As part of the fashion field we have become accustomed to seeing emaciated models don the latest styles on the runway. However, after reading an article on yahoo news today I have come to realize not all models these days fit that profile. Especially not the ones in Wolfson's fashion show.

Don't know what Wolfson is? It's a children's hospital. This year marks their seventh year doing the show to raise money for the hospital and the children who cannot afford their bills within the hospital. The event is sponsored by the Women's Board of Wolfson Children's Hospital and features models who are both current and former patients. Not only does the show allow the children a break from the realities they face but it helps the hospital spotlight the children they love and helps raise money to make them better.

This year the show is called "A Circus Parade." There will be 21 "models" who range in age from 5 to 17. They will be wearing fashions from Belk (kind of like a Macy's in the South). The models will be accompanied by sponsors, who may be their physician, a corporate official or concerned community member. Information about each child, their picture and artwork will be framed and then presented to the sponsors at the show. Each of the models will have their own dresser so that parents can relax and sit in their seats and watch their children's dreams come to life.It all takes place on Saturday December 6 in Jacksonville Florida. So if you are in that area for the holidays look it up!

Hearing stores about how fashion inspires hope always makes me feel like I am in the right profession. As the holiday season is upon us I feel stories like this puts into perspective the importance of giving back, helping those less fortunate than ourselves, and truly cherishing the time we have with friends, family, and on this earth. To all the children that will be in the fashion show good luck, and have fun!

picture: official logo for the event. found at: http://www.jacksonville.com

Scarf it up!

Considering the economy is in, well a rough patch at the current moment it is understandable that clothing companies are concerned. However, conventional wisdom on the luxury market states that luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, and other well known and loved brands are more recession-resistant than other segments of the fashion industry. Mostly due to the rich still being rich while the rest of us suffer, but that's another subject. This week Hermès will test this wisdom when the high end 171-year-old French brand opens a 2,500-square-foot space in San Diego’s Fashion Valley retail center.

The store will debut during what many believe to be the worst time to expand a business. The San Diego store, however, is only one of four that are scheduled to open this coming year. One will open in Las Vegas in January 2009, one will open in Denver in March 2009, and a Hermès boutique for men will open in New York.

The decision to open new stores has been a rather difficult one for the company to make. The store openings come at a time when Hermès has been severely affected by the weak economy. On Nov. 6, Hermès of Paris went from a solid 10 percent sales increase from the previous year to a 9 percent to 10 percent increase in sales. However, the American division is still apparently doing well which is why they have decided to continue with their expansion plan.

The San Diego store is said to be reminiscent of Hermès’ Parisian flagship store. It will have mosaic stone floors, French cherry wood and a lot of windows to allow for natural sunlight to come in the store. Let's hope for Hermès’ sake the economy picks back up and their investment will pay off.

Picture (Flagship store in Paris) from: http://www.pursepage.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/hermes_paris_large.jpg

Katie Holmes= High Fashion????

At this point most people know who Katie Holmes is unless you live under a rock, in which case you have other serious problems. For those of us, however, who follow the lives of the stars Mrs. Tom Cruise has been in the news a lot lately with her new hair styles, and her jaunts to the grocery store with her daughter Suri. It appears that her new hair styles have not only captured housewives around the country but she somehow has managed to capture the attention of the high-end fashion line Miu Miu. Holmes has just signed on to become the face of the line. She follows in the footsteps of Kirsten Dunst and Vanessa Paradis. At this point there are no details are set in stone, but according to People.com Holmes will be the new face of the Italian label's 2009 spring/summer campaign.

For those of you who do not know Miu Miu is the "more affordable" clothing line from the Prada company. The line is said to be more clean and stylish designs with high quality materials for less than their Prada line.

I do not know what the rest of you think about this but personally I'm not the biggest fan of Katie Holmes. Maybe it is because I never watched Dawson's Creek, or maybe it is because she has more money than I do. However, the thing is I do not see Katie Holmes as a high fashion model. Sure she is as skinny as a toothpick, but high fashion material she is not. There are so many talented models out in the world that are busting their humps to get a chance to be in the high fashion scene. I just do not understand why they would select Katie Holmes over top of all of the models in the world.

image from: http://images.askmen.com/women/actress_60/60_katie_holmes.jpg

Ye Old Layaway Makes A Return!

