Don Your Shades - Sequins Are Hot !

From the Los Angeles Times

They can look like a sparkly 1970s disco ball spinning out of control, or the remains of an '80s Jazzercise get-up. So why, with so many ways they can go wrong, are sequins so big this fall?

Fortunately, the sequins we're seeing this season aren't over the top and tacky. "They're more sophisticated than the splashy stuff we saw in the '80s," says Jaye Hersh, owner of Intuition boutique.

This season, sequins are being worn as a daytime wardrobe staple rather than just to add glitz to an evening ensemble. Hersh has been selling sequin-smattered T-shirts, tank tops and headbands for the last few months. "People are looking for something to brighten their day," she says. Her biggest sellers are monotone pieces, such as pink sequins on a pink tank top, and basic metallics in gold, silver and bronze.

Sequins can be an easy way to add some sparkle to simple pieces, but just remember that less is definitely more. Wear them as sparingly and subtly as possible, opting for one sequined item at a time and toning down the color palette.



For daytime, try casual items such as a T-shirt or cardigan with a light dusting of a neutral-colored or monochromatic embellishment. Coach has several sequined pieces that make sense for the office and for evening. A light-gray cardigan with silver and gold sequins down the front mixes well with a solid top and standard blue jeans. Some weathered brown boots will take down the shine and add a more relaxed element to the look. Sequined knee socks from Miu Miu add a quirky touch to a full or A-line skirt and sweater. Pull them on and pair with ankle-strap platform heels.

Since sequins tend to shout, "Look at me!," wear them in neutral or dark shades to take down the glitz. A black, sequined one-shoulder dress from Tory Burch is perfect for a cocktail party, but if you're feeling shy about the shine, a fitted blazer will make it look sharp and shield some of the sequin effect.

For an even more subtle approach, try a knitted tank top with an attached sequined scarf from Alice + Olivia. The slouchy drape of the scarf is cool and casual, especially when paired with cropped jeans and cage-style heels.

If all you need is a splash of something shimmery, there are plenty of sequined accessories that will still make a statement. The fuchsia frame bag from Marc Jacobs pops with color and texture, and black and silver ballet flats from Coach freshen up a simple black dress or skirt.

If you're jazzed about the sequin trend, remember to keep it balanced and wear the right pieces for your body type and age. With so much shimmer, every little sequin counts.

Payless Seeks Charity Partners For Shoe Giveaway

from Ohio.com

Local nonprofits are being sought to help give away children's shoes.

Payless ShoeSource has launched its annual Payless Gives Shoes 4 Kids program, aimed at delivering more than $1.2 million worth of free children's shoes to children of families in need this holiday season.

The company said it works through a network of hundreds of charity partners, which it is counting on to help pass out 77,000 gift coupons redeemable through Feb. 28, 2010, toward a new pair of kids shoes at any store.

''Footwear is a basic need that many of us take for granted, and yet a significant number of children need shoes. In a difficult economy, the underprivileged are hurt more than any other group and the charities that assist them are often underfunded,'' chief executive officer Matthew Rubel said.

Nonprofit groups with 501(c)(3) status can apply to help give the coupons away by completing an application at paylessgives.com.

Clothing Recycling Initiative Launched By Goodwill, Levi's

From Ad Age

Levi Strauss & Co. and Goodwill are working together on a new initiative to save billions of pounds of unwanted clothes and put them to good use. In "A Care Tag for Our Planet," the product care tags on Levi's clothing in the U.S. will include messaging encouraging people to donate their unwanted clothing, with the project expanding to global markets in fall 2010.

According to Goodwill, about 23.8 billion pounds of clothing end up in U.S. landfills each year. Currently, 166 community-based Goodwill organizations in the U.S. and Canada divert more than 1.5 billion pounds of clothing and textiles a year from landfills and, in the process, create job-training opportunities for more than 1.5 million people annually.

The initiative was created by BBDO West, Goodwill of San Francisco's pro bono agency, which came up with the idea of using care tags to communicate this message. According to the companies, the partnership combines the values of each organization: Levi Strauss & Co.'s goal to reduce the environmental impact of its products and Goodwill's commitment to help communities recycle usable items while helping those in need.

"BBDO provided us with a perfect way to match our long-term commitment to sustainability with our ability to deliver a message to hundreds of millions of people around the globe," said Jill Nash, chief communications officer and VP-corporate affairs, Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co., which has been working on environmental issues for more than two decades, studied every stage in the life cycle of a typical pair of 501 jeans. It found that one of the greatest opportunities for reducing climate change and water impact happens after consumers take their jeans home. As a result, the company is also encouraging consumers to wash less, wash in cold water and line dry when possible to reduce the climate impact of caring for the jeans.

