Fashion Designer Christina Castle is a Woman after my own heart. Not only does she create astonishingly beautiful prints & ultra feminine dresses but she does it with highly ethical standards. Hers is a brand you can trust, unequivocally. The luxury fabric is sustainably sourced from defunct mills or left over-stock, keeping it from landfill. Each collection is expertly tailored in an ethical, women owned & operated factory which further streamlines the supply chain.
Christina is growing her company on rock solid principles without compromising her unique style. It’s wonderful to see that ethical entrepeneurs do exist. Clearly well-travelled, Christina also worked in two of my all time favourite cities, New York & London. It was whilst working for Mara Hoffman that she instigated initiatives for sustainable fabric which arguably set her on course to birth her own label, Dagny.
“Dagny is beautifully designed, consciously sourced, and ethically made garments”
The dress I’m wearing in today’s post is organic linen, printed with toxin free dye. Isn’t the colour divine? Up-styled here for a garden party, it works just as well casually with flats. In fact that’s how I wore it last week!
As you probably know it’s school holiday time at the moment. As yet I don’t have anyone here in America to leave the children with & Mark couldn’t work from home this time as he had a meeting himself. Therefore I had no choice but to take the devil’s spawn to work with me. It was an important meeting in New York City that I was determined not to miss. By the way, I’ll tell you all about the outcome of that soon… Anyway, as reward for good behaviour I promised to take the children to Central Park afterwards. Naturally the thought of wearing heels was simply a step too far for me…literally. Furthermore it was an absolute scorcher of a day so I chose to wear my Ancient Greek sandals instead. And they looked perfect. So perfect was this pairing that I actually received a couple of compliments from random passers-by!
POSITIVE LUXURY & THE BUTTERFLY MARK
As fast fashion becomes less desirable to conscious consumers like me, many women are looking for ethical standards ahead of their wardrobe choices. Considering its impact on the environment & human rights before spending even one cent on a brand is incredibly important to me. The trouble comes when actually sourcing this information. Time consuming at best, nigh on impossible at worst! Ever so occasionally there is transparency with a brand but this is rare indeed. Inevitably I’ll get it wrong from time to time, a moral blow I’d like very much to avoid.
Now let’s be honest, we don’t always have enough time to check up on brands when we want to buy something. There’s also the issue of constantly changing technology. How to keep tabs on the ones that don’t pass muster one year but lift their game the next? I know many of you come here to find sustainable brands which is wonderful & now I’ve found a site where you can shop them directly. Failing that, it’s simply a matter of looking for the butterfly mark right on the brands website.
Have you heard of the butterfly mark? This little stamp of approval takes the pressure off the eco-friendly shopper by immediately indicating a brands ethical credentials. How clever is that? Positive Luxury is a shopping site like no other. Committed to sustainability by doing all the back ground checks on brands for us! Positive Luxury aims to demystify ethical shopping for the consumer whilst encouraging brands themselves to become more ethical. As consumers we hold great power to force change merely by putting our money where our mouth is. This site offers us brand transparency at the point of sale, easy peasy. Incidentally they have super strict criteria to fulfil before awarding the butterfly mark to a brand. This means when I shop with Positive Luxury there’s no more worry about getting it wrong. You can read about their criteria here.
OUTFIT DETAILS
- DRESS – Dagny London Also adore this dress & this dress
- SHOES – See by Chloe similar here
- BAG – Estee Rose similar here
- HAT – Tjmaxx similar here
- FORTNUM & MASON – THE best ever Dark chocolate coated coffee beans
*STYLE GLOSSARY – DAGNY means NEW DAY in Scandinavian
Thank you all so much for visiting, I truly appreciate each & every one of you lovelies for your support.
Lots of love Mx
*This post is in partnership with Positive Luxury with special thanks to Dagny London
Comments ( 11 )
No Fear oF Fashion
This is indeed a very beautiful dress and you suit it so well. Love the heels with it. You are right, it is difficult to find sustainable fashion which is beautiful as well. I found a similar ninitiative in The Netherlands as the butterfly organisation but they are still too small and don’t provide exactly what I need. These changes are good and deserve our support.
Greetje
MT
You’re so good at seeking out sustainable brands Greetje. Also I love that you’re not afraid to buy vintage or 2nd hand xx
No Fear of Fashion
Even found an off-white Burberry trench coat second hand for €300. Totally spotless (after I had it dry cleaned).
Greetje
MT
Blimey that is quite a coup! I always expect to clean or even do a little repair, it’s no biggie right?
lisa the sequinist
What a spectacular dress. The colour, the print, the details. I love it, and it suits you so well! Hurrah to more and more and more brands with this focus! xx
MT
Thanks Lisa!
Yes it is wonderful seeing so many brands growing despite their committment to sustainability;-)
Have you noticed they’re mostly run by women? xx
Jessica A Jannenga
Hi Michelle!
I enjoyed reading this article. I have recently given 4 bags of clothes to Goodwill and plan on diving into my Fall attire too. I didn’t know about the Butterfly symbol, that you for that information. I do like Zara and shop there, but am always otherwise looking for other places for upcycled clothing too. I do a fair amount of my shopping on Poshmark, a thrifting shop on line in the US. I also have begun looking at the Real Real and Thred Up, havent purchased from them yet.
Beautiful dress on you! Love the hat and shoes as well. I used to not be a fan of linen because of the wrinkles, and now I accept them as part of the character of the fabric!
Have a nice night!
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
FT
You look so gorgeous in these photos! That colour is grear on you! I did not know about the butterfly logo – great shout! Love seeing you in your new hood love FTxx
Fatima
I have no idea why I am called FAT, here 😉 xx
MT
Fixed & I added your blog Url. I don’t know how these things happen, the code is a mystery to me. I just stick on a plug-in to do a job 😉 sometimes they go wonky xx
MT
Aw thanks darling friend, I wanna see you here in my hood someday xx