#non-leather

[cecialva]

Loro Piana belt ❤ liked on Polyvore (see more leather belts)

[janeunchained]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FnoUA1SjTg)

[otherxcore]

Has anyone here ever made SCOBY/kombucha "leather"?

I just discovered today that it exists and I'm incredibly intrigued by the idea. I know it gets slippery when wet, so it's not totally practical, but holy shit, if someone can find a vegan-friendly way to waterproof it well, that could be the vegan leather of the future, and it could be way cheap and easy to make.

[chromefree]

Shoes x2

There are two ways to go about purchasing shoes when you have this condition of being allergic to most leather products (so basically a condition where you are allergic to all shoes).  I still don't know how you vegans ever look cute. Everything I am attracted to is made out of animal products.  But that is besides the point.

Your two shoe-life choices are either: A. Buy really expensive, fairly ugly, vegetable tanned leather shoes and hope that they last forever or B. Buy really cheap shoes that are not made out of leather that can be found at only the classiest of clothing/shoe stores and know they won't last long so you have to buy multiple pairs. 

I chose the latter.

I found two pairs of black flats when I went to the classiest mall in America after going to Value Village in Seattle with my mom, with the objective being to find a great pair of shoes that won't give me a rash.  The first store we went to, Payless Shoe Source, was a bust because I refuse to wear sparkles, but two stores down from Payless we found a gem of a place, called Shiekh Shoes, and the place was filled with wonderfully hideous non-leather heals and boots, with a small display of flats hidden in the back of the store.  To be honest, when I first walked in, I was not optimistic.  I was feeling down and out and on the brink of tearing up because I was convinced that AUGH NOTHING WOULD WORK, I entered the store, wishing I could go to my Nordstrom instead, but earlier in the week a very sympathetic saleswoman told me on the phone that "No, all of our shoes are real leather, except a slightly unfortunate green pair of cloth flats?" And I said, "Well, I am also allergic to the color green, so thanks, but no thanks." And hung up.

Shiekh had one pair of pleather black flats and another pair of cloth black flats.  My mom got me BOTH pairs because, yes, she is a big spender and decided that two months worth of shoes was totally worth it! The reason I say two months worth of shoes, because it is clear to me after walking for a around 3 miles today in my cloth black flats, that they will not be lasting the longest? But that is besides the point. I found shoes to wear to my first day of work and I could not be happier and for both pairs, together, we (meaning my mom) only shelled out $48.76!  And if you didn't already guess it, the pictures at the top of this post are images of my new shoes, beautiful specimens of incredibly complex fashion, ready to be worn by a college counselor extraordinaire, living her life on the edge in BK.