my costumes in time stands still...
While I was in New York performing in Time Stands Still, I was so impressed with what our costume designer, Rita Ryack, found for my character Mandy to wear. The clothes were super stylish, which was perfect for my role, while being crulety free at the same time. I asked her to share some of her insights into searching for vegan clothing with us:
"I have been finding more and more vegan shoes and bags lately! I got some of the clothing I dressed Alicia in from AlternativeOutfitters.com. Her dress for the opening scene was from the Moschino Boutique, and her peasant blouse was from Anthropologie, home of the natural fiber.
We also had an all acrylic sweater from Betsey Johnson that was ultimately rejected, but we loved it. Alicia really loved the boots we dressed her in, which can be found at cheap, trendy shops like Strawberry or Necessary Clothing (these are New York chains, but most towns have some version of these shops).
Steve Madden makes vegan shoes and bags, and the boots were actually an inexpensive knockoff version of those. Now that I know where to get fashionable pleather shoes, I shop for films at these places all the time.
I also like to buy from the vendors on Etsy – it means a lot to them and definitely helps small business. I do worry about synthetics a little, though – because who knows what goes into their production? But rayon is a good fiber – it's made from cellulose. And vintage is, of course, the best!"
I couldn't agree more about the synthetic materials, but I would pick synthetics over animal ingredients any day. I always prefer vintage or used first. "Vintage" is a high-end word for used clothes, and technically vintage really means 1930's and earlier. Any used clothes are my first choice, followed by natural fabrics like hemp, organic cotton or bamboo, then synthetic or regular cotton as a last resort.
Thanks to Rita for sharing her insights with us, and yahooooo for continuing to buy vegan clothes for other shows!! I love her for that, and for being a great costume designer and a groovy lady.
11 comments
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This is about 8 months too late but rayon and bamboo have some issues. Take a look into the solvents used to make them wearable. Sure, they start out as plants but where they go from there is not at all environmentally friendly nor entirely safe for mammalian endocrine systems.
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I love those pink boots you are wearing! It's so sad they do not sell any vegan shoes in my neighbourhood :'(! -
Gosh...I wish i had known about this play- would have loved to see it...i am in NJ so its a quick trip there for me..and thanks for the great info on all the rest..ps..i've used Arbornne and love it but wasn't aware it was vegan based! I will definately use it now..want to try that deox!
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I love all the beauty products featured here. Alicia you have a fabulous eye! Thought I'd also hip you to the botanically-based, vegan-certified products from Arbonne. The products are formulated in Switzerland and include skincare (one of the best anti-aging skincare on the planet!) and beauty and wellness products. I'm currently doing their Seasource 7 Day Detox and I feel so ALIVE. The products are super high quality and the results are astonishing. Check them out at http://www.vidabella.myarbonne.com. -
How do you guys feel about pleather shoes though? Don't they contain chemicals, pvc, etc. that is not good for the planet? Just because they aren't leather doesn't mean they are eco either...they're just vegan because they aren't made from animals. Vegan doesn't equate eco.
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Thanks for sharing this with us Alicia! How great that your costume designer is so clued in a willing to seek out awesome Vegan clothing options.
I totally agree with Elle on how important Fair Trade is and I had no idea that Anthropologie used sweat shop labor. Hmmmm... that's does make me feel different about buying things from there in the future. On the other hand it can be hard to have all items be Fairtrade and also Vegan. I can't imagine how it must be for Alicia being that she is an actress, I mean she probably only has so much say in the clothing picked for her because her clothing has to fit the character she is playing, so I just think it was wonderful that all her clothing was at least Vegan. :-)
It's amazing the more I continue on my Vegan journey the more it's carrying into all aspects on my life. I love how open my eyes are now. I just want to learn and continue growing in my Vegan journey.
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Thanks for sharing this with us, Alicia!
I love that there are costume designers who are just as committed to sustainable and vegan clothing as you are!
I loved the suggestions, however, I noticed that Anthropologie clothing was mentioned. The source of the fabric is very important. However, Anthropologie is unfortunately a company that supports sweat shop labor. This is additionally sad because it means the clothing takes very little money to create (and my friends in clothing production tell me the quality of Anthropologie clothing is not very good), and costs quite a bit retail (for the average American in this economy.
I understand that it is very difficult to make both completely ethical and sustainable choices at all times. I do not always stick to this myself. But, I did want to share how important Fair Trade is to keep in mind because we want to treat not only animals, but other humans as well as we possibly can!
Thanks Alicia! -
This is great!
You were so awesome in this show! I would love to play Mandy! What a great character! You may have posted this before but what did kind of vegan ice cream did you eat on stage?
PS I love that you are vegan and have the energy to do 8 shows a week. It gives me motivation to keep at it!
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Thanks for sharing this! I'm in theatre as well and have recently started to become much more discerning about the parts that I choose (especially commercially, that's a tough area), etc, and it's nice to hear about everybody working together to be cruelty-free and yet still look great!
By the way, the woman I live with saw this play, and she's incredibly difficult to please, and she thought your performance was incredible Alicia! And she's veg too!
Congratulations to both you and Rita!:) -
thanks so much for these sites! i made sure to book mark them.
already on chapter 11 of your book which is fitting since we're going out to eat tonight. i swear it's difficult to read anymore with a crazy ten-month-old monster, er, baby but i can't put your book down!
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