24 May 2011

Nature Shop Designs For Life



Like most women  I appreciate quality, comfort and well made pieces of clothing that can do double duty in my wardrobe. Ok I will amend that to, I can be a little fanatical at times about these issues with regard to my wardrobe, quality fabric and dressing other women! I don't know about you gals but on really busy days spent styling other women my work out is often my walking time! So when I had the opportunity to review a pair Keen sandals from ethical company Nature Shop and a Icebreaker vest and pant set made from natural fibres  I jumped at it.















 First impressions

It's not often that you find a leisure wear company that offers the kind of attention to detail, level of service and standard of ethics that I found Nature Shop offers. Let's face it how many stores offer a 365 day return policy, free returns and 100% biodegradable packaging?! Often when stores talk about bio degradable packaging, we don't associate biodegradable with the kind of pretty packaging that will have us salivating about the goodies inside. So I was excited to
discover that the packaging I received my vest and pants set in from Nature Shop  had broken that sometimes frumpy mould and was really elegant with clear information, that I did not need to squint at to read..







 



 
                                       



The pant and vest set by Icebreaker, in Snow -Sahara,  a warm ivory shade are part of a much wider range of underwear by Nature Shop, made of fine pure Merino wool, both the tank top with a flattering scoop neck and the hot pants feature a pretty ice blue floral design. Soft and light to the touch the gage was so fine I could see my fingers through the vest fabric!  Working as a personal stylist, VPL is an absolute no- no whatever the occasion, so I was pleased to discover that the pants had nice flat seams, that did not show when I slipped on a pair of yoga trousers or under my favourite clingy dress. Even more impressive was the invitation on the clothing labels to trace the sustainable nature of my pants and vest set back to its origins in the southern alps of New Zealand, by taping in a bar code, now that is what I call attention to detail!




Comfort Versus Style
With British weather being so unpredictable  natural fibres feature big in my wardrobe, as they are cool when it's hot, but  warm when there is a chill. It was great to have an opportunity to test my Icebreaker set out and after walking briskly for an hour( and at the risk of sounding like the weather man I encountered plenty of high winds and a few sunny spells) did I manage to keep my cool ? Yes, beautifully, I would quite happily stock up on this premium quality panties and vest set in a variety of colours as they wash perfectly and leave me with a squeaky clean conscious.

The  La Paz moulded sole sandal in bronze green by Keen, provides a great solution for someone like me who does not want to sacrifice style for comfort  when wearing these for what I imagine to be their most popular use of walking.The sandals have ultra fine woven straps and a contemporary gladiator feel, teeny tiny functional fastenings in black plastic, which make them a breeze to get on and off in a hurry and feature pretty zig zag stitching in pastel pink and wheat on the olive green straps. Even better, these elegant but casual walking  sandals would work just as well with my floral maxi dress in jersey or some crisp cotton city shorts from my spring wardrobe. Extremely light weight with a moulded sole and cushioned foot bed, strong supportive heel backs, comfortable and versatile, I think they offer great value. My only niggle from a design point of view is that I would have preferred the sandal fastening to be in olive green in keeping with the rest of the sandal rather than black, but that's just personal preference. Bring on the festival season!!

If you want to check out Nature Shops green credentials and ladies clothing range go to




Disclosure: I was provided with a Icebreaker vest and pants set and pair of Keen sandal from Nature Shop for the purposes of this review.

7 comments:

wishful nals said...

great recap! :) thanks so much for stopping by my blog. xxxo

Cammila said...

Extremely useful review! There are a million shops out there these days, claiming to offer the elusive mix of comfort, style, and quality, and personal reviews like this are such a great way to tell the treasures apart from the trash. I'd love to see shots of you modeling these shoes with an outfit!

Oh, and when you click the profile link that Blogger includes with your comment, it claims that your profile hasn't been made public! (It was no problem, I just Googled the name of your blog). Perhaps just a glitch (ah, technology) but I thought you might want to know. :)

Simply Mel {Reverie} said...

I'm eager to try the vest and pant set ~ sounds incredibly lovely and nothing makes me happier than an Eco-conscious company!

Miss Pussycat said...

Great to see a firm taking it's impact on the environment seriously and stylishly. Have you seen Terra Plana's shoes? De-Lish! x

Splenderosa said...

Sharon, everyone in my family demands ONLY natural fiber apparel. No syn's at all, ever. I truly like the shoes. Totally agree with you on styling them with your outfit selections. And, what a great pair to take travelling! I'm going to go to the website and look to see if these things are available in the USA. No matter what, I'm ordering the shoes. I'll send this on to my daughter, the spa developer, who is always looking for outstanding items for the boutiques in the various spas. xx's

My Passport to Style said...

Great to hear from you Miss Pussycat and that you approve of Nature Shops high standard of ethics.

Hi Splenderosa, so glad this review for Nature Shop, has been useful and you have found the perfect shoe companion for your travels! I know you take looking stylish very seriously and now know that you take your fabrics without nylon!


Sharon

Jaime @ laviejaime said...

great review! it's good to use natural products. the shoes sound comfy!

fashionable frolickers

This chic little rectangle is just waiting to be filled with your thoughts ....