Paparazzi pictures becoming a new form of advertisement for designers

By: Anne Robinson

Amr8798@gmail.com

twitter.com/amr8798

This little tid-bit of information recently came to my attention. But, I found it interesting/concerning enough to share.

Everyone knows, unless you are Brittney Spears, celebrities aren't too fond of the paparazzi. Of course, who would be "buddy-buddy" with a person following your every step and constantly sticking a camera in your face.

But, pictures published by paparazzi, of celebrities, actually serve as a weird form of free advertisement for designers. Many designers give celebrities free clothes, hoping they will wear the outfit on a day when they have a run-in with the photogs. The designer then hopes that the picture will make a gossip website like E!, the insider, or People, with a caption of who the celebrity is wearing. Thus, gaining attention without paying for costly advertisements.

Sounds a little stingy but I guess it works...

Fashion cycles

By: Anne Robinson

Amr8798@gmail.com

www.twitter.com/amr8798

High heels...flats. Skinny jeans...wide-leg pants. A-line...pencil. Keeping up with trends is exhausting!

Once again, my mom was right. How does she do it? She always told me, "keep your old clothes because if you wait long enough they'll be back in style." I'm more of the throw it out after the season is over and make room to buy new clothes type. She took her own advice and saved many of her things growing up. This came in handy for me: when tall leather boots became the new must-have, I fell in love with an old pair of hers, same with an old pair of bell-bottom jeans...although I'm glad that style didn't last long this last time around.

So, why is it that fashion trends repeat themselves? Well simply put, the answer is money. Trends must change or else no one would have a reason to continually shop. Every season, consumers go out and update their wardrobes, based on the new styles.

Fashion plays hard on our emotions. Designers know that making someone feel that their outfit is uncool and out dated will force them to the store. Scientists are continually doing research about how our senses react to colors, shapes, patterns, etc...don't be fooled into thinking that the interior design of a store and the appearance of a website are randomly selected.

Fashion trends are repeated because designers work off what has worked in the past, often fusing together two or more previous trends to make a new one.

Here's a look at the stages of a fashion cycle:

First stage:

A new trend or style is introduced, consumers begin to notice the trend in many different stores and see it repeatedly.

Second stage:
The trend is seen with designer labels attached to it, and in bigger well-known department stores.

Third stage:

The trend is in full-blown style with more availability.

Fourth stage:

Trend starts losing steam, hits clearance racks, everyone has caught on and many are losing interest.

Fifth stage:

No longer a trend, now a fad.

We really should be thankful for fashion cycles. If not for them, it would be hard to continually come up with one excuse after another to justify our frequent trips to the mall.

Facts about fabrics

By: Anne Robinson

Amr8798@gmail.com

Fabric is one of the most important aspects of a design. It determines how the garment will feel, look, and withstand it's environment. Knowing about the different classifications and types of fabric can help you in your shopping. It also partly explains the costly price tags on many high end designer collections.

Fabric is made up of many interconnected fibers. This interconnection can occur from many processes, such as: knitting, weaving, chemical bonding, and felting.

Manufactured fibers have helped fashion come a long way by expanding the possibilities of fabric. Before manufactured fibers were available, people found certain fabrics hard to work with: wool shrunk, silk was delicate, linen wrinkled and was hard to wash.

In 1910, the United States began manufacturing rayon which was referred to as an "artificial silk". Nylon was invented in 1931, by American chemists, and was known as the "miracle fiber". And to throw in one more date for you history-interested readers, polyester hit the market in 1953.

There are five different types of natural fabrics: wool, cotton, silk, linen, and hemp, ramie, and jute. All of these are made from fibers taken from plants, animal coats, and silkworm cocoons. Here is a quick breakdown:

Wool-from animal coats

Cotton-from a cotton plant's seed pod

Silk-from a silkworm's cocoon

Linen-from the stalk of a plant

Hemp, ramie, jute-same as linen but processed a little differently

There are many more categories for manufactured or man-made fabrics. These fabrics start out as filaments that are made into fibers. Acrylic, lastex, nylon, rayon, polyester, and spandex are all examples of man-made fabrics.

