A Fashionable Good-Bye

I would like to thank you guys for your thoughts and input on my blog. It was interesting to learn different views on the topics I wrote about. I will continue to write on my blog about the areas of fashion I am passionate about. I know the assignment is over, but it would always be nice to continue to receive comments and suggestions in future about something you would like me to write about.

From what I have written about, you can see there are many aspects of fashion. It is not just what you wear, it can be who you are, where you are from, what your political views are, what your economic status is, etc.

If you ask me what my personal views of fashion are…well, where do I begin? Fashion to me is not all about being materialistic and about wearing high-end designers, and being trendy. I on other hand cherish the true art behind the making of the clothing creations. For example, the sari, which is a thousands of year old creation, is amazing. It can be made of intricate pure gold and silver threads, with hours and hours hand embroidery work.

Fashion is beautiful history; it is amazing to see what the ancient rulers have worn during their reign, the heavy gowns and priceless rubies. Or what about the art and messages that have been created by designers, it is not always about clothes, it is about what inspires people to think a certain way such as what makes social civility so important.

Finally, fashion is free to be whatever you want it to be, if you feel like looking like a queen, then so be it! If you feel like being simply au’naturel in organic cottons then wear it, do what you feel is right and most importantly wear what you think is right.

Cheap Chic

The trend for couture designers to appeal to the masses is becoming more popular. Stores like target have made is affordable for “normal people” to buy clothing from Massimo, Isaac Mizrahi, and Cynthia Rowley. Trends for cheap couture clothing are being seen everywhere. The store H&M in particular has become very popular over the recent year for offering runway-inspired clothing to the masses at affordable prices. H&M has also teamed up with famous designers such as Carl Lagerfeld of Chanel & Fendi to design clothing for their stores.

What is taking the masses by storm is the H&M and Stella McCartney collaboration. Their new Christmas/holiday collection was launched this month and has become a major hit. In California people were lining up overnight to get first dibs on the collection. "It's all about Stella," one shopper told KRON 4's Dean Kendrick talking about designer Stella McCartney. "Her clothes are fabulous. Her stuff is a little bit more vintage oriented and unique. That's always a plus when you find fashion that's unique."

In London Stella’s clothing line is sold out and people are going crazy. There are so popular that people are selling the clothes on EBAY for approximately four times the amount they originally sold for…so long for cheap chic.

“The limited edition T-shirts are now going for £59 - four times the original £14.99 price tag. H&M's silk wrap dress is going for £102 - nearly twice as much as the £59 it cost in store, but still a fraction of the cost of original Stella McCartney designs.” ”Stella's trademark skinny jeans are being auctioned for £99 - two-and-a-half times the High Street price of £39.99 while a metal belt was marked up from £19.99 to £35.” ”Other items up for grabs on the internet auction site include McCartney's take on the noirish trenchcoat selling at £122 up from £79.99 and a tuxedo jacket that H&M sold up as of £59.99 to £85.”

References:

http://www.lse.co.uk
http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=4146175&nav=5D7l

Hollywood goes into new Ventures

I love Jennifer Lopez in Selena and when she came out with her first CD, I bought it- I thought her songs had a catchy beat. When she came out with her fashion clothing line, to tell you the truth I never bought anything from it, but I thought some of her stuff was cute. It seems these days Hollywood actors and superstars are always looking to broaden their horizons. Whether it is Lindsey Lohan coming out with an album or Gwen Steffani coming out with her L.A.M.B collection, one thing is for sure and that is being famous does help when you want to go into new ventures.

Here are just some of the many recent fashion ventures Hollywood has gotten into:
Beyonce Knowles has just launched her new fashion line called House of Dereon last week. The line includes ready-to-wear, casual sportswear and denim, as well as furs, handbags and footwear. For a small preview, log on to http://www.houseofdereon.com/

Gwen Stefani came out with a collection called L.A.M.B, which is named after her album love, angel, music, baby. Her clothing has made her one of the best dressed and it is even wore by other celebrities. Her fun and eclectic style has made her a true fashion icon. For more information on where to get her clothing, log on to: http://www.l-a-m-b.com/

Jennifer Lopez clothing line Sweetface has grossed over $130 million in 2004 and is expected to do even better when she debuts her high-end line. She has perfumes, shoes, lingerie, swimwear, and watches too. For more info, log on to http://www.shopjlo.com/

Its Couture, Baby!

