I fell off the blogo-sphere for the past couple weeks. After working over-time all of June to help out EfG on a grant and I was in serious need of balancing out my life away from a computer.

But during that time I've had a few adventures around London and I've saved it up to share with you all so we are back up and running ladies and gentlemen.

The first of my ventures was to Shoreditch and Bricklane Vintage:

When I mentioned to one of my London-savy friends that I loved vintage shopping (Kennsington Market, Toronto I miss you sooo much!), she immediately said I needed to go to Bricklane.


Defining what makes a shop vintage and not just used is always a bit tricky. According to the gosel which is Wikipedia, vintage is any clothing from the 1920's to about 20 years ago. But vintage stores like those in Kennsington or Bricklane are just as likely to carry:

a) More selective chosen second-hand clothing, or

b) Clothing that is iconically from the 90's, 80's or 70's... maybe 60's and if you are very lucky 50's

Oh how are standards have fallen! Well yes and no. You can still find those true to the name vintage stores but expect also to hand over more cash for that honest to god 40's or 30's pieces.

Just like charity shopping for many people is more about thrifty than ethical living, vintage shoping often about a conscious style desire. But that doesn't mean you don't get ethical points for shopping there because you are still recycling clothing.

When you compare charity shop vs vintage shop the general rule of thumb is that you do spend more money but you can end up getting a more unique look.  Which is either a plus or minus depending on your personal style. I wouldn't really describe my style as 'vintage' or 'vintage inspire' but I enjoy hunting for pieces that add something different while not going entirely overboard.


This trip I managed to pick up two jackets. I pick up a lot of jackets from vintage because:

1) Tailored items don't usually loose their shape so they are great to buy used
2) Jackets are often pretty classic as long as you avoid crazy shoulder pads, or extreme lengths
3) Pairing them with an otherwise modern wardrobe and you have a good blend of old and new style

I grabbed this camel coloured blazer. I like the menswear feel of it (with sleeves wide enough to fit a jumper under, very London necessary). It has a bit more shoulder padding than I would normally like, but I haven't decided yet whether I will take them out or not.

Somewhat ironically, it says it was made in Canada. How it founds its way to a thrift-shop in London, who knows? (mystery!)

 I also grabbed a waxed jacket. Waxing is a way of waterproofing canvas material and I own a waxed bag which has held up to all sort of abuse. On the partical side, I have learned you can never have enough raincoats in London and I've been yearning after the Barbour waxed jackets. This waxed jacket could pass for theirs (and it may actually be, the label is gone) but at 10 pounds its way easier on my budget.

I know a lot of people get turned off of vintage because of the smell. And let me tell you, the waxed jacket was in need of airing out when I got it. Here are some tips on getting the musty smell out of your clothing finds:

Seven popular tricks
http://www.athriftymrs.com/2011/07/7-tips-for-removing-that-charity-shop-smell.html

But since the waxed jacket can't be washed, I'm going to try this trick that MadMen used to get the musty smell out of their pieces:

http://dashfieldvintage.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to-get-musty-odors-out-of-vintage.html

Will keep you posted on its success!















It's really hard to talk about ethical living, (or just living for that matter) without talking about food. Food is a serious part of my life. I mean that I LOVE cooking and fresh produce and meat and veg, and pretty much live for farmers markets and the best ingredients I can get my hands on.


With no shortage of produce available just across the street, I started to wonder about the environmental and social impact of that long journey most veggies make to our super markets. most fresh produce (fruit and veg) travels about 2000km (1242mi) from field to plate. This means that when most of your food is grown, it is actually picked before it is ripe, and travels in huge containers filled with ripening agents so it will continue to ripen on its journey. This results in food being..well...less than the delicious stuff it should be. 

This is where Mama Earth Organics comes in.

MamaEarth connects you with amazing local Ontario farmers, bakeries, and food providers. The even better part is that they deliver it all right to your door. You can also check out which farmers MamaEarth works with and see how close your food really is. 

The Baskets

When you sign up, you get to choose what type of basket you get. 
  • Single - $27
  • Regular - $35
  • Family - $45
  • Large - $55
With two of us in the house we decided on the regular basket which they suggest is a good size for two people. When weighing the pros and cons of getting MamaEarth, the only con we could think of was that it at first seems a bit expensive; until we went over our regular grocery bill that is. We discovered that we regularly spend at least $35 a week on produce, and it normally isn't locally grown or organic so we decided it was well worth it. 

How It Works


You can get a good understanding of how the actual process works by checking out the website, but the general idea is that you get a basket (reusable tupperware container) filled with your order. Every week you put the basket outside on your delivery day (which is different depending on where you live) and it will be magically replaced with a new basket filled with goodies!

