It is my profound belief that no woman should ever be without a pair of truly kick ass black boots. Much like the little black dress, kick ass black boots serve a distinct purpose in a woman’s life. While the dress is something brought out of the closet when nothing else seems just right and is guaranteed to look fabulous regardless of what event you are attending or who you’re looking to impress, kick ass black boots make their appearance when women are feeling confident, strong, powerful and fearless; and if women weren’t exuding these attributes at first, as soon as they lace up those boots, they become a bit transformed. Black boots never go without being noticed and pair perfectly with those vintage graphic tees and jeans that hug your hips just right.
Juicy Couture founders Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy have announced they will be leaving the brand to pursue other projects, including books, television and movies.
Since selling the brand to Liz Claiborne in 2003, the two founders have netted more than $200 million and since that time, their participation in Juicy Couture has been a downward spiral. In 2008, they stepped down as co-presidents of their own brand to become creative directors, making their announcement to leave the brand completely the only logical next step in their edging-toward-exit process. Nash-Taylor and Skaist-Levy did make a brief statement on their departure from the brand, saying:
“We stayed seven years, which is a long time… We’re super-creative girls. We want to bust out and do everything.”
While the founders are definitely trying to exit without too much of a flareup from their fans or anyone else associated with them on a business level, some are speculating that the real reason they have decided to completely leave the brand is because of their scufflings with Liz Claiborne CEO, Bill McComb. It has been said the duo and McComb have gotten into scuffles over the quality of Juicy Couture’s fashions declining after recent reshuffling of Asian manufacturers. McComb has also stated, “As a business gets bigger and bigger, less and less comes from the founding team.”
However, contrary to what McComb has stated about the continued success of Juicy Couture, upscale department stores, including the likes of Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s have been cutting back floor space allotted to the brand after plummeting sales and markdowns. In fact, Juicy Couture’s third quarter sales have dropped 7.8% and while Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy still continue to remain upbeat about its long-term prospects, I have to say that now was the best time to get out with their $200 million and spread their juicy-scrawled asses all over books, movies and television.
The weather here in Pennsylvania has gone down to below freezing several times within the past few weeks; we have also had numerous snowfalls. I would not have made it through the cold half as comfortable as I did without the incredibly awesome slipper boots!
In addition to being warm and cozy on cold winter days (and especially nights), they are also incredibly cute! I found some great styles and colors of slipper boots at Old Navy in early November and they have become a staple in my day time and night time apparel. Paired with the right jeans and a tshirt or sweatshirt, you can wear them around the house during the day time without people looking at you like you’re a crazy lady walking around in pajamas all day and there are enough styles and colors to choose from to go with practically anything in your wardrobe.
I personally own two pairs, in sweater-knit just like the picture above, only green with white snowflakes and also a pair of fair isle in light grey and white stripe and can say that they are excellent quality, will keep your feet incredibly warm and are definitely a winter must-have. Best of all, they’re pretty cheap at only $10 a pair!
It’s no secret that I love shoes; very few women get away without having that special love affair with shoes. I have easily filled a good portion of my closet with sneakers, heels, flats, clogs, and the list goes on, but when I saw TAGÜR Footwear, I saw something that was completely unique; something that wasn’t already present in my ever-expanding shoe collection. I saw a line of sneakers that really puts the customer in control, by giving people the ability to design their own shoes so they are guaranteed to not just love their shoes, but know that they created the fashion they are wearing on their feet.
TAGÜR’s story is a story that can be appreciated by all of us. How many of us have shoes that are the same style, but in different colors and you bought them months or years apart from each other? A great deal of footwear is essentially copies of shoes that you’ve seen before, all over the place. TAGÜR wanted to bring the concept of footwear backs to artistic expression, which is what we all look for in any fashion we wear–we want to express ourselves and who we are by our fashion choices. And so they began writing on their shoes, again, like so many of us had done when we were younger, or not so younger for some of us, and they created a high quality, comfortable and versatile sneaker that lets you take the reigns of designer.
The TAGÜR AKA Blank shoe is perfect for artists, tattoo artists, people who dabble with airbrushing, or really any type of artwork. They also make a great gift for teens because they can have fun decorating their shoes and then, of course, they have a quality sneaker that reflects their personal taste.
But for those of you who, like myself, have absolutely no artistic talents whatsoever, TAGÜR’s got your covered! They also have shoes that are already decorated–and they have some really awesome and vibrant designs! I had the awesome opportunity to receive a pair of TAGÜR shoes in pink camo and they are so cool!
TAGÜR’s shoes are incredibly comfortable and I especially love their pink camo shoes because they are girly, but they also possess a certain amount of quirkiness, which pretty much sums my personality up in one word. They are fun, vibrant and will most definitely look great with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. They do take a little while to break in, as do all shoes. The first time I put them on they were a little tight, but within a few days of wearing them and walking around in them, they loosened right up and are as comfortable as my favorite sneakers that I’ve had for probably over five years now.
