Green Sunday IV: Sustainable Fashion

Hello everybody, hallo zusammen,

time for a new Green Sunday post!
As you all may know, last week was Fashion Revolution Day in remembrance of the 1133 people who were killed when the Rana Plaza factory complex collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2013. To raise awareness on the topic of the disastrous production conditions in the fashion industry there were actions worldwide, such as this 2-Euro-T-shirt vendor by Fashion Revolution Day Germany positioned on Alexanderplatz in Berlin.
To link to this topic here as well, I thought it might be fun to make this Green Sunday post about sustainable fashion and ways how to avoid buying unethically or environmentally problematic clothes. Believe me, I know that's not easy (I mean, it's pretty obvious that fashion is one of my guilty pleasures!), and getting there will probably take some time (I definitely know it will for me). Nevertheless, I also really do believe that changing the world always starts with changing one's own behavior and if we all change (step by step) together the whole process will be much faster! And the good news is: You won't have to give up your good style for that at all!!
 
Zeit für einen neuen Green Sunday Post!
Wie die meisten von euch wahrscheinlich wissen, war letzte Woche Fashion Revolution Day im Gedenken an die 1133 Menschen, die beim Zusammenbruch der Rana Plaza Fabrik in Dhaka, Bangladesch vor zwei Jahren ums Leben gekommen sind. Um auf die desaströsen Produktionsbedingungen im Modebereich aufmerksam zu machen, gab es weltweit Aktionen, wie zum Beispiel diesen 2-Euro-T-Shirt Automaten von Fashion Revolution Day Germany am Alexanderplatz in Berlin.
Um bei dem Thema auch hier am Blog anzuknüpfen, dachte ich, es würde Spaß machen, sich diesmal mit nachhaltiger Mode auseinanderzusetzen und mit Möglichkeiten, den Kauf von umweltschädigenden oder ethisch fragwürdigen Klamotten zu vermeiden. Glaubt mir, ich bin die erste die bestätigt, dass das schwer ist (ich meine, es ist ziemlich offensichtlich dass Mode ein kleines Laster von mir ist ;) ), und das wirklich ernsthaft durchzuziehen wird wahrscheinlich etwas brauchen (zumindest weiß ich, dass es bei mir so sein wird). Allerdings bin ich auch der festen Überzeugung, dass man immer beim eigenen Verhalten anfangen muss, wenn man die Welt irgendwie verbessern möchte und wenn wir uns alle gemeinsam (Schrittchen für Schrittchen) verändern, und nicht drauf warten, dass andere das für uns erledigen, geht das mit der Verbesserung garantiert schneller!
Und die gute Nachricht ist: Auf euren guten Stil müsst ihr dafür garantiert nicht verzichten!!

Lunch Break in the Park

Hello everybody, hallo zusammen,

the last two days, my good friend Laura and I attended Institut für Kulturkonzepte's culture management days with pretty interesting lectures on art sponsoring, intercultural art concepts, entrepreneural spirit in the arts sector etc. We are pretty smart now... ;)
As the weather in Vienna was great as well, we spent our lunchbreaks outside. Today we went to a small park nearby and Laura was so kind, to snap a few pictures from me in some of my newest captures from one of my favourite Viennese second hand stores. Burggasse24, as the name already suggests, is located in Burggasse in Vienna's seventh district and they do not only offer a wide range of well sorted and really cool clothes and accessories, but they also have a small coffeeplace within the store. I don't know about you, but a place where can get stylish outfits and eat cake at the same time simply deserves a place in my heart... ;)

die letzten beiden Tage waren meine liebe Freundin Laura und ich bei den Kulturmanagement-Tagen, die das Institut für Kulturkonzepte organisiert hat, und haben ziemlich coolen Vorträgen zu Themen wie Kultursponsoring, Interkulturalität im Kunst- und Kulturbereich, Unternehmergeist in Kulturinstitutionen usw. zugehört (wir sind jetzt ziemlich schlau... ;) ). 
Da auch das Wetter in den letzten beiden Tagen ganz wunderbar war, konnten wir unsere Mittagspausen draußen verbringen. Heute haben wir uns mit unserem Essen einfach in den nächstgelegenen Park gepflanzt und Laura war so lieb, auch ein paar Fotos von mir für den Blog zu machen - in meinen neusten Errungenschaften von einem meiner allerliebsten Second-Hand-Läden in Wien. Wie der Name schon vermuten lässt, liegt Burggasse24 in der Burggasse im siebten Bezirk und sie haben nicht nur eine wirklich gut sortierte Auswahl an Klamotten und Accessoires, sondern sogar ein eigenes kleines Café mitten im Geschäft. Also, ich kann natürlich nur für mich sprechen, aber ein Ort, an dem man coole Klamotten bekommt und gleichzeitig Kuchen essen kann, verdient definitiv einen Platz in meinem Herzen... ;)  

