It's Fashion Revolution week, friends! Some of you who have had the (mis)fortune of getting me started on the topic of fashion and globalization know that I love talking (on and on AND ON) about this stuff with you, even as you slowly inch toward the door with a trapped look in your eye, trying to find a polite way of cutting me off and escaping! As Red Pony friends you are operating outside the supply and manufacturing chain, lowering the environmental impact of fashion while contributing to a local business PLUS your own sartorial happiness! Keep being mindful and thinking about where your clothes came from, who made them, who profited from them and how they got here...and keep coming in to share your thoughts about it with me!

Ug, I'm so cheesy; let's just talk about what's in the shop right now instead! From one of our departed faves, a Loft 82 dress!

Loft 82 dress; Size S, $38. Necklace, $22.

Along with the triangles in the pattern, there are side cut-outs that are also triangles!

Uh-oh, this is a Preloved shirt, and it means I am going to go into another sustainability love-fest! Preloved is Canadian, friends, started by a woman which uses selvidge vintage fabrics and discarded clothing to create new garments! I have always loved Preloved for the sheer fact that every piece is completely, thoughtfully unique, and I love to imagine what the items were before they became my beloved garment. And you don't have to think too hard to get at the core of what they are doing: reclaiming garments and fabrics that would otherwise go straight to the landfill. AND THEN someone thoughtfully brought this shirt into our shop to divert it ONCE AGAIN from the landfill and into someone's loving arms! This is a mens shirt, friends, and it's the first time I've seen Preloved's mens garments. I love the design feature of that jog across the chest....

.....and look what they did with the button bands on the back!

I love Trippen for their unique architectural designs and the way the quality of materials and construction are magically fully on display. To have these in the shop is truely a special treat!

Check out that wedge sole and exterior stitching on the heel! So unique and so completely typical of what I expect from Trippen!

I mean.....just look!

Weeeeeee, it's a Fridgit dress! Um, so, have I ever told you that I KNOW HER and that that proves how I am super cool and not at all a geek with completely fictional friends?? Yes?? I was once invited to a wedding that she was *also* invited to! I mean, I didn't actually go to that wedding, but, you know, I know her!

There's even a small silk screen print on the back, and I love how the lines on the fabric alternate at the waist!

It's like we are living in a cartoon! These Marc Jacobs flats are cute and elegant at the same time. The use of patent leather here was a great design choice for shoes that are meant for adults! (Note: it kinda looks like there are scratches on them, but they really are brand new; it's just reflections from the store lights.)

Friendly, groovy smiley face:

Ha, I love how the bow has a surprised and almost panicked expression! This might be how I looked when I first saw these shoes!

Not only are there sheep on this dress, but....

....there are also the occasional black sheep!!

Yes forever to the Camper Beetle boot!

And one more from Loft 82:

There has been so much activity at the shop, friends! Sugar Swing Ballroom had an evening event at the shop as part of their special Madame Jazz workshop weekend. The idea was that in partnered dancing you get to know the "leads", but you don't get to know the other women. (If anyone knows the non-gendered term I could use here for dancers who are not the ones leading, other then "women", please let me know!) So in the evening all the women/non-leading-dancers came to Red Pony to socialize and get to know one another before the workshop weekend began. What a great kick off!

Some people wanted to purchase clothes, and I had lined up their picks on the rack behind the counter so that their hands were free to eat soft cheeses and hold a glass of wine while socializing. When the first woman was ready to buy her purchases she pointed to a green dress on the rack and asked how much it was. I told her that that particular dress was already spoken for, and she said no-no, she wanted to buy it for the girl who had tried it on. "She said she hadn't planned on buying anything, but that dress looked so nice on her that I really think she should have it," she explained. That's nice, I thought, she's buying it for her niece. When the would-be-niece came to the counter to purchase her dress, I put it in a bag and told her it was already paid for. She looked baffled and was all "what do you mean? who bought it?". It turns out the woman who bought it for her -and secretly slipped out when no one was looking- was A COMPLETE STRANGER!! We both teared up when we realized what had just happened. And then another lady bought a dress to give to a friend who was recently unemployed and going through a hard time. Seriously, friends, this is the kind of lovely people who attend Sugar Swing!

And guess what else? CBC Radio-Canada came to film in the shop!!! It was sooooooo cool!

They were filming for Polyfonik, a French music programme where three emerging artists from Alberta are chosen to represent Alberta in an inter-provincial competition, and then a national showdown!

The piece will run sometime in June; I'll keep you posted!

Friends, I am going out of town, so no blog next week (sorry!). In the meantime, here are some things from the back room (and creepy basement) to tide me -I mean- tide YOU over until the next blog post!

Racoons.....

.....bows....

....and cats await!

I wrote this at Anvil Coffee House, another independent, locally {woman} owned business. When we support independent businesses we make an immediate positive impact on real human beings in our community.