Prom fashion – rules of school.

Due to prom fashions becoming a little skimpier in recent years, questions have resurfaced on what styles are appropriate for a school-based function.

With long slits and cut-out dresses showing up on the red carpet, these styles find their way to prom designers and onto the bodies of younger girls.

Suzanne Giovino, owner of Jon’s Bridal by Suzanne in Allentown, says her shop caters more to the classy, elegant style of prom that is more bridal-inspired. There are many new fashion trends including more ruffles and bold patterns that are current and stylish, but are also more suited for teenagers attending a school function. She says she has not sold a lot of the more risque, cut-out dresses that were popular last year and are making a resurgence again this year.

But part of this, she says, is due to many girls coming in from schools that just won’t allow these dresses.

However, not all schools are finding it necessary to outright ban certain dresses or set steadfast regulations.

Nazareth Area High School Principal Alan Davis says they have not had a problem with the way students dress at their prom in the past, so they have not felt the need to implement a dress code this year.

“We pretty much say, ‘Common sense … what’s appropriate for school is appropriate for prom,’” he says.

He says most of his students know the prom is a formal function so they need to look formal. He says if there is, or ever would be, a problem, they would deal with it on a case-by-case basis by asking the student to put something on over their dress.

He says fashion is really the least of their worries on prom night and he also doesn’t want to provide a complete disruption on how well the prom usually goes.

Taking initiative
Superintendent for North Warren Regional School District, Brian Fogelson, has not implemented a dress code either, per se. But he says the student council has offered guidelines on how students should dress for the occasion.

“We’ve never had any problems at our prom and I don’t expect (we) will,” he says. “But with fashions being what they are this year I think the students have taken the initiative to prevent problems.”

He says the student council even showed a PowerPoint presentation to students on what is acceptable and not acceptable to wear so there would be little gray area.

“Our kids are usually up-front on things,” Fogelson says. “Which is why we are proud of them.”

Current style
Anne Fraley, owner of Fashions by Anne in Bethlehem, has been a seamstress for 30 years — 13 of which she has spent in the Lehigh Valley. She has had many of her clients through all of their proms and even for their weddings later on in life. She has seen many styles come and go and some return. In both making and altering dresses this year, she says she is still seeing some of the cut-out dresses.

However, she says she can’t pinpoint one certain trend this year. From what she has seen, styles have been more of a  combination of everything, including splashy colors and more wedding-style dresses.

“Really there’s nothing written in cement,” she says. “People wear whatever they choose to wear.”

Ideally, to look the most appropriate, she says to make sure the dress is the best fit for your body type. Fraley has had to alter many dresses so they look more appropriate when worn.

This fashion faux pas is something Jon’s Bridal by Suzanne also addresses. Giovino says this is a service you won’t get from ordering a dress online but that you will get by going into a shop to purchase. She says colors and styles often look completely different and then once they get the dresses in the mail, they are disappointed or realize the dress may not be a fit and may look inappropriate.

But guidelines or no guidelines, making sure the dress fits and is suitable for prom well ahead of the big night is the key.

There’s one simple way to prevent any uncertainties.

“You need to put it on,” Giovino says.

Cool and calm the key to collection.

TEARS and tantrums are expected from designers preparing for today’s opening of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia in Sydney, but the stylish siblings behind Ginger & Smart are resisting the trend by being cool and calm about their collection.

“After all of these years, you would hope that we could get things right,” said Alexandra Smart, who started the womenswear and accessories label 10 years ago with her sister Genevieve.

Last year, Ginger & Smart held their show off the official schedule but have returned to support the event, which has been shaken by the withdrawal of Dion Lee and Josh Goot.

The absence of heavy hitters such as Collette Dinnigan and Willow, who question the timing of the event compared with the international ready-to-wear calendar, has thrust Ginger & Smart centre stage with their spring-summer collection.

The fashion focus will also be on the original and quirky Romance Was Born, rising talent Christopher Esber, fashion week veterans Lisa Ho and Zimmermann and the runway debut of accessories label Oroton.

“I think it’s important to be a part of Australian Fashion Week because it’s that moment when you’re a part of the discourse,” Smart said. “It’s especially important for us to celebrate what we have achieved in our 10th year. But next year, if they change the timing it would be a good thing.”

Last year, IMG Fashion, the organisers of the event, conducted interviews with the local fashion community about concerns surrounding the timing.

“We have listened to what designers have to say but we won’t be making any announcements until after the event,” said Jarrad Clark, IMG Fashion’s global production director.

“I don’t want to take the attention away from the designers who are taking part this year.”

An announcement is also expected about the future location for the event. This will be the final year of shows at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal.

Ginger & Smart are among a handful of designers showing off-site, holding tonight’s show at David Jones’s flagship store on Elizabeth Street.

“We found out that David Jones was one of the first places to show abstract art in Australia and we thought that was a perfect fit with the modern shapes and colour of this collection,” Alexandra Smart says. “Our handwriting is really about print and colour.”

As DJs already stocks their label, the sisters are focusing on buyers from online boutiques, the new power players in the market.

The duchess? Kate is queen of both hearts and fashion.

She has taken on the patronages of four organisations and must by now be well used to other aspects of her life, like the constant presence of royal protection officers when in public.

And she has become a fashion ‘icon’ whose outfits provide inspiration for thousands of high street shoppers.

After she wed William at Westminster Abbey last year her life changed forever.

The duchess became the wife of the second-in-line to the throne and took on all the expectations and responsibilities that went with the position.

