Fashion

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The early twentieth century

Throughout the 1920s and '30s, all high fashion originated in Paris. American and British fashion magazines sent editors to the Paris fashion shows. Department stores sent buyers to the Paris shows, where they purchased garments to copy (and openly stole the style lines and trim details of others). Both made-to-measure salons and ready-to-wear departments featured the latest Paris trends, adapted to the stores' assumptions about the lifestyles and pocket books of American customers.

Designer Elizabeth Hawes, in her memoir Fashion is Spinach 1938 describes Paris fashion of this period from the inside, when she worked in Paris for both fashion magazines and department stores.

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Modern fashion design and designers

Modern fashion design is roughly divided into two categories, haute couture, and ready-to-wear. A designer's haute-couture collection is meant exclusively for private customers and is custom sized, cut and sewn. To qualify as an official "haute couture" house, a designer or company must belong to the Syndical Chamber for Haute Couture, a Paris-based body of designers governed by the French Department of Industry that includes American, Italian, Japanese, and other designers as well. A haute couture house must show collections twice yearly with at least 35 separate outfits in each show. It is often shown on the catwalk and in private salons.

Ready-to-wear collections are not custom made. They are standard sized which makes them more suitable for larger productions. Ready-to-wear collections can also be divided into designers/createur collections and Confection collections. Designer/createur collections have a high quality, a superb finish and a unique cut and design. These collections are the most trendsetting compared to Haute Couture and Confection. Designer/createurs ready to wear collections contain often concept items that represent a certain philosophy or theory. These items are not so much created for sales but just to make a statement. The designer's ready-to-wear collection is also presented on the international catwalks by people who do fashion modeling.

Confection collections are the ones we see most commonly in our shops. These collections are designed by stylists. The brands that produce these collections aim only for a mass public and are in general not searching for new grammar for the language or a new point of view on/of fashion.

Although many modern fashion designers work in a "traditional" way -- making clothes that are fancy and expensive, but still based on standard/traditional construction and design concepts -- some designers have broken these "rules" over the years. These include some now-deceased designers such as Elsa Schiaparelli, who worked in the thirties, forties, and fifties; Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garcons, and Junya Watanabe from the early eighties to the present; and designers from the mid-nineties onward. An example of a modern-day rule-breaker is Martin Margiela. These designers approach clothing, Fashion and lifestyle from new angles and explore also the boundaries of Fashion itself in order to create new concepts and views for fashion design. Their collections are not only restricted to garments (ready to wear as well as couture) and other fashion-related products, but also contain work in other media. The works of this breed of designers can also be placed in a certain Art movement.

Most fashion designers attend an Academie of fine arts. Fashion design courses are considered applied arts just like graphic design and interior design.

The types of fashion designer -- stylist versus designer -- are often confused. A stylist inspires his/her designs on existing things, trends and designers collections. A designer starts from scratch; he/she develops a unique concept and translates this into garment collections, other lifestyle related products or a statement in various other types of media. Some designers approach their work just as a fine arts painter or sculptor.

Inspiration for fashion designers comes from a wide range of things and cannot be pinpointed exactly. However, just like all artists, they tend to keep an eye on things going on world-wide to inspire themselves towards making their future clothes lines.

Most fashion designers are well trained pattern makers and modeleurs. A typical design team is made up of one or more: designer(s), pattern maker(s) /modeleur(s), sample maker(s), buyer(s) and salesman (men). For presentations and catwalk shows the help of hair dressers, make-up artists, photographers, modeling agencies, the model and other support companies/professions is called upon.

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Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer, raised in New York. Following his studies at the Parsons School of Design, he became prominent on the fashion scene when he designed a "grunge" collection for Perry Ellis, leading to his immediate dismissal. Jacobs is currently the artistic director for Louis Vuitton, spearheading such collaborations as Stephen Sprouse's graffiti bags and Takashi Murakami's pastel-colored accessories. His own clothing lines, Marc Jacobs and the less expensive Marc By Marc Jacobs, are also extremely popular.

