my winter wardrobe - The Kind Life

my winter wardrobe

Posted by Alicia Silverstone on Mar 8, 2010

I'm doing great in the New York weather. Here's kind of a sampling of what I've been wearing lately:

I wear leggings under my jeans and they keep me pretty darn warm. My favorite leggings are organic cotton ones from Birch Clothing that I just got in black. Another favorite pair are by EcoSkin.   And another fun pair are by Wildfox. They are white and have the word LOVE going down the side of the leg. So funky and groovy. However, they are not organic or eco... Just for fun. They are old ones that I have.  

I also love to wear comfy, eco friendly tanks under everything. Lululemon has some good eco tanks, for yoga and for layering. Lots of their clothing is made of regular fabric, but they also make many of their products out of fabrics made from seaweed, wood pulp, and organic cotton. All of these fabrics are low impact. So cool! If you go to one of their stores, just ask them to show you all of their eco clothing.

I also have this grey Topo Ranch tank (pictured above) that I love, that is also eco.

And socks... I really like these black eco socks that I have. They are from the Naturals Collection from Hot Sox. Hot Sox has super comfy socks. The socks are made out of rayon (i know this is not eco but I believe it's a small part of a very eco product), tactel, bamboo, soy, flax and organic cotton yarns. These are the warmest, comfiest socks ever. They are my favorite right now, but if anyone has any good suggestions let me know. Also, I always like the socks I get from Maggie’s Organics. They are not super winter socks... But they work just fine for 35 degree and above weather. They are super soft and comfy! I also just got some super cute striped socks from Acorn. They aren’t eco, but are just super cute and very very warm and comfy.

I really need a great pair of walking shoes that you can walk 30 blocks or more in and feel comfortable in, but are also weather proof. I love my vegan Adidas shoes because they are super comfy, but they aren't really appropriate for extreme cold and rain. They are really great, and I might get another pair... The only problem is that they have these tiny little air holes in them, so when it’s cold my feet can feel it! So I'm on the shoe hunt and I will report back on what I find. But if anyone has solved the great shoe mystery let me know! I recently solved part of this mystery with my grey vegan Rubber Duck boots.

But if anyone knows of any other great cold weather shoes, let me know! I’d love to know if you’ve found shoes that are vegan, eco, super comfy walking shoes? I sometimes walk 45 minutes at a time, so I need something super comfy.

I also love long-john undershirts. I don't have any new eco-friendly ones, but I just went to some used clothing stores and bought a bunch there (plus the ones I've had for 10 years). Does anyone know of any other eco-friendly brands that make a great long sleeve shirt?   I have really been loving these J.Crew long sleeve shirts that I have... My friend had to force me to buy them, as they aren’t eco, aren’t used, and I was being stubborn. But they are truly going to be in my closet for the rest of my life. Things that I love, like these shirts, will be worn until they are covered in holes!

I also found more long sleeve shirts from Rawganique, which are best as pajamas.

This is a picture of Christopher wearing the Rawganique PJ pants. He has the whole outfit, and looks so cute when he wears it! And they are definitely eco.

Sweaters - I'm wearing all used, thrift store finds. Right now I'm wearing a cotton hoodie layered and that's working out just fine but I need some more. I want to buy vegan, preferably eco-friendly ones that are cute. Any ideas? I always go for used ones but I'd like the community to see some great new eco options too.

I also have my beloved PI Organic black cardigan that I just adore. It’s so chic... And VERY warm!! It’s my favorite. You can check out their website HERE.

I'm loving my Patagonia coat (pictured below) which I've had for many, many years now.

Patagonia is a cool company because they have a ‘Freedom to Roam’ initiative, that is dedicated to establishing migration wildways for animals between protected areas. You can learn more about this great program HERE. Patagonia also has a program called “Common Threads Garment Recycling Program”, where they let customers return their old coats for recycling. They’ve since been able to expand the list of recyclable garments to include worn out Patagonia® fleece, Polartec® fleece clothing (from any maker), Patagonia cotton T-shirts, and now some additional polyester and nylon 6 products that come with a Common Threads tag. Patagonia says, “Through Common Threads we can transform your unusable garments into new clothing, which gets us closer to a long-standing company goal of taking full responsibility for every product we make”, which is amazing! They also use lower impact dyes and organic cotton in a lot of their clothing. I really love my Patagonia coat! It’s very warm and pretty darn cool looking... but isn’t completely Sex And The City (although, I don’t know if there are any good coats for snow and rain that would be Sex And The City!). Definitely open to finding a cool, sexy coat! Anyone have any thoughts there? Must be very warm, possibly eco-friendly... or at least a vegan coat made for super freezing, snowy conditions. I also have two old vintage coats that I wear, and love! I’m really happy with the coats that I have been using, but am always happy to learn about more great companies and great styles to share with this community.

Also, if you like the anti-fur pin that I'm wearing on my Patagonia coat, you can get one HERE.

I also just invested in a really fancy rain coat that is going to be with me for at least 10 years... If not more! It’s so nice, and I’ve been wearing it all the time. It’s super fancy pants... I wore it on Oprah, and am kind of shy to say that it’s Burberry. Totally not eco, but so good looking, and will last me forever. Trust me, I put a lot of thought into this coat before buying it! I went back to the store 3 times before taking it home with me!

I have this great pink bamboo scarf by Naturally Knotty that is actually really warm. it's definitely toasty for very, very cold weather. And I have a black, organic scarf by Maggie’s Organics that is very good, but too thin for snow and super cold temps. It's great style for the West coast cold that I'm used to... and perhaps for an above average New York winter. And last but not least, I have a cool vintage linen scarf which is very good for the cold. What do you guys use?   The rest of my scarves are from thrift stores and I love them.

I just bought an amazing pair of gloves... They are so warm, I love them, because they are made of recycled fleece, and are totally eco. I got mine at REI.

What are you wearing while it's chilly outside?

STYLE section kindly sponsored by Susan Nichole Handbags

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35 Responses

Michele Powell
Mar 9, 2010
28

http://www.veganessentials.com/ I like this site.

Jeanine Allen
Mar 11, 2010
29

Check out Keen shoes. They have vegan lines and use recycled materials as does J41 (they use recycled tires for their soles!) Both companies offer super comfy shoes that are fun and alittle different.

fran johnson
Mar 11, 2010
30

I am just beginning a lifestyle change and love the fact that I can find all sorts of great clothes from this website.

Michelle Gruver
Mar 13, 2010
31

I love the book. Thanks for writing it. I recommend camilla norrback long sleeved sustainable organic shirts for the cold weather. Also recycled cashmere sweaters and dresses by ekologic.. with hats to match! Yummy and very warm.

Inactive User
Mar 15, 2010
32

Hello all, I recently got eco trainers by 'Simple' they use either organic or recyclable materials in their products, and they are so stylish and desirable! Their website has loads of different styles of vegan shoes!

Andrea Walker
Mar 19, 2010
33

These are all awesome products!! I absolutely love Zkano organic cotton socks. I was amazed at their thickness and they are great for sensitive feet like mine www.zkano.com