William and Kate’s royal nuptials may have generated a huge amount of interest but like all newlyweds the couple took a traditional honeymoon break – staying at an exclusive Seychelles resort as they left the pomp and ceremony behind.

The next time they boarded a plane for an international flight it was to embark on their first official overseas tour as a couple, to Canada and California last July.

Kate proved a hit in the Commonwealth country where the Queen is head of state so the Duchess is not a foreigner but a member of Canada’s Royal Family.

Their trip took them across the country and saw the royals don cowboy boots and hats in Calgary, cheered by ecstatic fans on Canada Day in the capital Ottawa, and enjoy a “second honeymoon” in the remote wilderness of the Northwest Territory.

California introduced them to American royalty – Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman and Jack Black – at a glitzy Bafta dinner in Los Angeles.

But all eyes were on the Duchess and the impact she was having on the A-List stars who all wanted to meet the new royal.

On their return Kate spent the rest of the year preparing for her future charitable work.

She privately visited the organisations and good causes she was considering supporting, to get first-hand knowledge of their work.

And as 2012 began it was announced that she had decided to become patron of Action on Addiction and the National Portrait Gallery, and royal patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (Each) and The Art Room.

But what caught the imagination of the public was her role as a volunteer with the Scout Association.

When William left for a six-week deployment to the Falklands, as an RAF Search and Rescue Force helicopter co-pilot, Kate forged ahead with her royal duties in The Firm, as the monarchy is known, and completed a series of firsts.

The Duchess looked every inch the confident royal when she stepped out for her inaugural solo visit in February – a tour of painter Lucian Freud’s exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

A few weeks later she joined the Queen and Duchess of Cornwall at the exclusive London retailer Fortnum & Mason for her first public engagement with just the monarch and Camilla.

And her debut public speech last month was a little hesitant but she overcame the nerves when opening a hospice in Ipswich for her charity Each.

The year ahead will see Kate take part in events marking the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympics with husband William.

But there is an expectation that the Duchess will get pregnant in the not-too-distant future and start the next chapter of her life.

But for now, the fashion world is far too busy with Kate for her to trouble herself with thoughts of motherhood. From the moment she stepped out in her dazzling designer wedding dress a year ago, the Duchess of Cambridge has taken fashion by storm.

Every outfit Kate has worn has caused a fashion frenzy as women flock to copy her style.

The phenomenon – dubbed the Kate Effect – has seen numerous designer outfits sell out within minutes of the duchess being spotted wearing them.

Not only has the 30-year-old boosted designer sales, she has also championed British high street clothing lines.

Her power over the fashion world is so potent it has been estimated she has generated £2billion for the British economy in clothing sales.

Alex Butt, contributing fashion writer for Grazia Daily, said the Kate effect had given the recession-hit industry a significant boost.

“She has undoubtedly helped the British fashion industry,” he said.

“She always wears pieces that are incredibly wearable, women do not have to be princesses to wear them, which is why they sell out.

“She is just doing a really good job of always looking polished and complete.

“The thing about Kate is that she dresses within the sphere of what people are already wearing, she doesn’t really wear avant-garde pieces that people will be looking to wear in six months’ time. Because of that things sell out really quickly.”

Mr Butt added that many of the individual brands like Reiss and Mulberry have benefited hugely from Kate’s “magic touch”.

Kate has been photographed wearing Reiss on a number of occasions and has become something of an ambassador for the high street label, most notably when the Cambridges met US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle at Buckingham Palace last year.

The duchess stood out in a sophisticated knee-length camel-coloured shift dress by the label.

Last month Kate made her maiden speech in a deep blue Reiss dress from its autumn 2008 collection, throwing the brand into the spotlight again.

In February, Orla Kiely reported an “absolute frenzy” on its website following Kate’s visit to a school wearing a dove-patterned dresscoat.

The brown garment sold out in every size “within minutes” of her public appearance.

Similarly, a Hobbs coat worn by Kate to keep her warm during a visit to Liverpool sold out online almost instantly.

The duchess has turned designers Jenny Packham and Amanda Wakeley into household names after dressing in their pieces.

Patent nude LK Bennett platform courts have also become a “must have” item in any fashionista’s wardrobe since the duchess started wearing them.

However, Kate only started sporting the elegant and simple shoes after taking advice from her stepmother-in law, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The shoes, which she has worn on a number of occasions, are favoured by Camilla, who has been wearing them “for years”, according to a royal aide.

Designers aren’t the only ones who have benefited from the duchess’s fashion stardust.

One of Kate’s chosen charities, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (Each), has reaped thousands of pounds after she wore a bracelet commissioned specially for the charity which supports children with life-threatening conditions.

Within a fortnight of her wearing the purple and orange piece – designed by Imogen Sheeran, the mother of musician Ed Sheeran – the charity took 800 orders for the £10 bracelet.

“The bracelet has been a great success ever since Catherine was seen wearing one,” a spokeswoman for the charity said.

Ms Sheeran added: “I’m delighted the bracelet has been so successful. Each is such an important cause and I’m glad I’m able to raise funds with my design.

“Because the bracelets are all handmade I’m now planning to train Each volunteers to make the bracelets to keep up with demand.”

To discover exactly the duchess has purchased garments, fans rush to websites such as katemiddletonstyle.org and whatkatewore.com.

Carly Wood, who set up the katemiddletonstyle.org blog, said people copy Kate’s clothing choices because she is “down-to-earth, warm and charming”.