You can also customize your basket for $2, and add extras to your basket like eggs, cheese, or baked goods (I highly recommend the St. Urbain bagels). 

My Goodies This Week


This week was a great haul with lettuce from Norman Zehr in the Kawarthas, snap peas from Ted Eng in Zephyr and Japanese cucumbers from The New Farm. Knowing the names of the people who are producing your food is actually pretty cool. We also got Ontario beets, broccolette, kale, mango, bosc pears, tomatoes and zucchinis.  

Since getting MamaEarth Organics delivered I have definitely noticed myself eating a ton more vegetables since we make sure everything is eaten up before the next delivery arrives. 

Check our MamaEarth Organics and reinvigorate your diet with some amazing produce and support local farmers and food producers.

Local Farmers
About Mama Earth
How it Works

World Map image sourced from www.dnatraceback.com/

The Brand

Be.Better is Rexall's house brand of more natural and "better-for-you" products ranging anywhere from snacks, to shampoo. Rexall's website states "[the] exclusive Be.better brand offers over 270 products designed to help Canadians live, feel and be better."

 I'll be looking specifically at their Coconut Oil Body Wash  (385 ml) and also the matching Coconut Oil Hand & Body Lotion. Each are about $6.00 CAD.

The Products

Let's start with the Coconut Oil Body Wash. Like with other "healthy" beauty products what you are looking for is what is NOT in the product as much as what is. This body wash is paraben and phthalate free, free of artificial colour and dye free, and also SLS and SLES free.



Since there is no SLS or SLES in this it does struggle a little bit with the foaming, but not enough to put me off at all.

This product smells wonderful and definitely has that sweet coconutty scent that you would expect. The down side is that  this body wash is thick. Like really goopy thick. With the pump dispenser it makes getting the product out of the container a real battle, especially when you are in the shower and everything is rather slippery. I'd highly suggest transferring this into another container, or just not using the pump.

Next up is the Coconut Oil Hand & Body Lotion. After jumping out of the shower applying moisturizer is normally the first thing I do. Unlike the shower gel, the pump dispenser for this works wonderfully and doesn't cause any problems.

The consistency isn't that thick and very similar to some other large brand moisturizers like Vaseline or Aveeno. This goes on smoothly and rubs in nicely. The scent is somewhat coconutty, but a bit floral as well? I don't hate it, but it isn't what I want when I buy a coconut oil moisturizer.

All in all, these products are both just ok. They are pretty good for the price, however they fail to wow. They are worth a try if you are on a budget, but I likely wouldn't buy them again.

The Company


Trilogy is a New Zealand brand. Originally founded by two sisters, it prides itself on creating natural skin products that delivers great skin care results. Amazing things about their company include:

  • First carbon-neutral skin care company in New Zealand
  • Cruelty free
  • Certified as only using natural ingredients
  • Only use the term 'organic' for certified organic ingredients (no false advertising!)
  • Website contains a list of ALL ingredients in their lines, why its included and what products contain it

The Skin

So when you are reading anyone's skin care reviews, my first thought is what is their skin like. I find my skin a bit confusing. If I go to a beauty counter, I'm frequently told I have larger pores and out come the oil control products and deep cleansing product. I have learned the hard and acne-ridden way, that what keeps my skin looking good is actually lots and lots of hydration. So now, I keep deep cleansing to once or twice a week masks, and focus my daily skin care on getting moisture and brightening my skin tone after years of acne scaring. 

But can you really improve your skin tone with an all-natural product? I introduced these products one at a time, to really see what difference they could make.

The Products


I started using just this product first. All I need is 2-3 drops a night, which when you have a 30 ml bottle means a lot of bang for your buck. I think its a total dupe for the Aesop facial oil and half the price. I think this is real source of clearing up my skin tone. Everything from the sun exposure last year to bad scaring from those annoying under the skin zits is fading. At first, I woke up feeling like my skin was a bit oily, but a gentle cleanser in the morning left me with all the results, without an oily finish. 
I was never really sold on all those hydrating mis, but I wanted something light to replace by Caudalie SOS Thirst Quenching Serum. Especially when I first started using the facial oil at night, I felt like all I needed in the morning was a little bit of moisture. Now, I layer it with a daily moisturizer for an extra dose hydration. I also like to sprintz my face when I come home from work as a pick-me up. I swear you spray this on your face and your skin gives a sigh of relief.

After about two weeks of using the facial oils, I realized that my skin could also handle a night time moisturizer. In fact, it wanted even more moisture (greedy thing that it is). I just use a little bit of the thick cream at night over top of the oil. This is the other thing I credit with evening out my skin tone. I think its really increased the results over the last couple weeks.


