Vert Couture: Chicago Fashion Week Goes Green from Conscious Living TV on Vimeo.

I’m sure with the snow flying, LA transplants Michael & Bianca Alexander are wondering why they’ve moved into blizzard-ville but we are sure happy they did! Creators of the oh so fabulous Conscious Living TV, they interview, inspire, and create more for the conscious community. We’re so lucky to have them!

View one of their latest episodes above, to see the fashion show they not only covered but created and hosted- Vert Couture- Chicago’s first all green fashion show at Fashion Week, including Vaute Couture & other favorite Chicago & beyond eco-conscious labels (Mohop Shoes, Kaillia Footwear, Frei Designs, and Mountains of the Moon, to name a few!). I showed a few current FW09 outerwear pieces in conjunction with some couture looks handpainted and constructed from remnant fabrics from my 8 months of fabric research. (Yes, my very limited SS10 collection is still to be fully unveiled. shhh!) It also included yum vegan food from the Great Taste Cafe and eco-cocktails by Veev. You can see my picture post here.

xoxo

Come hang with us this month and help us infuse love and laughter in with the Preordered Coats of our very first season! We’ll be creating our own assembly line of awesomeness the week of October 19th and October 26th in the Logan Square neighborhood, and we need YOU to help us ship all those preordered coats! If you’re available for one of these volunteer shifts for both weeks (i.e. Mondays), please email me at Leanne@VauteCouture.com with your first and last name, email, cell phone, & shift(s) available! We really really need you!  Free tee for helping out- whichever size/style you want, of course. xo.

NYC FIT MODELS!

Gasp, I can barely believe it but we are deep in development for next year already.  So now, we need fabulous Fit Models (Shoutout to Chrissy- our amazing Chicago fit model for 09-hollerrrr!) for next year’s coat line, this time in New York City (New York City!). If you fit the measurements to the right and have some availability on weekday afternoons (we’ll work with your schedule), please send your name, email address, phone, measurements, typical size coat, and weekday availability for mid-late October and November, all to Leanne@VauteCouture.com. If it’s a good fit (har har), you’ll get an inside scoop as to our inner workings, new season’s styles, and be a very special part of our second line- how fun is that? You must enjoy trying on stuff that’s not finished, people poking at you (hey!!!), and having to turn while people look at you. Oh it’s all in a days work… and we will love you for it!

hope to hear from you!! We can’t do this without you!

warmest,

*ALSO* Pioneer vegan bag label- Matt & Nat will have their holiday preview on hand. And, local vegan & eco-conscious shoe label Mohop Shoes trunk show too!

And what vegan party would be complete without something yummy for your tummy? Appetizers from Artfully Delicious veg caterer using local label Upton’s Naturals seitan, with smoothies from newbie the Protein Bar will be on hand to delight your t-buds.

Not vegan and want to learn more? We’ll be chatting about the lifestyle, all are welcome!

Vegan Style Night: Monday September 14^th 6-8pm (FREE to attend!)

At: Pivot Boutique 1101 W Fulton Market, Chicago (Directions here).

RSVP: Click to RSVP on Facebook (optional)

Hope to see you!!

warmest,

soul veg at the taste! gyros-bbq twist-tamales-sweet potato pie

 If someone says “Chicago in the Summer” what’s the first thing you think of? in one word? and go! …and leanne’s word is–FESTIVALS! I had no idea other cities weren’t as fest obsessed as us until I visited others’ dog days and said- something’s missing!! I think it’s our way of making the most of every day of our short-lived hot weather by having 20 or so huge community gatherings every weekend and I love it (okay, maybe not twenty but lots! check out the city fest guide here, and suburb guide here)! Oh how I love it. I love the crowds (no, really!), the sun, the tents, the music…. ahh but what about the food?  The one thing that I didn’t jump for was a lack of options, though I never really minded enough to stay away.  The Taste became an annual tradition of watermelon and those fresh potato chips, then Nate and I would hop a bus to Chinatown for veg mushu and sesame almond milk drinks… 

Upton's Vegan Ribs at Ribfest (via Delicious Cafe) were Deelish-fest!