In the few moments of free time I have lately I've been trying to keep up with my television shows that I neglected during the homework rush of the beginning of the school year. While in the midst of my television watching I saw a rather shocking advertisement for K-mart. The woman says, "I'm going Christmas shopping." To which her husband responds, "Didn't we just carve pumpkins?" Then comes the most shocking part....she says, "I'm going to K-Mart they have layaway." Layaway really? As a young shopper I think of layaway as something from the 1950s.

Thinking that this was a strange concept I went in search for a news article and found one from MSNBC.com. It stated that more and more stores are reverting back to this somewhat old practice due to the bad economy and poor credit these days. The article also stated, however, that layaway had almost become obsolete two years ago when even Wal-mart shut down its layaway program.

As the holiday season approaches though a lot of stores have gotten on the band wagon. Stores in which you can now utilize this program are: K-mart, TJ Maxx, Goody's Family Clothing Inc., Marshalls Inc., and Burlington Coat Factory Direct Corp., along with a few other regional chains and stores. According to Burlington Coat Factory the revival of the layaway trend made up 5.3% of its business in August which was a 15% increase in the same month a year ago.

The system seems to be working for both retailers and consumers. Especially considering consumers are really worried about the economy at this point and layaway is just one more helpful tool to watch their spending this holiday season.

McQ

I recently found an article that discusses how the mega corporation Target has teamed up with designer Alexander McQueen for their new Designer Collaborations line. After having a partnership with Isaac Mizrahi for the past five years, Target has decided to continue collaborating with famous designers to improve their sales. The new program, Target Designer Collaborations, is expected to add to their existing “Go International Initiative.”

This decision from Target to continue their designer relationships comes after they had major quarterly profit declines. Target’s customers shopped with them for their cheap but fashionable designer clothes. However, considering the economy is changing their customers no longer spending the money on the designer merchandise no matter how cheap it is. Their customers are even resisting the urge to spend in their store at all.

Target is hoping that by March 1st, when the new line will be launched, that the economy is in a somewhat better state. The new line from Alexander McQueen will be called, McQ Alexander McQueen for Target. It will be available to customers at Target from March 1st until April 11th. Target continues to urge their customers to shop with them as they can always, “Expect more, and pay less.”

Hopefully, when Alexander McQueen’s line hits the Target stores in March the economy will be in a better place. If it is not I fear that Target will loose even more money than they have already. However, as a customer I feel that if I could go to Target and get Alexander McQueen clothes at a cheap price then I would buy clothes with Target over going to a department store. Not only would you be wearing Alexander McQueen clothes but you would be paying just as much as if u were purchasing a no name brand from a department store. Hopefully Target and the economy will get back on their feet soon, so we can go shopping!

Forever Expanding

So it appears that the giant clothing retailer, Forever 21, is expanding its real estate. According to W.W.D Forever 21 will open their newest store in Times Square on Broadway. The store will be approximately 100,000 square feet in size. To put the gravity of this situation in perspective, Forever 21's average store size is about 40,000 square feet. How do they plan on paying for this huge new investment? Forever 21 is projected to do around $1.8 billion in sales this year compared to the measly $1.3 billion they made in 2007.

The new store will be situated next to American Eagle Outfitters, which is one of their main competitors. The store will sell the usual men's and women's fashions, as well as lingerie, footwear, cosmetic items, and all the accessories you could possibly want or need. As of right now an opening date for the store has not been determined.

While the expansion of this mega corporation may spark joy in thousands of young teens, tweens, and twenty some-things I personally think it's a waste of space. While I will admit that I have gone into their stores a few times, I have never bought anything there. The quality of their clothing is sub par, the stores that I have been in are always a mess, and a majority of their designs are not their own. Just as Anna Sui if you don't believe me. However, I guess my opinion does not matter to them, considering they are most likely making money from some of you reading this. I mean come on making $1.8 billion this year is probably more important than copyright infringement.... right?