The infamous 'Burn Test' can be done to determine if a fabric is natural, man-made, or a mix of the two. This test is common among fashion designers and fabric stores. During this test, a small piece of fabric is burned, depending on the way it burns, you can determine the probable make-up of the fabric. The burn test should be done carefully, realizing that all fabrics will catch fire.

Natural fibers are more expensive than manufactured or man-made fabrics because they are harder to come by, and can't be produced by a machine. High end designers gravitate toward using natural fabrics. After all, you pay for quality, so a sweater made from silk, that someone hand-picked off a silkworm cocoon, will undoubtedly be more expensive than one produced by a machine and manufactured fibers.

Beware: counterfeit sales common online

By: Anne Robinson

Amr8798@gmail.com

www.twitter.com/amr8798

The internet is a great thing, a couple of quick key strokes and the world is at our fingertips. We can look up directions, great restaurants, movies, news, and perhaps most convenient...we can shop...in our pajamas...while watching Conan.

But, of course, there is a downside to this convenience. The internet is also a convenient place for sellers to sell counterfeit items. Which means, especially when buying designer items online, you need to beware of the fakes.

Take ebay for example, a great place to buy a designer item for less, right? Someone else bought it, used it, and now wants to make some money off it. Well, don't count on it being as authentic as it might say in the listing. An estimated 4 million counterfeit items are listed on ebay each year! Ebay is not held responsible for the sale of counterfeit items, and as it becomes more common, it is also becoming harder to stop and prosecute those involved in these illegal sales.

Business to business websites have proven to be an easy way for sellers to buy illegal items from illegal Chinese vendors. The knock-offs are cheap, so they arrive here and can be sold for quite a profit.

Counterfeit sales online are so prevalent because they ensure that the buyer pays for the item before being able to inspect it. Since you can't inspect the item before purchasing it online, there are some other things to be aware of to help you spot the fakes right off the bat.

For instance, some sites advertise selling designer bags at huge discounts. So, do a little research...(Ok, I'll help you get started) designers like Hermes and Louis Vuitton have corporate policies to never sell bags at discounted prices. Which means, the bags would either be fake or the sale illegal...neither option sounds very promising.

Watch out for clothes that say are "inspired by" another collection. In some cases, the "inspiration" is almost identical to the original. Forever 21 ran into this problem when they were sued by Design House Trovata because their shirts, which they claimed to be inspired by Trovata designs, looked identical to the originals. Check out the picture. The top shirts were found at Forever 21 and the bottom are the originals. I'm thinking that's a little more than inspiration.

Even though we love to pull out those credit cards and make instant transactions, it's important to be aware that the internet is fueling counterfeit sales. To be sure you don't get a fake, or scam your favorite designer out of their money, just keep to doing your online shopping directly on designer websites. There you are guaranteed an authentic item, great customer service, and a legal transaction.

Creative or crazy?

By: Anne Robinson

Amr8798@gmail.com

twitter.com/amr8798

Recently, I've been branching out on my spectrum of designers I like to follow. It's a fact that my days are better when I'm wearing my Marc Jacob's Daisy perfume, but I realize it's time to explore new collections. So, in my attempt to learn more about unfamiliar fashion styles, I've come across some creative (or crazy, I haven't quite decided) designs.

Many designers have proven that you don't need a lot of fabric to create something fabulous. The WLIFW- Wills Lifestlye India Fashion Week- which highlighted upcoming Indian designer, Neeta Bhargava, showed a "botanic doodles" collection (shown here) that involved a lot of paint and artistry, but not much fabric.

If you are feeling really daring, give up your Jimmy Choo shoes and try a pair from German designer, Annejet Koster's artistic shoe collection. They are certainly one of a kind. And to give you a little insight into the mindset of her designs...her website is called 'Experiment' which explains..alot! I can't help but think that she got sidtracked and forgot to finish these shoes.

Now, here is one I like. Jeremy Scott (who joined the fashion world in 1997) works on collections that are said to be "more conceptual than wearable". He is best known for his clam-shaped dresses and one legged pants...so I guess that phrase about how everyone puts their pants on, one leg at a time, doesn't really apply here. If nothing else, he has shown the world that anyone with an old trash can in their yard can be a fashion designer.

And let's be honest, what woman would ever wear a skirt resembling a tape measure with the number 50 on it?

Borrowing designer clothes

By: Anne Robinson
amr8798@gmail.com

Celebrities have it made for them. I would love to have a red carpet event coming up and have designers calling me asking if I would like to borrow and wear one of their designs. Anyone who has seen any red carpet event knows that it's all about the names and labels. The first question any reporter asks is, "Who are you wearing?", and then the celebrity goes through their outfit, listing off all of the designers who have loaned them things for the night.

It can be a hard job for designers, making it nearly impossible for an unknown designer to win over a celebrity client. At a moment's notice, the designer must come up with different dresses for the celebrity to choose from. Many times it is the designer who has to fly across the country for fittings, etc. But, designers make out well too, gaining a lot of attention for their designs. Curious as to how much a trip down the red carpet can be worth for a designer? Well, Julia Roberts wore a vintage Valentino gown when she won her Academy Award in 2001, and it was estimated to be worth 10 million in publicity for Valentino!!

Don't think this is a relaxed stress-free situation. Early the next morning, personal assistants are usually rushing to get everything returned to the designers on time. However, occasionally celebrities ask to keep the clothes, in which case agents work out deals with designers. Usually, the celebrity would have to mention the designer's name a certain number of times on camera and then pay a huge amount (probably in the six figures) for the item.

This whole lending for red carpet business was started in 1944 when Harry Winston lent his friend, Jennifer Jones, jewels to wear to the Oscars. In the 1980s it became a more standard practice. It has proven to be a good way for designers to meet consumers in the "middle market".

There is always that special occasion that we wish we could be like a celebrity. You want a designer dress to wear to an event, but don't want to pay the high price and only wear it once, right? If only Caroline Herrara would call you to ask if you'd like to wear one of her designs. As it turns out, people thinking this way actually led to the creation of a website that enables people to "borrow" designer clothes, through the mail, wear and return them. It's called 'Wear Today Gone Tomorrow' (check it out at www.weartodaygonetomorrow.com). The program was founded by Madeline Muney Passarelli, the previous fashion editor of Lucky Magazine and daughter of a high end fashion designer. It is described as being like a Netflix program for clothes. You sign up online, pick out the clothes you want (you do have to pay a small amount, usually 90% off the regular price). The item is then mailed to you, you wear it, and then return it. Just don't expect everyone to be calling out to you saying, "who are you wearing, who are you wearing?"

Of course, there is always a little controversy. There is a continual debate about whether or not celebrities should be allowed to simply borrow these clothes. Some feel, in these harsh economic times, that designers would benefit more if celebrities were buying not borrowing. The other question that remains, in regards to the Wear Today Gone Tomorrow site, do designers mind that their clothes are on sites being borrowed by women across the globe? What do you think?

Department store faux-fur fraud

By: Anne Robinsonamr8798@gmail.com

Can you always trust a label? I'm sure we would all love to think we can but the truth is, sometimes labels lie.

Department stores in the U.S. have sold jackets advertised as 'faux-fur', when actually the jackets were made from domesticated raccoon dog fur. Macy's, Nordstrom, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger were all on the list. In one investigation, the Humane Society found that 24 out of 25 jackets that were advertised as 'faux-fur' contained some degree of real animal hair.

In case you are a little "out of the loop" when it comes to fur, here are some important details. Faux-fur is a fake fur fabric and is the popular alternative for designers who don't want real animal fur in their collections. Faux-fur is a textile fabric that is processed and dyed to resemble real animal fur. There are some advantages to using faux-fur. For starters, it is much cheaper than real animal fur. It is also easy to dye faux-fur; therefore, there is a wider variation of colors available. It is also more durable than animal fur, some products are even hand-washable.

Most real fur comes from China, where an estimated 2 million animals are killed (f.y.i skinned alive) each year by fur traders.
An unbelievable amount of fur is needed to make one coat. For one coat using raccoon dog fur, 12 to 15 dogs are needed. To make a coat using cat fur, up to 24 cats are needed.

