no-brainers because it’s like an instant outfit.

AMERICA!

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. Three day weekends, fireworks, bar-b-ques, freedom. Mata’s Prairie Top was the perfect top to show my patriotism. It is such a good summer top – practically all of Mata’s pieces are 100% cotton. I also wore this earlier in the day. I get so many compliments on that dress, and I love the chambray.

In the Garden

Hello, everyone! Here I am guest blogging for Mata! I have always been a fan of this brand, and have a sizable Mata collection in my closet. I am such a blog junkie, so it’s neat to be writing instead of reading.

Welcome New Fashion Blogger!

Laura is a wardrobe and image consultant and first came to Mata as a design intern from the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago. Besides modeling in our catalogs, she also styled several of them and designed the layout. She’s got some serious fashion chops, and we love her intuitive sense of style and coolness.

Lakshmi Bathing Suit Makes a Splash in India

Back in May, label Lisa Blue sent a line of swimsuits down the runway at Australian Fashion Week. One particular suit in the collection had an image of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi on the front and across the rear end. This caused outrage among some devout Hindus in India, who took to the streets to protest. They ripped up photocopies of the Lakshmi suit and burned the Australian flag.

Fair Trade Lingerie is Not Easy to Find

Michelle got married on Saturday! It turned out to be a fabulous event and all of us bridesmaids were looking great in our fair trade bridesmaids dresses. We’ll be sure to post lots of pics as soon as we get them from the photographer.

Walking the Fair Trade Runway

Here are the first runway pics from Greenheart’s Fair Trade Fashion Show. A big thank you to all the fabulous models and to Greenheart Shop for putting on a great show!

Dangle Necklace in People Magazine

It’s so fun to see our Dangle Necklace featured in People Magazine’s June Style Watch.

A Very Mata Wedding Shower

Yesterday was Michelle’s wedding shower, and as you can see, Mata Traders was very well represented! Here we are all decked out in our Mata fashions. One of the co-ops we work with is making the bridesmaids’ dresses, which will be a similar design to the Gold Coast dress – seen below on Michelle and Andrea (Michelle’s sister and maid of honor).

Spot a Mata (Online Edition)

San Francisco fashion blogger Modelina Michelle found us in local boutique Marmalade, and if you’re in the Bay area, you can, too! Entitled “Sweet Bohemia,” Michelle’s post features the Edgewater dress, Lakeshore dress, Skylark skirt, and Symphony skirt from our new Spring line. She notes Mata’s bright colors, bold patterns, and laid back bohemian vibe, but she’s just as impressed with the line’s social impact – empowering Indian women. She asks, “How often can you buy a dress for yourself and help empower other women at the same time?” Thanks for the shout out, Michelle!

Our Skirt is Famous!

Well, maybe not THAT famous, but we are so proud of our little Arbor skirt for making it on a TV show! She was just a little fair trade skirt, and now she’s hit the big time. It was only by chance that we found out our skirt is a star. Our designer Kristin spotted it when she just happened to be watching her guilty pleasure, the show Pretty Little Liars. She was amazed to discover that our Arbor skirt from Winter 2010 is featured on one of the actresses!

BOHRA LADIES

Everywhere we went, we noticed women wearing colorful, embroidered outfits that had a long skirt and a hooded waist-length cape. Rather than a fashion craze, it was clear these outfits were designed to function as a modest cover-up worn in public. Who were these ladies? We asked a few times, only to be given the wrong information: they were Jain, they were Parsi. When we arrived at our new co-op in Maheshwar we were pleased to meet some of these ladies in person and find out their real identities. They are Dawoodi Bohra women, a community that is a subsect of Islam.

JHOOLE

We want to thank Hannah Warren, founder and Executive Director of Jhoole, for being such a fabulous host! We spent two lovely days designing in the peaceful town of Maheshwar – best known for the talent of its handloom weavers – in Madhya Pradesh (central India) where Jhoole is located. It was a true relief to escape the chaos of big-city India for a moment; Maheshwar, with a population of just over 20,000, actually feels chill, like a village! We ate home cooked meals and got to know the townspeople a bit.

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