Ten Minutes with a Conscious Fashionista

When I think eco-friendly fashion, I think pants made of rice paper and bikinis made of bamboo. Amanda Coggin, Public Relations and Marketing Director for the San Francisco based company Conscious Fashionistas, thinks vintage. Amanda teamed up with vegetarian eating, and environmentally aware friends Nayomi, Madison, and Poonam to rewrite the discourse on what it means to wear green. These Noe Valley gal-pals scour the city for the most extraordinary pieces of used clothing to strut down the runway and sell (at a very recession-friendly price) to their adoring fans. Conscious Fashionistas believe that consuming second-hand goods is essential to living an ecologically responsible lifestyle. By buying thrift, you are using previous created materials, rather than exhausting new ones. The one-of-a-kind pieces the Conscious Fashionistas find keep the ladies of San Francisco unique, green, and irresistible to all the boys (and girls).

Oligoville: Describe the idea behind Conscious Fashionistas.

Coggin: The idea behind Conscious Fashionistas is twofold. First off, it is environmental. We wanted to encourage women to buy thrift so that they are not exhausting new materials or labor. Additionally, thrift clothing has always been more accessible and interesting to all four of us at Conscious Fashionistas—we wanted it to be contagious.

Secondly, Conscious Fashionistas is community-focused. The four of us became a close-knit community—literally and figuratively—because we knew each other for years and ended up living two blocks away. We wanted to bring community to the shopping experience. So we gave each other keys, access to one another’s closets, and then invited our friends to take part in our idea. We see ourselves as an alternative to the isolating experience that shopping at any mall can be.

Oligoville: How did you take it from an idea to a business?

Coggin: Well, that was simple, because the best ideas always seem to have an energy of their own, and that’s exactly how it worked for Conscious Fashionistas. I made a pact to stop buying anything new, and Nayomi started buying clothes for me and our other two members, Poonam and Madison. Once I started wearing her finds, women would come up to me and comment on my style. One even photographed me for a fashion Web site, asking, “That is SO cute, where did you get it?” This happened so many times that it started to resemble a phenomenon, a revolution.

I could tell women were dying for a twist on their styles and a dash of color in their closets. Consequently, we put our heads together and decided to give them the attention they deserved and remind them that, “Yes, it WILL fit, and hot damn, you look GOOD in that.” It was all very organic and grew into the idea of selling thrift clothes at fun events. We knew we had a hit when everyone we shared the idea with just loved it!

Oligoville: Why is it so important for consumers to shop vintage?

Coggin: I think this is the most important question of all. While writing our Fashionesto, we realized that Conscious Fashionistas had something different from what was happening in “green fashion,” such as selling bamboo pants or blouses made of seaweed (which are lovely, but still require more energy … and seaweed).

We came up with this, “Conscious Fashionistas proposes that buying used clothing is part of living an ecologically responsible lifestyle by using already created materials rather than exploiting new resources.” It’s that simple. Humans are going to implode their own planet with their own desire to buy new, which requires more energy, when really, it’s totally unnecessary; there simply is enough clothing to go around already. So buying used clothing is part of an ecological lifestyle in that you are lessening your carbon footprint by buying materials that already exist.

Additionally, we run our events as ecologically sound as we can. We using Bio bags at checkout and refuse to serve water bottles when we get to run our own bar. We bring in large water gallons and biodegradable cups. The message is really that living ecologically is about all your choices from what you put in your body to what you put on your body.

Oligoville: What inspires your selections?

Coggin: When Nayomi, our shopper, hits the racks, she is looking for clothes that flatter a variety of body types and sizes. She loves her job because as she says she gets to go out and buy anything she loves, even if it doesn’t fit her. She’s looking for interesting pieces that run the gamut, from tailored pieces that work for the office, to sexy little numbers for nights out dancing. She’s also got her eye out for the fabulous pieces that will make it on the Conscious Fashionistas runway. And she notes that these are always the first clothes to go. Our fashion designer, Madison, puts on such an amazing fashion show that women literally storm the stage after the models step off the runway to get their hands on those pieces.

Oligoville: Who are your competitors and how do you differ?

Coggin: I’m not sure we have any at this point, but that will change, which is fine. The reality is that we want this idea to spread. We want women (and eventually men, once we get our hands on them) to stop buying new, gather in community, share and sell and trade what they have, and do what they have to do to make use of what is already here on our planet.

There are some venues that do similar events such as clothing swaps, but we feel we are very different from them because each of our pieces has been hand picked and selected.

Oligoville: Tell us about some unexpected set backs you have faced since starting your business and what you have learned from that.

There haven’t been many, but since we are also four friends, and friends first, we have to remember that. That requires patience and clear communication and understanding on how we need to operate outside of being just friends. I think you have to do so even more than you might require of yourself interacting with co-workers you just meet everyday in the office. We spend a lot of time together even when we’re not working on our business, so we make a point to set boundaries on our interactions, as in, “This is CF time, so it’s time to talk business, and this is fun time, so let’s not talk business.”

Oligoville: On a typical day, describe what you’re wearing and where (and how!) you found it.

Coggin: I wear a lot more color now. About 80 percent of my closet is thrift, and in Nayomi’s, since she’s the shopper, it’s probably 100 percent because some of the pieces she wears as walking advertising. We then clean and press them if the piece is special enough to sell.

One thing, however, that you will almost always find me in is a pair of boots. With San Francisco’s unpredictable weather, boots are essential whether they are sexy stilettos or faux fur flats. I’ve gotten enough compliments on them and my other thrift shoes that I’m hoping 2009 will be Conscious Fashionistas’ year of the shoe!

Oligoville: What advice do you have for aspiring fashionistas or entrepreneurs?

Coggin: Don’t have any attachment. I created a mantra for myself to not have any attachment to any one piece. So much so that at each of our events, I’ve sold the shirt off my back and at this last event, the skirt off my waist. A client wanted to buy the whole outfit, and almost did, until she realized she liked it better on me. No one can believe that I’m willing to do that, which inspires me to do it even more!

Oligoville: Where do you see your business in the next two to three years?

Coggin: We would like to replicate our business model in other cities that share a desire for sustainability, community, creative expression, and celebration. We’d love to take this show on the road!

Oligoville: Does Conscious Fashionistas offer any special services beyond trunk shows?

Coggin: We offer personal shopping trips in which we actually take clients out and show them the tricks of the trade- how to capitalize on the best thrift bargains, how to find clothes that flatter their figures, and how to put together an overall, polished look.
We also set up small shops at corporate headquarters, so that women can shop during their lunch hours.

Speaking with Amanda inspired me to forgo Banana and Forever 21 and head to the Salvation Army to search for a dress for the office holiday party. In the words of the Fashionistas themselves, “while you’re strutting the real world runway and that certain someone stops you on the street to ask, ‘where’d you get that?’ Just smile and say CF. They’ll love you for it …. ” and so will the planet.