So if you’re looking for fun and bold colors, or want to put the vibrant and exciting colors and designs on yourself, check out TAGÜR.
Lindsay Lohan is in full media mode for her spring 2010 line of leggings; yes, leggings. She showed off a pair of slashed leggings and a cutaway leotard in a photoshoot for the upcoming line and she also posed for an array of shots for 6126.
Her new spring 2010 line of leggings will sell for between $60 and $132.
It seems fitting that Lindsay would continue to put out her lines of leggings, which other lines have been flying off the shelves, regardless of their price. She practically wears leggings (in place of pants, mind you) whenever she can.
Mark Fast, a fashion designer known for his tight-knit dresses used both typical, stick-thin models as well as curvier (also known as normal) sized women for his fashion show at London Fashion Week.
Hayley Morley, age 21 and a size 12, Laura Catterall, age 20 and a size 14 and Gwyneth Harrison, age 25 and a size 12-14 appeared on the catwalk during London Fashion Week. The decision behind using normal-sized women in his show was not a publicity stunt, nor was it politically motivated; it was because Fast and his team “wanted women to know they don’t have to be a size zero to wear a Mark Fast dress-curvier women can look even better in one.”
The decision to use these models sparked a controversy, even causing Fast’s creative designer and stylist to quit just 3 days before their London Fashion Week show. Luckily, two freelancers stepped up and helped assist in putting the show together.
I think that this is such a great step in the right direction and hope more designers in the future pick up on Fast’s mindset and accept the fact that not just size zero women are interested in fashion. The fashion industry has been criticized in recent years for glorifying thinness and parading extremely thin models. Psychologists and health experts have spoken out about the fashion industry, saying that they are pushing a dangerously slim image and that women and younger girls could (and have and will continue to) try to emulate the images they see being glorified in the fashion industry.
This isn’t the only thing Mark Fast has done to move past the thought that good fashion is only for very thin people; he has also been involved with the exhibition All Walks Beyond the Catwalk, which featured models from age 18 to 65 and from sizes 8 to 16.
Thank you Mark Fast for spreading the much-needed message of a woman’s body is just fine and beautiful the way it is and that women who do not fit into the fashion society’s very stubborn mindset can still look great in one of your dresses. I hope many other fashion designers adopt this way of thinking, and soon.
I have very few items of clothing that I truly love and those tender few items that make me look great and feel great in, well, I wear them until they’re ripped, tattered, and falling off of my body. The reason for this, I believe, is because I am a what I like to call an “inbetweeny.” By definition, I’m a full-figured woman. I’m a size 12, but the only reason why I’m a 12 and not a 10 is because I have big ole’ birthing hips, which I must find clothing to accommodate. Finding size 12 clothing is no problem, but I do have a huge problem specifically with finding jeans that will fit me right because I have no behind, making the back of my jeans look very empty. I have found very few stores that cater to my type of body, but still remain very skeptical when shopping for jeans, even at stores who are known to carry items of clothing for my body type because the way and the fit clothes are made in is constantly changing.
If fit wasn’t often infuriating enough, the price of jeans just seems to keep rising, regardless of where you are shopping for jeans. I have a very strict budget when it comes to clothing; mostly in part because I don’t necessarily need new clothes very often, being a woman who works from home and is most often in yoga pants, sweat pants, or some other variation of pants that keep me comfortable while I sit in front of a computer for most of the hours of the day. But when I find high quality clothing on sale, I need to take a second (and maybe even a third look) at the offer!
Armani Exchange has new premium denim starting at $98. While $98 is a little more than double my budget and while I probably wouldn’t drop that kind of money on a single pair of jeans, I was very intrigued by the quality of their product because after looking through their website, their jeans look amazing! Better yet, the cut of their bootleg jeans and the decorative pattern on the back of one of the pairs I saw was done to accentuate your behind, making it impossible to look empty, flat, and unappealing, which I was impressed with, given my aforementioned hangup.
Here are some of the jeans I’m most fond of after looking through their site:
July is a great month to take advantage of the promotions Armani Exchange is offering because if you’re like me and completely weary about spending $98 on a pair of jeans, as oart of their text A|X contest, they are giving away a pair of denim every day for the month of July. To enter to win a pair of denim of your own, text the keyword “DENIM2″ to ARMANI (276264).
In addition to their sale and contest, if you purchase a full price pair of denim from Armani Exchange between July 7, 2009 and July 19, 2009, in store or online, you will receive a gift card for $20 of your next purchase of $100 more or more. The gift card is valid from July 30, 2009 to August 15, 2009. Cool, huh?
Don’t forget to also follow Armani Exchange on Twitter to keep up with their promotions, contests, and other goodies!
Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week is the world’s premier fashion event. With it’s invitation-only status, it is truly a coveted position to be in to be able to attend this remarkable and exciting event to see the new fashions and trends being introduced for the upcoming seasons by a variety of the top fashion designers. It is most definitely an event that the fashion world prepares for all year long.