Rosapene Lip-Gloss
There are a lot of moisturizing lip gloss/balm/stains out there these days and I have tried many of them. But I have never used anything like this one. It very much feels and looks like a red tinted lip gloss on, but you can feel it working as a moisturizer the way you would with a balm. I'm very sad to discover they don't make it as a separate product! Its sold with their Rosehip Oil. I would honestly go out an spend money on this. Need to lobby to get it added to the product line!

The Proof It Works

So the final test, isn't what I say but the results! Here is my skin, make-up free, unfiltered and in natural light. Kaila will back me up on this. This is amazingly clear for me! 

I've even switched to using a tinted moisturizer instead of foundation. But its not only look. When I run my fingers over my skin, I have very few little bumps of congestion. You wouldn't think that it would be facial oil and moisturizer that would reduce skin congestion, but just goes to show you, that hydration works wonders! 

If you have breakouts or you have scars from breakouts, get your hands on some naturally-based rosehip oil by Trilogy. My skin absolutely loves it!
As Adrienne mentioned, I've been dealing with some house issues recently. With all this rain Toronto has gotten, it appears my roof is leaking into my bedroom. On top of that, my best friend has recently gotten engaged and wedding planning has begun! However with all the life chaos there is still something that I think everyone should be very aware of this summer (shopping season) in Toronto, and that is an ethical option for some seriously awesome clothes!

The Kind Exchange


Used clothing is a great way to reduce your ecological foot print and get some extra mileage out of clothing that would otherwise be thrown away. When clothing often comes with such a high human cost, it only makes sense to use it for as long as possible. 

In Toronto the most known (and biggest) options for used clothing are Value Village, Salvation Army and Goodwill. All of these have great potential and with much time and commitment you will inevitably find something you may like, or even love.

The Kind Exchange takes a bit of that endless searching out of your fashion adventure because nearly everything in the store is high-end and relatively new. They currently have 9 locations in the city and give a portion of their proceeds to The Canadian Cancer Society and The Partners MS Centre at Bringham & Women's Hospital.


Buy & Sell

The brands available at The Kind Exchange are not just whatever was left in whomever's back closet. Here you can find everything from Alexander Mcqueen to Versace and everything in between.

Along with buying up all these goodies, you can also sell some of your own stuff. After the long winter you can take a look in your closet and see what you can get rid of; bring your items down to the store and they will give you cash on the spot for anything they take a fancy to. Be sure that you are bringing in quality and gently used items, as non-brandname or damaged clothing will be much less appealing for sale.

Trade & Donate

Along with the normal options to buy and sell clothing, The Kind Exchange gives you the option to trade in your old clothes for new ones. By trading in older clothes you double the value of the cash you would have received instead!

Finally you can also just donate old clothing. As a gift in kind you will be making some extra space in that closet of yours, and also feel good knowing that part the sale of your clothing will be going to a good cause.

You can see all their locations HERE and also them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get a heads up about what is in the stores, and also about great deals.



All photos used are from http://instagram.com/thekindexchange and are property of The Kind Exchange.
Poor Kaila is having major house challenges so unfortunately she had to miss a post, but she'll be back as soon as possible!

A month ago I decided to be strategically optimistic about London weather and purchase one summer dress to add to my collection. I chose this black dress from People Tree, as a good base for my summer wardrobe. If you aren't familiar, People Tree is great source for sustainable-made and fair-trade clothing.

When I got the dress and put it on, my first thought was that it might be a little va-va-voom for everyday wear. But I always like to experiment a bit with a piece before I make a decision. And it turns out this piece is incredibly versatile depending how you mix and match it. In fact, its exactly what I wanted, a dress I can get a lot of mileage out. I wanted to share how I've made it works, so one of my friends has helped me photograph some of the looks I've come up with around this piece.

Here are four looks based around this black cotton dress.

Please keep in mind, I've never really done a photo-shoot before, so bear with me!

Ultimate Casual look
 Outfit: Dress + Jean Jacket + neon belt + Birkenstocks

A jean jacket makes so many things that much more casual and can help downplay almost any dress. Its definitely got that 90's vibe too. I took off the belt the dress came with and replaced it with this bright neon one. I've also worn it out with brown braided belt too. My Birkenstocks finish it off as a very beach, park, casual day out look.

I wear this look the most. It makes the dress perfect for just throwing on and hanging around my neighbourhood on hot and sunny days.















Sporty Casual Look

Outfit: Dress + Silver boat shoes + patterned bomber jacket

I like this as more of a downtown shopping. A bit more polished but still very casual. The bomber jacket is silky and light weight which is good for unpredictable english weather. Zipping up the jacket, you could mistake this for a skirt and top combo.