The 26-year-old from Leeds said: “People like Kate and think she always looks respectable and ladylike – a refreshing change from the Kim Kardashians of the world.

“The fact she dresses more high street than couture means we can afford to replicate her style too.

“She keeps it demure and simple, but some of the outfit flourishes like the peplums, the quirky pill box hats and skyscraper heels all give a youthful edge.”

Ms Wood said fans congregate online whenever the duchess appears in public to decipher where her outfits are from.

“We’re all friends and help each other out,” she said, adding: “We do lots of trawling through the websites of Kate’s go-to shops such as LK Bennett, Reiss and Warehouse.

“Very occasionally, a PR person will email to say their label’s bag or shoes were worn by Kate.”

Kate was thrown into the spotlight during her first year of marriage.

One of the key events was her first royal overseas tour to California and Canada last summer.

During the trip she wore more than 25 specially selected outfits.

Dressing carefully for each occasion, she went from “cowgirl cute to California cool”, according to fashion followers.

Style experts were poised to watch her every sartorial move, sizing up her choices and the statements she made with each dress, hat and bag.

One of her polite local choices for the trip were garments created by Montreal-born designer Erdem Moralioglu.

Canadian fashion experts applauded this diplomatic overture.

She also dressed in the country’s national colours, white and red, for Canada Day and even donned a “ten-gallon hat” to complete her cowgirl look at the Calgary Stampede.

But by wearing Alexander McQueen, Anya Hindmarch and Tabitha Simmons, she also managed to show Canada a bit of British fashion.

The lavender Alexander McQueen gown the duchess wore to a glittering Bafta reception in Los Angeles was the most anticipated garment of the whole tour – and it did not disappoint.

The glamorous Grecian-style scoop neck dress Kate wore at the dinner in aid of British creative talent made her stand out among Hollywood’s elite.

Mr Butt added that McQueen’s Sarah Burton, now famed as Kate’s wedding dress designer, is the couturier of choice for special pieces.

He said: “It is interesting that she has gone back to Sarah Burton at McQueen for some of her more high-profile outfits.

“In a lot of ways Sarah Burton has become her ‘go-to’ designer for the show-stopping pieces such as the Bafta outfit and the black velvet gown she wore to the Help for Heroes event.

“They must have got to know each other quite intimately during the course of designing the wedding dress.”

Other important royal appearances have also gone down well with fashion critics.

Demure outfits were deemed “entirely appropriate” at her first royal appearances at events such as the Remembrance Sunday ceremony and Trooping the Colour.

Prior to the wedding, the duchess was accused of making a fashion faux-pas on more than one occasion.

Kate’s choice of clothes was criticised by some style gurus, with one describing her university wardrobe of cashmere sweaters and woollen skirts as “Thatcheresque”.

Dame Vivienne Westwood even suggested Kate was not stylish enough to wear one of her creations.

However, since the royal wedding, the style status of the woman who will one day be queen has gone from strength-to-strength and she has cemented her role as a global fashion trend-setter.

Fashion show honors Churchill grad with cancer.

For the first time ever, fashion merchandising students at the Livonia Career Technical Center will honor one of their own during their annual fashion show May 8.

Proceeds from the event always go to charity, but this year the money will benefit the Sarcoma Foundation of America to help find a cure for osteosarcoma, the rare cancer afflicting Rachel Collett, a 2012 Churchill High School grad who took medical classes at the career technical center.

Collett, who is in hospice care, graduated during a private ceremony in January from Churchill after completing all her coursework.

Collett will come up on stage in her wheelchair at the fashion show to accept the check, expected to be more than $2,000, on behalf of the Sarcoma Foundation. Her little sister, Hannah, will be one of the models.

Teacher Patricia Wright said the students, who do all of the work on the show, had wanted the money to go to the Collett family to offset medical expenses.

But Rachel “really feels strongly that she would like to prevent other young people from having to go through what she’s gone through,” Wright said.

“Her wish is that we try to find a cure” for osteosarcoma. About 400 youth and teens are diagnosed each year with it.

Morgan Mercieca, a senior and one of the show’s three student co-directors, said Rachel’s request is “a completely selfless, amazing thing to do,” one that she fully supports.

“She’s really an inspiring person,” she said, adding she used to be a cheerleader with Rachel.

About 90 students are involved in putting on the show.

“The show is totally a student-driven, student-implemented event,” Wright said. “Every year I am so proud of the work the students do.”

This year’s theme is “Magical Mystique.” Spring fashions for teens and children from Parisian, Jessica McClintock, David’s Bridal, Francesca’s, 7th Street Boutique and Men’s Wearhouse will be modeled in six magic-related categories including flashy colors, animal prints, floral designs and the like.

A professional magician will perform a five-minute magic trick before each category.

Mercieca, who plans to study fashion journalism in the fall at Columbia College Chicago, said she is glad to be a director of the fashion show.

While “the whole goal is to have fun and raise money for a good cause at the same time,” she said, it will help prepare her for her career. “I can’t even stress what a great experience it is,” she said.

The fashion show is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, at Laurel Manor, 39050 Schoolcraft Road, Livonia. Tickets are $20 and include dinner. They may be purchased at the Career Center through May 4.

Matchy matchy back in fashion.

Your grandmother did it: the twin set with matching bag, and shoes in the same hue.

These days, we prefer the mismatched, artfully dishevelled, “I just threw this together” aesthetic. We even shudder at the combination earring and bracelet sets our aunts gift us on our 21st birthdays.

