Terry Graziano Makes Beautiful Hats

Terry Graziano makes “beautiful multifunctional hats for women using eco-friendly mill-end surplus fabrics.” A 15-year veteran hat designer, Graziano personally handcrafts each hat with individualized care and attention in her New York City studio. Each hat is purposefully designed to be worn in many different ways allowing its wearer to custom-create her hat to fit her mood and outfit. Eclectic and eco-savvy, Terry uses only surplus fabrics. Every hat is silk-lined for comfort and adjustable for big heads to small heads. “For me, it’s all about flexibility. A shirt, a skirt, a pair of pants: these can be worn many ways— why should hats be any different?” They shouldn’t! Thank you for artistically and eco-friendlily teaching us that, Ms. Graziano!

A Very Versatile Vest

When it comes to fashion I adore versatility. Jackets that can be worn in the spring and the fall, dresses that can be worn to the office and to Sunday brunch, and pants that can be worn to the bed and to the gym. The Vest by Harputs Own takes versatility to a new level. It’s a scarf, it’s a hood, it’s a shawl, and it’s a t-shirt. With an extra arm hole and an elongated side panel, this uber chic vest can be worn in infinite different ways. The vest will revolutionize your daily jeans and t-shirts.

The design geniuses behind The Vest have 30 years of experience creating unique, timeless pieces that can be worn in multiple different ways. Every piece they craft comes from a place of deep reflection, creativity, and fine craftsmanship. Ultimately they aim to “make easy clothing that can be worn multiple ways, accentuate many different body types, and lasts over time.” With this vest they have more than succeeded.

My New LGD: Little Green Dress

LBD: [little black dress] n.

1. an essential item in every woman’s wardrobe

2. can be dressed up, dressed down; can be worn to work and then to happy hour

3. a perfect example, the Christine dress by CMarchuska

I just found my new favorite LBD—a momentous occasion for any woman. For me, it was even more momentous. I ordered it sight unseen, a risky decision for a 5′1″ girl with a 32G sized chest. As soon as I opened my fed-ex box, it was love at first sight.  The LBD fit me perfectly. Plus, it’s completely eco-friendly. I wore it out Friday night and I plan to wear it out again tonight. (Don’t laugh—I don’t smell.)

CMarchuska was created by siblings, Justin and Christine. They were perplexed about the quantity of luxury duds that were uncomfortable and made with eco-unconscious fabrics. Their inspiration was simple: conservation, style, and substance. With cut, comfort, and consciousness as their muse, Marchuska was born. From Obama’s creation of green-jobs to the shrinking glaciers, the need for sustainability is urgent. The crafts of a clothing designer in New York must take in to account the environmental impact their manufacturing methods take on penguins in Alaska; it’s just the responsible decision.

Green fashion is traditionally uncomfortable, slightly odd smelling, and void of high fashion. If it is fashion-forward, it’s only affordable to the Gwenyths, SJPs, and Penelopes. Christine, namesake and creator of CMarchuska saw this neglected niche and filled it with sustainably made, comfortably fashionable, and enticingly affordable pieces. She left her high-flying career in finance and never looked back. The cmarchuska line consists of impeccably cut and incredibly fashionable basic pieces from their mseries tees to their super-soft hunter scarf.

My new LBD is possibly the most famous piece from the CMarchuska Signature Collection, the Christine dress. It’s a black long-sleeved, button-front, A-line frock. It’s made of 50 percent cotton and 50 percent modal fabric (a bio-based fiber made by spinning reconstituted cellulose from beech trees, says wikipedia.com). The eclectic, yet chic brown buttons are made of recycled Italian polyester. It feels sooooooo good against my skin. Its like I’m draped in jersey-knit sheets. Yet, it looks like I’m wearing vintage Chanel. Even my stylishly ignorant boyfriend said, “Damn, you look hot!” I felt very Audrey Hepburn meets Sienna Miller at the recycling center.

Besides looking good and feeling comfortable, I felt good. The same way I feel good when I remember to drop recycling off on my way to my yoga class. The same way I feel good when I have the balls to just say no to cookies and cream ice cream. Similarly, I felt good when I wore a dress that I knew wasn’t made by a child in Asia and wasn’t increasing my carbon footprint.

Justin and Christine say, “We have never been afraid of failure, but we are afraid of not living out our dream.”