We are fascinated by all things vintage and have been known to dabble in many decades. Mid-century is a particular favorite though, as you can probably tell by the recently launched 50’s clothes section and our wedding photo that can be seen there. It was no surprise then when I discovered Miss Brache’s vintage-look Etsy store and promptly fell in love. Halters, wiggle skirts, high waists, and bust/waist enhancing styles: Miss Brache creates clothing that is the epitome of 1950’s glamour and style. In addition to gorgeous pinup dresses and unique separates Miss Brache also designs swimsuits! They are all vintage-inspired as well, ranging from pinup bikinis to reversible monokinis. (I know where I’m getting my bathing suit this summer!) She says that “Her goal is to make women all across the world feel happy in the swim wear or anything they wear. All her items are made by her hard working hands and are limited items.” Some items are pre-made, but most are custom ordered to your exact size and specifications. If you’re a vintage loving vixen, Miss Brache’s is the store for you.

Posted by Lauren in Retro and Vintage, Indie, Clothing and Accessories
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Lucky Magazine just put together a feature called Eco-Friendly Fashion Sourcebook, which introduced me to some new stores and designers. Two of my finds I just have to share. First is Nimli, an online boutique that is “devoted to providing natural, organic, and sustainable lifestyle products while embracing style and aesthetic“. While the fusion of beauty and environmental care is finally becoming the norm in green fashion, Nimli is the first site I’ve seen that does so seamlessly and without making “green” a novelty. The first time I saw the site, it looked so similar to other designer fashion sites that I thought I had clicked the wrong link! Everything looks polished and stylish, but the ubiquitous color green and images of nature are notably absent from their design and graphics. The message seems clear: Nimli does fashion, and being green is just their default. I look forward to the day when environmentally-friendly “options” are presented as the norm and not just a gimmick. Another aspect that helps them stand out among eco-minded retailers is their practice of having each item shipped directly from designer to customer, greatly reducing their carbon footprint, in addition to already buying carbon offset credits.

One of the lines carried at Nimli was also mentioned in the Lucky feature, and they offer classy, simple, contemporary women’s styles. ecoSkin is Los Angeles-based, and Spring 2008 marks their debut line. The designer says “I wanted to give women a hip, sophisticated collection, as well as a sustainable product that would not leave a footprint on the environment. My vision is to continually raise women’s awareness of their options. We can combine eco-friendly fabrics with a high design aesthetic.”

$106-$190

RELATED: For more lovely eco-friendly fashion, be sure to check out our Organic Clothes section.

Posted by Lauren in Clothing and Accessories, Green Living
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It was only a few days ago we were saying how cool it would be if Threadless reprinted the Staby McKnife design so we could get one. They must have read our minds, because we soon received their newsletter with another opportunity to purchase this friendly knife. W00t for reprints!

Also just announced is the 2007 Bestee Award Winners where you can view the designs of the year, best collaboration designs, groundbreaking design of the year, best use of one color, and more.

Although our friend Staby McKnife didn’t win any awards, another reprint did win Slogan of the Year. Get it while it’s hot.

Posted by Sean in Unique, Clothing and Accessories
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Mable’s is a huge fan of retro and vintage items, and our featured clothing sections, 70s clothes & 80s clothes, has just expanded to include a Women’s 50s Clothing store. Now it’s easier than ever to browse for authentic and reproduction 50s style clothing in our always up-to-date eBay store.

If you’ve got some retro loving friends to shop for remember to check out our handpicked Retro & Vintage Gifts section, too!

Posted by Sean in Retro and Vintage, Clothing and Accessories
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Dan Piraro is a multi-talented guy, but he is probably best known for his off-beat cartoon strip, Bizarro. Although I had seen that cartoon in a few various places over the years, it wasn’t until I read about Dan in the debut issue of Herbivore Magazine that I began to take notice of his work. One particular area of his focus really caught my attention: animals. Outside of being a skilled illustrator and comic, Dan is also passionate about animal rights and isn’t shy about using his skills to raise awareness about it. His latest contribution is a bizarre and very cool looking shirt that he designed for Endangered Wear that gives 100% of the profits to Dan’s favorite farm animal sanctuary. There’s a limited run of 750 shirts being produced by indie shirt company Endangered Wear (limited runs are their specialty, hence the name). All of their designs are printed on made in the USA, sweatshop-free American Apparel t-shirts, too. Whether you’re a card carrying member of the Secret Society of Vegans like us (just kidding, they don’t issue cards), or just not a big fan of factory farming, this shirt is a fun way to spread the word and help animals. And honestly, how many shirts do you have that feature a retro-look piggy being flown to safety thanks to a flock of funky birds?
$22.95

Posted by Lauren in Indie, Clothing and Accessories
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Searching for an easy gift that is unique and stylish? Check out the daily artist submitted designs over at UneeTee. These designer t-shirts don’t cost a lot and they are printed on American Apparel brand shirts for their eco-friendliness and USA manufactured quality.