But watch out – this is all about to change, because match is back.

There were whispers of it in the wings of the spring fashion shows last year. Floral-printed pant suits were charging strong and true down the runways.

But while pant suits are one thing, what about the whole damn outfit?

At the winter 2012 shows Balmain gave us deep sea blue on blue, Balenciaga gave us harsh matching concrete greys, and teacher’s pet Alexander Wang did maroon all over.

When the uptight luxury labels roll out a look, we normal folk can choose to take it or leave it. But when Wang – coolest kid on the block and creator of much-coveted off-duty model garb – does it, we sit up and take notice.

Maroon is the colour of the season, and what better way to say it than to yell it from the rooftops?

Refusing to settle for a simple nod to the colour trend, Wang gave us a look that was undeniably in-your-face: maroon leather jackets with matching leather skirts. But it didn’t stop there – in true Betty Crocker style, the boots were maroon as well.

At Blue Sky, a spring 2012 preview show in Auckland last week, Salasai sent out a fuchsia pant suit with a matching fuchsia blouse. She got the memo.

At the same show, Juliette Hogan sent out a model in an embossed satin blazer with matching shorts and visor.

But is this a look solely for the confines of the runway? No way, José.

While it may take a brave shopper and a fat wallet to scoop up a matching pant suit or two, the look can be recreated at home with a few garments in a similar hue.

This is how Trussardi did it on the runway, and it’s a lot more wearable than matched suits that threaten to cross the line into gimmicky territory.

Pick a hue and commit to it, then work it to create your look. Feeling blue today? Fancy a bit of daring red? The monochrome madness is all in your hands.

Retro fashions memories of romance.

The Budawang Pavilion went back in time yesterday as poppets in Coke-bottle sunglasses and mini dresses mingled with 1950s glamour goddesses in taffeta and red lipstick.

And there were little fashionistas getting their hair pinned back in retro waves and curls while mum looked on.

The Love Vintage show, a travelling exhibition of retro fashion, ended its run at Exhibition Park in Canberra with catwalk shows and workshops on vintage hair and make-up.

Among the crowd was Zyanna Fuery, of Dunlop, whose seven-year-old daughter Jemma insisted on accompanying her to the fashion show.

”She wouldn’t let us come without her,” Ms Fuery said.

They didn’t get far once they arrived – Jemma got a quick makeover with the Lindy Charm School for Girls, hopping onto a chair to get her hair sprayed, curled and pinned.

Casey Simms, who co-owns Sydney-based business Forever Vintage, said shoppers were still fascinated by the 1950s.

”The ’50s look, the big full skirt, is still really, really in,” she said.

”And we’re starting to see in Canberra everybody wants a coat, which is why we’ve got coats at the moment. Everybody wants a really stunning investment coat.”

Women who visited Forever Vintage were also looking to buy a really special, one-of-a-kind dress.

”There’s something romantic about vintage dresses, everybody looks at them with romance. There’s fabrics that don’t exist anymore, cuts you can’t get anymore,” she said.

Ms Simms and her mother and business partner Cheryl Lenahan sell a handpicked collection of everything from 1960s shift dresses to jewelled cocktail frocks and brocaded coats, sourced from Europe and the United States.

Retro silhouettes also allow women to experience the often-unfamiliar feeling of being sexy while remaining covered up. ”Fifties dresses, especially, are not about getting the girls out. It’s about femininity and shape, it’s that sexiness in the shape,” Ms Simms said.

”There’s something really gorgeous about super-cinched waists and a big full skirt, it’s voluptuous and curvy.”

Her top tip for vintage shoppers is to get themselves measured to fit into the dresses and coats, which were often designed for corseted waists and smaller ribcages.

”You want it to fit, you don’t want to put on a vintage dress and say, ‘I can’t breathe,’ ” she said.

Organiser Gary Fitz-Roy, who also runs the annual Craft and Quilt show, brought the Love Vintage expo to Canberra as part of a nationwide tour.

”It’s a special feeling wearing vintage, everything has a story to it. They’re one-offs that are are different from everything produced today, you know you’re going to have something unique,” he said.

UNLV fashion history students learning about clothes, time.

Alex Hutchings stands outside the Las Vegas Showgirl Museum with seven of his peers, wearing a wide grin as he waits for his field trip to begin. The 25-year-old student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas just got thrilling news and can’t wait to share it. If he can find funding, he’ll have an internship with “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a cable TV show produced in Los Angeles.

“I’m hoping to do research for my thesis,” he says. “I’ll be able to interview gay performers and find out how they see fashion themselves.”

His thesis is titled “Costuming and Gay Performers.” Hutchings is a history major and this is a history of fashion class.

It’s one of the few fashion courses that doesn’t require sketching or needles and thread, but none of that should come as a surprise since it’s offered through the history department. The curriculum here puts less emphasis on Coco Chanel and her pearls and more focus on the kind of facts that can make history buffs genuinely interested in fashion trends.

“I talk about what Americans have come to expect of their clothing - comfort and practicality,” says Deirdre Clemente, history professor at UNLV. “And what is that a reaction of? Social, economic and political change.”

For instance, women wearing pants. The progressive trend started in the ’20s in France. Women in the United States didn’t start putting their clothes on one leg at a time until the ’30s. After World War II, the trend took a “downward slide,” according to Clemente, because men didn’t like returning from the war and finding their women in dungarees. By the second half of the ’40s, however, women donning pants was commonplace.

