Accessories | Ecouterre

Jeremy Mays Makes Literary Jewelry From Cross-Sections of Old Books

Anamu Recycles Vintage Bandanas into Southwest-Style Clutches, Cuffs

Admit it, deep down, you’ve always been a scarf and bandana hoarder. The itch to give your ensemble the proverbial kick always leads to a strikingly printed little square. With Anamu’s recycled-bandana clutches and cuffs, you can have your fix and wear it, too, which means you can pare your avalanche of natty neckerchiefs down to a more manageable drift.

Kate Cusack Makes Marie Antoinette Wigs From Household Plastic Wrap

Photos by Kristiina Wilson

Ecouterre isn’t a fan of Saran Wrap or its clingy, plasticized ilk, but we can’t help but be enamored of these Marie Antoinette-style wigs by designer Kate Cusack. Crafted entirely from the common household film—we’re pretending she gleaned her supplies from the aftermath of …

Win an Upcycled Leather Purse From ReFind Originals (Worth $300!)

What happens when you’re a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n roll? For starters, you’ll want a bag to match. We’ve joined forces with Green With Glamour to give away a one-of-a-kind Cali bag by ReFind Originals. Crafted from buttery-soft repurposed leather (castoff jackets and ripped upholstery are the usual suspects), the go-with-everything carryall comes embellished with a handmade wooden buckle and a pair of fringy tassels—perfect from hopping from mosh pit to hoedown.

TO ENTER THIS FABULOUS GIVEAWAY
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2. LEAVE A COMMENT telling us what your go-to fall accessory. We’ll pick the response we like the best, so be as detailed and creative as possible!

Regenesi Recycles Bike Reflectors, Eyeglasses into Mother-of-Pearl Jewelry

The Re-Circle jewelry collection by Regenesi only looks like mother of pearl. The lustrous, inner-shell-like pieces are actually made from a potpourri of recycled plastics, including repurposed buttons, eyeglasses, bag handles, car-warning triangles, and bicycle reflectors. Designed by Finland’s Kaisli Kiuru for the burgeoning Italian design house, the line of necklaces, earrings, and bracelets is sartorial subterfuge at its cleverest.

8 Green Grooming Tips For Guys

For most guys, good grooming habits are a necessity. Unless you’re a lumberjack or a world champion beard grower, shaving face is saving face during the 9-to-5 work week. But even though you may be condemned to drag a razor across your mug on a daily basis, your shaving ritual doesn’t have to be painful for yourself or the environment. Quick-to-dull disposable razors and chemical-laden facial products are abrasive affronts to freshly shorn skin, and they’re equally unhealthy for the environment at large. Read on for five eco-friendly men’s grooming supplies that take care of your body and the planet.

The Andean Collection’s Fall 2010 Jewelry Line Is As Ethical As It Is Elegant

Make Lina Rennell’s Easy DIY Scrap-Fabric Belt

Minimalist Wallet by Holstee Made From Recycled Plastic Bags, Newspapers

Minimalists who like to keep their billfolds from looking like a poor man’s booster seat will appreciate Holstee’s frills-eschewing wallet, which has just enough slots to stash a handful of essentials. Made from recycled newspapers and plastic bags harvested from the streets of Delhi, each one-of-a-kind wallet reduces landfill waste, while providing fair-wage employment, healthcare, and education for …

Styleta: A Place to Buy, Donate Designer Clothes to Fund Women’s Causes

Feel-good style gets collegiate with Styleta, a nonprofit network of university students that rounds up donations of designer threads to raise money for women’s initiatives. Harnessing the power of e-commerce and social networking—we wouldn’t expect any less from plugged-in Gen Y—the Harvard-based organization tackles its triple bottom line with youthful exuberance: money for charity, less landfilled trash, and nonprofit work experience for its degree-pursuing staff.

For Alyce Santoro of Sonic Fabric, Off-Grid Living is Always in Fashion

Multimedia artist Alyce Santoro may be best known in the fashion community for her woven cassette-tape Sonic Fabric, but the conceptual artist, activist, and homesteader contains multitudes we’ve only begun to see. Once a member of a grassroots artist enclave in Brooklyn, Santoro now holds court in West Texas, where she lives an almost off-grid lifestyle accompanied by the hum of her solar-powered sewing machine. We caught up with the creative powerhouse to learn why she considers Sonic Fabric more conceptual art than upcycling statement, the reason she abandoned New York City for the Texan desert, and how she managed to whittle her electric bill down to $14 each month.

