Style Basics: Tee Shirts

Most lists of style basics include a white shirt.  Recently Vogue magazine recommended that one should see the white shirt as “your new best friend.”  Vogue said, “ Start over with a new one, vow to always wash it in a renowned biological washing powder, add glo-white and spray lightly with starch before ironing. (Alternatively, get it dry-cleaned.)

After we stopped laughing, we said “No thanks!”

Most of us have got better things to do than to wash and iron an everyday garment with loving care.

We recommended the tee shirt as a style basic.  You can wear it plain with jeans, add colour with a casually draped scarf, dress it up with a necklace, shape it with a belt: use your imagination and you can wear a tee shirt for most everyday occasions.

This is one style basic that is reasonably easy to find with a Fairtrade label, or made from organic cotton or an environmentally friendly fibre.

The blue/grey long sleeved tee shirt pictured here is from Seasalt.  It comes in a darker blue and in a pink/white stripe, with sizes from 8 to 20.  It is 95% organic cotton and 5% lyrca, so it will fit well.  This style is ideal for wearing under jackets on cooler days as the long sleeves will not ride up.  The price is £31 including delivery.

Short-sleeved tee shirts are always widely available, but it is sometimes difficult to find brighter colours in organic cotton.  This bright pink one is by Jackpot and available from ascension in sizes XS to L, costing £14 plus a delivery charge.

Pat has bought a few organic cotton tee shirts from Toast over the years.  Their garments are a bit pricey, but they wash and wear well, and are beautifully styled.  The Toast spring/summer collection includes this organic jersey tee at £49.  It comes in sizes 8 to 18, and 3 colours – tangerine, reef blue (which looks like turquoise to us) and the shade shown in the photo.

For a Fairtrade top with slightly more structure, but a great amount of versatility, we picked this calico top by Khysibu at £25.  It is available online from Ethicsgirls.  It comes in 3 sizes and is made from 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton. 

Perhaps if we had professional, office-based jobs we might feel the need for a white shirt in our wardrobe.  As it is, we get along just fine without such a high maintenance garment.

Do you think that you need a white shirt in your wardrobe?  Tell us on Talk Back. 

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Searching for Fairtrade or Organic Fitness Clothing

Pat writes:

Clothing appropriate for Pilates, Yoga or low impact sports could be made from Fairtrade or Organic cotton.  Manufacturers or retailers of Fair Trade and/or organic fitness clothing are surprisingly thin on the ground.

I have found some attractive tee shirts at Seasalt, all in 100% organic cotton.  They also sell organic cotton sweatshirts, such as this hooded top that is Fairtrade (as well as 100% organic cotton).  It costs £29.95 (plus p&p) and comes in sizes ranging from 8 to 20.

Gossypium offers a selection of yoga trousers and tee-shirts, all in Fair Trade, organic cotton.  Tricia owns several garments from Gossypium, and has reviewed them on our Keep Active page.  I also own a pair of their fold over trousers (as illustrated), and have worn them about once a week for over 2 years now.  They wash well, and have kept their shape. The style shown costs £35 and is available in sizes 8 to 18.

A search of main stream retailers has yielded absolutely nothing!  Even Marks & Spencer, which trumpets it’s environmentally friendly policy, has nothing to offer by way of Fairtrade or organic fitness clothing – at least not on their website.  I have tried alternate words in my search, such as Fairtrade sports clothing, but to no avail.

It was reported in ‘The Times’ on 29 December 2009 that sales of Fairtrade cotton fell by more than 25 % in 2009 as fashion stores and shoppers focused on low-price clothing rather than ethical concerns. 

‘The Times’ report states that “while Debenhams and some small brands, such as Gossypium and Pants to Poverty, have continued to report growth, sales at others, including M&S and Tesco...have stalled.”

This is very sad news, as a decline in Fairtrade cotton sales will hit farmers in some of the poorest parts of the world.

