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Children of the woolen revolution!

Most people know about wool and where it comes from, especially If you live in New Zealand. When you hear the word ‘wool’ what comes to mind? Maybe it's yarn, and the image of your grandma making lovely woolen socks. Maybe it's merino, snuggly thermals or sleek Icebreaker hiking gear. Maybe it's the humble sheep and how much you just wanna snuggle up to it! When I hear the word ‘wool’ the number 1 thing I think of is - where is it?  When I go shopping at the mall where are the ...

Wool - what’s the big deal?

It was not so long ago that a new blanket, piece of furniture or clothing was an item to to be cherished for a lifetime, yet in these days of abject consumerism, these products are tossed aside far too easily. We know as a society we are starting to buck this trend, and at Velma & Beverley, we are very proud of the lengths we've gone to make your coat 100% New Zealand sourced. Like our wool fabric partner Inter-Weave, we want to support locals. The farmers across our entire country deserve to ma...

We have lift-off!!

At 8am on 3rd of August, the very first Velma & Beverley coats will be available to buy...  And I feel like my baby is going to school for the first time!  So many emotions, but I wouldn't have got this far without the support of some very special people, many of whom are wearing some of these gorgeous coats that we're so proud to bring to market today. So, I'd like to fill you in on how these "pre-sales" are going to work, and to explain the "why"... We're opening our online shop for ...

The cost of unsustainable prices

With fast fashion brands constantly competing on price, marking down their products for quick sales and continuing somewhat unsustainable practices to keep their costs down and bottom line up, I’d like to address the idea of price and how I feel about the True Cost of fashion. Money is always an awkward topic; we are used to big brands posting massive profits and that connotation for the average consumer is fairly negative - “I buy something and all this money goes into a pot somewhere, ther...

Live life in colour!

We’d like to introduce our beautiful, rich wool coat colours for 2019... drumroll please! Forest Canopy (Green); I adore staring out at a patch of New Zealand native bush and appreciating nature’s way of showing us her colours, and I’m always blown away by the incredible shades of green which all compliment each other so beautifully. So many of our New Zealand sheep farms have pockets of bush they have chosen to protect and preserve for our wildlife for years to come, and we’ve chosen to...

Lining your coat - your chance to shine!

Here at Velma and Beverley, we're all about creating a product that you will love to wear for many years to come. Which is why we make every coat unique to it's owner through a series of customization options. One of these are our beautiful lining choices. We line our coats with 100% cotton, and with cotton readily available in MILLIONS of different shades, patterns, colours, and with some incredible artwork, we'd like to make sure you get what you you really want. We have selected some lining o...

There will never be another like yours...

With our commitment to you that no two coats will ever be the same, it excites us to help you find the perfect option which will suit your lifestyle and the way you wear your Velma & Beverley coat, now and for many years to come. Our customisable options are; Linings - we have a whole blog on guiding you to choose lining options! Click here to find out more about that Pockets - we currently have four styles to choose from which can be incorporated into any coat pattern; Lift n' hide - brilliant,...

We want to hear from you!!

At Velma & Beverley, we are much more than a brand making coats - we’re brand new, and committed to a sustainable, renewable, long lasting world where fashion isn’t harmful to the environment or to those making the clothes. But even more than this, we are committed to providing what you want. Whether that's colours, styles, linings, finishings, or even just a way we can do things better, we want to make sure we are serving you the best way we can. Or course, you'll have to bear with us ...

But black goes with everything! Why colour?

In my journey with Velma & Beverley so far, I have been asked so many times, "why aren't you doing a black coat? It goes with everything!" There are a couple of answers to this, but the vision of Velma & Beverley was not only to make a beautiful product, but also to empower our wearers to life their lives in colour and enjoy compliments on their gorgeous new winter coat. Why are we so obsessed with black, in a country like New Zealand where we are so lucky to have incredible, colourful landscape...

Wool - not "itchy" anymore!

When I'm out and about trumpeting the amazing properties of wool, I often get told wool is "itchy" to wear. Not anymore!The biggest factor as to whether a particular wool is soft or harsh to the touch is the diameter of the individual fibres. The measurement used for this is called a micron (or micrometer). One micron is one millionth of a metre, or one thousandth of a millimeter. Sheep’s wool can range from 11 microns to well over 40 microns depending on the breed and the age of the...

Doing sustainability imperfectly

Sustainability is a funny word. For most people, this means doing things in a way that will allow them to continue to be done that way in the future without any or significant harm to the environment, people, or other stakeholders. In other words, "can we keep doing this for a long time and have a negative impact?" In fashion, this is a big deal. For a very long time, companies have not conducted themselves this way and there are some scary environmental impacts, as well as a low quality of life...

I can afford to be sustainable

In a world where you can pick up a T Shirt or a pair of jeans at a chain fashion store for between $10 or $20, it’s easy to say “that’s way too expensive”. And believe me, I understand that buying quality, handmade clothing is not on everyone’s agenda, or in everyone’s budget. But for some of us, perhaps even up to a third of those of us buying clothing in New Zealand today, we have to ask ourselves - if we can afford it, why aren’t we making the effort to buy locally, ethically ma...

Telling the Velma & Beverley Story

It was Winter 2017 and I was traipsing around a mall in Hamilton, New Zealand, trying to find a bright, happy, colourful coat which would bring some chirpiness into the somewhat grey foggy Waikato weather. I couldn't find anything like this anywhere - so I decided to make my own! I couldn’t believe that in New Zealand, the country known for sheep and wool, wasn’t selling 100% woollen coats at an “everyday” price. And further than this, that most woollen fabric sourced in New Zealand is a...