Hot Tip: Make your decision quickly as these t-shirt and hoodie designs sell out quick!

My personal pick would be this Amazing Childhood design for it’s brightness and fun outdoor activities. Don’t you wish you could just spend the day on a swing set, or playing freeze tag with your friends? I do.

Posted by Sean in Unique, Clothing and Accessories
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If you couldn’t tell already Mable’s loves recycling and vintage clothing sold on eBay is a great way to recycle clothing and have a stylish wardrobe. We were recently excited to see a message in our inbox telling us about the Nova Vintage eBay Store. With their high standards, low shipping costs, many sizes, and weekly updates they are another quality eBay store to add to our vintage clothing page.

Remember that shopping at indie eBay stores supports individuals and their hard work at home, so you know where your money is going. So check out the Nova Vintage eBay store, bid on your favorite items, add them to your favorites, and follow their updates via their Myspace.

Posted by Sean in Retro and Vintage, Indie, Clothing and Accessories
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Start the year off right and buy products that are eco-friendly and useful. Right now the Ecoist Winter Sale is going on and there are plenty of handbags, clutches, and coin bags made from recycled and repurposed materials at 50% their normal price. Most of the bags on sale were handmade in Mexico or Peru with recycled goods and fair trade in mind. As an added bonus from being made from recycled newspapers or candy wrappers, these bags are very sturdy, and most are water resistant.

Want to save even more?
Take an additional 10% off by using coupon code wintersale08 during checkout. Coupon is valid now through 1/25/08.

Want more variety in your recycled bags? Check out the vast collection of handmade recycled bags on Etsy.

Posted by Sean in Sale, Clothing and Accessories
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Remember the 8-bit days of running and jumping from left to right and trying to avoid those carnivorous plants that arose from sewer pipes? Yeah me too. I was a rough life. Well fast forward 2 decades or so and now we are dealing with wireless controllers with like 8x more buttons and visual effects that we swear look totally real. If you or someone you know likes to reminisce of the simple 8-bit days then this pixelated style clip-on tie, dubbed The 8-Bit Tie, is a unique gift sure to be enjoyed. It has a silk-like feel, and each one is handmade for that special touch. Wear it with a button up, regular t-shirt, or snap it on your dog, where ever it goes it screams video game nostalgia and lets others know you are an old school techie fan.

For other novel ties with a techie flair check out ThinkGeek’s “Ties Suck” Tie and their Power Tie.

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Unique, Clothing and Accessories
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Example #7,260 of how awesome the Internet is: it allows artists from around the world to get paid for turning their unique designs into t-shirts. The best thing is that, for the most part, it is the community (aka the actual consumers) who get to choose the designs they’d actually buy and wear. Here are some of our favorite artist-fueled and community driven t-shirt sites;

Threadless is definitely the most popular community driven t-shirt site out there with a lot of active users. Basically an artist submits their design and the community votes on which designs should be printed, then Threadless prints the winners. The designers get paid a nice sum of cash, too. Threadless offers adult shirts, kid shirts, and even hoodies.

$15 - $40 but watch for their occasional $10 shirt sales.

UneeTee FREE SHIPPING UNTIL 9/30 The word “unee” is a play on the prefix “uni”, which means “one” so Uneetee really means “One Tee”. Clever, eh? The way it works is that an artist submits a design, and it gets voted on by site users. The design with the most votes is featured for a day. Looking for a super deal? Every Saturday and Sunday they randomly select a One Day Tee that has been printed in the past and resell it for one last chance at a very low price.

$15 - $18

Ten Bills says “We sell exclusive designed t-shirts for $10 always. We feature artists from around the world so our t-shirts have our own unique flair.” Exclusive and stylish, their designs do draw the eye, which is why I like them. Although the catalog isn’t huge, Ten Bills is definitely a site to watch.
$10

Posted by Sean in Indie, Clothing and Accessories
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Our Shopping Blog is a little different than the norm: we generally promote unique, green, and indie products rather than the big box retailers or “what’s hot”. The concept of celebrity just makes me giggle, but I sort of did a double take when I stumbled upon Emitations. Their niche is replica jewelry (faux pearls, cubic zirconia, fake gems and the like), but they have a focus on imitation celebrity jewelry. They say you can “steal their style for less” and buy “celebrity bling without the sting“. (OK, I can’t even type that without giggling again.)