Fairtrade Undies Update

When we visited the Clothes Show we were impressed by a new company called Lifesnotfairbutmyknickersare.  They sell Fairtrade cotton pyjamas and lounge clothes, vests and (of course) knickers.  We weren’t the only people to be impressed – John Lewis will be stocking these lovely undies in the run up to Christmas.  New styles have been added to those that we saw last summer.  We think this grey spotted cami and knickers set is very sophisticated.  Their products come in sizes S, M and L.  Pyjama trousers are priced at £15; knickers are £7 to £8 depending on the style.                                        

   At the Clothes Show London 2009

Amid the sea of exhibitors, these were our favourite Fair Trade and Ethical traders.

Life’s not fair but my knickers are

Finding pretty Fair Trade underwear can be a challenge.  This new company comes up trumps with a range of cute knickers, vests and loungewear.  We were particularly taken with these feminine knickers at £8, with matching camisoles.  These were available in black or fuchsica (as shown in the photo) with an attractive lace trim. The butterfly is on the back - there is a small ribbon bow on the front.

The range is produced in India, made from 95% Fairtrade cotton mixed with 5% elastane to give a flattering fit. All items are available in sizes small, medium and large.

Here is the current list of stockists for lifesnotfairbutmyknickersare   

Rainbows End - Much Wenlock  

www.fishnets-lingerie.co.uk

Ooh La La - Barnsley

Lace of Malvern - Malvern

Joy Lingerie - Oxford

Rosa - Stoke Newington, London

Ethical Superstore/Hug

Joyce Brooks Lingerie - Cheltenham

There will be a Christmas Gift vest and short set going into John Lewis in October (exclusive to JL).

They also have a website, www.lifesnotfairbutmyknickersare.com

Komodo

The variety of designs and colours was the most striking aspect of the Komodo display.  Flower-strewn summer tops caught our attention, and we were tempted by fabric tote bags with floral tie closures.

All too often, Fair Trade clothes appear to us to lack shape, and while this might appeal to the very young, we are looking for items with a bit more structure.  Komodo offers a selection of styles with definite shapes that would be flattering to a range of ages and figures.

Further information on the brand can be found at www.komodo.co.uk, and their latest collection is available to buy on-line  at www.Adili.com                  

21 Things I Love

Butterfly print tee shirts drew us to this display.  Beautifully printed with a large butterfly image on the front, these are part of a collection inspired by butterflies and climate change.  The company say that 10% of the profit from the sale of the special tee shirts will be donated to The Bee Project, a charity set up to draw attention to Colony Collapse Disorder.

This new company offers a very limited number of designs, all beautifully crafted from ethical fabric.  If you have difficulty finding unusual, stylish clothes to fit, this company will adapt their sizing to individual measures.    This level of craftsmanship and service does not come cheap, but the designs are timeless and the garments are of such good quality that they should last for several years.

We both liked a sleeveless top that had a drawstring laced up the back.  This could be adjusted to slightly vary the look of the garment.  It was available in black or neutral linen, and cost £75.  The sizes range from UK 8 to 16.

Find out more at their website www.21thingsilove.com

B Never Too Busy to be Beautiful

This display drew swarms of women, like bees to a pot of honey.

It’s lovely to have another company that sells ethical make-up.  We both use (and love) the Body Shop, but are pleased to have an alternative source of guilt-free goodies.  Their product range is beautifully packaged in little sparkly containers, included decorated tiny cubes of lip-gloss. These would look gorgeous on a dressing table, or could draw envious looks if one produced one from a handbag to reapply make-up.

The range was modestly priced (for example, a lipstick costs £9.80) and would make ideal gifts for teenage girls.

This company has four shops, two in London (Oxford Street and Covent Garden), and one in Leeds (21 Commercial Street) and Poole (29b High Street).  We think this range is so gorgeous that we predict one of us will visit a shop soon.

Check out their website www.bnevertoobusytobebeautiful.com.