Rainy Day Outfit Inspo

There are times in the year when the sun ceases to exist and clouds rally their forces and join sides to release a downpour of rain on our shores. Don’t let the lack of sunshine and warm rays this season ruin your vibe though – we have taken the liberty of concocting some of the sweetest styles for rainy weather this year so you can still rock your look on Umbrella Days.

First up is our Anya Long Sleeve Jersey top with tights and boots wrapped up underneath the Eloise Dungaree Dress. The look is simple but the layering adds elegance to the style and is sure to keep you wrapped up cosy and warm all day under your winter coat.

With Britain being renown for rainy days - 2 staple layering items that are perfect for mood-swing days are the; Maaike T-shirt with Alicia Mini Skirt and tights - great transitional piece into the spring weather.

The third outfit to bring a little sunshine to your style this month is the new Sura Frill Top with our always-in-style Jean Slim Cut Trousers and layered with a jumper and a calf-length coat on top.

Why not add some of our curated brand LilyFlo’s jewellery for a little extra glam?

Vega Bracelet

For those of you craving something a tad more daring – the Shan Long Sleeve Blouse and our Simone Chequered Print Wrap Skirt is super elegant and can be worn with brogues or boots and a coat to really add to the look.

Are you one to let the weather ruin your outfit? Want to channel your inner Nicole Richie? like our Instagram earlier this month, the Ruth Strap Dress is the perfect dress for a glam night out this weekend. Add a pair of heels, your favourite clutch and a red lippy that would make even T-Swift jealous and you might give Nicole Richie herself a run for her money.

Don’t forget to take a sheer umbrella with you and not even your brolly can hide your style!

...Or master the sexy wet hair look from Sel slaying here!

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Countdown to Christmas - Day 9 - Style A Day

Natalie Kay Smith – Responsible Fashion Blogger:

For today’s style steal, we thought we would focus on +Natalie Smith from Sustainably Chic a sustainable fashion blogger that is living proof that Fashion Can Exist Responsibly. Over the years we have got to know Natalie and her zest for fashion.

Here, are our favourite day time looks for Natalie; Natasha Jersey Top or the Eloise-Dungaree-Dress, as Natalie loves a day dress or a jersey top.

As Natalie is not one to worry about trying something a little different, we have selected with our Kalani silk-lined jacket and Fahra Velvet Dress;

For New Years eve, Mary A-Line Skater Dress, is Natalie down to a 't' and is now available in Sale 

It’s simple style and beauty can be dressed up with a good ethically produced coat and heels, or dressed down in a simple cardi and boots. It’s all up to you, but whatever you choose, make sure you put your own spin on it with a conscious outlook – you could be someone else’s ethical style inspiration

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Shimmer Goals

These  2 dresses are perfect for that Christmas party vibe. Whether you are welcoming the cocktail party, as a hostess with some glitz and shimmer, or attending the party of the century. Ruth Gold strap dress, or Amelia Velvet dress, both, ideal with the Astra necklace.







               The Brightest Star

An ideal handmade Christmas gift, from our curated brand Lily Flo a 

flawless gold necklace to set off any works event

2 Luxe Classics 

Blouses that are fit for the office party
or for when you meet up with work mates for drinks 
 

       

A Step in the Right Direction

A vegan alternative shoe, that styles effortlessly as a classic wardrobe staple
Each of our trouser is made in house by our seamstresses produced in small batches due to limited end-of -line production. 
Pair our Alex cotton, straight cut trouser or Camille  poly-cotton trouser, with these Olivia vegan shoes from our curated brand Bourgeois Boheme. Awarded for 'Best Cruelty free Brand' by Vogue and Peta; now available in-store and online.

Uplifting Moment 

For those uplifting moments when all the stress of  last minute Christmas shopping, proves too much 
An energising green mate blend of tea to fuel you through the winter - Hand picked with rich aromas from Lola's Apothecary now available on Madia & Matilda

                     Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Style - Rachel Green Effortless Style

Post Thanks Giving, we thought we'd write about our all time favourite American icon of the century, Rachel Green.

For years the Friends style icon has covered our screens, looking impeccably effortless in her fashion selection. 

Whether it is her casual dungaree look, with a jersey top.

Roll neck and plaid skirt, denim or no denim Rachel Green had 90's style sorted.