So, were these department stores knowingly advertising faux-fur jackets that were actually made with real fur? It turns out there was a loophole in the law. Importing, exporting, and selling dog and cat fur in the United States is illegal; however, the law states that if the fur on a product was valued at less than $150.00 no label was required. Crazy, right? My guess is that if someone is against buying clothes with real animal fur, they aren't going to care whether the amount of fur is valued at $5 or $500.

In 2007, the Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act was introduced into Congress, the bill would require labels be put on everything, regardless of the value of the animal fur, and would therefore, end the import, export, and sale of dog and cat fur in the United States. The bill has yet to pass.

The process of producing quality: the beginning stages of creating a design

By: Anne Robinson

amr8798@gmail.com

As I'm sure you've picked up on, quality is an important aspect of designer items. The entire design process is about producing a high quality item. To better help you understand the level of quality in designer labels, I'm going to do a few brief posts on the process a designer goes through, from the idea to the finished product. For now, we'll focus on the sketching process.

In general, the entire design process takes about a year or two. Designers do a lot of research about current and upcoming fashion trends. Some do this research themselves, while others rely on trend reports that are published by fashion industry groups. In order to create a design, the designer has to know what colors, fabrics, patterns, and stlyes will be in demand when the item is completed.

At this early stage, designers sketch out many possible designs. They play around with different fabrics and how they will look with certain patterns, keeping in mind the styles of the upcoming season. Along with hand-drawn sketches, some designers use images from CAD (computer aided device) to generate what their designs will look like on a model. After a sketch is made, fabrics are draped over a model so that the design can start to take shape.

The authenticity of the outlet mall

By: Anne Robinson

amr8798@gmail.com

Buying a designer item is often not as easy as picking up a new pair of jeans from the Gap. You can't find Louis Vuitton or Vera Wang at your local retail mall. If you don't want to buy these items online, your other obvious option is to find one of the designer's stores. But even this is a challenge, as some designers only have a few stores in the country.

I guess designers are looking out for us! Because more and more outlet malls are cropping up across the globe. If you have a skeptical side like me, you may have wondered about the authenticity of items purchased at outlet malls. Do they really come straight from the designer? Well, you can put your doubts behind you; the items are 100% authentic!

To get a little technical for a minute, outlet malls are individual stores grouped together, where manufacturers and designers can sell their products directly to the public. They originated from factory outets, which were stores that were directly connected to a factory or warehouse. They are usually set away from a city, often in the middle of nowhere. Outlet malls, in general, are much larger than a regular shopping mall. Upstate New York's Woodbury Commons is about 800,000 square feet and Sawgrass Mills in Florida is over 2 million square feet (and has 300 stores). Needless to say, you'll get your exercise in while doing your shopping.

There is a common misconception that outlet malls contain damaged clothing that doesn't meet the standards to be shelved in the retail store. As a 15 year-outlet- mall- shopper veteran, I have never been dissatisfied with the quality of the items I have bought. It is true that some of the items are in outlet stores because they are slightly damaged--usually the store will attach a note to the tag warning the customer of the imperfection. However, many clothes that wind up in outlet centers are not damaged at all, but instead are overstocks or things from last season.

Many designers, such as Ralph Lauren, Coach, and Calvin Klein, use outlet malls as a way to expand their market by reaching a new group of customers. Designers or manufacturers agree to sell certain items at their branded store-the store at the outlet mall. So, the items come straight from the designers. In the case of Ralph Lauren, it often takes up to a year for a new item to hit the outlet store. But, when it does, it will usually be up to 20-40% cheaper than the original retail price. Newer items may not have much of a discount, but on the other hand, some outlet stores have unbelievable discounts. Eddie Bauer often has swimwear and women's suits (items that sell for over $150 in the retail store) marked down under $10!

I think most people would agree that outlet malls aren't for everyone. The over-stressed mom or busy career woman who has exactly 20 minutes to run into the store and find the perfect outfit may not have much luck at the outlet. You never know what you'll find, at certain times stores are stocked with a variety of sizes and colors, while at other times, you may have to pick through a million racks before finding the perfect buy.