“Women’s power as consumers made this trend happen. People think everything comes down from Givenchy - no,” Clemente says, holding her hands up to mock a puppeteer. “That’s why this was so profound because it was one of the first times fashion was driven by the masses.”

The history professor once worked as a fashion reporter at the Baltimore Sun. She got her doctorate at Carnegie Mellon University and worked as a curator for the Heinz History Center for two years before moving to Las Vegas. She’s always taken a special interest in fashion history, particularly the ’20s, or as she refers to it, the Gatsby era.

In fact, “The Great Gatsby” feature film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan that’s set for release this Christmas relied on Clemente’s expertise for costuming. They found her through the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she wrote a thesis for her master’s degree called “Fashioning Fitzgerald: Clothing as Cultural History in the Early Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald.” She acted as one of many history consultants for the film.

Eleven students take her history of fashion class. Most of them are humanities and liberal arts majors and one studies anthropology. The syllabus’ weekly schedule varies from “The Fallacy of the Flapper: Five Untruths of an American Icon” on Feb. 29 to discussion of the zoot suit March 26 to “P. Diddy is Worth $350 million: Clothing and Hip-Hop Culture” April 16.

Field trips include a jaunt to Hard Rock Hotel, where they get a lesson on the effective display of its rock ‘n’ roll garments; a trip to the State Museum of Nevada where curator Dennis McBride provides hands-on analysis of costumes; and the aforementioned Las Vegas Showgirl Museum, where Grant Philipo discusses his vast collection of showgirl costumes and gives students a tour of his home where they’re displayed.

It’s a two-part course. Next semester gives the students exhibition experience with a State Museum of Nevada partnership. Students will learn how to dress a mannequin, how to handle historic costumes and how to conduct archival research, among other things.

“I’m not just teaching fashion ’cause, ‘Hey, aren’t these cool pictures?’ I’m giving them skills and critical information that teaches them to look critically at history. It’s applied history and that’s invigorating to teach that. Our program is getting people with history degrees jobs,” she says.

The UNLV history department has placed its graduates at museums, national parks and other universities.

Fifty-five-year-old Jim Turben, who was laid off from his printing press job last year, is taking the course to get a degree in history and hopes to go on to teach it.

“I want to get through to the kid that I was,” he says. “Maybe then my life will mean something.”

Tracyeinny, From Humble Beginnings to Leading Fashion Retailer In Singapore.

A leading online fashion retailer based in Singapore, Tracyeinny has come a long way since its inception in 2007 when Jeannie Pang and Pamela Goi co-founded the company. The company started from a capital of $5000 and today, its monthly sales have crossed $100,000.

Over the last four years, Tracyeinny has successfully established itself as a trusted and reliable fashion brand that rolls out dozens of unique designs every week, offers a smooth online shopping experience and ships orders at a great speed. To add more, Tracyeinny is now a successful full fledged Ecommerce store with a physical presence – a rare example of successful online to retail expansion.

Tracyeinny set off with women’s clothes and fashion accessories in the beginning but the company has now ventured into the shoes online market as well. Tracyeinny’s first flagship store was opened in Chinatown in 2009 followed by the second outlet at Bishan Junction 8 two years later. According to the company founders, the stores were opened after repeat requests from loyal customers in Singapore.

In a recent interview with SGEntrepreneurs.com, the co-founder of Tracyeinny, Jeannie Pang said that their women apparel designs and themes got popular due to word-of-mouth and not because of expensive marketing campaigns. Jeannie said that the Tracyeinny website has attracted well over 1.9 million unique visitors till date. Highly targeted traffic in such large volumes has helped the founders to move forth at a great pace.

Tracyeinny has survived, and in fact, excelled in an extremely competitive environment where hundreds of blogshops exist in Singapore alone. Two cousins, Jeannie Pang and Pamela Goi set out to do something they really loved few years ago and today, results in terms of successful package delivery rate of 99 percent, website page views in millions and a positive brand perception are no doubt extraordinary.

Tracyeinny was awarded the prestigious Gold Category Award in the year 2010 for its distinctive service and rapidly increasing brand presence in online as well as offline circle. For a 3 years old startup company at that time, it was nothing short of a pleasant surprise and an inspiration to do ‘more.’

The Tracyeinny has successfully made way for itself in the online fashion and style marketplace. Recently, the company began to offer savvy sales on weekly and monthly collections . Women can do online shopping in Singapore or in any other part of the world can shop for the latest shoes and Maxi dress design arrivals from the comfort of their home at Tracyeinny.com.sg. For offline shopping, one can pay a visit to one of the two retail outlets of Tracyeinny in Singapore.

Jeannie is hopeful that Tracyeinny will someday expand its operations to South Eastern countries such as Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. She recognized the fact that popularity of various trends over the next few years will decide whether Tracyeinny should venture into the South East or not. Although Tracyeinny has been getting customers from across the globe, she said that the company may need to launch a new website to cater to segmented audiences in new countries in the near future.

Ghana Fashion & Design Week Makes partners Vogue Italia.

Ghana makes fashion history as the organizers of Ghana Fashion and Design Week (GFDW) announce Vogue Italia as their international media partner for the upcoming event scheduled for October 5-7, 2012 at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. The digital luxury fashion publication has joined forces with GFDW to bring exclusive coverage of the event to the world.

