Wearing Thyself With Love

Do you remember the Turkish astronomer who discovered the asteroid known as B-612 for the first time in 1909? We know from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s diary of his encounter with the little prince, that, when the astronomer revealed B-612 to the International Astronomical Congress, nobody believed in its existence because of his Turkish costume. Only after the Turkish dictator made a law which mandated his subjects to change to European costume, the IAC validated the astronomer’s observation in 1920.

The semiotics of fashion is far more democratic than it was back then. As consciousness is spreading amongst us, the beautiful residents of planet Earth, so is the idea of creativity and play. I remember very well a chance encounter I had with a muslim woman, Sunny, whom I met on the canal near Whitechapel, in London. We were both lost and heading towards the same direction so we walked together a late summer walk bathed in glittery sun rays and dancing butterflies.

We discussed the idea of self-love and we both agreed it is the springboard for everything else. That is where freedom starts as well and I wondered how can one express freedom when they are not allowed to wear anything else apart from their religious uniform? How can creativity manifest itself in these circumstances?

First thing one does in the morning is to choose what to wear. It is your choice to make a statement. If you are conditioned in having to wear something – be it the latest trend or a Ridaa – then your free choice is taken away by certain value judgements you adhere to with or without awareness of the circumstances.

Needless to say, love does not care what garments you wear. It loves you as you are and it also loves to cocoon you in soft cashmere or fine silk. Love simply loves to play and create because it is a joy and it feels good. Therefore your choice to be creative when putting clothing on is entirely yours to explore and enjoy!

When we look at the British artist Lubaina Himid’s mixed media painting We Will Be from 1983 (in Helena Reckitt’s Art and Feminism; Phaidon, p. 145) we see a determined black woman wearing a dress on which it is written ‘WE WILL BE WHO WE WANT WHERE WE WANT WITH WHOM WE WANT IN THE WAY THAT WE WANT WHEN WE WANT AND THE TIME IS NOW AND THE PLACE IS HERE.’ Social and historical hierarchies must be questioned. We are what we are and we wear what tickles our fancy.

Guided by love one cannot fail in looking beautiful.

On these grounds I would like to explore the boundaries between art and fashion and also the development of freedom within fashion and art in a series of articles that wishes to present good insights into the subject.…

Women’s Designer Belts

Most of the time, the best way to create a chic and stylish look is by accessorizing. Learning how to accessorize properly can spell a huge difference between looking drab into glamorously fabulous.

We can even come-up with whole new looks with the same outfits just by using different accents each time. One accessory that will never go out of style is that thing we put around our waists called belts.

Whether we choose a designer belt or any regular belt, so long as we know how to use them well; we can create a stunning ensemble every time. On the other hand, designer belts don’t need a lot of work; simply wearing them is accent enough to any outfit.

Different Belts for Women

Women who have a good fashion sense know just how to put belts into good use. Whether we put them through the belt holes in our jeans and soft pants; or we use these to accent our skirts, empire-cut tops, shorts or tube dresses; belts can work their magic to any ensemble any time.

Belts come in many different materials and styles; and each one can provide us with the right accent to complete our look. Soft, polyester belts; hard and soft leather; belts in all shades and combinations; our choices run the gamut so we’ll never run out of options when it comes to selecting the right belt to accentuate our outfits.

We may also find that designer belts have a wider range of styles, shades and sizes. Typically, these types of belts come out with different styles each season so we can be sure that they can provide us with just the perfect accent for whatever clothes are in season at the moment.

Some of the most popular branded belts carry such popular names as Prada, Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, Burberry, Paul Smith, Gianni Versace and Fendi. Price range for these designer belts is roughly somewhere between $180 – $400; depending on the style.

Choosing Designer Belts Online

While we may be a bit apprehensive with buying our belts online; after all, we would want to get the feel of the belt before purchasing it; plus we want. To be certain that we are getting the real deal. These are quite expensive belts so we want to be sure of our purchase.

However, designer belts that are being offered online are the real deal. They are also the ones that we would find in the land-based designer stores and outlets; the only difference is that we are not walking into an actual shop, but a virtual one.

In fact, buying our designer belts online could be the better choice because these are noticeably cheaper; plus normally, online shops have marketing promos to entice more customers which means that we may get more than just an excellent belt when we but it online!

Available sizes for each belt, colors and styles that they come in are all included in the websites hence; we can get all the information that we need to make a good purchase, right on the internet.

The only precaution that we will have to take is the specific online shop where we will be getting our designer belts from. We can find out about these trustworthy online shops through word-of-mouth or referrals from friends.…

Jeans Advertising Campaigns

Let us take a look at the most interesting advertising campaigns of custom made jeans brands.

Four TV spots of “Live Unbuttoned” advertising campaign by Levi’s created by advertising agency BBH London inspire with their own philosophy, understanding, completeness and fan viruses. “Live unbuttoned” is a campaign with Levi’s 501 jeans spirit. It is associated with unrestraint, freedom, disengagement and the opportunity of self-expression. And the process of jeans unbuttoning is a symbol of this spirit. It means that unbuttoning our custom jean we unbutton ourselves and break away from conventionalities and prohibitions. The advertising campaign presents the act of jeans unbuttoning as the act of self-expression and self-revealing.

