Walk into a restaurant and ask for a vegetarian option, and
you’re more than likely going to get the grub you’re craving. Taking the Acela
train out of town? They’ve got vegetarian options too, even if they’re not
always the most appetizing (though they still tend to look more trustworthy
than the meaty fare). Even many wedding receptions are responsive to the needs
of the non-meat eaters on the guest list. Veggie-friendly alternatives have,
for sure, become more status quo in the past decade. But any reusable
bag-toting, Whole Foods-shopping vegetarian will agree that it is quite
challenging to fully live a vegetarian lifestyle — without sacrificing the
style part.
In fact, it can seem nearly impossible to avoid fashion choices
that conflict with the sustainable views of a vegetarian. Sure, choosing not to
wear fur, leather, or suede sounds easy enough, but good luck finding a chic
handbag or pair of shoes. Even harder to find are vegan options that use no
animal byproducts at all: when fabrics like silk, wool, and cashmere are added
to the forbidden list, you may end up feeling like your style scruples have landed
you in some kind of polyester purgatory. Yet slowly but surely, more
cruelty-free accessories are making appearances on store shelves. Yes, the days
of associating leather-free fashions with cheap-looking products that even
tween Hot Topic shoppers would be vaguely embarrassed to buy are behind us.
Pleather may still sound like a dirty word, which is why a lot of companies
refer to their “better than the real thing” animal-friendly fabrics as vegan
leather, even though most are created with plastics. But thankfully, advances
in microfiber technology and fabric blends that don’t rely on synthetic
materials are growing exponentially, meaning we can depend less on those
landfill-clogging, chemical-leaching plastic-based products. With an
ever-expanding interest in vegetarian fashion, the options can only get better.
Compassionate brands and designers like Matt & Nat and Stella McCartney (a
lifelong vegetarian and animal activist) are blazing the way, so vegetarians no
longer have to compromise their convictions to keep their style on point.
LEFT: Deux Lux bag, $125, available at Luna Boston; Melissa + Campana zig-zag ballet flat, $60, available at Saks Fifth Avenue
RIGHT: Matt & Nat Leda bag, $275, available at Passport; Stella McCartney elastic heel, $665, available at Barneys
Where to Shop
Barneys, 100 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617.385.3300, www.barneys.com
Luna Boston, 205 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.262.3900, www.lunaboston.com
Passport, 43 Brattle Street, Cambridge, 617.576.0900, www.passportboutique.com
Saks Fifth Avenue, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.262.8500, www.saks.com
