Sarah J. Blige

A lot of people believe that you have to sacrifice fashion when you adopt a vegan lifestyle, but that is simply untrue. There are plenty of high-quality, cruelty-free alternatives to leather and fur out there that don’t look like crap. In fact, some of them are rather charming. I like Forever21 because they make super cute vegan clothes with synthetic materials that won’t cost you (or a fur-bearing animal) an arm and a leg. (Not only is fur and leather inhumane, it’s expensive!)

Like this cropped faux leather jacket ($48.50):

A no-leather jacket by Forever 21

And these très adorable biker boots ($43.80) and flirty taupe-colored open-toed booties ($29.80):

Biker-inspired textured faux leather boots

Sassy cut-out booties by Forever 21

Even the belts and handbags at Forever 21 are made from faux leather or other vegan materials!

Faux fur vest from Express

If you’re feeling like splurging a little, you might want to check out some of Express Clothing‘s faux fur and leather jackets, shrugs and vests, like this pretty mock-fur vest made from synthetic materials that will leave you $70 poorer (after using the $30-off coupon) but looking exponentially chicer (it also comes in chocolate brown).

I’m always a little wary of faux fur, because the labels don’t really have to be accurate (check out my post on dog and cat fur), but if you have no qualms about wearing something that claims to be cruelty-free, all the power to ya. It’s probably legitimately faux, but you might want to do some research on the product before you buy it just to be sure.

Olsen Haus is a “pure vegan” company that makes some pretty irresistible shoes, but they’re a little more pricey than the vegan shoes at Forever 21, so this is another vegan company that falls into the splurge category. Even though I can’t afford most of the shoes at Olsen Haus, they’re one of my favorite vegan companies because they have material about the gruesome truth behind leather, suede and wool on their site. It’s important that people know where their purchases come from, which is why I urge you to check out the page here: http://www.olsenhaus.com/truth.html.

And now for some eye foot candy from Olsen Haus:

Balance in black and citron, from Olsen Haus ($205 USD)

Faith pumps in grey from Olsen Haus ($215 USD)