Marc Jacobs has been known to design under his own free will without following trends. In Spring 2004/2005, when designers were following the "safari theme'", Marc Jacobs made his collection completely lady-like and the catwalk which the models walked on had an archway of 450,000 roses. For his fall collection in 2005, he got some terrible reviews and some fantastic ones. He is set to bring out a watch collection ths year under the name Marc Jacobs. These watches will be classic and timeless features with a slightly vintage feel. His clothes are available in many countries around the world.

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Donatella Versace

Donatella Versace, was born May 2, 1955 in the Italian town of Reggio di Calabria. Like her famous brother, Gianni Versace, the founder of the high-end Versace clothing company, she is an affluent, high-end fashion designer. Her current title is Vice-President of the Versace Group and Chief Designer of the fashion line as well as holding a great amount of stock, totaling 20% of the entire stock market assets of Versace. Her brother, Santo, owns 35%.




The Growing Versace Name

Donatella is actually credited and known as the figure who began to use notable models and celebrities to broadcast her clothing into the world on the catwalk. Another member of the growing Versace success was Santo Versace S.p. A., Donatella's brother, who is also a fashion designer and the owner of Finanziaria Versace, an upcoming Versace branch. Donatella soon proved to be the public relations giant of the Versace label and spread its name throughout Europe and the United States. Donatella chose to place some of her good friends, Madonna and Demi Moore, in high esteem in the Versace advertising sector, making them and other A-List celebrities the cover and look of Versace, a very business-oriented move. Donatella is also the Creator and Chief Designer of Versace Young, a fashion line for children launched in 1993.

Heiress to the Throne

It was in 1997, while watching TV in her bedroom in between study, that she found the familiar face of her uncle, Gianni, on the news stations, he had been shot. Not only was Gianni an icon of the fashion industry, he was the highest figure in the Versace Group, leaving no one to rule the vast network of clothing lines and branches of his company. His Last Will and Testament stated Allegra Versace was to receive all inheritance and titles.

Allegra Versace, upon her eighteenth birthday, received the inheritance from her beloved uncle, Gianni, the staggering sum of $700 million. Even with extravagant weatlh and success, Allegra stays out of the spotlight, yet still attends the most exclusive parties and clubs of Milan whenever time permits.

"Only you understand how I express what I feel" --Gianni to Allegra
She was not only left an enormous wealth and heritage from her uncle, Allegra was given Gianni's villa on Lake Como, Italy and a large townhome in Manhattan's most affluent neighborhood. To this day she stands to inherit the company, as her brother, Daniel, inherited Gianni's vast rare artwork collection. While the Versace Group is not as well off financially as it was in its earlier stages, the Versace Group hopes a new face with new ideas will bring about a positive change.

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Types of shoes

Shoes sold in Western cultures generally fall into one of the following categories: dress, casual, work, snow, athletic.

Dress Shoes

Dress shoes are categorized by smooth and supple leather uppers, leather soles, and narrow sleek shape.

Although dress shoes are commonly made to be worn by one of the sexes, such as men's shoes or women's shoes, many styles of dress shoes can be worn by either sex. The majority of dress shoes have an upper covering, commonly made of leather, enclosing most of the lower foot, but not covering the ankles. This upper part of the shoe is often made without apertures or openings, but also made with openings or even a connected series of straps, e. g. an open toe feature in women's shoes. Shoes with ankle length (covering the ankles) upper bodies are also available. Such shoes often have zippers to open them.

Men's dress shoes
Some examples of men's dress shoe styles

Oxfords or balmorals
Derbies or bluchers
Wingtips
Monk Straps
Loafers (including penny loafers)
Spectator shoes
Saddle shoes

Women's dress shoes
Some examples of women's dress shoe styles

Normal heels
Flat shoes - usually called "flats"
Ballerina shoes - mimicing the visual style of the professinal ballet shoes, pointe shoes.
Medium height heels ("kitten" heels have less than 2 inches of height)
High heels
Stiletto heels - an extreme variety
Open-toed
Strap upper body shoes

Either sex
Clogs - Fashionable at one time
Platform shoes - shoes with very thick soles and heels, mainly worn by women in the U.S
Moccasins - originated by American Indians

Casual Shoes
Casual shoes are characterized by sturdy leather uppers, non-leather outsoles, and wide profile.