But this summer has turned a new page for veg-heads in chicago! 1. Rib Fest offered up a Vegan Rib option- created by the fabulous and local Upton’s, served up by the wonderful new Delicious Cafe (which I have YET to visit because our schedules just don’t jibe! soon though! soon!) 2. And this past week, the Taste became a feast of Soul Veg- gyros, tamales, bbq on a stick, all finished off with sweet sweet sweet potato pie. The tent was like it’s own little Meatout revolution with Chicagoans trying veg for the first time. It made me smile.

10/10 at the Pulaski Fieldhouse

Oh and hey! Besides normal fests going veg-friendly, there are two Veg Fests I’m getting excited for! 1. Veggie Fest in Naperville- August 8th and 9th- including the Diner, Karyn’s, and lots others. and Chicago VeganMania, which will be a huge Vegan Fest of food and fabulousness on October 10th at the Pulaski Fieldhouse in Wicker Park. You can join their facebook to keep in touch!  

SO YAY! What’s your summer obsession? If I visited your city this summer- let me know what not to miss!

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Knock three times, on the door if you love… animals? fashion? new artists? okay-maybe we won’t have a secret knock (or is that a secret question?), hmm– we’ll see. (and you’ll be the first to know. promise.)  No for real, we’ll just be happy you stopped by. Stopped by where? you ask. Silly me, I’ve gotten ahead of myself. So we’ve been holding this one in for months now, but here goes-

We. Vaute Couture. Have. Joined. Green Exchange. World’s first sustainable (LEED Certified) center of green businesses, opening later this year in home sweet home Chicago- Logan Square Neighborhood.  

When I graduated from undergrad with a degree in Education and Philosophy and realized I wasn’t meant to be a teacher, I had to ask myself- what was it that I absolutely loved to do, like jump for joy would (did) do it for free live breathe love to do? I went back to Junior Year of college- when I started an animal issues group at DePaul called DePaul Voice for the Animals… teams volunteering at Chicago Animal Care, Meatouts on campus, adoptions, protests, speakers, puppies at Senior Homes, humane education for 5th graders.. but it wasn’t just the work that I loved. It was a larger association of groups ours was a part of that had a dozen other organizations on campus all working towards justice and service for Chicago in their own passionate way. This was my heaven. So, when gx asked me if Vaute Couture would want to join in with sustainable creative businesses from all over the city, come into work everyday with inspired people all doing their own thing to help out, create crazy cool national events together, and not to mention the GORGEOUS Leed Certified renovated underwear factory turned State of the Art Center- I had no way to tell my heart no while it shouted YES!

You can read my Green Exchange interview called “VEGAN IN VOGUE” HERE.<–

Chicago may not be heralded as the fashion capital of the world yet, but for the animal kingdom it is. Designer Leanne Hilgart is out to make a groundbreaking fashion statement: you can look breathtaking without the help of animal hides.

Leanne founded Vaute Couture in September to produce runway-quality fashion without using leather, fur, down or even wool. Her first focus is the fashion woe of fabulous animal lovers everywhere and inspired by the Windy City’s longest season- a fabulous winter coat. All of her materials are sourced without a single finger laid upon a single animal. We sat down with Leanne to learn more about her products, her mission and her vegan values…“ YOU CAN READ THE INTERVIEW HERE if ya like.

Visit GREEN EXCHANGE here. Hope you’ll visit!!

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like coldstone for vegans. milkshakes, smoothies, & pudding too. yum.

