Fashion Philanthropy

Let me start this off by saying that I am not affiliated with the people I'm going to write about, but I wish I were. These people have gotten my attention, and I wanted to tell you about them because I love what each of them is doing. I want to help them, and I want you to help them too. I'll readily admit that I'm coming from a place of enlightened self-interest here. Giving makes me feel good. Furthermore, giving money to these creative endeavors means that, in some small way, I have contributed to more creativity going out into the world. I'm definitely okay with that happening.

Dig deep for these deserving projects:

Stacy Lomman is the new It topic in the fashion world. She garnered a nice little HuffPo piece about how she used Social Media to start her fashion label.

Truly, her savvy alone is of interest to me. Instead of going the old-fashioned route (Create a collection, shop it around to department stores, seek backing, have a runway show, seek buyers, etc.), she went the other way around. She started a blog FIRST, and within two days had an email from someone interested in sponsoring a dress. Her readers and supporters helped fund a show at NYFW. Her show at NYFW displayed designs that were flirty, and fun - focusing on dresses in glitzy fabrics and the sharper side of 80's style. Truly, this is the kind of innovative thinking that could only be actualized in today's hyper-connected, technologically driven world.

While her clothes are not really my personal style, I still plan on supporting her because I like what she's doing. It's very inspiring to see someone do so much when they start with so little. From a blog to a show at NYFW - I am duly impressed with the business acumen exhibited by Stacy Lomman!

You can support her latest endeavor by contributing to her Kickstarter fund. She's only $200 short of her $4000 goal at the time this blog was posted.



Sister Wolf is, without a doubt, my favorite blogger ever. Which is why she gets a big fat mention here. She deserves it. She is a light in the dark, even when people accuse her of being snarky or negative. What they don't understand about her particular brand of candor is that it comes from a place of honesty. She is honest about herself, about her anger, and her righteous indignation. I think of her as a powerful force of nature, bringing wit and wisdom to my life on a nearly daily basis. I would be crushed if she ever stopped writing.

After a devastating year of loss, Sister Wolf's roof caved in. The structure of support and protection that most of us take for granted, came crashing down in an literal illustration of symbolic tragedy. I am so impressed with the way the fashion blogging community banded together to raise money for her roof replacement.

Wendy Brandes, Marie and Michelle of Kingdom of Style, and Kate of Make Do Style created a fundraiser for Sister Wolf. Proceeds from every purchase of Wendy Brandes' Little Woolf necklace or Swear Ring Set have gone to SW to help her out. Other people are coming up with ways to help. Blogger Carrie Blaydes is offering to donate proceeds from the sale of a gorgeous vintage cape. Some are straight-up donating to her via Paypal. Whatever avenue of philanthropy you choose to take, I hope you help out our beloved Sister Wolf. She's like the brilliant, savvy, bullshit detector of the fashion blogging world. Since this is a corner of the blogging world fraught with bullshit, we need her around to keep us honest.


Vivian Maier was a photography genius. Little is known about this reclusive photographer, but what is known about her and her life results in a fascinating story. I read about her in this article on Jezebel and I was absolutely captivated by the mystery and intrigue surrounding this woman.

A real estate agent by the name of John Maloof discovered a cache of her negatives which was comprised of thousands of pictures taken by Maier between the the mid 1950's and the late 1980's. Maloof found, in total, over 100,000 negatives. Another collector owns around 12,500. She was a prolific photographer. I imagine her to be like a reclusive version of Thierry Guatta, obsessively documenting the details of her day.

Read the whole, awe-inspiring story on Jezebel. I can scarcely do it justice. Not only is it an interesting story, her photographs are phenomenal. This is someone who really understood lighting and shadows (Which, in my opinion, is the mark of a true talent. Anyone can take a Hiptamastic snap and have it look good. That does not make you a good photographer. Technique does). Her photos have a haunting, surreal quality to them. I want to buy and frame all of them.

This is the photographic version of a major anthropological finding. Because of her immense volume of work, and her talent for capturing the man-on-the-street there is much to be told about three full eras of fashion. Her candid snaps capture American fashion in its natural state. There's no predestined shots or stiff poses. I felt dumbfounded as I flipped through a collection of her photographs that I found online. They were remarkable! She was (unwittingly) the Scott Schuman of her day. The beauty part is, she never set out to capture street fashion in Chicago in the 50's-80's. It was merely incidental, but it's one of the facets to this discovery that I love the most.

Since it's a story that is still unfolding, you can take part in bringing her photographs to the world by donating to Maloof's Kickstarter project. He aims to make a documentary of his discovery entitled "Finding Vivian Maier." I can't wait to see it!