Hey knit-wits (those of us who heart a little knitwear in our lives). You may remember some of these photos from the Sexiest Sweaters post. Thought I’d share the rest with you. I know, I know–you’re supposed to pick the BEST photo from the bunch for each look, but we loved a lot of them, so figured why be stingy?

Abdul and I took a day out to do a little one-two-shoot. We shot in a space on 5th Avenue (ironically in the same building the Payless design studio is in). In fact, I’ve realized that a ton of my clients are right in that area of 5th Avenue and 21st Streets, but I digress….I just brought along some of my gear and If it’s one thing that I love to do in photo shoots, it’s shaking off the old guard who still thinks sustainable style hasn’t graduated Jesus sandals and hemp-gear. So I’m going to holler out to all the conscious clotheshorses who know what’s up in the world.

So without further adieu, here are some of the sweaterlicious images we shot together. Let me know what you think! And yea, some of these got swept up by some magazines, so if you see them posted here again, you’re not suffering from deja vu.

I love this sweater! The sleeves get into everything and you surely can’t fit it under any normal jacket (who likes normal anyway????) but just take a look at it! Gorg! Gorg! Gorg! It’s by my friends Terri and Sandy (cool mother-daugther design duo) out of Virginia and Brooklyn. The line is called Carasan. I got a number of sweaters like this (so stay tuned for more). And I love layers, so I just layered on some organic cotton gray shirts by Chicago-based designers Lara Miller (whom I wrote a recommendation letter for Ecco Domani [Sustainable] fashion awards. Fingers crossed for her!!!]. She’s got cool gear that you can flip and wear different ways. The locket is made by nomadic tribespeople of Niger in collaboration with Parisian designer, Aude Durou from Ombre Claire. Tights by American Apparel (of course) and veggie-tanned boots by Pjux out of Spain that I picked up over at Ekovaruhuset over on Ludlow.

Abdul and I vamped it up in that gritty, dirty, naughty, dark film noir style that we all love. All you need: Cold, dark staircase: Check! - Black stockings: Check! - Sexy undergarments: Check! An extra long sleeved black sweater: Check! Dark eye makeup: Check! - and Just out of Bed hair: Double check!

I picked up the Ooo-la-la Frenchie-French silk bra over at Sleep in The Burg (I LOVE that shop! Best knickers in the hood); Italian-knit undies by Zimmerli, which I picked up after doing one of their runway shows a little while back (are they even still around??); black tights by American Apparel; and a bamboo knit EXTRA-EXTRA long sleeve sweater with front clasp by my favorite sweaternista - Lara Miller. And I don’t know if you still care about this stuff, but all of Lara’s clothes are made in Chicago! Holla!

Quite possibly my most favorite sweater of the DECADE! How can you not love the yoda-style cowl neck-turned hoodie. And the coolest thing? You can flip the sweater over upside-down style and wear it as a sweater dress, but I totally prefer the way I wear it here. I also love the color. Brown has gone from drab to fab over the seasons! Lara knit this out of recycled cotton, so no virgin materials were used in the making of this yum-yum-chocolate-chip, honey-dip gotta get me a scoop sweater. Kinda reminds me of the cocoon-couture pieces by Ding Yong Spring 09, yes/no? Oh yah, and those recycled quilt/veggie tanned boots? I just resoled those suckers and they are by none other than Terra Plana. You can get yourself a pair over at 260 Elizabeth Street, but wearers be warned: No two pairs look the same. Let’s give it up for individuality!

Such a sweater puppy. We went a little soft, sensual and sweet with these shots. Paired a bone-colored FLIP sweater by Lara Miller with some ubercute ruffled knickers and bralette set made out of organic cotton by UK-based designer Jenny McPherson over at Enamore.

Shot where the palm shadows play. I think Abdul captured the light and shadow expertly here. Basically all I did was roll around in my Italian-knit knickers.