Easter in Black and White

Hi folks, hallo zusammen,

On Sunday I spent the most lovely Easter Sunday with my family in St. Pölten. Luckily the weather was fine enough, so that I could finally parade my new dress and shoes. ;) When the sun came out in the afternoon, my sister and I took the chance to steal away from the family table after our family brunch (wow, I really ate tons and tons of delicious food :D ) and snapped a few pictures for the blog in front of my mum's gorgeous forsythia.

am Sonntag hatte ich den wunderbarsten Ostersonntag mit meiner Familie in St. Pölten - inklusive Brunch mit Tonnen an großartigem Essen. Glücklicherweise war das Wetter gut genug, dass ich endlich mal mein neues Kleid und meine neuen Schuhe ausführen konnte. ;) Am Nachmittag hat sich dann sogar auch noch die Sonne hinter ihrer Wolkendecke hervorgekämpft und meine Schwester und ich haben die Zeit genutzt uns kurz vom Familientisch davonzustehlen, um ein paar Fotos für den Blog zu machen. Das im Hintergrund ist übrigens der Hammer-Forsythienstrauch im Garten meiner Mutter... 

On the ice

Hello you lovelies,

I wish you all a beautiful start in the new week! How were your weekends? Hopefully good?!

David and I went ice skating today and it was real fun! We went to Engelmann, a very nice skating ground in Vienna's 17th district (although I guess nothing will ever top the ice rink in front of the castle in Budapest). Although Engelmann is just a seven minute walk away from our apartment I didn't have a clue it existed until some days ago, because the skating ground is actually located on a rooftop, which is an extra bonus in my opinion.  :)

Winter (Play) Time

Hello everybody,

last week the snow finally came to Vienna! :)
Since then it has left and come again but I definitely took the chance to spend some time in the white wonderland. Last week for example David and I took a small walk through Vienna's university campus before we stopped for sweet and salty pies in the lovely pie factory. If you are in or come to Vienna you should definitely give it a try - the pies are delicious! 

Dance Into the New Year!

Hello you lovelies!

I hope all of you had a wonderful New Year's Eve yesterday and spent the last hours of 2014 and the first of 2015 with your families and friends!

For me, 2014 was a year of change! Changes not only in my own life (I quit my job, started to study again etc.), but also in most of my friends' lives. At first, many of those changes didn't seem positive at all – there were health issues, long-term relationships that fell apart, friendships that ended and jobs that were quit – but the good thing is that by now, the beginning of a new year, most of us are back on track. And that happier than before, with less weight on our shoulders, knowing that we conquered our fears and tackled problems for which solutions were long overdue.

With this thought in mind I'm looking cheerful into the future, excited about what the new year will bring. 2015, I am ready to dance! :) 

The Blue Winter Dress

Hello everybody,

Punch and cookies, where are you? I am ready for you! :)
May I introduce you to my favourite new blue winter dress? It's by cos and I immediately fell in love with the color when I saw it hanging in the store. Combined with my beloved "Christmas fascinator" and sparkly socks I think it makes for a perfect Advent outfit... :)

Black and White and Yellow

Hello,

on Monday, after a lovely breakfast date, David and I decided to celebrate the beautiful, sunny November weather. We chose to go for a little walk in the park right around the corner and were surprised to find the whole park covered in yellow autumn leaves! Extremely beautiful! We simply had to take the chance to snap a few photos... ;) 

Baby it's Cold Outside

Hello everybody,

although it's not really winter yet, it's aready freezing cold here in Austria. Luckily, there are fireplaces one can cosy up to! My mum has one in her house and every time I visit her now, I sit in front of it, read a book, drink a cup of tea, or simply watch the flames like hypnotized. :) 

What do you do to warm up?

Cats and Dogs

Hello everybody,

you may have already recognized my love for cats when I shared this post. As you can see below I added another cat-like piece to my wardrobe. :) In addition I started a little romance with dogs recently. I like them especially when they are on my clothes and even more when they are pugs. :D When I look at these leggings I always have to think about Frank the Pug from the movie "Men in Black" (Aaah, childhood memories!). Do you remember that funny pug? I certainly do and seeing one of his kind on my legs amuses me every time... ;)  

Italian Dress meets French Hat in Vienna

Hi folks,

last week we had two lovely visitors from Canada - Mark and Ashley. We met them two years ago in London, where we stayed in the same hostel room and this year they found time for another trip to Europe.
Luckily, summer made a small comeback last weekend (just a short one unfortunately) and so David and I were able to show them all the beautiful Viennese sights in sunshine weather. A good opportunity for me to finally put on my new white dress and my favourite new straw hat and make some nice pictures using the fountains in front of the Hofburg as backdrop. Just later on I realised that the whole outfit was actually a subconcious hommage to our guests. How so? Well, the pants are from Ralph Lauren, hence North American, the hat is from France and Mark and Ashley are actually French Canadians and the dress comes from Italy and guess what, both have Italian families. I am delighted! :)

