Dispatches: Fashion's Dirty Secret

I've just come back from a romantic trip to Venice and I was planning on putting up a few outfit posts and general holiday snaps but instead I thought I would write about what I'm currently watching, which is arguably more important than me prancing around in front of the Rialto bridge.

After getting back from the airport minus M, who has gone off on a business trip to Germany, I thought I would catch up on some telly when I came across Dispatches: Fashion's Dirty Secret. The documentary, which aired last week, investigates the working conditions in UK factories that supply the likes of New Look, Topshop and Peacocks (these links will take you to the ethical polices for each brand).

From what I'm seeing the main issues seem to be subcontracting within approved supply chains and while the point of the documentary is to be 'hard hitting', having seen documentaries like this before, I am not as shocked as I should be that this kind of labour is taking place in Britain.

Most savvy shoppers will have seen the likes of BBC Three's Blood, Sweat & T-Shirts and be aware that cut-price fashion can come at a cost. I wrote a post about cheap frills myself earlier this year and have become increasingly aware that in the fashion industry, words like 'ethical' and 'organic' are bounced around with little care.The shock factor with this film is that the long hours, poor working conditions and barely-there wages are happening to workers in Leicester.

Most of the brands approached for a comment either denied all knowledge of the work and/or agreed how it contravened their ethical trading policies. It's hard to love high street when a programme like this shoots down brands such as New Look, which I had always naively assumed was sounds its fashion responsibilities.

Take a look and see for yourself what the real cost of a £25 jumpsuit or Breton t-shirt is and have a read of Ethical Trading Initiative website where there are details on New Look's reaction and response to the film.

Prairie chic at Peacocks

I spent the afternoon with S in Broadmead and Cabot Circus, searching in vain for a decent pair of brogues to take my feet from summer to autumn and yet again I drew a blank. I did however, stumble across this delightful black dress, above, in the Peacocks sale.

With ruched puffball sleeves and a scallop hemline it isn't perhaps the most practical of purchases I could have made in October but I just couldn't resist. The scallop details and rose embroidery are very well finished and the shape - is very Little House on the Prairie. If I had found this £10 gem a couple of months ago it would have been worn with bare legs and gladiator sandals but I reckon it will look equally good with some opaque black tights and my new boots.

I also managed to sedate my current appetite for shoes by grabbing a new pair of ankle boots. Both previous pairs I had (gold moon boots and red Superman-style affairs) had more holes that Swiss cheese so as painful as it was, it was time to let go. The new pair are far more sturdy, with decent soles, a slight heel and chocolate brown leather - a fr more versatile than pillar box red or gold!

No picture unfortunately as my flat is a tip at the moment and you can hardly hang boots in front of a window now can you? So instead, her is a close up of the scalloped neckline and embroidery detail on the bust of my prairie chic dress...