To a teenager the fashion industry looks like it is fun and glamorous to work in, with the chance to rub elbows with stars or even become famous. If your teen enjoys fashion and would like a career in the industry there are lot of options for them to look at. The best thing to do is take a real look at the fashion industry and the careers in it. A lot of teens dream of being a clothing designer because they know how to sew and they love to make changes to clothing, or they just have great fashion sense. The problem with that is very few people have the talent, education and luck to become top of the line designers, or to have a successful clothing line; fashion is a business like any other business.
You teenager should understand that there are a lot more careers within the fashion industry then designer. There seems to be three main areas with in the fashion industry, designing, marketing, or buyer. Each one has a completely different set of skill sets, and education requirements. So your teenager can make fashion by creating the clothing, or tell everyone what is fashionable with marketing or decide what is going to be available in the stores as a buyer. All of this requires someone in touch with current trends and great fashion understanding.
Once your teen has a realistic view of the fashion industry and an idea of what they want to do then your going to look at different schools. Find out what they offer, what is the schools reputation with in the industry, and what is the success rate is for job placement, what schools work with your budget and what are the requirements your teen has to meet to be able to go to the school. You may want to look at location of the school. New York is the US centre for fashion so it makes sense that most of the best opportunities within the fashion industry would be in New York. Under the same logic some New York fashion schools would have an advantage over ones not located in New York. The contacts and opportunities alone could make a difference.
A fashion school in New York may have some advantages because of its location. It is just one of those things you need to look at when you are checking out what options your teenager has and what is actually going to be important to their career. No matter what career a person picks what school they go to can have a big impact on how well they do. You need to find the best one for your teen that fits your budget. Having the right fit can make the difference of successfully completing school or dropping out. It is just as important to put the time into finding the right educational path for an individual going into fashion as it is for someone going into law, science, acting, or anything actually. When it comes to fashion schools New York comes to mind, but there are local schools that may meet your teenager’s needs just as well, or better. It is all about doing your research about what your teen will need for success and what schools will give that to your teen.
Showing posts with label Fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fashion. Show all posts
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Baby fashion: How to save money on brand name baby cloths
I live on a limited budget and one day I realised that I was able to dress my kids better then my friends who do not have limited budgets. I have better quality baby clothing and more of it then they have. I found it funny, but then realised that my limited budget forced me look for those bargains and I got very good at finding them.
How to save money on new brand name baby cloths. It is always a good feeling to get a bargain and have some thing new.
End of season sales are great if you don’t mind taking the chance your baby will be to big for it when the season comes around again. Not a big problem in mild climates.
You can always go to the discount, and outlet stores. You can often find name brand baby clothing, however you have to be careful as the clothing is usually seconds or damaged, sold as is. You get the brand you want but not always the quality you expect.
Stores like Winners, liquidation world, and the Dixie value outlet mall, full of large discount and outlet stores.
Store liquidation/closing sales are a good way to buy for less. These are hard to find and most stores going out of business will sell off the name brand items to other retailers and then sell the rest at or below wholesale price to you just to try and get some money back. The sales are often very crowded.
Discount online retail sites and auction sites are a good source as well. You can get some very good deals from the very same people who just bought up seconds, not perfects from the manufactures, or bought the name brands from the store closing. Though some times you do have people who sell good product at a lower price because they believe in a quick nickel over a slow buck. Look at Ebay, Blujay and Kijiji to find some of these retailers.
You will find a bigger savings on second hand brand name baby clothing.
Second hand shops are a good place to look. There are good and bad second hand shops. Some only take items on commission, they have to be name brand, in perfect condition and dry cleaned before they are put out for sale. Others take any thing and every things and the condition it came in is the way it goes out for sale. It takes time to go through all the clothing, but if you take the time you can find almost new name brand baby clothing. You end up spending pennies on the dollar for that item, $6.00 for a $60.00 item is not unusual. There are also some great online second hand shops as well, but you have to keep in mind shipping cost.
Garage sales – This takes time to find good garage sales, but you can get some great name brand baby clothing. People just want to get a bit of money and if they don’t sell it they are usually donating it to the second hand shops. I have bought boxes and bags of clothing for a few dollars only to find it full of name brands. Once you know what families have the good clothing in the sizes your kids need you make sure you keep an eye out for when every they have a garage sale. A few cities and towns down here have a once a year city/town wide garage sale day. The one held in Caledonia is organized by the city counsel and is held on the same weekend every year, it is so big people come from all over from hours away with empty trucks and trailers. It is a great place to find families with kids just a little older then yours and you have a good source of clothing. I have been able to get some great clothing from 25 or 50 cents to $2.00 apiece.
Mom-to-Mom sales – I just love these. You have to get to them early to get the name brand clothing though. There is usually quite a few people selling clothing at great prices, they had to cart it there, they don’t want to have to take it home again. I have been able to find name brand boys jeans for a $1.00 or $2.00. Mom-to-Mom sales can be hit or miss though. I find that there is ether a lot of clothing available in the sizes I need or no one has that size at all because some one just bought it all.
