Talk about the Weather ltd are delighted to have been able to help Water for Africa with a large donation of Spats ankle boots for women working in agriculture and horticultural projects in remote and deprived villages. “Footwear is such an important and forgotten commodity in Africa” says Sheryl Greentree, CEO and Co-Founder of Water for Africa. “Women are walking miles every day to not only collect water, they are working for hours on end in the fields to grow vital food for their families and their communities. We forget that women’s feet not only need protection, but in the rainy seasons, their traditional footwear is poor and inadequate. The wonderful donation of Spats will make a huge difference to the lives of hundreds of women. We are truly delighted for our beneficiaries. They are beautiful and very practical boots from an ethical company”.
The collaboration was facilitated by InKindDirect.
(still from Water for Africa's award-winning documentary film 'Marathon Walker'
Looking for fashion tips for Autumn Winter 2016? According to experts from WGSN, the fashion world’s oracle presenting at Micam, looks inspired by “Considered Pauperism”, “Farmhand Simplicity” and the “Outdoor Seafarer” will be all the rage. We kid you not. Picture a stoned beach blonde lounging on a hay bale in tatty dungarees and a sheepskin stole or a chiselled middle-eastern male wearing a carefully-draped sackcloth and you get the idea. No other industry would be allowed to get away with such glaringly insensitive social clangers but somehow fashion thrives on it.
Other mood board insights for the next 18 months include “tactical ageing” (who even know what that means let alone looks like) and “a kind of anti-technology… driven by a desire to explore spirituality and the inner-self”. The aesthetic is part neutral tones and elemental simplicity and part Game of Thrones-inspired medieval costume drama. Which all sounds quite credible except it was immediately contradicted by the next key trend which was all about exploring “digital empathy” and an “ultra-digital online aesthetic.”
One might almost feel sorry for the poor consultant who has to come up with this horses**t season after season, if they weren’t paid so much money.
(Who said fashion was a glamorous industry?!)
This year Spats Boots has pledged to give 10% of sales through this website to help children in Sierra Leone who have been orphaned by Ebola. The St George Foundation runs a residential centre just outside Freetown which looks after street children between 5 and 15. Since the outbreak of this devastating disease they have experienced a large influx of children left homeless with no one to care for them, having lost their parents and often their entire family. They have helped 175 orphans of Ebola since the crisis began but are entirely funded by voluntary donations.
As well as providing for and educating their children, the St George Foundation try to reunify those who may have become separated from family members and find permanent new homes for others. They also monitor the spread of the disease, educate the population of Western Rural to prevent it spreading, and work with UNICEF to distribute emergency packs.
Ok, so namedropping is bad manners. But then again why hide your fire under a bushel? So, here's the latest list of beauitful people who are sporting Spats Boots this year:
the prodigioiusly talented singer-songwriter Chloe Howl
All the girls from All Saints - WOW.
model and Made in Chelsea trendsetter Ashley James
Flame-haired beauty Olivia Hallinan
Inbetweeners movie star Belinda Stewart Wilson
Super sexy songtress Melissa (Kisses for Breakfast) Steel...
Also spotted on the lovely legs of... Denise van Outen and Nell McAndrews.
and not forgetting the boys:
Gorgeous Mercury prize winner Sam Lee
The leg-end that is Adam Ant
...
Keep em coming.
The Spats Boots Autumn/Winter 2014 collection has arrived and not a moment too soon as the summery weather breaks. Now available at Toast stores and Cloggs Online (from September 1st) as well as boutiques up and down the country. There’s an elegant new addition to the range to report in the form of Tall Spats. These uber-chic, calf-length rubber boots (which come in Plain Black and Black/Python Skin) were chosen by a number of celebrities kitting up for the V festival last week, including Inbetweeners star Belinda Stewart-Wilson, All Saints' Mel and Shaznay, track and field athlete Katarina Johnson Thompson, Made in Chelsea star Ashley James and model Nell McAndrews. Priced at £65, Tall Spats are stand-out designer wellies at high street prices.
Also new to the ankle Spats Boots Classic range are Deep Purple and Antique White, rich Burgundy and Antique White and Racing Green and Antique White, which have been spotted on the feet of actress Olivia Hallinan, the stunning red-headed star of Sugar Rush and Lark Rise to Candleford.
Our two most popular new colours in the ankle boot range also happen to be the most practical: Plain Black with Python Skin and Black and Olive Green. Both styles go with everything, especially muck and mud splashes. We say get out there and shine in the bogs!
Thanks to John Bakir from the Sierra Leone Youth Development Project for these pictures taken in Freetown this summer. For a couple of years now we've been giving our Spats samples and seconds to our security guard John who distributes them to disadvantaged youths and school kids in Freetown through his charity.
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