“Living” Dress, Made From Recycled Inner Tubes, Changes Every Season

Photos by Hermanna Prinsen

When the Amsterdam Centre for Architecture (ARCAM) asked fashion designer Mattijs van Bergen and landscape architect Anouk Vogel to collaborate on a crossover piece, the duo was immediately struck by the disparity of their respective fields. Van Bergen, for instance, was beholden to the tempo of the ever-shortening fashion cycle, while Vogel’s living designs flourished and evolved season after season. For ARCAM’S Fashion & Architecture exhibit, van Bergen and Vogel chose to design a dress that would be the antithesis of fast fashion—a living object that brought each season to life with changing floral arrangements.

Love Black Leggings? So Do Dengue-Carrying Mosquitoes, Warns Thailand

Photo by shelleygibb

Black leggings may be de rigueur for the fashion set, but their wearers also run the risk of attracting dengue-transmitting mosquitoes, warn health authorities in Thailand. “It’s worrying how people dress nowadays, especially the youth,” gripes Deputy Health Minister Pansiri Kulanartsiri to The Telegraph. Mosquitoes, he notes, are drawn to dark clothing, and with the country’s June through September rainy season in full swing, Pansiri recommends swapping the opaque tights for thick, light-colored garments—say, pale-wash jeans. (Wearing leggings when pants are in order, Ecouterre must add, is a fashion don’t no matter the season.)

The Opulent Project Upcycles Fluorescent Lights Into Chandelier Earrings

We’ve seen plenty of surprising uses of recycled materials in our time (reindeer-poop necklaces, anyone?) but earrings cut from salvaged fluorescent-light panel covers are a definite first. These twin chandelier silhouettes by The Opulent Project are charming enough to stand on their …

14 Eco-Chic Back-to-School Clothing, Accessories For Grownups

Imitation and Disguise Dresses You in Eco-Luxe Fashion From Head to Toe

If you stitch it, they will come—or at least, that’s what Jean-Philippe Gawronski hoped when he launched Imitation and Disguise three years ago. The 30-year-old Franco-Brazilian designer, who previously toiled alongside Martin Grant and Alber Elbaz at Lanvin, started his luxurious clothing-and-accessories line as a response to the dearth of green fashion in the luxury market. Its wearer will want for nothing because the range covers every conceivable base: clothing, shoes, bags, and jewelry.

Guerra de la Paz Turns Discarded Clothes into Mind-Blowing Sculptures

Guerra de la Paz isn’t a single person. Rather, it’s nom de guerre of two Cuban-born, Miami-based artists—Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz—who recover landfill-bound clothing and render them into subversive art installations. For Guerra and de la Paz, the reclaimed garments are akin to relics that once defined an individual’s personality. Arranged together en masse, however, they become part of a larger message, raising their voices in unison regarding issues of mass consumption, international conflict, and environmental degradation.

Carro Upcycles Thrift-Store Menswear Into Preppy Back-to-School Carryalls

If Mad Men mania is driving back the return of the power suit, then consider Carro the Don Draper of backpacks, satchels, and messenger bags. The Argentinean label, which loots thrift stores for vintage clothing and preloved men’s suits, offers a sharply tailored range of carryalls …

Bright Young Things Invites Bloggers to Play Dress-Up with Its LBD

Walmart, Luxury Labels to Track Clothing With Electronic “Smart” Tags

Privacy advocates, prepare to have a field day. Walmart has just announced plans to embed individual garments with scannable electronic ID tags, the first step in a real-time tracking system for controlling inventory and preventing theft, according to the Wall Street Journal. Starting August 1, the big-box retailer will be placing removable radio-frequency ID (RFID) tags on its jeans and underwear, a move that will allow its employees to find out which sizes are missing from the shelves—and what additional items remain in the storeroom—with a wave of a handheld scanner.