Does “high-fashion fanny pack” seem like a contradiction in terms? Suspend your disbelief for a moment, just long enough to check out the fanny clutch by upcycling designer Fahmina.

The beauty of the clutch design is that it adds no bulk to your hips (because honestly, what woman wants to add inches there?) while keeping your hands free and fitting in all your daily essentials.

But Fahmina also has an eco-secret: Her accessories been made with 95 percent reclaimed and “precycled” leather that’s been salvaged from other designers’ waste bins. Other leatherworkers throw away “defective” leather by the ton for something as little as a scratch. Fahmina works by hand around the defects for a piece that is still high-quality but a little less wasteful.

Envelope Fanny Clutch, $180 at Fahmina.com.

(via YourDailyThread.com)

Love has inspired poets going as far back at the Torah — and even further, we’re sure. How has love been interpreted by ethical fashion enthusiasts? Read on for a sampling from the Behind the Seams blog.

• For the next couple of weeks, TOMS Shoes is accepting submissions of socially conscious love stories (whether they have to do with its special charity-minded canvas slippers or not). Aw!
• Have you fallen out of love with certain items in your closet? Check out ThredUp.com’s swapping service to trade clothes with your style twins across the globe.
• You may love your labels, but do they love you back? Sometimes yet. Fashion Loves People shows its commitment to social issues by donating $1 from every tee-shirt sold to Not for Sale, a charity that combats human trafficking.
• Fun fact: The original Chanel Quilted Flap was designed with a special pocket to hold Coco’s love letters. Read more about timeless designer handbags here.
• Cosmetics company Bobbi Brown has teamed up with The Heart Truth to promote awareness of heart disease in women with this limited edition Bronze Shimmerbrick set.

Carrie Bradshaw may be the world’s most famous (fictional) shoe maven, so it should come as no surprise that she’s rocking some ethical sandals by Swedish Hasbeens in the Sex and the City sequel, due out in theatres this summer.

In this photo from the set, Carrie (played by the ever-stylish Sarah Jessica Parker) sits with Miranda’s son Brady on a brownstone’s steps rocking the Super High Peep Toe sandal.

Swedish Hasbeens is known for its handcrafted quality and chrome-free designs made with sustainable wood and natural leather. And in spite of its 3.5 inch heel, this sandal is über-comfortable.

Says the shoe’s designer (who is understandably thrilled by the plug):

“This is the sign that modern women in the US have started to appreciate high-quality eco-fashion”, says Cilla Wingård Neuman CEO of Swedish Hasbeens. “The time has come to throw away those plastic high-heels that don’t last for your grandkids and just hurt your feet.”

Want a pair of your own before the movie comes out? You can pre-order them at the link below!

Swedish Hasbeens Super High Peep Toe Sandal in Natural, $219 at ShopRobertson.com.

It may not look much like spring outside, but in all of our catalogs and email inboxes, the fashion is warming up fast. So for the February edition of E.S. Eco-Over — where we take a hot trend and find a stylish equivalent from an ethical source — we tackle the hot flat-sandals trend.

In its weekly “Lust-Have Low Down” email, Neiman Marcus spoiled us with its top contenders for spring; from top to bottom, they are by Sigerson Morrison, Valentino, Emilio Pucci, and Antik Batik. While undeniably gorgeous, these selections range in price from $215 to $695 and use conventionally tanned leather.

Enter Matt Bernson to the rescue. His flat sandals for spring have every bit of the style and quality construction that these high-end competitors offer, but with vegetable-dyed leather stitched together in his fair-trade factory in Brazil. (Not to mention the comfort level is unreal.) Top to bottom, the styles here are imaginatively named Barracuda, Nouer III, and The Wanderer.

And given that his sandals range in price from $125 to $174, the choice is a bit of a no-brainer, isn’t it?

Hundreds of stalls line the street during a Sunday handicrafts market in Buenos Aires. (M.J. Prest/EthicalStyle.com)

Ola chicas! Kara picked up my blogging slack while I was on vacation in South America, and I want to publicly thank her for doing such a bang-up job keeping everyone entertained.

I plan to write more about what I saw fashion-wise while in Brazil and Argentina, but the first thought I’d like to explore focuses specifically on Argentina. The peso crisis of 2001, a disastrous decision by the government to devalue the Argentinian peso to next to nothing, still resonates throughout the country today. When the majority of Argentina’s citizens woke up one morning to find their life’s savings had become worthless, people had to get creative in how they would make money.

One industry that flourished as a result? Handicrafts. In most of the touristy sections of Buenos Aires, you can find artisans selling handmade beaded necklaces, beautiful earrings, silver rings, and all manner of small goods using Argentina’s famous leathers — from belts to bags to wallets to sandals. Some of the artisans have set up boutiques and some sell their goods on the street, but what they all have in common is a commitment to high craftsmanship — and quality that only improves as the artisans have more practice.

It made us think of how Etsy has really exploded since the United States suffered its own economic meltdown in 2008. We’ve heard anecdotal evidence of people who have lost their jobs only to find their passion in their previously-neglected hobbies. Not everyone is lucky enough to make a living out of making jewelry, but for some it can be a side business that satisfies creative urges while bringing in a little income.