This was actually the first look we shot and one of my faves for the day. I lust over the purple red silk dress I got over at Pinky Otto. Pair it with a pair of kitten heels, and meeoooow! You can’t really see, but the sleevless part of the dress dips really low. You can see it here on my way to the Glamour magazine casting as captured in The Model Diaries back on the 28th of August. (By the way, I did get casted, so look out for in this March or April in their 70 Women of Green issue). Anyway, paired it this time with a gris sweater by Lara Miller and draped shiny baubles by Ombre Claire over the whole look. Young, fresh yet sophisticated.

We went a little goth-child on this shoot. I think it looks mad cool with the cold sunlight coming in from behind. The photo flares and the water towers really do give it a special feeling. This is a bamboo/organic cotton-knit “tribal marking” dress gifted to me by the girls over at Beau Soleil after wearing their dress in Lucky magazine. And guess what, it’s on sale here! Knee-highs I got over at American Apparel and the vegan-heels (so cute aren’t they?) are by Charmone Shoes. The silver bling is my favorite piece (I wear it all the time!) from Ombre Claire.

Phew! Well that was A LOT! Next time I’ll try not to put so many images, but like I said earlier, we really like a whole bunch from this series, so hopefully you enjoyed too.

If you’re into African-Western fusion, you may just want to check out Ladybrille.

Ladybrille “Brilliant Lady” is a vibeilicious blogazine that unites the Western and African sisterhood together. The founder, Uduak Oduok is one of those rocking women who just hustles! If the girl says shes going to do something, she just figures out how to do it. She’s a lawyer-by-day (I know, I know)…but she busts it out Renaissance Woman style with Ladybrille and other ventures.

Jack Yan over at Lucire first put us in touch an eon or so ago.  Uduak called out of the blue to check in and say “Wassup girl!!!” Took a good hour, but hey, a girl’s gotta catch up on lost time. She’ll be writing about some of the work my colleague, Allan and I are doing over in Mozambique. Tentative plan is to head to the motherland again in May-June to do a Kenya-Rwanda-Mozambique scouting trip, so I’ve mentally blocked that time out on my calendar. More on that soon. In the interim: Check out the whitest white girl on a distinctly African magazine. I’m quite seriously not this white in real-life, but Michelle Wilson-photographer extraordiaire and makeup/hair artist Kerrie Urban gave me skin like a porcelain doll.

JOLIE, a German magazine knocks it out of the ballpark with their green issue and highlights my career focused on values-based modeling (Nov 08 issue), which the Germans really seem to appreciate- (perhaps I’ll need to travel out there come 2009-and visit family while I’m there). Seen here, a photo by Seth Karecha. I’m wearing Levi’s ECO and Ombre Claire jewelry. Click here to learn about the tales behind the jewelry pieces.

The C.L.A.S.S. event was pretty cool I suppose. Loved seeing the latest in sustainable textiles all in one place - FINALLY. Wished we had a bit more dyanmic of a talk–saw some people nodding off in the audience, but others found the dry industry-speak to be worthwhile. I won’t exhaust the issue any longer. If you missed the event and want to see an overview, The Green Girls have a good one over on their blog. And if you’re a sustainable designer and don’t know where to go to find good fabric, C.L.A.S.S. is your answer–or will at least put you on the right trajectory.

The  next day after the C.L.A.S.S. event, Tara St. James from Covet invited me over to N10 in Williamsburg to check out a cool showroom sample sale of sustainable design lines. We drooled over how cute the chef was who catered the C.L.A.S.S. event and then I oogled over her samples and met up with Eviana Hartman - one half of Bodkin Brooklyn (and previously the fashion features ed from Nylon Mag). All-in-all the sample sale/wine fest drew in the most stylish hipsters from Hipsterville and all the girls determined we’d have a get-together over one of our houses soon. There’s too many tragically cool chicks cut from the same cloth in the good ‘ol Burg to let that opportunity pass by. Who knows, pretty soon one of us may decide to have babies and move to a Brooklyn brownstone in Park Slope (eek, let’s hope not!)- so we better get on the party bandwagon. Let’s do it in January chicas!!!  My house!

Anyway, I came out of the sample sale only $65 poorer, but with some priceless bling, so it was a damn good tradeoff. I got some vintage jewelry and a great feathered hairpiece–that contagious must-have accessory that seems to be going around. I’d throw a picture of it up online, but you’ll see me wearing it tomorrow at the Charity: Water benefit. Sorry to keep you in such suspense! In the interim, I’ll tempt you with Bodkin and Covet below.

