Matt & Nat is a Canadian Vegan leather goods brand based out of Montreal, Quebec (shoutout to my hometown!). A quick browse-through of their website shows the brands simple, minimalist design preference and style. From wallets to cross-bodies, to yoga bags to diaper bags, they have just about everything.
Living in Montreal myself, I have seen this brand out and about a few times. However, it wasn't until after I went vegan that I learned about what an amazing, ethical company Matt & Nat is. Standing for Material + Nature, their cruelty free leather is made from PU and PVC. Each bag is lined with material made out of recycled plastic bottles. Each factory is routinely visited and those involved in the process of producing their products are treated fairly and ethically. To read up more on their ethics and sustainability efforts, visit their dedicated page. In terms of cost, I see their pricing as reasonable. Brand name animal leather pieces go for much, much more, and for the quality of M&N, I believe the prices are worth it. I originally started searching for a new backpack when I first booked my trip to Europe. Months ago, I'd been looking into purchasing a M&N backpack, but couldn't afford to treat myself to one just yet. When the opportunity arose, I began searching distributers and websites for sales and promo codes. Eventually, after a couple of weeks of snooping the internet, I managed to snatch up a basically brand new bag for a bargain. Like, a crazy bargain. I still loving telling everyone. My bag is the July backpack from the Dwell Collection in Black. It features a very simplistic, clean design, with nice silver hardware and a smaller pocket on the front. After testing out this bag for a couple of weeks now, I am extremely happy with it. The quality is amazing; the leather feels soft and high quality. The straps are nicely padded, which is handy when carrying a lot of weight, or for carrying it for long periods of time. The straps are also easily adjustable, with a cloth-y material straps woven through the adjustment loops. (Alright, that was the worst description, but you can see what I mean on their website). This is a small but very useful detail, since leather straps would have been much more difficult to slide through the loops and adjust. The zippers glide easily and smoothly, and the size is perfect. I can easily fit my 13" Macbook Air inside, however I don't know if anything larger would work. I haven't experienced any pain or discomfort while wearing it. Functions and practicality aside, it's also just a very lovely bag to look at, and matches just about any outfit. All in all, I highly recommend Matt & Nat to anyone. I think it's important to support ethical, and in my case local, brands wherever and whenever we can. I definitely plan on indulging in some more pieces in the future, and I won't need to feel guilty about where my money is going.
0 Comments
Next to my glasses, my style is probably the second most common thing people comment on when they see me; my dad has started calling me his '60's girl'. I don't think my fashion sense is that eclectic, but I mean, I do catch myself seeing 70 year old women in public and thinking, 'I like her shoes,' and I guess most other 20 year old girls can't relate.
I have a very special connection to fashion. Whether my style is seen as fashionable or not isn't what's important to me; it's all about self expression. It's how I present myself to the world. As a generally quiet and reserved person, I like to wear things that show off my personality without necessarily having to tell people all about myself. Over the past few months, my wardrobe has done a complete 180. I used to be too shy to wear anything that would possibly make me stand out in a crowd. Once you start doing it anyway, you realise no one is really paying attention in the first place, and there was nothing to ever be afraid of. It's so liberating to just do and wear what you want. I spent so long admiring other girls for wearing straight leg jeans and mom jeans, never believing that I could pull off anything but black skinnies. The truth is, you can pull off anything you want to pull off. It all comes down to the confidence you wear with it. At the beginning of this year, as my love for thrift haul video on YouTube grew, I found numerous vintage fashion bloggers. Notably, I found YouTuber Lucy Vallely, a 15 year old dancer with amazing style. Seriously, she looks like she stepped straight out of the 70's, and I love it. Watching her rock her retro outfits inspired me immensely, and I owe my rekindled love for clothing as art to her. Slowly, I began thrifting more, and conditioned myself to let go of what I thought I should be wearing because of what was trendy or what was traditionally "flattering" on my frame. Now, I've found myself channeling my inner 70's/boho/borderline-grandpa/whatever/mixed style, and I've embraced it. I just started buying things that I thought looked cool and interesting. Fashion should never have rules, especially rules pertaining to weight and body type. If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be to forget those restraints that we've been taught. Find what you love. Realise that no one else's opinion on your style matter, at all. Wear it. Love it. And don't take yourself too seriously. C Thrifting is a concept that has been gaining more and more popularity over the past few years, especially online. I've spent hours upon hours watching just about every thrift haul uploaded onto Youtube, and each one has given me motivation and inspiration to hit up my local secondhand shops. With the new year upon us, one of my main goals is to work towards reducing my waste and living a more environmentally sound lifestyle. My eyes have been opened to the cruel conditions under which fast fashion brands that we know and love operate. Pollution, slave labour, and animal exploitation are some of my main concerns. Buying secondhand is an easy, cost-effective way to avoid supporting these corrupt corporations. Here's a list of pros to convince you.
These are all common sense, but I just feel like thrift shops get a bad rep from a lot of people. They might think they're dirty, gross, or that the clothing isn't cute. But you can always wash clothes, and you never know what hidden gems you'll find if you look hard enough. Even if you enjoy following trends, there's always a way to style pieces in a way that fits your personality if you're creative enough. Thrifting has inspired me to think outside of the box, and to play around with pieces to make them not only fit my style, but also further evolve it. Pictured above are three slip camisoles/dresses that I picked up this afternoon to wear overtop of t-shirts and long sleeve tops. I absolutely cannot get over the embroidered rose! These look incredible when tucked into jeans - especially mom jeans. These were $3 a piece. I found a long denim Gap skirt for $4.99 this weekend, which I'll just have to take in a tiny bit at the waist to make it perfect. I also picked up this paisley printed blouse-y collared top for $5, which hangs low in the back. I'm picturing it with black jeans and a choker. Now go read up on fast fashion, go thrifting, and be creative. I'll probably be visiting another thrift store this weekend... I have a problem. C |
Authoradmirer of beautiful things, amateur artist, perpetually confused. Archives
June 2017
Categories
All
|