Etsy shop owners, care to comment?

We love a good before-and-after photoshoot as much as the next gal. Tearful weight-loss photos revealed on Oprah, those home-renovation shows, the-ugly-duckling-becomes-the-swan montage in prom movies — makeovers are always inspiring.

Right in line with those big reveals are the handcrafted bags by reMade USA, a San Francisco-based company that reinterprets leather jackets as beautiful new handbags. And not just any old jacket — you can send in a personal selection from your closet for repurposing as a sentimental take on the recycled leather purse.

As designer Shannon South puts it:

The most beautiful bags are those that have embedded personal stories and sentimental value. Creating a bag from your personal jacket gives a second life to the piece and an emotional connection far greater than a store-bought bag. We’ve had multiple customers bring out-of-style jackets from memorable trips to Italy, one customer used her father’s old Peace Corps jacket, a husband made a bag for his wife from his 20-year old motorcycle jacket, another made two clutch bags for herself and her sister from their fathers old jacket that he got on his honeymoon. So many people have leather jackets sitting in the back of the closet- out of style, but too valuable to give away.

ReMade created a photo album on Facebook of its bespoke bags so you can browse photos of the befores and the afters. Looking at these makeovers might just be enough for you to finally clean out your overstuffed closet.

(via @reMadeUSA)

With cold weather coming, you might be falling for the siren song of the Ugg boot. Derided as anti-fashion by critics and hailed as a fluffy white cloud heaven-sent for tired feet by surfers and skiers everywhere, there’s no denying that Uggs have managed to remain consistently popular ever since Paris Hilton started wearing the sheepskin boots with miniskirts in 2003.

At $180 for the most popular tall style, they are not cheap. Which is why there are so many unauthorized dealers selling Ugg-branded boots without the consent of the Ugg company in Australia. Even well-meaning fashion reporters are getting duped:

Due to the popularity of last week’s post on cheap Ugg boots, I can’t hold on to this one.

511stores.com is offering as much as 50 percent off Ugg boots. While that may not be quite the steep discount we saw last week, this one doesn’t have a deadline.

The only problem is, as the Times Union commenters were quick to point out, is that the Uggs sold by 511stores.com are faker than Paris Hilton’s tan.

Ugg Australia is well aware of the problem and has installed an anti-counterfeiting section on its website to help consumers identify too-good-to-be-true deals by entering the URLs of discount dealers claiming to sell authentic goods. (511stores.com got the “Known Counterfeit Website” designation.)

Such a great idea. It seems like a no-brainer for more companies that are prone to knock-offs to follow suit.

The spring 2010 catalogue of Erin Templeton’s latest line of recycled-leather handbags landed in our inbox this week and their gorgeousness cannot be overstated.

The Vancouver designer works with vintage leather for her belts, bags, cuffs, and sandals. She makes everything by hand and with the following philosophy:

No or little hardware and simple strong contruction allows people to adjust, change and make them their own.  It is our hope that each piece is able to be a life long friend, and able to mix freely with new and vintage pieces.

Shown above: The slouchy Extra Large Tote in olive (the bag comes in smaller sizes as well.)

For more recycled-leather bag beauties, check out purse queen Grechen Cohen’s top picks for ethical designers here.

Our friends at Green Eyed Monster are celebrating the website’s one-year anniversary and as part of the party, they’re collaborating with up-and-coming Swedish line Pinellapi on some sweet custom bags made from vintage leather and suede.

Pinellapi designer Maja Hellden has a pretty impressive background, having studied under designers like Katherine Hamnett and Diane Von Furstenberg. And she’s happy to design a custom handbag for you based on your needs from her showroom in Stockholm.

Check out Green Eyed Monster’s inventory of sample bags to consider which one will suit your purposes. All of them are gorgeous but we’re partial to the shredded Serpentin style — so on-trend with this season’s focus on fringe!

We were so happy with our discovery of DenimTherapy.com and its miraculous rehabbing of our favorite jeans that we decided to test out a local option to see how it stacked up. Our search led us to the Denim Doctors, located inside the Hollywood Trading Company in West Hollywood.

And — success! They fixed a broken zipper on a beloved pair of Citizens of Humanity jeans in about 10 days for $22. (We plan to wear them out tonight in celebration.)

Man, this shop just drips with cool. Today we chatted with Ben (pictured right) about what else the store has going for it — other than flawless denim repair, of course — and it turns out he’s a curator of vintage belts, leather jackets, and boots. He told us women’s combat boots are a specialty, and showed us a pair of motorcycle boots from the 1940’s that they recently resoled.

When we asked about Fryes (a die-hard E.S. favorite), he said he prefers the older ones that were union-made to the newer styles, so we have a feeling this is a guy who knows his stuff.

The Hollywood Trading Company has shops throughout Europe, Australia, and Asia, so if boots and belts with street cred are your thing, give them a second look.

Denim Doctors/Hollywood Trading Company, 7383 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, Calif. (323) 964-0080.