Eco Fashion World

Raise a toast to yourself and contemplate how far ethical fashion has come when you discover online boutique Eco Citizen. This store is about feeling good about your choices and finding purpose in the whims of fashion. Never has there been such an array to choose from, and the options just keep getting better—as evidenced by their high-end offerings. The front page’s lively display of tinted photos showcasing real eco citizens wearing the boutique’s ethical fashions pops with the excitement of genuine enthusiasm for the clothes and what they represent.

Store owner Joslin Van Arsdale acts as Eco Citizen’s curator, culling the ethical options out there to those that excite, treating the shop as a stylist’s atelier. Her background in fashion and photography lends itself perfectly to her new venture. She is a former gallery director for Santa Fe’s photo-eye gallery, protégé of trend spotter extraordinaire Li Edelkoort, and stylist for Hermes and New York Times Magazine. Her sharp eye for what will be hot is only outmatched by her dedication to double-checking fair-trade practice and labor credentials of the brands she carries.

San Francisco is one of the greenest cities in the world. It could be the one place where an eco-boutique would not stand out just by virtue of its sustainable credentials. Still, in eco-evolved San Fran, Eco Citizen is the store. Featuring a stunning collection of head-turning, full-on fabulous clothes, shoes, and accessories for women and men, Eco Citizen rejoices in the fruits of fashion’s green movement.

Finds make the store and Eco Citizen has them in spades, like CIEL’s outrageous gilded gold jeans in hemp satin, and a pulled together ensemble of a strapless black cashmere dress over a white blouse with a bold, over-sized bow from John Patrick Organic.

The boutique, situated in Russian Hill, offers a gallery-like display of Van Arsdale’s finds that is as open as it is intimate. Candid photos of real people wearing the clothes adorn the walls, an ode to sartorial art. The keen eye for style and composition translates well to the shop, and has generated significant buzz in the San Francisco press, earning accolades in San Francisco Magazine’s ‘Best of ‘08’ issue.

Eco Citizen’s collection is filled with local designers like Sara Shepherd, Del Forte Denim, Turk + Taylor, and the debut collection of Juleselin. The hand picked selection also includes eco-fashion luminary Linda Loudermilk, and the store hosts sample sales and trunk shows for the eco-fashion trailblazer. Eco Citizen is a sociable place, hosting events, creating participatory ad campaigns, and educating people by organizing forums and round-table discussions on eco-fashion.

Find at Eco Citizen: Mongolian cashmere from Stewart +Brown, high-waisted, cuffed plaid trousers from John Patrick Organics, TOMS wrap boots, Juleselin’s fantastic classic coats, a Noon Solar Logan Bag that can run your ipod, and Vivienne Westwood’s Melissa patent leather mary-janes.

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