There’s a new cool in town, yes, it’s vegan options at “regular” (okay, super hip omni) eateries. I’ve always been the girl on the late (AWESOME) Chicago summer nights when everyone heads to Coldstone, and all I’ve got to try is their sorbet. Again. (check out this amaze-a-thon of fast food options for vegans list HERE, btw)

But no longer! iCream, Wicker Park’s new techno-ice cream wonder creates ice cream on the spot using their Jetsons-style liquid nitrogen machines, with natural extracts in a list of flavors. Then come the mix-ins- fresh fruit, sauces, candies, etc. They also make hot pudding, smoothies, and milk shakes. BUT HERE’S THE BEST PART. They have a VEGAN OPTION for everything. No, seriously. There isn’t anything you can’t make a combo of for yourself, because they have a soymilk option for all of them, and tons of vegan mix-ins as well. Oh, and did I mention it’s super convenient? Right off the Blue Line Damen Stop. I’ve been there twice this week. See you there!

SECOND. Pizza Fusion (NAPERVILLE).  So this town has won all sorts of awards for “best place to raise your kids” and ” suburb that feels like a city except with more popped collars and exposed brick” (okay I made that last one up) and now they’ve got me- for best vegan pizza options at a pizzeria.  Oh wait, I haven’t been there yet- hold the acceptance speech! My girl Nicole and I are planning a metra trip out to this place, which just opened LAST WEEK. They make their vegan pizzas with Skinny Bitch favorite  Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheese . Do you think they’ll have Chicago Style? *mouth watering* Mm, either way, there’s something about ordering a pizza like a normal person at a normal place that makes me giddy. Will let you know how it goes! 

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Addicted to fall? Who isn’t! For all you fall-aholics like me, there are plenty of ways to love fall even more this month– three great eco-tastic ways to be exact!

1. METHOD DETOXES CHICAGO (until Sunday!)CanDoNoWrong Method Home has their Chicago popup store for 2 days more, until SUNDAY, in Lincoln Park, at 2034 N Halsted (blocks from the brown/purple Armitage stop). Their fun Detox Chicago party includes a swap of harmful stuff for discounts/freeness on the good stuff! Can’t beat that! These pop-up shops come all the way from Method’ R&D beginnings which allowed them to inexpensively find out which products peeps on the streets loved. Smart and beautiful. I like that.

Get your butt over there asap, like Miss Amy Smart did last weekend.(thanks Ecorazzi!) I’ll be making my visit asap!

2. GREEN & CHEAP COSTUMES!  When people dare ask me, are you celebrating Halloween this year? I typically look at them incredulously and exclaim– EST-TU FOU?! (That’s “Are you crazy?” in my bad took 6 years of French attempt.) Halloween is but the only holiday to dress up to my heart’s content, try on the persona of a great American cartoon character, and be someone else for a day- what’s not to love?I’m proud to say I’ve dressed up every year since birth… right, Mom?Don’t have an idea for a costume yet? Then you have to run over to the Buffalo Exchange in Wicker Park, (blocks from the Blue Line Damen stop) with tons of costumes worn ONCE on halloween’s past. C’mon you know how expensive and wasteful that can be! I’m pretty sure the location in Lakeviewdoes the halloween thing too but I can’t be sure. And of course, allll resale shops are filled to the brim with excellent costumes if you just add a little imagination!  I’m going as the little girl in the blue dress with the big mouth. Surprising, I know. 

3. WHAT’s GREEN & READ ALL OVER? Later this month, my lovely friends at the fabulous Open Books Nonprofit are having a massive event called the GREAT AMERICAN BOOK DRIVE, October 26th from 10am-4pm at 213 W Institute Place, Chicago (in River North, a few blocks from the Chicago brown line stop.) This is a drive through book drive, yes! You heard it right– drive/walk up and drop off all those fabulous reads you’ve partook all knowledge possible from that you’d love to pass on to other thought-hungry people in Chicago. All profits go to funding this creative & inspiring org’s Literacy programs, as they say “It’s about literacy, not landfill.” Heck yeah! Can’t get your butt to stop by? Sign up for a zipcar pickup instead. And of course, if you’re filled with love for literacy (who isn’t?) and all things green, sign up to volunteer!

***Yay for lots of fun ways to be green & gorgeous this month! 

Warmest,