Mary Jane (shoe)
Espadrilles - a casual sandal, with a canvas top and a rope sole

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Athletic Shoes
Men's and women's athletic shoes and special function shoes often have less difference between the sexes than in dress shoes. In many cases these shoes can be worn by either sex. Emphasis tends to be more on function than style.

Gym shoes (often called sneakers or trainers in slang) - general purpose athletic shoes; made out of rubber, cloth, and/or plastic to be lightweight, flexible, and have good traction. Special varieties available for basketball or tennis.
Running shoes - very similar to above
Boating shoes - also similar to above. They have soft soles/heels to avoid marring or scratching a boat deck.
Track shoes - often have cleats
Football shoes - have cleats
Golf shoes
Bowling shoes - intermediate style between ordinary dress shoes and athletic shoes. They have harder rubber soles/heels so as not to damage bowling alley floors. They are often rented or loaned at bowling alleys.
Hiking shoes (could be boots)
Walking shoes - have a more flexible sole than the running shoe is much lighter weight than the hiking boot and is more likely to have air holes in it than to be water proof.
Climbing shoes
Orthopedic shoes - specially designed for people with foot problems.
Skating shoes - typically called skates. They have various attachments for skating on the bottom of the shoe portion.
Ice Skates
Figure skating
Speed skating
Ice skating
Roller skates
Roller blades
Ski boots should be covered under boots or skiing
Skateboarding shoes- used for skateboarding, but worn by many teens for fashion
Cycling shoes are equipped with a metal cleat to interface with clipless pedals
Sneaker boots and sneaker pumps - a shoe that looks like an athletic shoe, but is equiped with a high heel and thus makes it hard to be used for anything but as dress shoes.

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Dancing shoes
Dance shoes - special shoes made for tap dancing. They make the tapping noise while the tap-dancer dances.
Pointe shoes - shoes designed for professional ballet dancing.
Tango/Flamenco dnce shoes.

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Shoe etiquette

In most parts of the world (Asia, Eastern Europe, parts of the Middle East and Africa, much of Northern Europe and Canada, as well as Alaska) it is customary to remove shoes when returning to one's own home or visiting others. In the US it is not a "custom", but it is very common. People do this to avoid tracking in dirt, mud, snow, or other unpleasant things stepped on in the street. This is because people in most countries wish to keep their homes and carpets clean. On the other hand, in some countries (e.g. the US and Western Europe) some people are displeased if others take shoes off in their company. It is often explained by foot odor. However, some Americans leave their shoes on when returning to their own home, even if there is no one around to offend by potential foot odor. This practice is however unhygenic, as it exacerbates the odor by providing ideal conditions for fungal infections such as athlete's foot and other diseases of the feet. In almost all parts of the world, people will remove their shoes if they have been walking through snow or mud; this applies to countries where the "foot odor" stigma exists as well. It might be mentioned that foot odor results partly from wearing shoes for many hours; this is a possible explanation for the "foot odor" fear in countries where shoes are worn for most of the day. People in these countries sometimes do not remove their shoes until they absolutely must, for example, bathing or going to sleep. However foot odor can develop in even a short amount of time, and depends also on the type of socks, shoes and the individual.

People wearing specialized types of shoes, such as snow boots, work boots, or high heels, often remove their shoes upon returning to their homes. This is true even in countries where shoes are not normally taken off.

In the Middle East and Thailand, it is considered rude to show the soles of the feet to others (even accidentally, such as by crossing the legs). In addition, in Thailand, it is an extreme insult for the foot, socks, or shoes to touch someone's head or be placed over it. Although feet touching heads is an extremely rare occurrence in any society, some Muay Thai boxers insult each other by "kicking" the opponent's head with their foot (most Muay Thai kicks are executed with the shin).

Sitting in trains it is often allowed to put one's feet on the opposite seat, provided that one takes one's shoes off or put them on a newspaper, piece of clothing, bag, etc., to avoid possible dirtying of the seat. Many people in Western countries put their feet up on the seat in front of them in movie theaters, although this is considered rude by some.

