Holiday shopping is almost as exciting as the post-holiday sale shopping that comes on in full force during the month of January. I’ve scooped up beautiful handbags, shoes, jackets and jewelry during this time of the year that I would have never been able to afford otherwise.

In the first week of January, sales are running across the board, and I took the liberty to sniff out my three top picks to buy now and wear later.

1. A Sequin Organic Jersey Kimono Dress from Elsom. Layer it with a pair of leggings, boots, a cute cropped blazer and a vibrant scarf and you’ve got one hot outfit this winter. In the summer, pair it with flats and maybe an oversized boyfriend cardigan for a relaxed look.

2. Skinny Blazer by John Patrick Organic. Every girl needs a good blazer. It’s the LBD of daily wear. You should have a go-to black one, and if you have graduated to a more risky style sense, pretty in pink is the perfect palate for transitioning from winter’s beiges to summer’s whites!

3. NeuAura Plum Heels. Open-toed shoes with layered tights and socks this winter keeps you thick with the fashion pack. When the temperature warms up, lose the layers and go for bare legs.

If you didn’t quite get what you wanted from Santa this year, take it upon yourself to get what you deserve at a discount, and let those pieces carry you through the winter into spring!

The post 3 Pieces to Buy Now (On Sale) to Wear Later appeared first on EcoSalon.

That title is maybe too far a stretch, but after last week’s feasting, stretching – and more crucially, constraining – might be the perfect metaphor for fashion’s brewing trend – outfits and accessories that accentuate the waist.

If you’ve been busy digesting designer pre-fall 2011 offerings, you’ve noticed the subtle references to the waist-friendly 70s that dominated springs/summer 2011 collections continue to endure. At DKNY the long flared pants, tucked in sheer blouses and midi-length skirts were paired with brightly-colored tie belts to give a fresh, modern look to the retro separates.

While the look is often referred to as high waisted, I think what we’re seeing on the runways is actually a return of the natural waist. In terms of traditional garment construction, the natural waist refers to the smallest part of a women’s midsection. Long celebrated as the epitome of femininity, isn’t it strange that a lady-like pulled-in waist silhouette seems like such an anachronism now?

Vintage lovers know first hand that while we are getting bigger overall, the waist has grown more in proportion. There is evidence to suggest the increasing stress of our modern day lives has rendered women more apple-shaped, but I’ve always wondered if there’s a bit of a muscle memory component to it. After years of low-rise jeans, tunics, blousons-style tops and long tees, we’re no longer used to clothes that focus our attention to this area of our bodies. Certainly, women under the age of 45 aren’t. Wearing a corset – or even a tight belt – during your ordinary day of sitting, standing and walking around is an informing experiment. I’ve marveled at how it forces you to tighten the upper part of your torso, automatically giving you the flat tummy and straight back you go to Pilates class for.

Perhaps the easiest way to creating an hourglass shape of your own is to employ an optical illusion or two. Wrap dresses, cardigans and tops that create a deep V neckline are brilliant for this. Royal bride-to-be, Kate Middleton demonstrated the effectiveness of this strategy in her Issa-designed engagement dress, adding the perception of curves to her reedy physique. Anything that highlights a low v-neck, such as a dangly medallion on a chain (very 70’s) works. By building volume at the shoulders and hips, voluminous sleeves, tulip skirts, and boat neck lines are particularly clever for whittling down the look of a waist too. Another trick is is wearing a fitted top and bottom in the same color to create the illusion of length and adding a contrasting belt. My sneaky move in summer is to wear a black top with white jeans to streamline an almost daily ice-cream bloat.

Since we all have a closet full of those blousons-style tops, I’m not suggesting throwing them out this coming season, but simply tucking them in and belting them up. So, if your fashion future is looking nipped in, cinched and knotted at the waist – or you’re thinking of all the money you’ll save on Pilates – you’ll want a new sustainably-made belt. Check out this Obi wrap belt by taxi cdc, made from reclaimed materials. Available from Candystore Collective and Shift Boutique.

The post A Waist Is a Terrible Thing to Waste appeared first on EcoSalon.

The hard working contributors, columnists and editors at EcoSalon are earning their green stripes, blazing the trails and taking their proven commitment to sustainable living beyond the daily blog. Our strides are so darn exciting, we simply can’t keep them to ourselves.

Ready, set, kvel!

Fashion Editor Amy DuFault has stepped over to the other side, opening her own eco haunt, Shift Boutique. Sure to be the next Hyannis, Mass. hot spot, the store peddles sustainable products by Prairie Underground and Dahl, to name just a few emerging green lines. Amy also hosts events through her lifestyle consulting company, Greenover. If that didn’t keep her busy enough – she is signed up in January to teach eco fashion enrichment at her local middle school, helping 12-year-old girls create recycled fashion to showcase on a catwalk at a fashion show.

Contributor Susan Chaityn Lebovits is developing and implementing ways Boston University can reduce its environmental footprint. Susan is the Communications Specialist for Sustainability at the university, and is working to launch a new website in January that will house everything from research on renewable energy to classes that touch on sustainability and energy-saving building retrofits. The site will even help visitors locate bike racks and recycling stations. Meantime, Susan is producing a 15-stop Green Campus Tour Podcast, which covers locations such as the university’s geothermal building.

Anna Brones, our newest contributor, gets all of our votes as the people’s representative for the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. HuffPost in conjunction with Hopenhagen is sponsoring the competition and voting ends December 4th, so cast yours as well! If chosen, Anna would report back daily from the conference as a HuffPost citizen journalist. Anna is the co-founder of Under Solen Media, where she develops social media marketing strategies to positively align brands, causes and adventurers. She’s also been busy helping the Save Our Wild Salmon campaign in the ongoing litigation process to come up with a scientifically sound plan for restoring Columbia-Snake River salmon.

Senior Editor Luanne Bradley will soon appear with her husband, Edwin, in a San Francisco Chronicle article on eco power couples. The feature highlights their daily work for green change. Edwin is an environmentalist and lawyer and Luanne writes the column Life in the Green Lane, a humorous look the modern family going green in the city. Luanne continues her green design consulting, having completed a teacher’s lounge with healthy fibers and vintage Mid-Century furniture.

The Green Plate Columnist Vanessa Barrington is on a daily mission to make the small changes that add up, riding her bike everywhere she can, finding “the car is merely a taxi for the dog to go on walks.” She is limiting her meat and processed food consumption and still working to get one hold-out member of her family to see the joy of giving to charity instead of “stuff” for the holidays. Her garbage can is minuscule and she only fills it once a week! She uses bathwater to flush her toilet and when she is cold, she puts on a sweater instead of cranking up the heat. Of course, she can also make a steaming bowl of delicious soup from one of her dozens of dynamite recipes.

EcoMeme Columnist Lora Kolodny is in a holiday mood, trying to knit a gift-scarf out of bamboo yarn, and looking forward to the Green Drinks holiday party Dec. 8th in NYC. She recently convinced a Manhattan restaurant manager to stop serving coffee in disposable cups by default. Now only to-go patrons get the paper. When not writing for EcoSalon and her blog at the New York Times, she also volunteers for God’s Love We Deliver.

Publisher and EIC Sara Ost has been busy building the green community at EcoSalon through Trashless Tuesday on Twitter (a la Meatless Monday), drawing chuckles and questions cruising around the Bay Area in her Smartcar, hosting Treehugger’s Carnival of the Green recently, and turning up as one of Greenopia’s Green Women We Love. Next up is convincing the neighbors they really, really need the Omlet.

Check back soon for more updates on the green goings-on from all our contributors. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

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