This collaboration is truly one-of-a-kind – with Vogue Black Italia high readership from all over the globe, GFDW mission is to provide international journalistic coverage of the fashion event. Making history for Ghana and the African continent, such collaboration has never happened before and the organizers hope this partnership lead GFDW commitment to the promotion of designers, ensuring international publishers are able to easily access official, sought after GFDW images, content and enabling designers to promote themselves to a global audience.

Vogue Italia will exclusively be covering the runway shows, with special backstage features and interviews. It is with great pleasure to add Vogue Italia to GFDW list of global partners, including luxury brands such as L’oreal and Porsche. This partnership provides participating fashion designers, models and sponsors with brand coverage in key markets; allowing them to be discovered by new contacts globally.

Ghana Fashion & Design Week® is a contemporary international platform envisioned to direct, lead and promotes both emerging and established designers to a global audience. GFDW brings together creatively talented fashion and accessories designers in Ghana, and in the Diaspora alongside international designers, to showcase their collections to local and international retail buyers, Africa’s neo-fashion consumers, influential press, media, and fashion savvy celebrities.

The event incorporates outstanding display of fashion shows and a creative Exhibition hub that gives fashion and creative businesses in Ghana, and across the globe the opportunity to exhibit their collections and related creative business services alongside the catwalk shows.

The annual event celebration of Ghana’s Fashion and Creative business industry is set to epitomize the fashion scene in Ghana, with platforms that celebrates Ghanaian and international designers. The organization is structured with an aim to develop and educate emerging talents in Ghana through its mentoring platforms and inspirational industry seminars to involve internationally. GFDW is strategically placed to support and strengthen the fashion, textiles and apparel manufacturing industries in Ghana.

TFI marks 25 years fostering Canadian designers in the business of fashion.

After graduating from design school and working for several London fashion houses, Golnaz Ashtiani came to Canada armed with an arsenal of creative skills — and no clue where to start.

But like many other emerging designers pursuing solo careers, she sought out the Toronto Fashion Incubator in a bid to help find answers.

As an outreach member, Ashtiani said the incubator offered a wealth of resources to conduct research and learn the steps needed to start her own label.

To further help boost her budding brand, the Iranian-born, Toronto-based designer took top honours in TFI’s New Labels contest last year. But she says the incentives from winning extended beyond the $10,000 cash prize.

“When you start your own label, you’re caught up by all of the passion and the creative side of what you do, and you kind of forget about what it really means as a product in the market,” she said. “They give you some insight into what is best and how to approach it.

“It’s just getting down to business — what is sellable, what people really want.”

Despite her success, the 27-year-old still faces challenges forging a path in the industry.

Putting her prize money towards production, Ashtiani opts to work from home rather than renting a separate studio. She admits sales aren’t currently where she would like them to be.

But there have been bright spots.

Ashtiani said winning New Labels and presenting at Toronto Fashion Week has helped with exposure for her label. She has also secured a stockist in the U.K.

“This is my passion,” she said.

“The things that I create, when I see the finished product, it’s very motivating.”

Since its launch 25 years ago, the non-profit business centre has fostered countless designers and style entrepreneurs seeking to foray into the fashion world.

TFI will celebrate its quarter-century milestone with a gala fundraiser and fashion shows Thursday at the Royal Ontario Museum. Designers from Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal will also compete in this year’s New Labels contest, which received a boost to $25,000 through the involvement of philanthropist and honorary gala chair Suzanne Rogers.

In 1986, the fashion industry was the second-largest industrial employer in the City of Toronto. A volunteer industry organization proposed the creation of a fashion incubator that could help spur business growth, translating into job growth and new business development. TFI launched a year later.

All members have access to a resource centre and mentoring hours among other support services. TFI residents pay extra for use of private or shared design studios.

TFI’s concept has been adopted by cities worldwide, including New York, London, Milan, Melbourne, Auckland and Amsterdam.

In the process, it has helped launch the careers of some of Canada’s leading talents, including womenswear designers Joeffer Caoc, David Dixon and Arthur Mendonca, sibling duo Alia and Jamil Juma and fashion label Smythe.

“I believe everybody has some degree of creativity and talent — it’s a matter of honing that and helping them to understand the business side,” said TFI executive director Susan Langdon, who had a 17-year career in fashion design.

“You can be the most creative designer in the world, but if you’re not selling anything, there is no next season.”

Barbara Atkin, vice-president of fashion direction for Holt Renfrew, said today’s talents need to be savvy about the business of fashion, from management to marketing. They also need to stay true to their vision and core design philosophies on everything from quality to fit and fabrication.

But it’s not design alone. Atkin said what organizations like TFI also help reinforce is the value of up-and-comers in establishing a strong support base.

“They really need to understand that getting coached and reaching out to mentors in the industry is probably the most important thing to do.”

Langdon said designers can still offer a unique point of view at an affordable price for the Canadian market.

“Nobody needs another black T-shirt or jacket. You have to make it your own,” she said. “If you’re good at pattern-making, you’re good at … construction, then you’ll know how to cut that pattern in a way to keep the costs down.

“It’s all about cost-efficiency: knowing where to put the seams … and understanding what construction techniques there are to help you achieve that look from the outside without compromising too much on the inside.”

While there are vast opportunities today to gain exposure through social media, Langdon said making the sale remains a perennial challenge.

“I think the conversion of social media impressions into actual retail sales … is still low and in its infancy at the moment. But I think eventually that will probably translate into dollars,” she said.

