My Vegan Wardrobe Essentials
Plus, a few tips and tricks to help you shop vegan fashion
This post contains affiliate links
If you would rather listen than read, this post is adapted from this episode of my podcast Catwalk Rebel.
If you’ve read my book Vegan Style, you’ll remember that the very first chapter is about creating a capsule wardrobe. If you're into ethical fashion and minimalism, you might be familiar with this term. If you’re not, the very simple explanation of “capsule wardrobe'“ is a wardrobe that's pared down to select items – often a limited number of items – that can all match well with one another. This is meant to make dressing easier and also cut down on the trend-led purchases that we make, thus becoming a sustainable pursuit.
At the time of writing my book, I was fascinated with the idea of capsule wardrobes. However, somewhere along my journey, I realised that unlike many other people who care about ethical fashion, I am not a minimalist. I love having clothes to choose from, and they don't all have to go with each other. I have quite a few clothes - however, I almost never get rid of anything. Once I buy something, it’s in my wardrobe for years.
But while learning about capsule wardrobes, I picked up some principles that I still find useful today. One of them is having your wardrobe built around certain basic pieces. If you take the time to perfect the items that make up the backbone of your wardrobe, then getting dressed will be easier, you will feel more confident in what you're wearing, and you'll love your clothes more.
Here, I'm breaking down seven items that I believe to be the building blocks of a good wardrobe and how we can make them vegan – what fabrics to look out for and where to shop for these items.
The Cold-Weather Coat
The trickiest of all of them – but in many climates you really need this one. For me, buying a coat is such a big, important purchase, as it's meant to last many years. I remember I was reading a book on personal style a few years ago, and the author said that it's a good idea to replace your winter coat every year. I remember how strange that sounded to me. All my winter coats have lasted me ages. To me, a coat is a long-term commitment, which is why it's even more important to choose wisely.
For a long time and possibly still today, one of the biggest issues with looking for coats as a vegan is that so, so, so many coats out there come with a tiny, tiny percentage of animal-derived fabric. I'm talking about 10% wool, 8% angora, 5% cashmere – so the brand is able to call it “wool-blend” and raise the price. This used to frustrate me so much when I was first transitioning to a vegan wardrobe, and coats are still among the most difficult garments to buy if you don't want animal fabrics, don't want virgin polyester, and value style and fit. I find that this still a big gap in the market.
My best tip is to buy your coat second-hand, on websites like eBay or Vestiaire Collective, or apps like Depop and Vinted. But going down this route can be tricky and take time. I found my perfect coat on eBay - after over a year of searching. So this is not a quick fix.
I've found really good coats in charity shops, but here too, remember to check the label. I once took a coat home before I had read the label, and guess what – it had 20% wool. Some vegans are okay with wearing second-hand wool, leather and other animal-derived fabrics, and I have no problem with that. Choosing second-hand is preferable to buying new, but when it comes to my own wardrobe I just can’t bring myself to wear wool after knowing what I know about the industry. So I ended up taking that coat back to the charity shop.
Brands that offer good vegan coats are few but they do exist. Matt and Nat, a handbag and accessory brand from Canada, also offer a small but beautiful outerwear range, often including recycled fibres. The eco-friendly label Jan n'June also offers vegan coats in organic cotton. People Tree is another brand that has lighter mid-season coats and jackets. If you're a faux-fur person – I definitely am – then you’re in luck as there is so much choice. London Fashion Week favourite Shrimps creates high-end coats in a variety of colours and patterns. Jakke London and Culthread are two other UK-based brands that create amazing colourful faux furs with beautiful prints and designs. One of my favourites is Unreal Fur from Australia – I have one of their faux furs and I'm constantly complimented on it. The coat I’m wearing in the photo is from Maison R&C, who also have fur made from recycled corn. If you're a fan of puffer jackets, Nanushka has amazing vegan leather puffers and Italian outerwear brand Save the Duck offers puffer coats without any down or feathers. The aforementioned Culthread also offers a cool selection of puffers.
The Everyday Bag
This is one that I would say everyone will benefit from, no matter what your lifestyle is. You're going to need a really good daytime bag that fits all the essentials and won't break down, but that also looks great with pretty much everything you own. For me, this tends to be either a tote bag or a bucket bag, and it's usually black because that's easiest to match. And it’s got to be a multi-tasker! My husband has gifted me bags on a few occasions, and he always tells me to “stop putting cans of beans in there”. But for me, a good bag has to withstand wear and tear. This is not an evening clutch that for just a lipstick and pair of keys! This is an everyday item that's meant to be resistant and sturdy.
You will find this on the magazines' lists as “a good leather bag” and that specification that it has to be leather always makes me roll my eyes. But vegan materials have come such a long way since the days of “pleather”. Today we have leathers made from pineapples, mushrooms, cactus, apples, and corn - serious progress.
My favourite vegan brand for everyday bags is Matt and Nat – they specialise in simple designs, wearable colours and real durability. This brand does tend to use PVC - one of the most toxic materials in fashion - so check the label or buy it second hand (I have several of their styles, all second hand). Another great vegan leather bag brand is Minuit Sur Terre – a Paris-based brand which works with plant-based leathers made from grapes and apples. Their bags are high in quality as well as kind to the planet. Another one I love is Alexandra K, a Polish brand that also works with plant leathers such as apple leather. Their bags are perfect for the office as they offer many classic designs and clean silhouettes, which is what we want in a daytime bag.
