World
Lidewij Edelkoort, the famous Dutch-born new-age fashion soothsayer ‘feels’ which concepts, colours and materials will be in rage two or more years in advance, and the world sits up taking notes. Named as one of the 25 most influential people in the world of fashion by Times magazine,the founder of Paris-based Trend Union, the trend forecasting company for fashion, beauty, automotive, retail, and interior design industries, is too humble to go by that definition though, and insists that her modus operandi involves observations more than prophecy.
Lidewij, who also goes by the name Li, was in the Capital to speak at the India Design Forum, a two-day design summit organised by CoCCA (Coimbatore Centre for Contemporary Arts), last month. Li calls herself an archaeologist of the future.
“The way archaeologists put together fragments of the past, I put together fragments of future,” she explains. Her work, she says, is paying attention to her surroundings, picking up various elements that catch her fancy and putting intuition into them to forecast trends.
Brands
Li, whose clients list includes Nissan, Coca-Cola, Donna Karan, Old Navy, Gucci, Estée Lauder, Lancôme and Shiseido, is quite enamoured by the Indian crafts, and loves the bright colours used in the festival of Holi. Li also has big expectations from India in terms of designs and new ideas. “The market is ready for Indian brands. We are waiting to see global lifestyle, beauty and fashion brands emerge from India. All that India needs to do is to revive and revamp its crafts, and create something extraordinary,” says Li. “India very much has all the potential to do that,” she adds.
Li made a presentation on trends, giving us a glimpse of lifestyle trends that would be a rage in Spring/Summer 2013. Here are some of the highlights:
Li’s trend forecast for 2013
Camping is going to be a super trend. We will see a wider interest in outdoor fun activities such as hiking, biking and walking.
So, keep your outdoor gear and apparel ready.
Move over tees, and start stocking up on shirts. While T-shirts would no longer be in trend, shirt will have a major influence in fashion, and shirt jackets, shirt tunics, and shirt dresses would be all the rage, says Li.
Yellow is the new pink, says Li, at least for the coming 15 years. The colour of sunshine and sunflowers, of warm inviting openness, would be one of the trendiest colour in decor and fashion.
We have had enough of dresses, says Li. The separates or twin sets — shirts/tops and skirts would become a big rage, reflecting our longing for a more innocent time.
Nature will walk into your house. From cushions that look like moss covered stones to carpets inspired by aerial view of planes, interiors will seek inspiration from nature.
Love
Other trends to watch out
Red hair would make a major comeback. It’s a good thing for Indians, who already love henna-dyed hair, says Li.
The ’50s retro candy stripes and rainbow prints would make a return with a big bang.
Nature will have a major influence on design. The blue of the sea, the shape of the pebble, the curve of a wave would be the inspirations.
Rooftop gardens would be a big trend.
African primal voodoo prints would be a big inspiration.
Crochet, simple hand stitches, different stitches of embroidery, knotting, braiding and basket weaving would also be quite in.
Some of Li’s publications
Bloom: Li launched Bloom in 1998. It offers a bevy of lifestyle trends inspired by flowers, plants and gardening. Bloom relates major trends in these three areas to myriad industries such as fashion, interiors, design, packaging, cosmetics, food and culture.
View on Colour: View on Colour explores how colours influence industries like fashion, textiles and yarns, design, cosmetics, automobiles, art, and cuisine. Emerging trends are presented through thought-provoking photography, drawings and text. The magazine has bagged several international awards.
Business
Miss Gaston County has interests in fashion business
After competing 11 times to win a Miss North Carolina preliminary pageant crown, Alexandria Freeman of Gastonia is thrilled to have been crowned Miss Gaston County 2012 and be working in the fashion industry in Charlotte.
The former Forestview High School varsity cheerleader graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising from Meredith College in Raleigh in 2011 and a month later she had secured a job working in styling for print and television advertisements at Belk corporate offices.
Freeman, 22, says she’s glad to be able to represent her native Gaston County at the Miss North Carolina pageant in Raleigh in June.
Although she doesn’t have much free time after working out seven days a week, attending weekly voice lessons and doing mock interview preparation every other week, she enjoys reading and traveling.
She’s traveled to St. Thomas, Jamaica, Italy, New York City, Belgium and studied at the Paris American Academy in Paris, France, for six weeks.
“I enjoyed living over there,” Freeman said. “I liked their lifestyle over there. They’re a much more relaxed way of life.”
Before winning the title of Miss Gaston County, she competed for 11 Miss North Carolina preliminary pageant titles including Miss Gastonia, Miss Garner, Miss Central Carolina, Miss Queen City, Miss Mecklenburg County, Miss Cape Fear and Miss Mount Holly.
On Aug. 7, 2011, Freeman was crowned Miss Gaston County 2012 and now she’s excited about her chance to compete against women from across the Tar Heel State for the Miss North Carolina crown.
“You hear of girls who win their first local (pageant title), win their first state (pageant title) and win Miss America,” Freeman said. “I think I have just as good of a chance as anyone although it took me a little bit longer to get there.”
Her pageant talent is vocals. She enjoys singing Broadway numbers and contemporary songs.
Dress for Success
Local girl at heart
Freeman is a fan of Tony’s Ice Cream and her favorite flavor at the iconic Gastonia ice cream parlor is chocolate.She enjoys drinking diet Sun Drop and thinks Gaston County offers a lot of extra-curricular activities to children.The Schiele Museum, Gaston County Museum of Art and History and Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden are assets to the area, she said.In October 2011, Freeman said she gave a presentation at The Gazette women’s expo in October 2011 and handed out prizes.
Her pageant platform is “Dress for Success,” which promotes economic independence for disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a support network and career development tools to help them thrive in the workplace and in life.
As for her future career goals in the fashion industry, Freeman hopes to work in buying merchandise for a company.
Freeman’s parents, Glenn and Regina Freeman, live in Gastonia. She has an 18-year-old sister, Logan Freeman, and a 10-year-old brother, Cameron Freeman.She attends Sandy Plains Baptist Church on Union Road in Gastonia.Recently, Freeman was selected as one of eight Miss North Carolina preliminary pageant holders to appear on the queen’s court at the 65th annual North Carolina Azalea Festival in Wilmington from April 11-15.Among festival events she’ll participate in is the queen’s coronation. The event will celebrate the crowning of Queen Azalea 2012 Ericka Dunlap, who is a former Miss America.
Cosmetic
Fashion designer Lauren Conrad shuns cosmetic surgery.
Washington: Lauren Conrad insists that she would never go under the knife.
The 26-year-old fashion designer, who rose to fame on TV series ‘Laguna Beach’, admits she is unlikely to have cosmetic surgery as she prefers to look “natural”.
‘‘Personally, I have always preferred a more natural look. That is what is more attractive to me, but it’s up to each person. As long as you are doing it for you, because you want to look nice and that’s the result you are going for, then that’s fine,’’ Contactmusic quoted her as telling Look magazine.
However Conrad, who has now written her first book ‘The Fame Game’, admits she does feel under pressure to always look her best because she is always in the spotlight.
‘‘There is always pressure to work out a little harder when all eyes are on you. I don’t think I ever felt the pressure as much as some people, but it was definitely at the back of my mind,’’ she added.
Company
They’re clothing ranks, keeping it close to home
AGAINST the odds, Lui Hon’s fashion label is a labour of local love. