Wedding Bells at Equa

The girls from the Equa boutique shut up shop last weekend to attend Penny's (the owner of Equa) wedding in the Lake District. It was everything you could wish for in a wedding: beautiful, emotional and with an idyllic setting.

We couldn't resist the chance to show off some of the best of this season's elegant offerings from Equa.

Here is the lovely Marta in a gorgeous silk blouse by Alchemist.

And the green balloon dress on yours truly is by Kiilerich. One of my favourites from this season!

Wishing Dan and Penny a long and happy marriage.

Thalia x

Ethical Holiday Wardrobe

I’m about to go off on a two week city holiday and as it’s my honeymoon I’ve been planning my wardrobe very carefully. Being the buyer at Equa I have great access to a wonderful collection of ethical labels and this season I’ve been spoilt for choice over what to choose from.

The most obvious thing that I needed for a city holiday was a great pair of tailored jeans, especially in Rome and Paris where everyone is so well dressed. My favourite jeans are my Del Forte Calla’s. I have two pairs, one in this season’s Cielo wash, and the other in the Black Out from two seasons ago (and with my careful cool washing with my eco balls the black is still beautifully black).

With that I need some classic separates and where better to look than Stewart Brown and Annie Greenabelle. My Annie Greenabelle Polkadot Blazer is a must and this Annie Greenabelle Grandpa Blouse is perfect for chic casual when wearing with jeans, and this season’s StewartBrown tees are as ever perfect for everyday wear.

As it will be early May I will still need jackets and I’ll be taking my Sika Rain Coat from three seasons ago (click here for Sika’s new season Mac), and my favourite new season purchase - the Kuyichi Leiko Jacket.

Obviously I wanted some spring dresses to wander around my two favourite cities in. I have many dresses from past season from Edun, Annie Greenabelle and Alchemist, but I just couldn’t resist the Amana Eleanora Dress. Wearing it with leggings and ballet pumps makes it a great day dress, and then with heels and sheer tights it can take me to dinner and dancing.

Shoes was something I needed to think about carefully, I needed something for all that walking we’re going to be doing so my Veja Grey/Black trainers are definitely in the holiday bag. For a more tailored look I have a great pair of Terra Plana boots that have a small 1” heel (from a past season) and some great La Lesso Ballet Pumps.

With all that in my suitcase I’m hoping that my romantic notion of overnight train travel won’t be ruined by my new husband complaining about having to lug it around! Wishful thinking? We’ll see!

Penny x

Win a Personal Style Consultation with Equa and Think Style

Do you dream of being an ethical fashionista but don’t know where to start? Here’s your chance.

Equa have teamed up with Think Style to celebrate the launch of the Think Style website by offering the chance to win a wardrobe consultation and personal shopping session worth £350 with stylist and Think Style founder Zoë Robinson.

Think Style aims to show clients how to dress ethically without compromising on style, helping them to gain a deeper understanding of sustainability in fashion. Think Style offers creative, original advice in response to individual needs, lifestyle and budget.

The wardrobe consultation is a three hour session for women, in which Zoë will come to your house and review your wardrobe, offering recommendations for customisation, alterations and showing you fresh new ways to put outfits together. Zoë will help you weed out pieces you no longer need that you can take to a swishing event or to your local charity shop.

The winner will also have the opportunity to spend one hour in the Equa boutique with Zoë and receive a 20% discount off any purchases made from the Spring Summer 2009 collection.

The competition will run from Monday 6th April until Sunday 10th May and can be entered in person at Equa’s Islington boutique or by emailing info@equaclothing.com with the subject ‘Think Style Wardrobe Consultation Competition’. Entrants must be London based.

The winner will be announced in the second week of May. Twenty runners up will receive a £50 discount on their first Think Style wardrobe consultation or half day personal shopping package, and a 20% discount at Equa on Spring Summer 2009 collections until end of July 2009.

Top 10 Style Tips

From Ethical Fashion Forum's Elizabeth Laskar & Pamela Daniels

Fashion is what you have in your wardrobe. Style is how you live and create with it.

THE COLOURS OF YOUR PERSONALITY
A well selected wardrobe should express the facets of your personality, not just the latest trends. Know your colour palette. It will save you money and time - get your colours done.

BODY
Love and understand your body. Then learn to shop and dress for your body shape. Good posture and confidence also go a long way.

ACCESSORISE
Invest in at least 5 styles of belt - they are a great accessory and can change the silhouette of an outfit in seconds. Keep scarves, hats and jewellery to hand to easily spice up a look.

PEOPLE, PROFIT, PLANET
When you buy and article of clothing, think about the social and environmental impact attached to it - perhaps for every two items of clothing you buy... buy one ethical item.

MIX & MATCH
Think outside the box. Wear scarves as belts, wear v-necks backwards, get vintage trims, lace and sequins to add sophistication and embellishment to simple items.

NEW BEST FRIEND
Look at each item in your wardrobe as an opportunity to be styled into something unique. Your new look is only a hemline away. Find a local tailor and have fun!

FREQUENT TRAVELLER
Africa is making a big influence on our fashion - use accessories to get a hint of Africa in your look. Travel the world through your wardrobe. See La Lesso or Made's fabulous African made jewellery collections.

WORK, REST & PLAY
Work from rest... not rest from work. Then Play!

WALK YOUR TALK
Every girl needs a pair of flats - invest in a pair that are cute, comfortable and can easily fit in your bag. Forget the car, hop skip and hump your way through the day.

Be a story teller and celebrate the stories behind your clothing. Wear fashion with sole!

Block Colour Window Display

Here you can see our Merchandiser Thalia putting the finishing touches to our Block Colour themed window display.

It was such a lovely week last week the boutique looked great with our new season now in. Here you can see the fab Kiilerich Balloon Dress which is our best selling style this season to date, and the great Edun Tuareg Tunic.

We also have the perfect ethical trainer Veja in a Matt&Nat bag. Also in the window but harder to spot from the picture are our lovely wallets and summer shoe collections from Beyond Skin and Terra Plana.

And here is the final result!

New SS09 Collection now online!!

Wow - it seems to be later this year, but Spring/Summer 2009 is here! A smattering of our new lines are now available online and in our boutique... Now online is our beautiful collection from Edun, great casual wear from Kuyichi and our FAB new leather handbags from Aura Que - Hurrah!

We've got plenty more to come, I'm especially looking forward to our new Annie Greenabelle range - if you loved the Floral Party Dresses that we've been selling for the past two seasons, you'll LOVE their new Scoop Back Party Dress. StewartBrown is always a good one for Spring/Summer and we've got plenty of their super soft organic tees coming in soon (hopefully next week).

If you want to know my favourite piece from what we've got so far it has to be the Edun Tribal One Piece - it's so on trend this season and this one's in black so it's so flattering!

Fair Trade Fortnight with Greenmystyle

The next two weeks are all about Fair Trade Fortnight. Each year Fair Trade Fortnight helps to bring the issues of Fair Trade to the media's attention. In the four years that Equa has been open and selling Fair Trade and ethical fashion, the understanding of what Fair Trade fashion means seems to have increased. Last year saw the launch of Greenmystyle, which is one of Equa's favourite online magazines (ethical and non-ethical). Every day Greenmystyle show their readers how ethical fashion can and should be done. For Fair Trade Fortnight 2009 Greenmystyle, in association with Equa, will bring the best of the best of Fair Trade Fortnight. Keep an eye on their website for all the gossip and events going on.

Spring 2009 Preview!!

The Equa sale is nearly at an end. We've only got a few pieces left in the sale and our new season will be online soon. Here is a preview of some of our favourite Spring Summer 2009 pieces which will be online by early March.

Kiilerich was introduced at Equa for AW08 and had a great first season. We're even more excited about the Spring Summer 2009 collection and I think these pictures can tell you why:



This is the Kiilerich Balloon Dress made from silk jersey. This season it comes in this fabulous green and a charcoal black and is £108. This shape can take you from a spring wedding to a summer garden party or layer it up with a long sleeve tee and let it take you from your office to an evening out without any effort at all!














This is one that we're so excited about. We found this label at Pure this year and they will be in store by the end of the month. Finally we have found a fair trade leather bag and accessories label that are to die for. Using all local materials these bags are produced in Nepal using natural dyes and fabrics, they are all manufactured according to IFAT guide lines. They work with the Nepal Leprosy Trust, an organisation which provides employment and support for people affected by disabilities which may otherwise lead to their segregation from the community. This beautiful large bag will be available in black and beige and will be in the Equa Boutique and online from the end of February, £215. The smaller version of this bag will also be available in black and beige for £188.






This 'Peasant Dress' from Alchemist is a linen knit and is a great layering piece for this Spring. Retailing at £129 it is so that it is a must have for most wardrobes. Alchemist produce their collections under the Made By scheme and are dedicated to improving not only the social conditions under which their collections are produced by also using more and more environmentally sustainable fabrics such as organic cotton, linen and bamboo.

Pick of the Winter Sale

Coat with piping by Kiilerich. A fantastic statement coat with beautiful detailing. It has a soft flattering silhouette with full sleeves gathering into deep cuffs. I adore the contrast electric blue piping and the angular blue buttons remind me of sweets!


Was £390 Now £195




Magenta Jorja Fox by Matt & Nat. The vegans out there should already be familiar with Matt & Nat's terrific range, but this is more than just a faux leather bag, it is really well designed with compartments for everything a girl might need and finished to the standard of a quality leather bag. Features a lining made from recycled plastic bottles.


Was £155 now £93


Pinafore Dress by Bora Aksu for People Tree. Made from a hand woven cotton herring bone fabric with a skirt that swings when you move and tied with a pretty striped silk sash. A versitle dress that can be styled to look formal or super cute!




Was £95, now £66





Organic Cotton Long sleeve Tee by Stewart Brown. A great wardrobe staple, perfect for layering under the People Tree Bora Aksu Pinafore dress.




Was £49 now £29

Thigh High Socks by g=9.8. Beautifully soft to touch, these socks are made from a remarkable pine fibre modal, recycled from pruning white pine trees. For cold weather I like to layer mine over a pair of tights.




Was £15, now £8





Bronze and Black Banjo Boots by Terra Plana. For high heels these boots are amazingly comfortable! The inside sole is padded with memory foam for shock absorption and the heel is high enough to feel sexy but small enough for everyday wear. They look great with skirts or with skinny jeans tucked in.

Was £200, now £120