What is vegan fashion? Veganism has become very trendy lately, but it’s not enough to just follow a plant-based diet. To be a true vegan, you also need to wear vegan clothes, not go hunting or torture animals in any other way.
Unfortunately, my vegan lifestyle didn’t go so well because to buy a whole new wardrobe and fresh vegetables every day, is very expensive in Europe. I also like cheese and vegan cheese has zero nutritional values. Vegan fashion is also very new here so it’s impossible to buy good quality handbags from vegan materials.
The last time I visited India, however, I was surprised that none of the local department stores sold leather handbags! Only vegan leather, but they looked very much like authentic leather.
In the picture above I am wearing vegan winter fashion. My white winter coat is by DKNY, bought from Stockmann for 250€ without any animal based materials, such as leather, fur, or goose or duck feathers. Many brands use goose or duck feathers to make their winter coats warm and thick, but the practise of ripping off the feathers of live animals is extremely cruel and painful to the animals. They have to endure it over and over again when they grow back their feathers. They don’t use anesthetics just like in the meat and poultry industry. Animals are in constant pain and misery. Out of all animal based clothing materials, wool is the most ethical though, IF it’s done right. You shave off the thick wool coat of the sheep without causing any pain and the animal feels better without the heavy wool coat. However, wool is still not vegan because it comes from an animal.
My shoes are vegan leather by Halonen, bought on sale for 120€ from Finland. They are water-proof, warm for winter and have good shoe soles for Northern weather conditions.
In the picture below, I am wearing 100 percent cotton sweater by Ralph Lauren. I got a bargain deal from Stockmann and paid only 119,60€ from original price 299€! It had a small hole that I got fixed for 5€. 😀The black cotton dress is from my previous blog post, 10€ from MOHITO. The picture next to me is my sweet Indian grandmother who unfortunately passed away last year. She had amazing sense of fashion. Here she has the pink vegan leather hand bag I bought for her from a department store in the suburbs of Mumbai.
Photo by: Sonia Jain