   

  



Even work attire or an effortless party dress, we feel some of our collection unknowingly emulates Rachel's zest for fashion. 

                

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

News - Competition Time

We’ve teamed up with vegan brand Bourgeois Boheme shoes a London-based, Ex-Podiatrist Alicia is the founder and director who specialises in one of the most established vegan footwear brands out there. A brand that is independently minded, with an animal free ethos at the core; all BB shoes are Vegan Society trademarked and PETA approved from the finest eco-friendly Italian vegan leathers.

Founded in 2005 by ex-Podiatrist and long-term vegan, Alicia; with her foot care expertise with her vegan values and bring the luxury animal-free footwear to life, without compromising on quality or ethics.

We love their subtle yet impactful androgynous designs that fuse beautifully hand crafted and versatile shoes, produced in Portugal’s São João da Madeira, where Alicia herself handpicked artisans and factories.

Bourgeois Boheme timeless design suits our minimalist style so well, that we even collaborated with Bourgeois Boheme for Madia & Matilda latest season fashion showcasee, AW16 at St Martins in the Fields, Leicester Square.

We believe Bourgeois Boheme shoes are a brand to watch; with a vegan celebs fan base including Natalie Portman, Bryan Adams and Torrey DeVitto.

To find out more about the collaboration check out our Autumn Winter 16 Collection or see below for terms & conditions to enter our competition. 

Join in to Win

‪#‎GIVEAWAY‬

The competition gives you the chance to win Bourgeois Boheme shoes to give you the chance to ‪#‎WIN‬ a £40 gift certificate to use towards our (Madia & Matilda) timeless pieces as well as another £40 gift certificate to spend on your favourite vegan Bourgeois Boheme shoes.

To enter:
1. Like Bourgeois Boheme & Madia & Matilda
2. Tag your friends.
3. Share this post.

Competition ends on the 14th August 2016. One winner will be announced on the 15th August 2016. Good Luck! :)

Thoughts on value

Have you ever wondered why there is often such a big price difference between your average high street garment and a seemingly similar product from a sustainable brand?

People often say sustainable/eco fashion is too expensive, but is it? Or is fast fashion the costly one?

It depends how you measure it. Yes you can purchase a top for £15- £20 from a big high street brand, wear it a couple of times, throw it away, and as a consumer it hasn’t cost you much. However, it’s easy to forget that garment was made by a human being and the amount of labour and energy that goes into it staggering. For example, to turn a piece of cotton into a garment, first it must be planted, harvested, taken to a factory to be processed and spun into yarn. Then it’s taken to another factory, woven into cloth, sent to a dye mill, dyed and finished. Then it is sold to a manufacturer who must create an original design and pattern, test for fit and performance, cut and make the garment, ship and then market it, all before reaching the customer. People are involved for its whole journey, people who deserve a fair price for their labour. But unfortunately, to produce a garment with all of those processes involved and still sell it for a price we are willing to pay; someone along the line is missing out. 

The sad truth is what we class, as a reasonable, average price, is in fact, artificially low. These cheap prices shouldn’t be the norm; they are wrong, not the more ‘expensive’ eco brands. They are the ones causing costly damage to the earth and to the workers. For fashion to be sustainable it’s not meant to be fast, throw away and cheap. We’ve been trained to buy quantity over quality. Somewhere along the way we’ve lost sight of what is best for us and the environment.

This is where sustainable fashion comes in, as it tries to change perceptions of what is expensive and go back to valuing the right things. 

Sustainable fashion tends to be more expensive due to a number of factors:

Time – As a small brand it takes time to create new and original designs from scratch, develop a pattern and manufacture in a smaller environment.

Fair trade- It is cheaper to employ people abroad to make clothes, where minimum wages are a lot less than here in the UK. For example, an employer in China only has to pay their garment worker 60p an hour, whereas in the UK the minimum wage is £6.70. When buying from a sustainable clothing company that manufactures their clothes in the UK, you know the workers have been paid a fair wage for their labour.

Economies of sale- It’s cheaper to produce mass quantities of clothing if you are a large company. Small scale companies have to pay more to produce smaller quantities.

Quality – Finally, when buying from a sustainable brand, the garments have longer life spans and are well made.

To find out more about our thoughts on value, check out our youtube 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

e::  info@madiamatilda.co.uk       w::  www.madiamatilda.co.uk/