The Fall 2009 Collections take place the week of September 10 to 17 and will, as the title suggests, show the new fall fashions for 2009. I cannot even imagine the excitement and undeniable superiority of coolness I would feel to be given the opportunity to attend fashion week; it would truly be an experience I would not soon forget, or even stop talking about for very long, I’d imagine! But sadly I am not in a position of being cool enough for an invitation to fashion week, but that doesn’t stop me from scouring the internet, blogs, and fashion magazines after fashion week for glimpses into the fun!
If you will be in New York to attend Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, you should have already made your arrangements for your trip, but if you’re looking for the perfect deal when it comes to lodging as well as other arrangements for your stay in New York, or are looking for some great deals for your summer vacation either with your partner, friends, or family, New York Vacation Rentals can help you with your accommodations as well as all the perks New York City can offer you, including sights and tours including Central Park, Times Square, Ellis Island, Rockerfeller Center, the Statue of Liberty, and so much more! You are sure to have an inspiring and delightful time in the city!
I am working in front of the computer, in front of two open windows, and it’s so hot in here that you would swear that I had spent the entire day baking and put the thermostat on about 130 degrees. When looking in my closet for something cool and stylish to wear, I found close to nothing due to the fact that it has been quite some time since my wardrobe has been overhauled.
I have been wearing the same clothes for about a handful of years, which has lead me to not be so fond of most of the clothes I own. A lot of them definitely look their age, or worse, and I have very few items of clothing fit for summer weather, living in the northeast and having harsh, long winters. I have certainly added a few pieces of stylish clothing to my wardrobe over the years, but the bulk of what I wear day to day are still the old, lived in jeans and t-shirts and I can probably guess that a lot of women out there can definitely relate! While the number of summer-appropriate items of clothing I own are slim, I had relied on this one summer skirt for so long that it looks like it’s ready to die. The colors are faded, it looks very sad, and after trying it on the other day, it doesn’t look as good as it did for the past few years on me… Which got me thinking about replacing my summer attire with new summer-appropriate items that look fresh and great on me.
Which is why it’s important that this summer, you wear what makes you feel fabulous and keeps you cool!
I recently found an awesome online shop with a huge selection of great summer-friendly clothes. I especially adore the summer dress to the right; it’s my exact style, it looks fun, and it’s something you can wear virtually anywhere, for any occasion. Best of all, the prices their clothing is listed at is remarkable!
After looking through their entire website, I was thoroughly impressed by their style, their selection, and also their grasp on connecting with their customers. They have a MySpace page, a Twitter account, and they also post videos on YouTube giving you tips and tricks for how to curl your own hair and apply makeup. I love how the brand has truly reached out to their client base and they are providing people with so many perks; follow them on Twitter to hear about contests, giveaways, new items that are being added, and much more!
Summer is fast approaching; we have already had weather in the high 80’s where I live and if that is any indicator of how the weather is going to be this summer, I can foresee a lot of families taking it to the pools to spend their lazy, summer afternoons.
A lot of women tend to stick with the same bathing suit for a number of years without giving their bathing suit fashion sense a second thought. As we get older, our bodies tend to morph and change throughout the winter hibernation months, hence the amount of weight loss “secrets” and diets that come out at around the same time every year to brainwash you into thinking that your current body is not the body of a bikini-wearing woman. Because of the way our bodies change throughout the year, it is important to shop for swimming suits yearly. By picking up a new bathing suit every year for summer, you are guaranteed to have it fit your curves and feel great around the pool in something that fits you perfectly.
I recently came across a great online retailer for swim suits for women sizes 8 and up. Swim Suits For All impressed me quite a bit because of the sizes of women they cater to. I have never been a size 2 and have often felt the scrutiny of society as a whole when I walk out to the pool in a bathing suit as if I could read the thoughts they were having as if they were stapled on their foreheads–Who does that woman think she is not looking like a Victoria’s Secret ad!? Swim Suits For All has taken it upon themselves to cater to real women with real bodies; not just some society-approved group of women with flat, chiseled abs and thighs. They offer a great selection of swimsuits plus size that are also fashionable so you know you look great when you soak up the rays at the pool or on a beach when you’re on vacation.
Juicy Couture founders Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy have 
The weather here in Pennsylvania has gone down to below freezing several times within the past few weeks; we have also had numerous snowfalls. I would not have made it through the cold half as comfortable as I did without the incredibly awesome 
Hayley Morley, age 21 and a size 12, Laura Catterall, age 20 and a size 14 and Gwyneth Harrison, age 25 and a size 12-14 appeared on the catwalk during London Fashion Week. The decision behind using normal-sized women in his show was not a publicity stunt, nor was it politically motivated; it was because Fast and his team “wanted women to know they don’t have to be a size zero to wear a Mark Fast dress-curvier women can look even better in one.”
Which is why it’s important that this summer, you wear what makes you feel fabulous and keeps you cool!
Summer is fast approaching; we have already had weather in the high 80’s where I live and if that is any indicator of how the weather is going to be this summer, I can foresee a lot of families taking it to the pools to spend their lazy, summer afternoons.
