This week, I asked a question to my Instagram followers: what traditionally non-vegan fashion item would you like me to find a vegan option for?
I shared that for years I have been doing that for my own fashion needs. I love to find alternatives to non-vegan items that don't contain animal products and share the style and energy of those originally desired items, which allows me to express my fashion sense freely while still being true to my respect for animals. Though it is not always easy, I now trust in my ability to find vegan alternatives to most fashion items.
One of the answers I received was: Chanel as a brand.
I loved this challenge since Chanel is a brand whose classic style I adore. Chanel and its timeless elegance probably influenced many of our fashion journeys.
Unfortunately, Chanel still uses wool in most of its clothes and leather in all of their bags. Here is how this Chanel-inspired look that contains 0 animal products (and happens to cost less than $300) came together:
First, I remembered a pair of lovely color-block shoes that I had saved on my Instagram months ago that had reminded me of Chanel. The classic Chanel colors: ivory and black, set the tone for the outfit. These chic- and comfortable- Vivaia heels are vegan and eco-friendly, being made out of six recycled water bottles and other eco-friendly materials.
Then, it was time to search for an alternative to the iconic Chanel quilted crossbody bag. In my experience, Poshmark has a broad variety of both pre-loved and new items, and that is why I started the search there. I searched "quilted vegan crossbody", set the color filter to black, and there it was: a beautiful, statedly vegan, Badgley Mischka crossbody bag that certainly shares the style of Chanel's iconic purse.
Last but not least, I searched for clothes that would remind me of Chanel's. Chanel's signature look is a tweed suit, so that is what I looked for. I came across Fashion Pioneer's creations in her Etsy account (fashionpioneer15) and fell in love with them! Many of her designs resemble Chanel's. Chanel's tweed is made out of wool. On the contrary, Fashion Pioneer's tweed is made out of polyester.
I hope you enjoyed this outfit and that it helped show how as vegans we can dress in any style we wish, without the use of animal products.
Though this outfit doesn't have Chanel's tag, it shares its timeless style.
And, who knows? Hopefully Chanel will soon start offering vegan options. There is more demand for vegan fashion every day (check out this article) and using animals no longer makes sense with the broad variety of vegan and eco-friendly high-quality materials available.
Do you have a suggestion on another fashion item I should find a vegan option for? I added a form with that question in the "About" page of this site. I'll be happy to read your suggestion.
-Maggie Stilman
Founder, Editor & Writer