John Anderson, president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co says: “We sell Levi’s jeans in 110 countries and we are jeans company number 1 in the world. This global campaign gives us a unique opportunity to let the new generation of people wearing tailored jeans know that original jeans 501, which are a quintessence of our company, are modern and reflect their lifestyle”.

4 advertising TV spots illustrate the eternal insight of self-expression and riot. Two of them – “Unbreakable”, visualizing a curious way of self-expression and “First Time”, in which a boy and a girl do something for the first time were created by the famous first line director of photography Fredrik Bond. “Guitar” spot created by Swedish director of photography Emil Möller shows the dialogue of the young man with his unusual inner voice. And the last TV spot called “Secrets and Lies” was created by Jeff Labbe and depicts a young man and a girl who are up to have sex but carry out a sincerity session admitting their lies and telling each other secrets. The soundtrack of the spots was written and performed by Genesis.

Besides, apart from virus and TV spots the campaign included printed advertising in Maxim, Details, Rolling Stone, Paper and Sport Illustrated magazines, as well as outdoor advertising and online spots.

Malaysian advertising agency Bates Asia offered its version of “Mermaid” story in Levi’s jeans advertisement. In this interpretation Mermaids wish to become legs appeared after she found jeans by Levi’s in the sea. After this she visits the sea witch and a happy-end follows, when Mermaid puts her desirable jeans on.

Anomaly advertising agency created an unusual campaign for Diesel jeans called “Be stupid”. Custom jeans made by Wrangler also had an interesting advertising campaign last year. The slogan “We are animals” for European and American markets was created and carried out by FFL Paris advertising agency. Refined aggression of the advertisements is concealed in the total confluence with nature, up to dissolution. The spot characters are quasi filmed by a careful camera of naturalist Steve Bloom, and instead of posing they hide themselves, fiddle around secretly, or, tailing away in the swamps, like alligators, seriously wait for something without any evident reason. Naked torsos and fashionable jeans are present, but the camera man fluently builds a communicative barrier – young people from potential target audience do not invite to join them, they rather attract “someone else’s” attention. You wish you might come there, into the wild, but it frightens you as well. As a result – you desire it desperately. It seams that the work of French artists has its own smell. But this is not the smell of hot nachos or sweet babes, it is rather a smell of cool and moistened earth, mysterious reality, where it is ridiculous to ask questions, why you have designer jeans on. Because you were born with them.…

Spoiled Brat!

I remember back to school shopping as the absolute best time in my life! Momma and I would hit the mall and shop it up, literally my mom had a shopping addiction and I knew how to use it to my advantage. I knew no boundaries, the value of money, huh? Mom had it all covered, only the most expensive clothes from all the big department stores. My lipstick cost close to $30, well I also had no gratitude! I believe it absolutely ruined me too, not school shopping haha but the fact that Mom didn’t show me that work=money and nothing is for free.

Now that I’m a mom, I have this little voice in my head that screams “Don’t be like mom!” We just went school shopping this past Saturday for my 3 girls, Jasmine 16, Ari 9 and Nicky 7 and nothing is for free. What do I mean? Well at my house my two lil ones have chores which include folding clothes, picking up in the living room, taking out the bathroom trash, I knew nothing about helping when I was little. I pay a salary of $5 a week and they must save $3, put $1 in giving envelope and the last $1 to spend or save, it’s up to them. They have to spend birthday money on something they need, come on I’m not totally evil, I let them buy one toy. They have been saving since the beginning of the year and they paid for their own school clothes, it makes them so proud and also take more pride and care. When we got home they were so excited, we had to sit in the living room and watch the fashion show unfold! Nicky moves like she’s a model while Ari is a bit more shy but we all had fun and we couldn’t move from our seats til it was done and we clapped and they bowed.

Jasmine didn’t get off easy either, she gets her own money every month also and has to totally support herself, phone, make-up and whatever else. I do not give rides unless you have gas money, I also don’t have a car right now so I don’t give rides at all. I believe this helps her budget, if she spends it, she knows I will not be paying any phone bills! I want her to grow up and know responsibility and that no one is going to pay anything for her if she spends all her money. I unfortunately had to learn the hard way, when I moved out those $30 lipsticks were a thing of the past and I hit reality hard or should I say it hit me! After we watched the fashion show, she had to help here at home for the clothes.

Call me what you want, but I want kids who move out and don’t want to live off me for the rest of their lives, we have enough of those in society! No brats here! Well not when it comes to money anyway.…

Online Retailers Benefit From Lower Overheads

Why is it that internet retailers often seem able to offer lower prices to customers than their more traditional rivals. While there are a number of reasons why this can be the case, one important factor is that online stores can often benefit from lower overheads.

