green with envy

Last night, I became obsessed with the Burberry Brit Gabardine trench coat. It is deliciously beautiful, and I spent fifteen solid minutes just staring at it (while simultaneously waiting for my heart rate to decrease). I carefully figured out how long it would take me to save for it (six months) and made a pact with myself not to buy any new clothes until it was on my back (and my savings were replenished).

I am a firm believer in buying good, high-quality clothes that you can wear forever, and because I'm turning 20 this year, I think it's time to start thinking about building a wardrobe for myself. However, $1,195 a huge amount of money for a college girl (and an English major, no less). I know that I would probably wear it through dinner parties for fear of having it disappear like Carrie Bradshaw's Manolos at her friends' baby shower.

At the same time, I don't want to buy a cheap coat that I'll only wear for a couple of years and that is probably made unethically. This evening, I looked up companies that use sweatshops and was very upset -- though not surprised -- to find that most of my favorites were on the list. A google search for sweatshop-free clothing turned up a number of companies, but also a lot of awkward high-waisted Bermuda shorts and North Face-esque fleeces.

That is, until I found this blog and this gorgeous thing:

I think we're going to be very happy together.