Is that little baby wearing Burberry? Well if you didn’t know it, you will know now, high-end designers are coming out with clothing lines for the totally couture baby. Can you imagine a little baby wearing a cashmere sweater by Marc Jacobs?! What will we come up with next? Apparently, Marc Jacobs dishing in on the growing market for “Baby Couture”, it is estimated that upscale baby products will be a $45billion a year industry.

Along with Marc Jacobs, who is testing his cashmere baby sweater line this Christmas, Kate Spade is relaunching her baby collection of strollers, dishes, and cashmere too. J Crew as well is planning in 2006 a line called Crewcuts for two to eight year olds. Can you imagine- there will probably be Coco-Chanel talcum powder for babies and “blinged” out baby bottles that will probably cost more than my car. Who knows, maybe toys will never be toys anymore-Disney might come up with a couture Mickey Mouse dressed up in Betsey Johnson…the possibilities are endless.

The following is a list of some “Baby Couture” items I found:

Burberry Infant Denim Dress: $176

Burberry Infant Crawler with Toy: $153
Burberry Stroller: $625
Juicy Couture Velour Baby Bag: $275
David Yurman Peridot Cable Bracelet: $250

All I can say is…WOW! Those are clothes are so cute, but I don’t know if I can ever see myself spending so much on baby clothes…I guess if you got so much to spend the possibilities are just endless at what you can buy. If there is a demand for it, designers will create it, and people will keep buying up all this madness.
http://www.fortune.com/fortune

Unholy Fashion

Religious fashion has been in the mainstream for a long time. The most common way of displaying one’s religion is by wearing their sign or representation of their belief as a necklace. Of course along the way even the styles of wearing religious necklaces have evolved. With the influence of hip-hop culture the cross necklace has seem to be “blinged-up” (diamonds/rhinestones) and enlarged quiet a bit with crosses and other representations being 6 inches tall or even bigger.

Just quiet recently the trend in fashion was that it is “cool” to be religious. Many of you have probably seen on campus the t-shirt “Jesus is my Homeboy” or “Got Jesus”. Other religious t-shirts that have reached mainstream is “Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl”, “OM (AUM)”, and pictures of Buddha, and other Hindu gods as well.

Fashion is a great way to express your religious or spiritual beliefs as long as it is respectful of others and does not insult others’ beliefs. Especially when it comes to religion it is a very sensitive issue and even subtle behaviors can offend others. However, there are many people and companies that do offend other religions, and it is important to be aware, so in the future these mistakes do not occur again.

The following is a list of products that represent “Unholy Fashion”:

American Eagle came out with a pair of flip-flops with the picture of the Hindu god Ganesh on the sole. The American Hindu’s against defamation did protest against the company and got the product off the shelf, however shortly after that (even after protests) they put the same Hindu god Ganesh on a t-shirt saying “New Delhi Circus, Get Nuts” with a inverted OM sign on it.

Abercrombie and Fitch came out with the shirt “Get Your Buddha on the Floor”. People did protest against the shirt to get it out of the store. However, sadly in the USA that shirt was in high demand by customers.

Saks Fifth Avenue supplied shoes from a famous Italian designer that put a picture of Buddha on the insole of a pair of heels and pair of women’s flats.

Minelli, a French company but the Hindu god Krishna on a pair of women’s shoes. (Left)

Roberto Cavalli designed a bikini/underwear range with the main theme of Hindu gods on it, which are being sold at big stores such as Harrods. However, when people protested against the clothing the “management of the store Harrods was unresponsive and insensitive”.

“Jesus Saves. Buddha does Incremental Backups.” Found on syswear.com

“Jesus Hates Pussies” Found on http://www.simplythebike.com/

I found an image of Jesus on a pair of flip-flops.