Flea markets - You can find new and used name brand clothing at flea markets. You will not get the same deals as you do at garage sales, or Mom-to-Mom sales because that is where most of the flea market vendors buy it.
Free ad sites – people put lots of clothing out on kijiji all the time. I know that there are other free ad sites out there that people use. You just have to find the ones that are for your local area. It is a matter of timing though, you never know when you will find some thing.
Auction sites - There are more auctions sites opening up every day, you just have to find ones that people are selling on. EBay is the most common one, and you can get some great deals on new and used name brand baby clothing. You do have to be careful about shipping costs, they can eat up any savings and if you are buying internationally you may be hit with brokerage fees and all sorts of other unexpected fees.
Clothing exchanges – community run clothing exchanges are an interesting way to get clothing. The idea is that the local community centre or church has a room that is open one or two days a week. People in the community bring the clothing they no longer need and drop it off, and they can go through what others have dropped off and take what they want. You would be surprised at the quality of the clothing. Most of the people who take the time to do this also care about their clothing. I have dropped off and picked up name brand baby and kids clothing. I just moved and my new neighbourhood does not have a clothing exchange and the one I used to go to is only open for people in that area. I miss it already, I have boxes of clothing my kids just grew out of. Now I have to decide, do I hang onto it and have a garage sale next year, or just donate to a charity that will sell it to a second hand store.
Is there a secret way to get clothing straight from the designer/manufacturer/retail store that will help parents save money. I run my own business so I have an advantage over most people, I have a venders permit that allows me to buy from designers, manufacturers and wholesalers. I can also keep items for my own use as long as I pay the taxes on those items. The only problem is that you have to do a minimum buy, usually the same items in bulk. It works great if you have a group of people with kids the same size, you can buy the clothing, every one pays for the clothing plus the tax. Every one wins. Is it fair to every one else, no. The one thing you have to be careful about is that you have to sell the clothing to your friends for more then you paid, even if it is just a few dollars. Other wise you can lose your venders permit. Now the real question is, do I do this. No, the savings are not enough for me to go through all that work, unless I was selling it on my web site.
How to save money on new brand name baby cloths. It is always a good feeling to get a bargain and have some thing new.
End of season sales are great if you don’t mind taking the chance your baby will be to big for it when the season comes around again. Not a big problem in mild climates.
You can always go to the discount, and outlet stores. You can often find name brand baby clothing, however you have to be careful as the clothing is usually seconds or damaged, sold as is. You get the brand you want but not always the quality you expect.
Stores like Winners, liquidation world, and the Dixie value outlet mall, full of large discount and outlet stores.
Store liquidation/closing sales are a good way to buy for less. These are hard to find and most stores going out of business will sell off the name brand items to other retailers and then sell the rest at or below wholesale price to you just to try and get some money back. The sales are often very crowded.
Discount online retail sites and auction sites are a good source as well. You can get some very good deals from the very same people who just bought up seconds, not perfects from the manufactures, or bought the name brands from the store closing. Though some times you do have people who sell good product at a lower price because they believe in a quick nickel over a slow buck. Look at Ebay, Blujay and Kijiji to find some of these retailers.
You will find a bigger savings on second hand brand name baby clothing.
Second hand shops are a good place to look. There are good and bad second hand shops. Some only take items on commission, they have to be name brand, in perfect condition and dry cleaned before they are put out for sale. Others take any thing and every things and the condition it came in is the way it goes out for sale. It takes time to go through all the clothing, but if you take the time you can find almost new name brand baby clothing. You end up spending pennies on the dollar for that item, $6.00 for a $60.00 item is not unusual. There are also some great online second hand shops as well, but you have to keep in mind shipping cost.
Garage sales – This takes time to find good garage sales, but you can get some great name brand baby clothing. People just want to get a bit of money and if they don’t sell it they are usually donating it to the second hand shops. I have bought boxes and bags of clothing for a few dollars only to find it full of name brands. Once you know what families have the good clothing in the sizes your kids need you make sure you keep an eye out for when every they have a garage sale. A few cities and towns down here have a once a year city/town wide garage sale day. The one held in Caledonia is organized by the city counsel and is held on the same weekend every year, it is so big people come from all over from hours away with empty trucks and trailers. It is a great place to find families with kids just a little older then yours and you have a good source of clothing. I have been able to get some great clothing from 25 or 50 cents to $2.00 apiece.
Mom-to-Mom sales – I just love these. You have to get to them early to get the name brand clothing though. There is usually quite a few people selling clothing at great prices, they had to cart it there, they don’t want to have to take it home again. I have been able to find name brand boys jeans for a $1.00 or $2.00. Mom-to-Mom sales can be hit or miss though. I find that there is ether a lot of clothing available in the sizes I need or no one has that size at all because some one just bought it all.