So, if you are the patient shopper who doesn't mind waiting a year for your favorite Coach bag to hit the market at a discounted price, the outlet mall might be for you! But, if you like the newest look of the season's collection, check out your favorite designer's website to do your shopping, or look up store locations and take a little trip! Either way, your bound to look good when you are confidently wearing your favorite labels.

Sale of counterfeit goods funding terrorism

By: Anne Robinson amr8798@gmail.com
Browsing through the tables filled with accessories all bearing a label that is shockingly similar to a high end designer has become a common tourist activity in NYC. Where can you find the best looking knock-off Marc Jacobs bag for under $50? Well, did you ever think about where the profits of that sale are going? To say the least, I was shocked and think my table browsing days on the streets of NY are over.

It is estimated that the selling of counterfeit goods has caused U.S. businesses to lose an average of $250 billion dollars a year! Companies are struggling as it is, imagine what we could do if that money was being invested in these businesses rather than leaving the country after illegal transactions.

Radical terrorist groups, such as Al-Qaeda, are making profits from the sales of counterfeit goods like Nike sneakers and Calvin Klein jeans. On many occasions, the FBI has found Al-Qaeda supporters with high quantities of counterfeit goods. There is also evidence that suggests profits made from a street vendor on Broadway were used to fund the first attack on the World Trade Center.

Terrorists know these street carts will tempt American shoppers, don't give in! As your designer land detector, I promised you that I'll make sure what you pay matches the quality you receive. Therefore, I know that a cheap accessory in exchange for a terrorist attack would not meet your standards.

So, the next time you are approached on the streets of NYC by the little old woman who is eager to make you the best deal of your life (so she says), picture Osama Bin-Laden behind the table...hopefully you'll decide against making a donation to his cause and will instead head to the trendy shops on 5th Ave to finish your shopping.

The truth about haute couture

By: Anne Robinson

amr8798@gmail.com

What do Chanel, Dior, and Valentino all have in common? Well for starters, I'd like to be wearing their haute couture designs on my trip down the Red Carpet....which I'm convinced could happen at any moment, so I better start planning my fittings.

To clear up any confusion, here I only refer to couture in its true meaning, which means that really cute half-off sweater I bought last weekend at Juicy Couture doesn't mean I can now say, "of course I have couture in my closet, what fashion-friendly girl doesn't?"

So, let's back up and have a quick history lesson on haute couture. Get your phones ready because you'll be booking a trip to Paris by the end of this.

In order for a courtier to be considered haute couture they must make their designs at their own premises. They must also take their collections to the press in Paris twice a year.

Haute Couture is a French phrase that comes from 'high fashion' and 'dressmaking, sewing, or needlework'. Couture items are made in Couture houses in Paris. Today, there only a handful of authentic couture houses. It means that a design is made and fitted exactly for you. The first step in the creation process is a sketch. Then, the design is sewn in toile- canvas material that can be adjusted and marked to fit the actual model. (Toiles are useful because they save designers from using expensive fabrics for the initial model) Next, the garment makes it's way down the runway. Then, clients can choose to buy the garment, in which case the client would have at least two fittings, so that the garment could be made to fit their exact measurements.

Expect to pay an exuberant amount...only the best fabrics are used and the manual labor is somewhere between 150 hours (for a suit) and 1,000 hours (for a wedding gown or embellished dress). Prices vary depending on the client's measurements, personal tastes, fabrics used, the amount of hours it takes to complete the design, etc. Some couture gowns can be bought for around $25,000 but don't be surprised if the price reaches into the millions. Samantha Mumba (picture here) wore a $9 million Scott Henshall couture dress to the Spiderman 2 premiere.

Often times today the term 'couture' is used out of context and refers to ready-to-wear high fashion clothing. In reality only a select number of couture houses meet all of the standards required to be considered haute couture.

But in the end, if you are fortunate enough to be one of the roughly 3,000 women worldwide who can afford to buy haute couture, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your garment was made just for you, and that besides your closet, is can be found no where else in the world.