All I knew was the recently opened To The Moon Bar (which is based in the up and coming Old Market area in Bristol) was a modern vintage inspired bar specialising in cocktails and locally sourced drinks. As the second part of their launch the To The Moon family planned to open a fashion boutique, next door to the bar, selling sustainable fashion (also locally sourced). I was intrigued to find out how this would work as a business venture especially since fashion and drinking are two of my favourite things!
I arrived alone at the busy To The Moon bar as we awaited the shop opening. The bar is tiny but quaint, I love little bars like this, I find them homely and friendly, it's impossible not to talk to people in these cosy spaces. I decided I would definitely come to the bar again but it was the fashion I was interested in on this occasion. The door to the side of the bar opened and we were in another adjoining room. The To The Moon boutique stocked bespoke, sustainable fashion garments, shoes, jewellery and accessories all handmade (yes, even the shoes) Gemma from To the moon explained that she wanted to find high fashion sustainable items rather than the ethically designed 'Hippy Mom' items in naturally dyed fabrics that are usually associated with sustainable fashion.
This is something that I (No Debutante) feel very strongly about too, why do things have to look like they are second hand or handmade (sometimes badly) to make it sustainable??. We can reuse without losing the quality of the structure, cut and styling, creating brand new pieces from something old. There is a lot happening in Bristol for sustainable fashion but the support for Bristol Fashion in general is not really there from anyone outside Bristol. Unless you are in London the top fashion mags are just not interested in you and your product. Perhaps it's because we are further away from the (so called) fashion hub and capital city London, that the editors are not likely to find us on their lunch breaks or perhaps they are just not interested, maybe too lazy (when they have everything on their doorstep), to find out what is going on further afield.
Gemma from To the Moon had come to the same conclusion as me about the lack of support for Bristol fashion, sustainable or not, despite Bristol being a creative Hub with a lot happening.
Jeez, Bristol Fashion week, is held at The Mall for shops in The Mall and any bloggers who are invited along are the type of Fashion bloggers who only buy from the High Street anyway, wearing regurgitated fashion that everyone else is wearing in the same way. Where is the creativity in that?
Clearly, if we want the job done properly we have to do it ourselves! Gemma has opened To The Moon to help Bristol fashion alongside other Bristol Fashion Boutiques including That Thing and Collab and even bloggers like myself, to encourage, represent and promote all things Bristol Fashion.
I see great things emerging for Bristol Fashion and perhaps we will have our own version of Bristol Fashion week supported by local independent businesses and creatives in the near future.
The To The Moon Boutique currently stocks Antiform, Jokoto, Red Bird Makes, Ottowin Footwear, Prior Made, Drum and Fife with hopes to showcase fashion students work and act as a creative hub for other designers to sell their products at the boutique.
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Thanks for checking in Fashionistas xx
ND xx
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