"As a company built on values, we have long worked to promote sustainability in how we make our products and run our operations," said John Anderson, president-CEO of Levi Strauss & Co., in announcing the project this week. "This initiative uses our global voice to empower hundreds of millions of consumers around the world to join us by providing simple and actionable ways to help care for our planet."

Musto To Launch Mail-Order Catalogue

Press Release

Musto are launching their first ever mail order catalogue, showcasing the brand’s Autumn/Winter collections for 2009.

The 50-page catalogue features a selection of the Lifestyles range for both men and women, which utilises Musto’s background and expertise in sailing clothing to produce sportswear that is as stylish as it is functional.

From the outdoor clothing range including fleeces, waterproof jackets and walking boots, to the more casual everyday items such as jeans and  jumpers, you’re sure to find the clothing you want at a price you can afford. The Lifestyles range also features a number of accessories, including hats, scarves, gloves, backpacks and luggage.

All of Musto’s clothing is made using the best technology that allows them to withstand whatever Mother Nature may throw at you. A number of jackets in the outdoor range are made from GORE-TEX and Windstopper material, making them water and wind-proof, as well as highly breathable. Fleece products are made using Polartec fabric, which keeps the body warm and dries quickly, while jackets with Primaloft use a patented microfiber structure to help the body retain warmth and conserve energy.

Musto are the world’s leading sailing clothing brand, and the official partners of the British Olympic sailing team Skandia Team GBR, so you can be assured that both Musto’s clothing and service is of the highest quality.

Orders can be placed by post, online, or over the phone, or alternatively you can visit one of the many Musto stores right across the country, including their brand new concession at Austin Reed on Regent Street in London.

The Elder Statesmen Of Modern Fashion Photography

From the L.A. Times

Irving Penn's death marks the end of an era. He and Richard Avedon hold generally unchallenged status as innovators of the genre, but Helmut Newton also gets credit as a core influences.

There will always be beauty, style and grace on the pages of fashion magazines and books, but the death of Irving Penn this month marks the end of an era of seminal photography. Penn, along with Richard Avedon, who died in 2004, practically invented modern fashion photography -- a place where art meets commerce -- in the mid-20th century. The influence of both artists -- along with a small group of mavericks who came after them -- figures prominently in fashion editorial and advertising campaigns to this day.

Their striking images shaped how the world saw fashion and have long been ingrained in our psyches.

Penn was by all accounts extremely meticulous in his approach to taking pictures, putting his subjects through grueling sittings. He captured a crisp quietness in his work -- whether he was photographing his wife, model Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, or a few old cigarette butts plucked from the ashtray or gutter. His most iconic images include surprising portraits of Truman Capote and Pablo Picasso, a study of the ballooning sleeves of a Balenciaga coat and a graceful nude of Kate Moss perched on a table, her back to the camera.

Less glamorous, but no less intriguing, are shots of ordinary tradesmen Penn began taking in the early 1950s. These photographs of workers and their tools are on display at the Getty Center through Jan. 10.

Avedon "was very outgoing, very charismatic," according to photographer Sebastian Kim, who worked as his first assistant in the late 1990s. He was more about movement -- waist-length hair and yards of chiffon in full swing. There is a classic photo of model Dovima posing in a Dior gown and positioned between circus elephants; a fully made-up Marilyn Monroe in a sequined halter dress, looking lost; and Nastassja Kinski lying nude, face impassive, wrapped in the curves of a monstrous fork-tongued snake. Optimistic images he captured in Paris for Harper's Bazaar after World War II reestablished the city's status as the fashion capital of the world. A retrospective of Avedon's fashion photography, showcasing 181 of his works, opens today at the Detroit Institute of the Arts and runs through Jan. 17.

"Avedon was more of an influence on my work, but Penn influenced my soul," said Arthur Elgort, a New York-based photographer who often shoots for Vogue (Penn's longtime employer) and was friendly with Penn in his later years. "Penn was meticulous and controlled, and Dick [Avedon] just had an eye for everything -- he couldn't miss."

Penn and Avedon's status as innovators is roundly unchallenged, but when talking to modern fashion and portrait photographers about the genre's core influences, a third name always surfaces: Helmut Newton.

The late fashion photographer ushered in an era of blatant eroticism and dark humor in fashion imagery (see modern flash-heavy shooters Terry Richardson and Juergen Teller). Newton worked for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar in the 1960s but found his niche shooting nudes with sadomasochistic overtones in the 1980s. Earlier this year, publisher Benedikt Taschen reissued a somewhat smaller version of "SUMO," a compilation of 394 of Newton's photographs that was first published 10 years ago. The photos are on display through Jan. 31 at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin.

"That's the trifecta -- Penn, Avedon and Newton," said New York-based photographer Nick Ruechel, who was celebrity portraitist Annie Leibowitz's first assistant and worked under renowned fashion photographers including Peter Lindbergh before striking out on his own. "Contemporary fashion photography would not exist without them. So many people have copied their work verbatim."

