ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A French Quarter dress shop has admitted that most of the labels they stock are ethically made, some are more ethically made than others.
Our reporter spent the day walking in and out of the various shopping boutiques of our town’s beating bohemian heart.
One label that Deidre Bowmore, owner of Cochon Occidental Décadent on Rue de Blanc, has been stocking for years is one of those labels that isn’t made as ethically as other more established ones.
“We have dresses that are designed and made in Australia,” said Deidre.
“They are quite expensive, however. We have dresses to suit every budget. At the more modest end, we have labels like Meadow Dust. They do lovely dresses,”
“Meadow Dust was born in Melbourne. It’s the brainchild of Morgan and Michelle Morgan, two South Yarra locals who’ve made the move to Fitzroy, where they both gave birth to Meadow Dust.”
Deidre handed our reporter a homely dress with back pockets and a double cut-out.
“See how soft it is?”
Our reporter noticed that the label had “Born in Melbourne” in large font under the size. On the other side of the label, it said “Made in Bangladesh by special workers with tiny hands for the closest stitch and highest quality” from “an artisanal blend of polyester, elastane and viscose”.
Deidre continued.
“This is from our iron-free and low-maintenance range,” she said.
“So you don’t need to dry clean it. You don’t need to iron it. Well, you can but I personally wouldn’t. This dress also has to be kept well away from naked flames. It will catch on fire pretty easily and melt to your skin, which is not good,”
“Don’t worry, it comes with a big warning label on the helm line.”
More to come.
