A while ago I decided to switch from fast-fashion to fair clothing. I haven’t shopped for clothes for more than one year now (except for these trousers I bought in a second-hand shop last month). I just refuse to buy more stuff that has obviously been made by people who can be considered modern-slaves. Period. And that’s when my quest for fair-trade clothing in Amsterdam began. Last Sunday, at Haarlemmerplein, the journey officially took off.
If I wanted to make it bigger than it was I’d say I had got my first invitation to the official opening of a fashion store in Amsterdam. If I want to keep it real then I say my friend Linda, who works at this shop she’s super enthusiastic about, invited me to the event. Now, my good friends know I’m no shopping animal. I’m even akin to the anti-consumerism type person. But if we are to buy – and we will at some point -, let us then focus in options that don’t compromise our ethics.
Let’s go back to the colorful balloons, divine beverages & comestibles, cheerful people, and overdressed / underdressed individuals – me being part of the latter group. The unusual here is that Tally-Ho, the brand I want to tell you about, was turning 50 years old. Yes, that’s right. In 1966 Bergen witnessed the opening of this iconic boutique, which meanwhile became a three-generation family business. I was witnessing a piece of history.
Tally was one of the first boutiques to sell fair-trade and sustainable garments in The Netherlands. They don’t sell it exclusively but they do offer that option – and they created a special label so that the costumer easily identifies which pieces in the shop belong to this segment. Most of their fair-trade offer is on their webshop, though. There, the labels are signaled with a green leaf, and I found the site gives a great overview of ethical possibilities – which is a good excuse to further research the brands. My favorite garment at Tally-Ho Amsterdam was this silky-looking blue buttoned-up shirt from Armed Angels which is just perfection-to-take-to-work.
At a certain point I’m standing outside of the shop, sipping on my magic potion, and people-watching, while the golden hour sets in. And in the buzz of chit-chats and clinking glasses, I hear a familiar note. Someone was speaking my native language. Turns out it was Maria Walnut, the fellow Portuguese who – I then learned – redesigned the logo for the brand. There it was, the last piece of the puzzle to make me feel at home.
‘Tally-Ho’ is an old hunting expression. It got popular in London, in the 60’s, as a sort of slang for ‘let’s go’. It sounds inviting. So inviting that, in order to celebrate its 50th birthday, the brand has a 50-day promotion going on. There are fair garments on the list on the 27th of September, 17th of October and on the 21st of October.
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