British photographer David Bailey (whose party-hopping ways inspired the 1966 fashion film, "Blow-Up") also earned a place in the canon of pioneering midcentury fashion and portrait photographers.

His raw, energetic style captured the jubilance -- and major players -- of the swinging '60s. "I love the craziness of Bailey," said L.A.-based portrait photographer Frank Ockenfels III. "He did things without worry or care and it showed."

In the '80s and '90s, fashion photography went mainstream -- thanks to the rise of the supermodel -- and the industry embraced a new crop of top fashion photographers, most of whom are still actively shaping the genre today.

Among the new stars were Herb Ritts, Bruce Weber, Mario Testino and, perhaps most notably, Steven Meisel.

The late Ritts, a celebrity and fashion photographer, was known for his sensual black-and-white images. His defining shot may be of nude supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, Tatiana Patiz and Christy Turlington, their coltish limbs folded into one another.

Weber, who continues to loom large in fashion photography, is famous for his playful, decidedly American-feeling work for ad campaigns including Calvin Klein (he shot all those early controversial black-and-white images for the brand), Abercrombie & Fitch and Ralph Lauren.

"No one captures the essence of life like Weber does," noted L.A.-based fashion photographer Larry Bartholomew. "You fall in love with the people, you fall in love with the place."

Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer Mario Testino -- whose bold, exuberant images often boast a signature softness -- is a veritable giant in the industry, shooting the famous and fashionable for Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines and Burberry, among other top-drawer clients.

But perhaps no other modern fashion photographer has been as celebrated as reclusive New Yorker Steven Meisel, whose moody, sexy photographs define the look of fashion industry bible Italian Vogue (he's shot nearly every cover for the magazine over the last decade), and have been splashed across billboards for the last two decades, courtesy of ad campaigns for Versace, Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana, among others.

But as with the work of every current fashion chronicler, shades of either Penn or Avedon are palpable -- and many of Meisel's early images echo Avedon's aesthetic.

Kim, who worked as Meisel's first assistant from 2000 to 2007 after leaving Avedon's studio, said, "Steven's earlier approach to things was very Avedon-inspired. Then there was a certain point where he broke away from that. What's interesting about him is his sense of fashion. The girl, the fashion -- those were most important to Steven. He is a fashion photographer, but he was also a stylist and a makeup artist all rolled into one. His whole energy is about creating the next trend, discovering the next girl. So when you look at his work, you can't pin him down. It's always changing."

But the more things change, the more they stay the same, say some photographers. "All we're doing now is copying Avedon and Penn," said Bartholomew with a chuckle. "We call it 'inspiration.' "

Stella McCartney Launches Kids Clothing Line

Story from CBS

Stella McCartney, fashion designer to the stars, is taking on a whole new clientele - and they're under five feet tall! In collaboration with Gap Kids and Baby Gap, McCartney is unveiling a one-time-only line of children’s clothes. Launching in the UK, France, Japan, the U.S. and Canada, the line includes everything from ultra-soft cashmere blankets for newborns to brushed cotton blazers with silk lapels, wool military jackets, and sturdy kids shoes.

Stella, 38, mother of three children under the age of five - two boys, Miller, 4, and Beckett, 1 1/2, and a girl, Bailey, 3 1/2 - sat down with W magazine to promote her new children's line, and discuss why she finally gave in to designing for the little people of the world.

On why she is designing kids clothes: ‘When are you going to do kids? When are you going to do kids? It was just a question that was wearing me out.”

On not being able to find good kids clothes: “I find there’s nothing between the two worlds—it’s kind of cheap or expensive, and they look like that,” she explains. “Some expensive labels are too conservative and twee, and the cheaper stuff is a little less classy and tasteful.”

On dressing kids over the age of 4: “I’m quite aware that after the age of four and a half, kids actually don’t want to wear what their parents want to put on them anymore,” she says, raising a knowing eyebrow. So she commissioned her 4-year-old son Miller and her colleagues’ daughters to help with some of the designs. “My son is obsessed with superheroes, so I’m like, Okay, I’m going to create my own superhero,” says McCartney. “I’d take it home and I’d be like, ‘Do you approve of our superhero?’ And he loved it. So I thought, I’ve kind of had a sign-off on that.”

On choosing regular kids for the ad campaign: “Perfect little kids are not really very me. I wanted to have a bit of realness. When you’re talking about this kind of accessibility and children, it’s really important that you feel comfortable throwing the lot of it in the washing machine and not being too precious with it.”

On her collection: “Nothing is really matching, which is very much what I do. And a lot of the designs just get better with age. To me, the fabric is so important, especially on a child, as they are so aware when things are scratchy.”

On shopping for her kids: "I personally prefer shopping for my kids’ clothes to shopping for my own. I just get more enjoyment out of it.”