IF YOU GET IT RIGHT, THEY'LL WRITE...

These are hard times for the biggest names in high street retail. Imagine what they are for a online, ethical designer fashion start up. Yikes!! - as Shaggy from Scooby Doo would say. Don't dwell on the image though - you may not survive it.

Fact is times like this are the context in which all those self-help books come in handy. Time to find your reserves of tenacity, self-belief and most of all, tap into your almost pathalogical sense of optimism (a phrase from my one and only meeting with the late Anita Roddick. She told me it was required of any entrepreneur. I memorised it).

I'll admit that nothing does the trick quite like self-motivated, organic (how could I not use the term) energy but I cannot agree that this is enough. A necessary ingredient to keeping your head above water are peer reviews. They keep the space fertile and make what you do seem worthy.

And lately, BTGOG (my secret term which I cannot unfurl, sorry), DeviDoll and our efforts to define and propogate the notion of ethical fashion as essential, fashionable and the the only way forward, have received plenty of attention. Editorial, no pay for play, pure opinion from those who know about luxury, fashion, green issues and have something to say.

So a very big thank you to

greenmystyle.com -- a truly 'daily' read. Lots out there says it is such but you wouldn't really go there everyday. This you would -- for a start for the 'daily e-bay' finds that make reused/vintage/recycled a J-O-Y. Sift for the best green style.


Spire.com -- join up, ask (literally) any question you need answered about luxury, quality travel, lifestyle, shopping, eating and more, and I guarantee you will benefit from the responses you get. A discreet meeting of like minds happens at Spire and experiences of how, what, where are shared (but not your whole life, phew!). The site does what it says on the package: Quality lifestyle. Savvy perspective.



ecofashionworld.com -- for these folks, its all about helping you arm yourself with knowledge about ethics in that most universal of medium, fashion. Very global, very much about things close to style as well as those that impact it from far off (China Issue, Sept 2008).



theginlady.com -- 'under the influence of Green, Independant and Natural lifestyle brands'. Pretty much sums it up really...read here about all kinds of brands, events, happenings, and more -- all from the land of ethical. Sweet.


Check these for more than their take on DeviDoll. As Spire's Suzanne says - 'Sharing the best, so you can leave the rest'.