I was appalled and some of the stuff I found. I think it is important to be respectful of all religions and cultures. What do you guys think about some of the stuff I found? Did you come across any of these “Unholy” fashion designs? Did you do anything? I personally have not bought anything from American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, or Saks Fifth Avenue since I heard about what they did.

*Refrences for pictures and Info:

www.hinduhumanrights.org

journals.aol.com

Vivienne Westwood, Fashion Designer or Politician?

British designer Vivienne Westwood is one of the most famous fashion gurus of the Industry. Her eclectic and funky style of fashion has made her one of the most sought after people in the industry. However, as designers become established within the industry they tend to become more daring and experiment with ideas that at many times seem unconventional. Also, many of them such as Vivienne try to communicate through their designs in indirect ways such as symbols or wearing certain styles or by communicating directly.

Vivienne Westwood for the Spring/Summer 2006 fashion week in Paris communicated directly her political views of the British government, designing slogan T-shirts expressing her views. Slogans such as: "I am not a terrorist, please don't arrest me" and “Liberty, throw away the key” were displayed throughout the show.

The designer has recently joined the campaign against the British government’s anti-terror laws. In light of the London bombings and the fear of another 9/11 the British government has come up with an anti-terror act. This act gives the police the power to with hold suspects 90 days in jail without charge. The question that arises is that can we give such powers to the police; we all know that they are after all just humans. Would they always use their discretion? Would they abuse their powers? On the other hand, terrorists are known to bend and abuse the laws. If stringent measures are not put in place, how could we put a stop on terror? What do you guys think? Where do you stand on this?

Fashion Ploopers (Political Bloopers) – Slogans Galore

I think twins are so cute, especially when they are like two years old and their parents dress them alike. However, a couple of 50 odd year olds, umm… not really twins; call them friends of political convenience; sharing a tie and talking about, well what else… the “War on Terror”. Not that I have anything against the war, and I do understand that there are dress codes, but come on, can’t we have some more variety.


Anyways, I decided to look up some nice slogan T-shirts for our famous political, business and Hollywood figures, and while I was at that why not pick some for the infamous ones. Here’s what I got:


Osama Bin Laden:
President Bush:
“You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.”

President Musharraf:
“I took an IQ test and the results were negative.”

Courtney Love:
“Rehab... Is for Quitters”

Nicole Kidman:
“My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God and I didn't.”

Bill Gates:
“FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION. It comes bundled with the software.”

Joan Rivers:
“Wrinkled.... Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew Up”

Salman Khan: (a “Bollywood actor”)
“Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.”

Al Reynolds (married to Star Jones):
“Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.”

Paris Hilton:
“My Dog... Can Lick Anyone”

Tyra Banks:
“Hey, I am still in line to become America’s next top idiot”

Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Ritchie (in their new skinny look):
“The Stick (sixth) Sense”

Whether you like it or not, I take credit for the last 2 slogans. You guys have more, write in. I got the t-shirt slogans and pictures from these websites: http://www.boreme.com/ and http://www.cafepress.com/

Fur or Fury

Hi Everyone!

Don’t we all wish we could live in society that is more giving and caring about the world? Well, I know I do…I feel we live in such a beautiful place with such natural beauties that we take for granted. For example, roses and flowers are such beautiful plants, but then we cut them off from their natural surroundings so we can enjoy their presence conveniently inside our home. How about all those trees we cut and all other natural resources we consume without giving it a second thought? These resources not going to be around forever they will run out one day, but it seems as though we are consuming at a rate where the supply is infinite.

Even animals deserve to live in an environment that is respectful of their needs and by abusing the natural resources it is also taking a toll on the animals. Many animals are killed today because we eat them, we hunt them, we keep them as pets, and because we wear them as a fashion statement. Don’t animals deserve the right to live in their natural environment unharmed? Keeping them as our pets for enjoyment and using their skin for clothes is animal cruelty. Furs in particular have caused havoc in the fashion industry because designers use them as symbols of luxury and extravagance.

What do you think about killing animals and using their furs in clothing? I feel it is completely cruel to kill something for pure pleasure. It’s not like we are using fur for survival, if the poor animals are not harming you, why kill them? There are plenty of things that can be used for clothes such as luxurious cottons that are 500-thread count.