The Wear-Them-Everywhere Ankle Boots
If I had to choose one type of shoe to wear for the rest of my life, it would be a chunky-heeled ankle boot. This will be the hardest-working shoe in your wardrobe: you can wear it with nearly anything. A good pair of ankle boots will elevate your outfit – literally as well, as it adds some height – and look effortlessly cool in any season.
As with bags, look out for materials. Shoes specifically will often have a label, often on the inside, to state the material composition. If you see a symbol that looks like a cowhide, that means that the shoe is made from animal skins. But if instead you see a symbol shaped like a diamond or a net, that stands for non-animal materials. This is a great system, which I believe should be used for other products too!
There are a few brands that have really good vegan ankle boots. Zette Shoes is an Australian brand that has a variety of styles. I have a pair of their Evie boots with a thick sole and a chunky heel. My must-have ankle boot is from the newly started vegan footwear brand V.GAN, and they are amazing quality. I also love A Perfect Jane’s Western-inspired ankle boots. I buy most of my shoes second hand and ankle boots are very easy to find on online second-hand marketplaces. Shoes are also quite simple to shop online: if you know your size, chances are that the shoe will fit.
The Versatile Jeans
Most jeans are vegan by default (unless they have that annoying leather patch on the back) as they are made from cotton. Try to get organic cotton where you can (I wrote about this here), and check what the brand's human rights approach is like. The cotton industry is rife with modern slavery and cotton that isn't organic uses a lot of water and pesticides. Some brands that offer eco-friendly, consciously made jeans are MUD Jeans, Nudie, Monkee Genes, and Kuyichi.
Jeans can be quite difficult to buy online, as there's a big chance of them not fitting right. I've had both good and bad luck with buying jeans on Depop and Vinted, as the problem for me is always that jeans are either too big in the waist or too long. I have a tiny waist and short legs, so very often, jeans take some tweaking before they fit me. But sometimes, that’s okay - if you find a piece that has potential using tailoring to tweak it can take that garment from almost-there to perfect.
The Street-Style Sneakers
When I was still searching for my personal style, I believed that sneakers were too casual and sporty for me. Boy was I wrong. Depending on how you style them, sneakers can add so much to an outfit. I changed my mind about this when I went for a job interview at a fashion company and the person interviewing me was wearing a suit with sneakers. She looked so cool and so well put together. I realised that sneakers can have lots of different vibes - it’s all in the styling.
The sneakers in the photo come from Veja – they aren't a fully vegan brand but they have an awesome vegan range, and I wear mine to death. Other brands I recommend are Will's Vegan Store, Humans are Vain and Ration.L – all vegan brands. But perhaps my biggest personal favourite right now is NAE - a Portuguese eco-conscious brand offering long-lasting designs, often using recycled materials.
The Kind Knit
I grew up in a cold climate, so a good selection of knitwear has nearly always been a must-have in my wardrobe. Here too, I'd say choose organic cotton where you can, otherwise opting for secondhand knits, which is often my choice. If you come across any of the more innovative options such as hemp knitwear or a design featuring bamboo fabric, do try those out as they can be very environmentally positive. My second-hand knits last me eternities - I have sweaters from almost ten years ago and they're still going strong. But if you want something new then I'd recommend Will's Vegan Store once again, along with People Tree, which has great organic cotton jumpers. Ethical fashion pioneers KOMODO does great things in organic cotton. Jakke London are a faux fur label, but their knits are absolutely next level - I remember their Free From Wool collection, which was a great conversation starter.
The Tough-Girl Jacket
I would call the biker jacket my desert-island garment, it's so significant to my style. I'm obsessed with good biker jackets, which of course through the years has been at odds with me not wearing leather. I remember once a good friend wanted to buy me something for my birthday. We were walking around shops in Milan and I saw this beautiful pale pink biker jacket. I could envision all the amazing outfits I could wear with it. Then I saw that the label said “lambskin” and I remember instantly recoiling from it. When I see that label, I don’t think “status” or “quality”. I think of a fluffy little lamb. An individual. I ended up leaving that jacket in the store. Instead, I got a pleather jacket made from synthetics, which was probably awful for the environment – but let's remember that so is the lambskin jacket. Today’s vegan leather is made to last: Minuit Sur Terre has diversified into vegan leather jackets, while US-based label Dauntless focuses on biker jackets and offers long-lasting designs.
Today I have three vegan leather jackets, all second hand. My everyday one comes from from vegan brand Noize. I also own one that is bright red and came from a charity shop, and then there is the one in the photo above, from a vintage store. This jacket is probably my single favourite garment in my entire wardrobe. It's my style in a nutshell, and I'm so happy I found it.
Of course, when it comes to my own wardrobe, I buy pretty much everything second hand - and am always blown away at how much choice there is, even with the “restriction” of shopping vegan only. But that is a topic for another time!
Photos by David Camilli and Angela Susini. Sneaker photo by me.
👍