DC Fashion Week

Charlotte, NC Fashion Week might have some competition. During the same time, the District of Columbia will be running it's own fashion week. The Fall DC Fashion Week will be held from September 15th through 21st.

The District held its first fashion week in 2003. It began as annual event. In 2006, it became a semiannual event that would be held in February and September. This event showcases local, national and international designers.. Past exhibitors include: BethelHellena, Betsy Johnson, and Zula Studio.

The Fall 2008 DC Fashion Week has designers from Ukraine, Russia, Columbia, Liberia, Ethopia, Italy and the United States. The full list of designers can be found here.

Events

Monday 15th: Corjor International. The creative director for Corjor International is Ean Williams. Ean Williams, also, works as the executive director for DC Fashion Week. The name Corjor is coined after Williams sons Corey and Jordan. Tickets range from $26.5 to $36.5.

Thursday 18th: Fashion Industry Networking Party from 6 to 10 pm. The party will take place at the Senate Square. Senate Square is located at 201 I Street NE. This event is free.

Friday 19th: Kazakhstan International Fashions. It will feature designers Akkenje Devyatko and Kuralai Nurkadilova. By Invitation Only.

Saturday 20th: The H Street Festival Fashion Show will show the Ready-to-Wear Collections. This event is free.

Sunday 21st: The Embassy of France will host the International Couture Collections and reception. Tickets range from $51.5 to $151.5.

The One Hundred

Many women know what the top 5 essential items that must have in their wardrobe to be able to survive the next season, but are you aware of the top 100?

Project Runway Judge Nina Garcia has recently authored a book called The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own. The book showcases what she believes to be the top 100 must haves. With the constant influx of trends, women need to know what items are the pieces that stay classics to be mixed with the newest trend.

The book went on sale on August 26, 2008. It is available at all local bookstores. It retails at $21.95. It can be ordered at Amazon for $13.97.

What's In Your Closet? 5 Must Haves

As many begin looking for what to purchase for the upcoming season, this will give you a guide to know the 5 essential items for your wardrobe. These 5 essential will allow you to go from day to night or shopping with the girls.

The 5 essential pieces are a tailored black jacket, black pants, a patterned top, tunic and a tank top.


For work: Take the black jacket pair it with the pants and top it off with your tank top. The black pants and jacket are conservative for work, but the tank allows you to express your uniqueness. It can be topped off with some nice pearls; a tasteful, but colorful handbag and your briefcase.



For evening: Keep on the black pants. Change into the patterened blouse. This is where you completely express who you are.



For weekend: Yes, keep the pants. This time dress them down with the tunic top. Give your feet a break and put on some comfortable flats.

The Search for Balance: Autumn/Winter 2008/2009 Colors

With titles like revive, reflect, preserve and construct, are the colors for Fall 2008 looking to find the balance within? The colors range from architectural sound to earth bound. The names of the four color groups were created by Texworld.

Revive color group is a rich mixture of browns and subtle oranges. It has the look of a nice fall drive through the mountains when the leaves have changed colors. These can easily be mixed with the colors from the spring/summer 2008. If you have a nice summer dress that you aren't ready to let go of when the weather turns cooler, throw on a nice rich brown jacket to be able to stay within the Fall color trends.

History of Sagging

Many trends have come and gone, but most people are not aware of where the trend began or how long they will last. Most trends tend not to have long staying power. One trend that has had more than 10 years of popularity is sagging pants. Sagging pants is the art of wearing ones pants below the waist, usually hanging low enough to show underwear. There is some controversy as to where it started. So has the trend been popularized from behind prison walls? Or is it the influence of hip-hop?

One theory of how sagging pants originated is from prison in the 1990s. Prisoners are given oversized uniforms without belts. Belts are a popular way to commit suicide; by hanging oneself, to hang others, or to be used as a weapon in fights. Other reason is that when they wear their pants below the waist is that it is sign that says that they are homosexual.

Sagging pants were not meant to be trend for the males. The other reason was that wearing your pants below your waist states that you were another inmate’s property. The inmate who related the story was an elderly black gentleman who had been sentenced to life in prison and had been there for over fifty years. He marveled how such a mark of shame has become a fashion statement. He says “that younger inmates don't believe him when he tells them, but swears it's the truth”.


