peppermint magazine

There’s nothing like a spot of catwalk action to get you thinking about your wardrobe, so with the Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival taking place right now, we’re guessing there are plenty of Melbournians with visions of the latest threads dancing through their heads. But not everyone can afford to shell out for a whole new collection of clothes (and besides, think of the carbon footprint if you did that every six months!). So thank goodness for the ladies at The Clothing Exchange, who have decided to host a special swap during LMFF this Monday, March 12th, at 6.30pm. For those yet to discover the joys of swapping, the rules are simple: bring up to six pieces of clothing (including accessories, shoes and bags) which you no longer need but are in excellent condition, register, receive a button for each item you bring, and then swap till you drop (or until you get a whole “new” set of things to wear)! For more information and to buy tickets, head to The Clothing Exchange website.

Ever wanted to save a tiger? How about go cruising in the Caribbean? And what about solving a murder? Why not be super efficient and do all three in the one afternoon – and maybe meet the man or woman of your dreams at the same time! The Honey Bar in South Melbourne is hosting a murder mystery afternoon for singles on March 18th to raise funds for TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. The ‘murder’ takes place on a Caribbean cruise, and it’s the perfect excuse to dress as a sailor, stowaway, crew member, swimming instructor, Rastafarian, Hawaiian, beachgoer or high society passenger. There will be free coconuts from The Green Coconut to get you into the cruisey spirit of the afternoon, plus other prizes up for grabs. Put the word out to your single friends (don’t forget your single male friends! Men tend to be shy about this kind of thing, but we know they’ll have fun once they get there!) and check here for tickets and more information. It may be a night for tigers, but cougars are more than welcome. Image © Roger Hooper / WWF-Canon

Housework really stinks, doesn’t it? There must be a million better things to do than vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, doing the dishes and washing clothes. So the findings of University of Melbourne Masters student Tullia Jack are more than welcome. As part of her research into everyday cleaning rituals and how the care phase of a garment affects the environment, Tullia asked 30 people to wear a pair of Nobody jeans for three months without washing them in a project entitled Nobody was Dirty. The results? Tullia says the jeans don’t look dirty and they don’t smell bad, proving it’s not at all necessary to launder clothes as much as we actually do (according to Canadian researcher Josh Le, there’s not much difference in the bacteria found on jeans whether you wear them for 13 days or 15 months). But in case you don’t believe the research, the Nobody jeans from Tullia’s project are on display at the NGV Studio from March 10 – April 1 as part of the LMFF Cultural Program, so you can check them out for yourself.

Once the lights have gone out, the red carpet’s been rolled up and all the celebs have gone home for a cup of tea and a nice lie down (which is undoubtedly what they do after such an exciting day), what happens to the glamorous gowns worn at the Oscars? While the demand for new looks at each Tinseltown event dictates that a dress is never seen more than once on the same person, there’s no reason for them to never see the light of day again on someone else. Styled in a new way, a dress can be given a fresh lease on life – just ask Georgia McCorkill. As part of her PhD in Architecture and Design, Georgia is running The Red Carpet Project, part of which involves using remnants from bridal and formal wear manufacturers to create dresses for celebrities to wear at red carpet events. But her latest effort is not only for those famous faces… Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the overwhelming evidence in favour of sustainable energy, it seems those in power (no pun intended) are still reluctant to throw their full support behind it. If only they’d take a trip to Melbourne’s Federation Square this month: we’re sure the sight of the Strandbeest strolling on the sandstone would make them see the light. The creation of Dutch artist Theo Jansen, the Strandbeest is made from materials such as plastic pipes and recycled plastic bottles, and runs (well, walks) entirely on wind power. Although the natural habitat of his creations is the beaches of the Netherlands (Strandbeest means “beach animals” in Dutch), Jansen has generously let two of his inventions make the big trip to Fed Square, where they will frolic – wind permitting – from today until February 26th. Here’s hoping these gentle giants’ peaceful promenading will bring a breath of fresh air to the renewable energy debate.

Who doesn’t love a good yarn with friends? It’s surely one of the great pleasures in life. So just think what a whole city square full of yarn and potential friends would be like. Fabulous, no? And then what if there were workshops with crafty people showing you how to knit and crochet that yarn into something spectacular? Too good to be true, you say? Well, if you’re in Melbourne on the weekend of January 21 and 22, you can head to City Square to see for yourself. The square will be yarn bombed (think trees covered in granny squares and other knitted and crocheted sweetness) on the 21st and experts will be on hand on the 22nd to talk about their yen for yarn and to demonstrate just how to whip something up out of wool. If you can’t make it that weekend, the tree-cosies will be up until the end of February. What a purl of an idea!

There are still quite a few sleeps left until Christmas, but here at Peppermint we like giving presents away early. This is the best present of all, something you can share with a friend! We have one double pass to give away to the Fair@Square VIP Ethical Fashion Show on December 2 at BMW Edge in Federation Square, Melbourne. The show is part of the Fair@Square Festival, which is a weekend full of fair trade, sustainable and ethical activities, talks and entertainment (more info here). Of course all the labels in the show have our green seal of approval – in fact you’ve probably seen quite a few of them on our pages. Now is your chance to see them come to life on the catwalk!

If you’d like to be part of the fair festivities, leave a comment below. The winner will be drawn next Tuesday 22nd Nov!

If you’re in Year 12 and just about to finish school then you’re probably sick to death of your school uniform. In fact, you’re probably sick to death of school. But for many girls, school is an unattainable dream. In Sierra Leone for instance, only one in six girls attend high school. It doesn’t have to be this way though. One Girl has come up with a clever campaign to raise funds for the girls of Sierra Leone: Do It in a Dress. Simply wear a school dress (easily available from op shops or daughters’ closets) to go about your daily business any time from October 2-9 and get people to sponsor you for it – heck, you can even run a marathon in said school dress if you so desire. Extra points for that one. We at Peppermint (especially the Environmunter – mainly due to peer pressure) are looking forward to getting involved, and hope you out there are as well. We’d love to see photos of your efforts too – please email hello[at]peppermintmag[dot]com and we’ll trade some sneaky snaps! Best start searching for that dress now…

Here at Peppermint we’re all for crafty goodness. So when there’s a whole festival devoted to it, we get just a little bit excited. Craft Victoria’s Craft Cubed festival launched at the start of the month, and already our heads are spinning from all the possibilities – with over 60 events, there’s a lot to see! Of course it’s not just about looking – several events let you try your hand at creating things, including workshops run by The Social Studio in their handpainted silk tent, set up for the festival in the atrium at Federation Square. Learn to dye, weave or drape fabric with their artisans, or bring your non-crafty friends along to the free artist performances by RISE (Refugees, Survivors and Detainees) on Saturday, August 20 from 7:30-9:30pm. For more information on what’s on in The Social Studio’s magical tent, visit the Craft Cubed website here – and don’t forget to check out the rest of the program while you’re there!

If you’re the kind who goes ape for a bargain, then you’ll love the pre-loved clothes, shoes and jewellery sale this Saturday at Melbourne’s Kindness House. And, just like the name of the building suggests, you’ll be acting in kindness by shopping there – all profits from the event will go to the Australian Orangutan Project to help their primate pals. So don’t monkey around – swing on in to 288 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, between 11am and 4pm this Saturday, August 13.