Work Day Look
 Outfit: Dress + Grey Blazer + Off-White work Flats

I do spend 5 out of 7 days at an office. Throwing this long grey blazer over the dress very much transforms it into work appropriate gear. The ruffle disappears and I could be wearing a black straight dress.
 














Going-Out Look

Outfit: Dress + Ankle Boots + Black and Gold Belt

Curve hugging dress obviously deserves big hair and bold lips. Nice heels could make this more elegant but I like the edginess of the ankle boots. I'm waiting for proper warm summer evening to wear this out for cocktails or dancing.















I always want to feel like my wardrobe is a bit fresh, but I'm trying to not go overboard buying a whole bunch of things. After-all sustainable and ethical fashion is often more of an investment price-wise, which for me means making sure I get pieces that go a bit further. And, especially with english weather money on a fresh 'summer wardrobe' could easily be a waste.

So if you want to consider making only one or two strategic summer purchases, I would also recommend pulling open your closet and re-examining what you have and think about those one or two things that could boost your wardrobe for the season.


Ethical fashion is not a new passion for me and over the past few years I've acquired a number of ethical pieces. Starting on my commitment to go 100% ethical got me wondering, how ethical is my closet right now? To answer my own question I have created:

The Wardrobe Audit

So here's a step-by-step look at my wardrobe audit and what clothing items have (or have not) already acquired ethically. 

Step 1: The Clothing Mountain I started my audit by piling all my clothes on my bed in this giant mound. If you had any doubts that I'm a serious clothing shopping addict, let those doubts be erased! Never let it be said that any future success in shopping ethically was achieved because I don't like buying clothes that much.

Step 2: Method to the Madness The aim was to produce four piles - one for ethical purchases, one for used purchases, one for made-by-me and one for unethical clothing. Many of my shoes are still in Canada so I didn't include them (and I didn't include intimates for what I think are obvious reasons)

Step 3: The Overview Here is everything sorted. Going clockwise, top left is made-by me clothing, top right is used-clothing. bottom right is unethical purchases and bottom left is ethical purchases. As you can see, the unethical purchase pile is by far the largest. But I've laid each pile out to give you a better idea of what has fallen into each category.

Step 4: The Unethical mound 53%: We've got all your clothing categories here. I could put together many unethical outfits from this all. In my decision to shop ethically, I didn't get rid of any unethical items previously purchased. After all, getting rid of them wouldn't erase having bought them. The plan will be to replace items with more ethical options as I need to.

Sweaters - 6
Coats/Jackets - 6
Lounge and Workout gear - 8
Dresses 6
Skirts and Pants - 8
Handbags - 1
Tops - 16


Step 5: The Ethical Purchase Category 18%:  Most of these ethical purchases are locally-made as opposed to fair-trade (we will get into this difference in another post). Most of them are from Canada like my yoga jeans and multiple items from Preloved. The wonderful grey handbag is fair-trade from a Nepal group (and is still available if you are coveting). I also have a couple of pieces made in Zambia, which I bought them directly from tailors.

Dresses - 5 (including 2 Zambian chitenge outfits)
Skirts and pants - 3
Tops - 8
Handbags - 2


Step 6: Used Clothing 14%: These items have come from friends and family, used and vintage shops and in the case of the great stripped dress, a used clothing market in Tanzania. They are some of the best pieces in my wardrobe too! My most used items in this category include the black coach handbag, and the grey jacket. The navy blouse with white roses is another real treasure, a classic 50's top  with buttons up the back by Christine Dior, which works wonderfully with modern black trousers.

Jackets - 1
Skirts - 2
Tops - 4
Dress - 2
Handbag - 1
Scarves - 3

Step 7: Made By Me 14%: or by my mum, frequently a combination of the two. If you really love clothing, fabrics, cuts, designs, I really suggest you learn to sew. There are few things more satisfying than having someone compliment your outfit and being able to say 'Thanks I made it!' I make a lot of dresses and they are often an easy place to start. My mum also started knitting so now I have some great scarves and hats in my hand-made collection too!

Dresses - 5
Jackets - 3
Lounge Wear - 1
Skirt - 1
Scarves and Hats - 3


What my 'wardrobe audit' proved to me is that there isn't an item of clothing I can't choose to purchase ethical. The only thing that didn't show up in any of the ethical categories was sweaters and I can honestly say thats more do to price than to availability. 

The audit is also a good reminder that I am not exactly in a position of needing to buy anything, which means saving my pennies to put into some great ethical pieces is very do-able for me. Hopefully with time and determination these piles can shift until the unethical one slowly disappears!

I would love to see the balance of other people's wardrobes. Post and tweet #wardrobeaudit