The trend has been contributed to the influence of the music industry. Many artists, in the hip-hop genre, were known for letting their pants sag. It became more common to see rappers, like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog and Lil Wayne, in a video with their pants sagging to right at below their hips. It became even more popular as these same rappers began their own clothing labels. Clothing labels, like Phat Farm, Ecko and FUBU, are known for not even offering a small sized men’s shirt.

The characteristic of the low-slung look became mainstream and took off during the early 1990's when Calvin Klein used rapper Marky Mark in their advertising campaign for underwear. This advertising campaign was the first glimpse of men showing their underwear in a sexy way.

The sagging pants trend made way to skateboarders in the suburbs and high school hallways. Work wear brands such as Dickies and Ben Davies designed baggy clothing that became popular with skateboarders

As the trend grew, it began to influence the styles of jeans. Low-rise jeans are intended to sit low on, or below, the hips. More men and women began to wear underwear to function with their low-rise jeans. However, the look has been predominantly male and the recent trend for women to reveal their G-string underwear. Low-rise jeans may be worn to display more skin at the waist, torso, and hips. Low-rise jeans may also partially reveal the buttocks when the wearer sits down or bends over. Cleavage becomes visible.


For more information on Sagging Pants: Laws, Designer, Stereotypes.

Stop The Presses!!!!

While looking at different plus-size clothing websites, I began to notice a trend. I have wonder this before, but never had a place to voice it.

Why do some plus-size catalogs use women sized 10 and under to market clothing to us? Do they really think that it is going to fit the same way on a larger women?

The lady in this dress looks to be about a size 10. Yes, Woman Within starts at a 12W, but that means 14 in misses sizes. So could she at least be a size 14?

This could just be me ranting, but come on.

Charlotte: On The Fashion Map

The fashion map has always, included cities like Los Angeles and New York City. Now, Charlotte is gradually making its mark on the fashion map.

Charlotte will be having its first annual Charlotte, NC Fashion Week. This fashion week will be conducted at the Blake Hotel on September 18 - 20. There will be many events throughout the weekend from runway shows to fashion workshops.

One particular fashion workshop will be conducted by Carmen Webber. Webber hit the national scene when she appeared on Bravo TV's Project Runway 4. Webber got her start in Charlotte, NC. At Savannah College of Art & Design, she began studying architecture and changed to fashion design and illustration. She has authored two books: Denim Mania: 25 Stylish Ways to Transform Your Jeans and T-Shirt Makeovers: 20 Transformations for Fabulous Fashions.

At the Charlotte, NC Fashion Week, Webber will be conducting a workshop called "10 Steps to Braking into the Fashin Industry as a Designer and T-Shirt Makeovers: 20 Transformations for Fabulous Fashion." It will be done on Saturday, September 20, 2008, at 10 a.m. in the Symphony Ballroom.

Among the forementioned accomplishments, Webber owns her own clothing lable. Her design company is called sistahs of harlem. She it the president and chief designer. The clothing line is known for showcasing claims to be the "essence of street couture".

Shecky's Anyone?

Okay, so you have probably have no clue what a Shecky is, but maybe you should pay attention.

To stay up-to-date to the fashion world, I have begun subscribing to different blogs and newspaper fashion newsletters. I received a newsletter today from the Washington Post. The style section offers a newsletter called the DC Scout, it sends out information about what's happening in fashion in the District of Columbia.

Today's installment talks about Shecky's Girls Night Out. This is the place to be, if you are looking for new stlye for the fall season. It promises to be a blast. It provides shopping, cocktails and refreshments for a very low admission price.

The admission prices are $10 each or $25 for two. The $25 tickets make sure that you get the coveted goodie bag. It is taking place everywhere from Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, DC and every major city in the US. These event are even venturing into less known fashion cities, like Charlotte. Click on the city nearest you to get up-to-date information about the events. To see a complete list of cities click on Shecky's Girls Night Out.

The current list of fashion participants range from Ally Kat to Selma Karaca. Ines Collection will be on hand to cater to the sizeable woman. The clothing is said to be on sale for 10 to 75% off of cost.

Shecky's is a New York fashion mecca. for the internet. It provides information about after-work parties, the best places to shop, and sample sales. It is geared mainly to New York, but has a few things that apply to other cities.

CREATE A SHOPPING BUDGET NOW!!!
So don't miss the event.