If we think about the sales model of a traditional, physical store then we can see why this might be the case. A traditional shop is likely to try and attract customers by being positioned in a popular location.

Depending on the particular store, the exact location may vary but you might expect to find them on a high street, on a retail park or in a shopping centre. These are all places where there are going to be plenty of potential customers.

This seems to make sense but it does actually cause some problems for consumers. The problem with maintaining premises in popular locations is that shops will tend to be more expensive in these places. That would mean paying a lot to purchase them, or spending a lot on rent.

Given these circumstances, the shop owner has two options. The first option would be to reduce the size of store that they require. The problem with such an approach is that it will probably lead to them holding less stock and having fewer products on display.

This will mean that customers have far less choice available. So what’s the second option for the retailer? The obvious answer is to increase prices. Once again, this isn’t good news for customers.

But there are other additional costs too, not least from the fact that the shop is likely to have a number of sales staff. This can seem like a positive, until you realise that their wages are also likely to lead to higher costs for consumers.

As this illustrates, traditional stores have high overheads that are often hard to avoid. Online retailers, on the other hand, don’t need to have premises in expensive areas. They also have fewer sales staff.

That means that they’re able to offer lower prices to customers. This helps to explain why you should always look for better deals online.…

Tips For Effective Promotional Bags

Promotional bags can be a great way to get your message out there, but there are some good ways and bad ways of doing this. This will also relate to your business and your logo in the first place. Actually how your logo goes well on a bag will tell you many things about the way it has been designed and give you food for thought. Here are some ideas to get you thinking.

Make it enjoyable. If someone is going to use your bag more often then not, it is something that they will like. Making your message appealing to the customer, and not just appealing to you trying to get your message out is very important. The better looking that your image is, the more that they will like it. You need to think of the customer’s and user’s experience. Too many marketers get tied up in getting their message out.

Make it last. If you are going to the effort of making a promotional bag, it might be worth the time to make it long lasting and of better quality. The more someone gets used to it, the more they will get used to your brand. Association is a powerful tool, and the quality of your bag can influence the way your potential consumers view the quality of your business. Good green bags make a real statement about your company’s position on the earth and the environment.

Your message. Instead of outright selling of your company, why not make a message or image that is fun and pleasant for the user. Tie-ing this message to your brand can be very important. Sometimes being subtle has very large impacts, and sticking on your logo as big as possible does not necessarily mean you are making the most out of your opportunity. People do read, and they do understand. What is important is their emotion. It is time to get a little creative.

Uniqueness. Have you thought about the possible uses for your bag, making them friendlier for particular uses can be very beneficial in terms of their value to a user. Different sizes and shapes can make a big difference. A ball shaped bag for a company that sells sport equipment would be very effective and very fun to use. Size, colour and shape are very powerful tools for pleasure and emotional attachment. Levi’s once released a promotional bag that was like a big jeans pocket, this is another excellent example of using shape and size.

If you are going to invest in promotional bags, it is a good time to analyse the way that you market and promote your company. Because it is something that you want them to use and is probably something that is not directly related to your business. Looking for the creative ways and the challenge of creating a campaign of promotional bags that is memorable and does the job, and builds great customer goodwill, will put you to the test. Are you up for it?…

Get Romantic With Lanvin’s Collection at Paris Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2011

Gone with the wind, the dreamy, oh-so-lovely creations by Alber Elbaz’s for Lanvin simply took the onlookers breath away. Models dressed in romantic dresses with contemporary look ambled down the ramp. And then it was clear why Alber Elbaz was quoted as saying, “It’s all from dreams, from the soul.”

The Lanvin show had fitted bodices teamed with sinuous flowing skirts in soft colors. But it wasn’t just pallid hues that ruled the ramp, Lanvin dresses later moved to dark colours, like his day-to-night clothes. Shades of jhaki, black, blue, red to pink, name it and he has it. The designer also covered the long and the short of dresses, minimalistic yet exotic.

The response to the collection was overwhelming, International Herald Tribune writes, “Walked a magisterial line between the industrial and the romantic, as though the designer Alber Elbaz were dressing women for the dichotomy that is their modern lives.” The Elbaz’s trademark draping won hearts when the four models in finale parade walked in one-shoulder gowns in warm blue hues and in animal-printed chiffons including robes, halter-necks and trousers made of same fabric taut at the ankle. The fashion drama got complete with butterfly-shaped buckles in belts chokers. In accessories, one couldn’t take off eyes from the brown belts and mini de-glam sling bags.

With swirly, sheer align dresses, tank outfits, loosen long wide-neck shirts teamed with leggings to kaftan inspired gowns, short skirts and sleeveless frocks with metallic embellishments, futuristic bulked-up tops, glamorous monokinis, Lanvin gave a modern woman a reason to dress with his pret-a-porter collection.

That”s why Vogue writes, “One of those dynamic moments where Alber Elbaz has it all lined up: the woman, the dress, the modernity, the gasp-inspiring glamour.”…