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How to Iron a Shirt

Unfortunately, many shirts do need ironing - but if you learn to do it yourself, you'll save enough on dry-cleaning to buy several more.

Steps:

1. Find the tag on your shirt that indicates what it's made of.

2. Plug in the iron and set the dial to the recommended setting for that fabric. 100-percent cotton and linen need a high setting; wools and cotton blends call for medium heat; polyester, rayon, nylon, silk, acetate and acrylic all need a low heat setting.

3. Fill the iron with distilled water if you will be using the "steam" setting on cottons or linens.

4. Iron the back of the collar first, then the front, taking care to iron in from the edges a little at a time to avoid creases.

5. Open cuffs fully. Iron inside first, then outside.

6. Iron sleeves after smoothing them flat to avoid creases. Do sleeve backs first, fronts second and take extra care on armhole seams.

7. Hang shirt over board so that one front panel of the shirt can be extended flat (collar at narrower end of board). Iron from shoulder to shirttail.

8. Rotate shirt over board so that you iron the back next, and the other front panel last.

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How to Choose a Shampoo

Shampoo not only washes your hair, it keeps it healthy and strong. Make sure you're using the best shampoo for your hair type.

Steps:

1. Identify your hair type. Is it oily? Normal? Consult your hairdresser if necessary.

2. Feel lucky if you have normal hair. Choose a shampoo that is made specifically for normal hair, and make sure it's meant for daily or every-other-day washes.

3. Choose a gentle shampoo that is made specifically for oily hair and/or for daily use, if your hair gets greasy. Make sure it has ingredients like tea tree oil, sage oil and chamomile.

4. Opt for a moisturizing shampoo for curly hair, and a protein-based shampoo for kinky hair.

5. Read the label on a protein-based shampoo and make sure that protein is listed as one of the first ingredients, followed by shea butter, glycerin, sulfur or carotene.

6. Use a color-safe shampoo and conditioner every day for hair that's been dyed, bleached or highlighted.


Warnings:

Avoid conditioning shampoos if you have oily hair.

Tips

If you have color treated hair, don't use regular shampoo's because they will fade your color faster. Use shampoo/conditioner for color treated hair only. The others have more detergent in them and will fade your color a lot faster. Wash your hair in lukewarm water, not hot, and rinse with cool water and a shot of cold water. It really works, and it makes your hair shine and the color last longer!

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How to Become a Personal Shopper

Love to shop? Turn that passion into a money-making venture and become a personal shopper. Yes, you can get paid to shop for others!


Steps:

1. Get some experience. Retail sales will give you a great foundation. You'll be in touch with products, trends, brand names and price points.

2. Do your research. If you want to dress someone else, you must know a lot about that person's profession, including what they need to wear and what styles and colors are acceptable. Talk to store buyers and flip through the monthly fashion magazines to keep up with trends and hot new labels.

3. Take notes and build a library. Log everything you did and didn't sell to a client, why you chose it and how the client did with the purchase. Analyze the trends and develop your own ideas about how they can be worked into a man's or a woman's wardrobe.

4. Make the transition from being a popular sales associate at a department store to being a personal shopper. Show store management the amount of revenue you've brought in over a year and your thick address book of active clients. Get written testimonials from your regulars about how much they value your services and trust your skills.

5. Go solo by organizing your skills and marketing your portfolio. Start with colleagues from your previous profession, friends, relatives and neighbors. Target busy men and women whose professions dictate a certain dress and leave them little time or energy to get their closets together.

6. Get on the phone or send e-mail. Whether you're employed by a store or working solo, your clients are busy - that's why they've enlisted your services. It's up to you to tell them all about the latest styles that complement their wardrobes.


Tips:

Know your client's budget and respect it. Always offer your clients a variety of options, but avoid exceeding their budgets. You'll establish a bond and trust with your clients and keep them coming back for your services.

Diversify your offerings. Give your clients the option of using your services for corporate or family gift giving. Target Christmas well in advance, and over time become acquainted with the special dates your clients and their relatives may celebrate: anniversaries, birthdays, graduations and so forth.