Sha-De
Everyday fashion to protect your skin. When red-headed Julie released her sunsafe clothing range Sha-De, it was out of need and frustration. The need to protect her and her family's fair complexion from the harsh Australian sun and the frustration that the limited styles on offer were not for every day and far from stylish.
"I love spending time outdoors, but shy away from situations where I have to spend prolonged periods of time in direct sunlight. For this reason, the resort collection gives you options for every situation under the sun. Everyday shade has never been more stylish."
Having a fashion and textile background (Julie has worked for very heavy hitters in the sport, surfing and department store arena and also owns Sample Room which manufactures and develops garments for over 300 labels right here in Melbourne), the frustrating bit was trying to find sun protective clothing that she could wear on the weekend.
So, she came up with a fabric that would protect them with it's up to UPF50+ protection that felt great to wear and set about designing clothes that would look the part.
Through working closely with the CSIRO in fabric development, Julia discovered the secret to knitting natural fibre to offer high UPF fabric. The fabric, made in Melbourne is a combination bamboo jersey. Bamboo offers a natural level of sunprotection but it's how the fabric is woven that gives it that protective power too. It's:
- anti-static (finer, lighter, softer and with a great drape)
- thermo-regulating (cooler in summer and warmer in winter)
- breathes well (moisture is quickly moved away and evaporated rapidly; ventilation plus)
- hypoallergenic
- antibacterial & antifungal (bamboo is naturally has these properties)
which means it's not only good for you, it feels great on and you won't smell as much too!
When most people think about sun protection, the first thing that comes to mind is a bottle of sunscreen. When we head out to the pool and beach, we throw on a rashie. But Sha-de goes beyond that.
Regular everyday clothes offer around 5-7 UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor - like SPF for sunscreen...it's a rating for how much UV the fabric blocks). Sha-De offers up to UPF50+ so when you go for a walk, have lunch in the sun, go on a picnic, watch the kids play sport...just going about your day to day outside, you're up to 7x more protected.
When we saw the recently released Resortwear capsule of T's, shirts, skirts, leggings, pants, wraps and cardigans, it was love at first sight. Basics that are made to work together so that you can pack less for maximum impact and choose a few to go with what you wear at home.
Once we met the lovely Brianna, responsible for sales and development, we were convinced this label is going to be a vital influence leading the revolution on how we protect our skin in the years ahead. We are great at protecting our kids. It's time we did it for us too.
The fact that Sha-De is home grown here in Australia...owned, designed and made, means it's going to stand up to rigorous testing and can be quick to change and meet the market need.
It's just what women like us who want to live their best summer have been waiting for. At home or away.
Everyday fashion to protect your skin. And no one will know you're wearing sun protection. Simply brilliant!
Sha-De. Proudly online at Sequins and Sand. Find it in the Sun Smart section.
Enjoy!
Anita & The Girls
@ Sequins and Sand
There are no products currently available from Sha-De.