Wishlist: Go Green Into Fall

Hello everybody,

as summer is almost over I thought it was time to take a (online) look at the current fall fashion. :) For me this year it's going to be a special autumn as I will go back to university to start a new master program in "Environmental and Sustainability Management". I'm already really looking forward to it! Fitting to the study program I decided to challenge myself a bit for this wishlist and only checked out online stores that offered environmentally friendly or "ethical" clothing. I put together two outfits - one a little bit more girly and the other one a little bit more sporty and I'm actually pretty pleased with the results... :)

1, 2 and 4: People Tree | 3: hessnatur | 5: Beyond Skin | 

1 and 3: People Tree | 2: hessnatur | 4 and 5: Veja | 

6: Kuyichi (over Greenality) 

 

Have a great day!

 

Yours,

Steffi

 

PS: All these sets were made with Polyvore and can also be found here.

First Glimpse of Autumn

Hello everybody,

this year we had a really short summer in Austria. The whole weather feels like autumn a little bit already and it could as well be the end of September instead of the end of August. However, although I would have loved the summer to last a little bit longer, the current weather gives me the perfect opportunity to get out my new coat and my new sweater I bought in Strasbourg and show them to the world... ;)

coat: Chattawak (Strasbourg) | sweater: Somewhere (Strasbourg) | jeans: American Apparel | 

socks: Happy Socks (old) | sneakers: New Yorker | bag: Hallhuber | bracelet: Bijou Brigitte |
flower brooch: H&M (old)

Have a great weekend!

Steffi

All images by Katja Borlein

A pencilskirt goes sporty

Hey folks,

two years ago I decided to invest in a classical piece for my wardrobe: a black leather pencilskirt by Burberry. But as you probably guess I'm not really that classy girl who wears pearls ;) So I tried to find some new ways to wear the skirt.

Here's the result :)

 Pencil skirt: Burberry Brit | Baseball jacket: H&M | Shoes: Nike Air Max

 Backpack: Primark

Weird pic, I know... But I think it has something "arty" ;)

All images by Steffi Reichl

The Cats on Sea

Hey there,

this year I made it to the Biorama Fair Fair in Vienna for the first time. This is a trade fair where you can buy all sorts of products (clothes, food, cosmetics etc.) from sustainable producers. It always takes place on a weekend in the middle of July and in the last years I've always been abroad. Luckily this year David and I went on vacation two days later and therefore I got finally the chance to check it out.  :)
One of the exhibitors was Green Ground, a very nice shop in Vienna, where you can only buy organic and/or fairly produced clothes from different labels. As a big cat lover I fell immediately in love with these lovely trousers from People Tree you see below and of course they had to come with me to Italy.

Top: H&M(similar) | trousers: People Tree | necklace: from Brighton | 

ballerinas: Marc by Marc Jacobs (vintage)

Have a beautiful day!

Yours,
Tulip

All images by David Auer

Placid State of Mind

Buongiorno ragazzi,

I just arrived back in Vienna after two perfect weeks in Ischia, a lovely island in the Bay of Naples. I've been travelling quite a bit already but I have to say that this was one of the best trips I've had so far, probably also due to the reason, that we didn't try to explore 3 or 4 places in two weeks but sticked to one territory and explored this one properly. Plus we really reserved time for doing "nothing", except reading, writing, playing Malefiz ;) and lying on the beach. And that worked - I honestly think I've never been this relaxed before! :D

 T-shirt: Ralph Lauren (similar) | short: Lena Hoschek (old) | Bow beanie: muka va

 All images by David Auer

Maritime Time

Hello everybody,

recently I was in the mood for a really maritime outfit. Blue and white stripes, anchors (even on my shoes) and a little red - everything's in there and I really like it. :) Perhaps my current (or steady) love for maritime clothes has something to do with the fact that Austria is a land-locked country with no sea far and wide and that living at the seaside has been one of my most long-lasting dreams. Besides, I have really itchy feed right now and am already so much looking forward to my vacation in South Italy some weeks from now...
However, as there is no sea wide and far (at least not near Vienna), Katja and I went to the little river near our workplace to make some nice pictures. :)

dress: cos | leggins: cut tights | shoes: startas (similar) |
bracelet: soie | earrings: kettenkreativ

All images by Katja Borlein

Baroque Garden

Hello everybody,

today Katja and I got the chance to shoot some really nice photos in the beautiful garden of baroque Stift Melk in the lovely Wachau. I'm wearing one of my favourite summer outfits. None of the things are new but I still think that the white dress plus the straw hat and the matching shoes make for a beautiful combination, which I definitely wanted to share with you... ;) Plus I really love the pocket watch necklace! I bought it on a vacation in the U.K. two years ago and it reminds me of the beautiful time I spent there together with David.

dress: ZARA (similar from mint&berry) | hat: satoko koyama (old) | shoes: HUMANIC (old) |
necklace: from Brighton, U.K.

All images by Katja Borlein