Covet by Tara St. James - organic cottons, soy blends, and other beautiful sustainable clothes for M and W.

The simple black-and-white appeal of Bodkin Brooklyn by Eviana Hartman and Samantha Pleet

We women often wonder how to make sweaters sexy, but it’s all in the cut, drape and attitude. Check out all my sustainable knit-picks for the chilly season: They’re chunky, knitted, warm and woolly and all environmentally-sensible.  I’ve worn each and every one of these this winter and boy, have they come in handy. Nineteen degrees Farhenheit: You ain’t got nothing on me!

Chicago-based designer Lara Miller recycled cotton/bamboo knit FLIP sweater. I prefer to wear mine Yoda-style with the oversized cowl-neck over my head, but you can flip the sweater around and wear it as a long dress-with or without a belt. Totally versatile and totally sexy. Available at http://www.thegreenloop.com for $120 or check for Lara Miller store locations near you. Other items featured: Recycled quilt, vegetable-tanned leather boots by Terra Plana; leggings by American Apparel. Photo: Abdul Smith

Brooklyn-based mother-daughter duo from Carasan Designs hand-knit organic wool wrap top with oversized puff sleeves. Made to order. Other items shown here include organic cotton top by Lara Miller; necklace by Ombre Claire; and leggings by American Apparel. Photos: Abdul Smith

Reversible gray bamboo knit top by Lara Miller. Other pieces shown include jewelry by Ombre Claire; silk dress by Pinky Otto. Photo: Abdul Smith

Nothing is sexier than your BF’s oversized sweater. Pictured here is a Uniqlo cashmere V-neck. Uniqlo also has a recycling program that takes back old garments for reprocessing or ships off to refugee camps, so be sure to bring back your old duds once you’re through with them. Photos: Robert August

Lara Miller oversized long sleeve bamboo knit sweater top. Perfect for layering over dresses and shirts. Photos: Abdul Smith

And some other notables include: Fair trade Wool and Alpaca knits by People Tree; cowl necks by Covet available at Pivot Boutique; Femininely-lush cashmere tops by Uluru; Recycled cashmere creations by Deborah Lindquist; Yak-down sweater dress by Stewart + Brown.

A couple weeks ago Payless and I opened up the showroom doors to over 100 magazine editors (and a few lucky bloggers) to grab a sneak peak at the sustainable footwear  and accessories line we’ve been developing under the label, Zoe & Zac. Around 2PM we had a bit of a lull in traffic, so I snuck back into the design area with Nancy to work out some accessory ideas. It’s safe to say that the editors liked what they saw, which is always a good lithmus test.

chatting it up with editors at the Payless showroom. Clothing shout-outs: Dress - Beau Soleil; Sweater - Lara Miller; Ring - Dandi Maestre; Necklaces  - Ombre Claire, and the shoes “coming soon” compliments of Payless.

We’ll be starting off with women’s casual footwear, jewelry and bags; release some children’s looks; build up to women’s dress shoes; and then launch a men’s collection. We’ve begun to incorporate organic cotton,  linens, hemps, water-based glues, reduced-metal dyes, PET, recycled rubber (minimum 20%), eco-foam beds (a super cool alternative to conventional PVC foams and similar in chemical composition to Kevlar). The name Zoe & Zac came to be after some quant/qual studies on names Payless customers loved and that one quickly rose to the top. We all loved it too because it’s so young, fun and fresh and sure as hell doesn’t scream “GREEN!”  It also indirectly states that any girl or guy can do the green thing when it comes down to it, (especially when it’s so damn affordable).

A sneak peak at one of our cute ballet flats due out in April 2009.

It’s been awesome working with the Payless team to develop the brand. We’ll be updating the looks a few times every year and we’ve got some on-trend, fresh looks that will totally be on point for the coming season.

Keep an eye out for the Zoe & Zac launch this April 2009 and your eyes here for some of the latest developments–both on the style and sustainability front. We’re already looking ahead to the summer line and other environmental efforts, so stay tuned. Things are moving forward quickly!