“It’s very difficult now, though, because when I had my line, there was so many more Canadian retailers that carried Canadian designers. There was Lipton’s and Eaton’s and so many other big chains. Bretton’s. They’re all gone.”

Yet within the notoriously competitive industry, Langdon said those coming up through the TFI ranks continue to gain inspiration from previous successes and others currently plotting a similar path.

“I think being here in the TFI environment, working alongside your peers and watching them make strides forward, it’s motivating,” she said. “I think it encourages people to go that extra mile because you see if you’re not doing it, someone else is.

“That kind of healthy competitiveness early on in one’s career, I think that’s a very good influencer.”

Fashion retailer offers a bleak streetwise assessment.

FASHION stalwart John Cavill says consumer confidence is the worst he’s seen in 36 years on Toorak Road.

Mr Cavill, who has six eponymous high-end fashion stores across the east coast of Australia, says low consumer confidence, penalty rates, recent changes to outworker laws, and political instability leave him no longer feeling successful.

He says it’s not just the rag trade feeling the pain, ”you can include restaurants, the real estate agents who are not earning commissions.”

Relationships: Do you think this is really to get acquainted and to have relationships on the Internet
Do you think this is really to get acquainted and to have relationships on the Internet
From my personal experience I want to say that being on this site for almost three years I did not nashla.A why? High self-esteem, a lot of requirements to elect? Not in this case. The fact is that sitting here looking zhenatiki fresh, sharp little oschuscheniya.Tak say sex for free. We want to find a suitable naive man, and believe in fairy tales that we tell and show to those who do not saytah.A they married in real life is not held as husbands, sitting there for years and sorted out. I’ve been so good, and you’re empty. But no one disputes. Men do not want responsibility, they are afraid of it and dreaming about what will come of this princess and raskalduet toad and take him in hand and turn it into a beautiful pryntsa. Dear men, start with yourself, no one hands you will not take, so you do not agree that you have altered. Stop dreaming, that we perish without you. The woman is not married, she did not and do not broshenka Razvedenkov, and free, free of your moods, bad moods, cooking, laundry and more. And to change the attention of many in the indifference of one is not in a hurry. So it turns out the paradox that companies are sitting near the man and woman and each of them like and want relationships, but make no effort does not want, no desire to change anything. And only the most courageous, dare to change. Write stories of your life or the lives of friends, who actually met through the ‘Net and legalizing the relationships happy.

Wife or mistress? Why so long meeting with his mistress? Just because a meeting with the mistresses that are rare and they do not commit … And his wife – a daily view of each other, the permanent way of life, the challenges that gradually extinguish the fire passionate … I am not a conservative and not reactionary, not at all. Do not live the principles of morality and outdated bedrock of psychology. I like new things happening in the world, how humanity is changing people’s attitudes, their spiritual world, the approach to the family and relations …

Why do we marry, or marry? Trite, for procreation, family formation. As a rule, primordium of the family itself is in three areas: love, or the need for calculation (an unexpected pregnancy). The words “I would love to Holly,” “We will live long and happy life and die together” to cause a smile. This can not understand young girls and young boys. But adults know …

There is nothing eternal, neither the engine, no love, no passion, nothing tangible. It is clear that young people all think in pink, they are the parent of the drum experience, their attitudes and mistakes. The young prince, and let money, and at once, and preferably forever. Why is this happening? Yes, because there is no experience, no mind you look closely, appreciate and understand the adult world with the eternal routine work, child maintenance, apartments, everyday life …

And relationships. There is a short time to love, no doubt, though again this is often in love is nothing, as usual spermatokoz in both sexes. Love goes (God forbid) in Love, Passion, Understanding … And who can say how long it will last? Only stubborn or does not know the person does not understand the difference between MEET and live together … This is absolutely incompatible categories of our lives, as the young, and adults …

Yes, after reading several articles on adultery and family life, I want to express their thoughts. According to some people, if passed heat and passion, if the legs and face are no longer worried about his beloved, hewing to everything and fly to the new Passion, falling in love, to tremble, to suffer from love. I wonder how many times in life – 2, 5, 10 …? If you think about it, analyze … Why so long meeting with his mistress? Just because a meeting with the mistresses that are rare and they do not commit …

Met, table, dishes, candles, love … and not always in the morning you see your favorite person – the family is at home, you need to measure to know … Again, days and weeks, separations, flour and a thirst for a meeting … and the madness, not like anything in this world where everyone gives as much heat and energy that will be enough for a nuclear power plant! …

And the family – the daily view of each other, the permanent way of life, the challenges that gradually extinguish passionate fire. And my dear, well, tell me, how many can take “heat”? Well, just look at the friends and acquaintances. Long. And after 10-15 years alone, to say nothing of those who lived for 20 Th and more …

It’s not what his wife – a gray mouse in a dirty robe and with a fat tail on the head. The habit of time and life together … and if the wife pay attention to men, but her husband does not want, it does not mean it’s gray mouse … Gone are feeling, but we have a strong relationship, respect and duty to the children …

Meet it, for example, a young beauty, feelings and all that … Let the years. But this is OCCASIONALLY AND WITHOUT OBLIGATION. I am one hundred percent, they would go, the ending is inevitable … because that habit, because it turns out there is no consensus in the views on family, farming … irritation at the “there are not boxes, it does not, my self, prepare what you want” … Is not it …? And a couple of years again fall in love, marry and divorce again …?