Flea markets - You can find new and used name brand clothing at flea markets. You will not get the same deals as you do at garage sales, or Mom-to-Mom sales because that is where most of the flea market vendors buy it.
Free ad sites – people put lots of clothing out on kijiji all the time. I know that there are other free ad sites out there that people use. You just have to find the ones that are for your local area. It is a matter of timing though, you never know when you will find some thing.
Auction sites - There are more auctions sites opening up every day, you just have to find ones that people are selling on. EBay is the most common one, and you can get some great deals on new and used name brand baby clothing. You do have to be careful about shipping costs, they can eat up any savings and if you are buying internationally you may be hit with brokerage fees and all sorts of other unexpected fees.
Clothing exchanges – community run clothing exchanges are an interesting way to get clothing. The idea is that the local community centre or church has a room that is open one or two days a week. People in the community bring the clothing they no longer need and drop it off, and they can go through what others have dropped off and take what they want. You would be surprised at the quality of the clothing. Most of the people who take the time to do this also care about their clothing. I have dropped off and picked up name brand baby and kids clothing. I just moved and my new neighbourhood does not have a clothing exchange and the one I used to go to is only open for people in that area. I miss it already, I have boxes of clothing my kids just grew out of. Now I have to decide, do I hang onto it and have a garage sale next year, or just donate to a charity that will sell it to a second hand store.
Is there a secret way to get clothing straight from the designer/manufacturer/retail store that will help parents save money. I run my own business so I have an advantage over most people, I have a venders permit that allows me to buy from designers, manufacturers and wholesalers. I can also keep items for my own use as long as I pay the taxes on those items. The only problem is that you have to do a minimum buy, usually the same items in bulk. It works great if you have a group of people with kids the same size, you can buy the clothing, every one pays for the clothing plus the tax. Every one wins. Is it fair to every one else, no. The one thing you have to be careful about is that you have to sell the clothing to your friends for more then you paid, even if it is just a few dollars. Other wise you can lose your venders permit. Now the real question is, do I do this. No, the savings are not enough for me to go through all that work, unless I was selling it on my web site.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Should plus-size clothing be modeled by plus-size models
Plus-size clothing needs to be modeled by the people it was made for, plus-size models. Aesthetically clothing designed for a larger person does not fit well on a smaller person and visa versa. A princess seem line dress looks great on a person with some shape, an A line dress looks good on a person with very little shape. That is the way it was designed. A plus-sized person can look just as sexy or hansom with the right clothing as a not plus-sized person, some times even more so.
There has been a rise in plus-sized actors, especially women, gaining popularity. Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) in NCIS, Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) of Criminal Minds, Queen Latifah, Chenese Lewis, and Mo’nique are all top of their field. They look sexy, confident and just beautiful. Mae West and Marilyn Monroe would also be considered plus sized by today’s standards. Anna Nicole Smith was also extremely popular and plus sized. Their clothing was designed to show off their assets, made to look sexy or sophisticated on a plus sized person. Plus size models do not just model clothing anymore they are seen in ads for body acceptance imagery, lifestyle, beauty/cosmetic products, pharmaceuticals, shoes and more. It is no surprise the appeal plus size women have, up until the 20th century the classical ideal of feminine beauty was to be voluptuous.
My favourite ad campaign has been the Dove commercials. They use people of all ages and sizes. People who are real, and use their products. If you have not seen it yet try to find and watch Dove’s short film, Evolution. I know it can be found online. It chronicles the transformation of a model from an average looking woman to one with supermodel looks, showing all the steps that have to be taken to achieve the look, including the extensive photo manipulation used. So even the models don’t really look like that. I am more likely to buy a product that I see people like me in a commercial using then one a 12 to 16 year old model made to look 20 is being used.
The reality is that most people are shopping in the plus size section. It only makes sense to market products with people who actually wear the clothing or use the products. Plus size models exhibit clothing in UK Size 12 or higher; more broadly it refers to women of Size 16 or 18 and above, although a plus size model seems to be US size 12 and higher. A non-plus size women model is 34-24-34 inches (86-61-86 cm), at least 5’8” (1.72 m) tall and between 108 to 110 pounds (around 50 kg). A non-plus size male model is 5’11” to 6’2” (180-187 cm) in height and weigh between 140 and 165 lbs (64-75 kg). Even when I was thin, at my best body weight I never fit into this ideal. Not many people do.
When I am shopping I want clothing that is designed for my body shape, weight and height. I know that what looks good on a regular model will not look good on me. I have more curves and the cut of the clothing will not work with my curves. Just making it bigger or adding a panel does not work, it still is created to look good on a different body shape. Plus size clothing needs to be seen on plus size models so we can see how the cut of the clothing looks on a plus size person.
I have added Dove’s short film, Evolution at the bottom please scroll down as Youtub left a big space.
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