Anyway, I sort of like the concept not because it allows us to mimic famous people, but because it brings really glamorous jewelry at a price that is actually affordable. Celebrities are often loaned stunning pieces of jewelry to wear at events that cost insane amounts of money. Even the celebrity wearing the jewelry doesn’t purchase them! But once someone creates a knockoff version, it allows us to wear red carpet style accessories anywhere we want. Myself, I like to go subtle or totally over the top for everyday style. If I’m not wearing an understated necklace, then it’s a 3 carat CZ ring for me. (Questionable yes, but that’s my style!) Costume jewelry can be quite gaudy sometimes, and there are some really fug pieces at Emitations, but a single classy piece of replica jewelry can do wonders for any outfit.

Emitations COUPONS:
$10 off all orders of $100+ with code AFAS10
$6 off all orders of $60+ with code AFAS6
8% off all orders of $40+ with code AFAS8
Free Shipping for all order $75+, no coupon necessary

Coupons expire September 30th, 2007

Posted by Lauren in Sale, Clothing and Accessories
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Just in time for those last minute buys for back to school eBags is offering 20% off their awesome collections of backpacks, totes, duffel bags, and more. To make a sweet deal even better they are offering free shipping on orders $50 or more. So pick out your new bag, and enjoy the rest of this beautiful holiday weekend. Sale valid from 09/02 to 09/03.

We here at Mable’s have extensive experience with the Ogio brand backpacks. Our Ogio backpacks have proven worthy in everything from backing trips through New Zealand, to everyday mobility on our scooters. They’ve also protected our laptops very well throughout the years.

Why eBags? They have excellent prices, with a 110% price guarantee. Free return shipping, millions of helpful customer reviews and ratings to help you choose the perfect bag for you. They won website of the year, again, in 2006, and they have excellent customer service. Plus they have unique browsing options like the laptop bag finder, and what type of backpack you’re looking for.

Posted by Sean in Sale, Clothing and Accessories
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My fingers, wrists, and shoulders are on fire from all the website coding that I’ve been doing lately, but before they expire they have an important message for you straight from Japan: “Karoshi: be careful not to work too hard.” The Japanese are very industrious and hardworking. In fact they can work so hard that there’s a word for “death from overwork”: karoshi.

Another “Wacky Japanese” gem is the conversation starting “Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend” shirt. The literal translation is more like “Now accepting applications for a Japanese girlfriend”, but any potential Japanese ladies attracted by your shirt are probably going to know that. Available as a hoodie as well.

A lot of people seem to be attracted to one or more cultures that aren’t their own, and these shirts seem like perfect gift ideas for the Japanese culture obsessed gaijins (foreigners) in your life.

$17.95-18.49

Posted by Lauren in Unique, Clothing and Accessories
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It’s difficult in today’s world to find useful products at decent prices that are recyclable, animal friendly, sweatshop-free, environmentally friendly, and from a store you’d actually want to give your money to. Reason #3774 the Internet is great is that people can create stores like The Stanley Family Lodge. They encompass all those beliefs while supporting independent artists so we know where our money is going.

The Stanley Family Lodge is a type of online shop we’d like to see more of; where you can find useful and creative items from artists around the world all in one place. Keep up the good work!

The products pictured above include reclaimed fabric turned into a beautiful retro style apron and a trixiedelicious abandoned plate given new life with some artwork and heat bonded so it’s ready for daily use.

Posted by Sean in Indie, Unique, Clothing and Accessories, Green Living
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Mable’s has always been a fan of unique purses and handbags and Loop NYC (aka Loop Design) has some great ideas when it comes to style and individuality in a handbag. Throughout the years Loop NYC bags have been seen on many celebrities, cycled through a ton of collections, and continues to gain popularity with their ever changing stock that’s “inspired by the grooves and rhythms of New York City.”

Where to get bags by Loop NYC:
Mable’s: Our Loop NYC page has been updated throughout the years and shows past styles as well as new. Be sure to also check out our unique purses page for more fun styles.

Zappos: Get free shipping on your new Loop Design handbag when you purchase from Zappos. Check out their awesome selection of Loop Design bags now.

KarmaLoop: One of the best sellers over at KarmaLoop is the Purple Flowers Tote from the Warhol Collection. Be sure to use Coupon Code “STAR” to receive $5 off your purchase of $35 or more.

eBay: The auctions below are ending soon, so act fast.
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Posted by Sean in Unique, Clothing and Accessories
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