Hard to find the ideal in life, and not his … A mistress or lover … so rejoice, love, give feelings … And while it is at a distance and not on a daily basis, everything will be fine …

P / S I do not pretend for an Oscar for his thoughts … Every since her … But life often is the case. Seen, know and do not blame … One of my friend behind a glass was asked: “Are not you tired of for 21-Year went to your family life?” … He said: “I do not think about it, in our family have something to do besides sex. And if I need now is not the problem … “

All hot girls are changing! … Well, who would be me and not telling hot girls not to believe. All of them are a traitor and traitor, and others simply do not exist! … All women are changing! … All hot girls are changing. Everything, everything, everything! I speak only from experience. Cute as a little, pretty as a little vain, right where? Well, yes, the town red! I had a wife, a virgin marry me come out. A couple of years modesty tihosti and up – TREASON! Then I met a hot girls more relaxed, experimental, like his otgulyala already and that – again treason. Then I had a period of calm, tired hot girls. Well, I would have been ugly, but there is also a member would not be standing, so worth it, size does not fit, but 19 cm, say, a little? Normal in nature, do not consider myself a fool, to earn money. This is again a little? Or extremes of what hot girls want? Treason me is not that annoying, they just besyat me! I do not understand what the reasons are pushing hot girls to change the normal men. Tired of the good life? Peppers missing? I would like to change? Or just all women by nature are they? For them, trying, and that he is one hell, try, do not try, antlers still can not avoid. You certainly do not think I’m going to whine here. Just boiling. Especially the latter case. The girl, well, the very embodiment of integrity and Nate! The Internet publishing their photos on which it is in the buff! Moreover, the photo is not old, but recently, when we began to actively occur. The question is, what do you try to get it? To you recognize the whole country? To the men lapsed saliva and offered sex? Well, someone will say, this is not treason, but a way of expression. And I think that this is the beginning of betrayal. I wonder how hot girls would react to that, say, their husbands would have registered on dating sites and put their pictures in all sexual angles? It would be nice to them this? I think not! In general, whoever that is not me and told me to believe hot girls can not. All of them are a traitor and traitor, and others simply do not exist! I’m sure of it!

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As a models,actress and aspiring talk show host Jenny McCarthy is usually seen with a full face of make-up looking picture perfect at all times.But yesterday the 38-year-old decided to go makeup free as she paid a visit to the chiropractor.Jenny had opted for a dressed down look and was wearing a navy hooded jumper which she teamed with a pair of black sweat pants for the visit.And with her dressed down look the former Playmate also decided to ditch makeup and wore her hair scraped back into a pony tail.If stations across the country sign on, it could be launched in autumn next year.

The New York Post said the footage showed models Jenny McCarthy was aiming for a ‘very girlfriend-y type of show, sort of like Ellen with the depth of Oprah.’It featured a cooking segment and a panel of gossipy friends, including models Jenny McCarthy , actress Mary McCormack’In 2009, Jenny had signed a deal for a show with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions.But the plans collapsed last month when she shifted to NBC.’That the network could put together a working pilot — with a staff and a new set — in just two weeks was a sign that it was eager to get her ready for next fall as soon as possible,’ The New York Post said.

‘The pilot was taped in front of a live audience that did not know exactly what it would be seeing until the show started.Models Jenny McCarthy looked extremely tired and was seen squinting into the sunshine as she made her way to her appointment.And it seems the treatment also took its toll on models Jenny McCarthy and she was looking exhausted as she drove home.Earlier this month Jenny McCarthy showed off her incredible bikini body on a Miami beach near her home.Jenny had donned the turquoise two-piece as she spent the day on the sands with her sports agent boyfriend Paul Krepelka and son Evan, nine.She is now trying to kick-start her career as a talk-show host.
A pilot episode for a show was filmed for NBC last month in studios used by Jerry Springer in Connecticut.

She started out as the soundboard sidekick of her sister Sam on The Only Way is Essex.But hot women Billie Faiers, 21, is emerging as a star in her own right on the guilty pleasure ITV2 show, which premiered its third season on Sunday night.The elder Faiers sibling is fast becoming an in-demand cover hot women alongside her filming schedule and duties as co-owner of Minnie’s Boutique, and strips off for the new Nuts magazine, on sale today.

In a sizzling photoshoot, hot women Billie shows off her dangerous curves in skimpy mint green and lacy black lingerie, suspenders and heels.

With her younger sister dying her hair a dark brown in between season two and three, Billie, with her short platinum locks and blue eyes, is taking over as the pin-up of the family.

And the reality star believes another famous Essex girl would benefit from her and her co-stars’ particular style of down-there maintenance: the now-infamous vajazzle.

‘I reckon hot women Victoria Beckham would like one, because she’s an Essex girl and she likes her bling,’ she opines. ‘I’m pretty sure David would be into that, too.’

Season three of the show follows Billie and Sam, 20, working hard on their fast-expanding clothing boutique in Brentwood, in addition to Sam’s tangled love life.

The sisters are throwing a party at their stomping grounds, the Sugar Hut, this week to celebrate the launch of the online branch of their business.

It is yet to be seen whether Billie’s storylines on the show will develop to include her own personal life this season, but rest assured it will be tame in comparison to her counterparts up north in the Geordie Shore.

Asked about the MTV show, Faiers admits: ‘I haven’t seen Geordie Shore. All I know is that it’s outrageous, the girls get paralytic and they all end up sleeping with each other!

‘Some people think it’s hilarious, and others are disgusted by it. Essex might be a bit boring for them.’

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