Edited by Amanda Gabriele
If you’ve ever hung your laundry out to dry or streaked your hair with lemon juice, you already know sunshine is a natural oxidizing agent. According to a story on Mashable, Mingce Long and Deyong Wu, scientists from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in China have leveraged this intel and devised a special cotton material that can clean itself when left under ordinary sunlight.
Edited by Jessica Lapidos
Bluefly has gone all Fly and Mighty on us with its cool new blog. They’re working with bloggers all over town to show us what we want to see, and then have it in stock. She Finds dug in to the blogosphere to extract 10 trends to work you into the cold front from top indie fashionheads. See the trends She Finds searched, sifted and found fly and mightily. Try saying that 10 times fast.
Edited by Amanda Gabriele
I know it’s the season for giving, but have you given something to yourself this holiday? These designer handbags are buyer’s-remorse-proof; they are timeless now and forever.
Edited by Hillary Frazier
Louboutin booties for 207$? Dream on. As I’ve now learned from The NY Daily News, if you think crazy markdowns are too good to be true, they probably are. Yes, we all know that sites like Bluefly.com, Guiltgroup, and Hautelook give great deals on designer clothing and shoes (Bluefly sells Louboutin for $200-$1100), but these deals are legit, and the shoes are manufactured in Louboutin factories, not sweatshops in China or Thailand.
Each year, $600 Billion counterfeit products are sold, causing a $512 Billion loss in global sales. And each year, Harper’s Bazaar runs an editorial investigation on fake trade, and the significance of purchasing authentic luxury products. They’ve put together a site called Fakes Are Never In Fashion, to help readers learn the dangers of buying fake, and how to be sure you’re buying the real deal. There’s also a blog called Counterfeit Chic, that tips off online shoppers to fakes, and Lululemon even posted on their site a 9 step how-to for spotting their fakes on the web and on the street.
You may think that buying fakes isn’t a big deal, just a more affordable way to get designer(ish) goods, but aside from being illegal, and costing billions of dollars to the retail industry, most of these goods are produced overseas in sweatshops, under disturbing conditions. NY Daily News reported:
“In a recent sweatshop raid in Thailand, a group of children, all under 10 years old, was found assembling leather purses. Horrifyingly, their limbs had been deliberately broken to keep them from escaping. The owners had tied their lower legs to their thighs so the bones wouldn’t mend.”
After reading this, I’ll never for a second consider following one of the vendors on Canal street down a dark alley or into a shady apartment, and even though I can’t afford luxury designers, I’ll save my money for Portero or Bag Borrow or Steal or buy vintage styles or from a good boutique that’s more in my price range.
Many people might see buying fakes as a harmless crime, but when you think about who is making these fakes, think twice before you buy. You may think you’re ‘sticking it to the man’ by buying ripped off designs, but you’re basically telling the evil man that it’s okay to use and abuse children to make your fake Louis Vuitton handbags and Jimmy Choo shoes. Get smart, and if you can’t afford luxury items, look somewhere else!
