Vegan shoes and Vegan fashion

newsobserver.com | Style goes vegan: by samantha.smith@newsobserver.com.

For years, vegans who wanted to stick to a cruelty-free philosophy in both their diet and fashion meant they often had to sacrifice style. Jimmy Choo stilettos don't come in synthetic leathers. Louis Vuitton isn't known for canvas satchels. In fact, only a few high-end designers - among the best-known, Stella McCartney - are conscious about not using animal products in the vegan shoes, jackets and handbags they design.

Vegans say the changes have made sticking to their beliefs easier.

Stephanie Hodges, a 33-year-old vegan from Chapel Hill, said now she often finds a vegan shoes at most national stores she shops at. "A lot of times you come across something when you're not even looking," she said. "I don't feel like there's anywhere that's mainstream where I can't shop."

Zita Resnais, a 22-year-old from Cary, said her vegan finds these days are typically by accident.

"There are vegan things all over the place," she said "People who want to find them, do. If you're a vegan, you want to go that extra step."

The widest selection of vegan shoes and accessories, however, are found on the Web, local vegans say, including specialty stores such as alternativeoutfitters.com and mooshoes.com, but also at shoe giants such as zappos.com, which has a limited selection of vegan shoes for men, women and children.

And when all else fails, there's even a new fashion blog now for vegans, veganfashionblog.com, helping vegans find cruelty-free style options, including shoes and handbags.

For some ofthe best Vegan Shoes in the world see http://www.beyondskin.co.uk

For a vegan fashion show visit the ethical living vegan festival at www.bristolveganfayre.co.uk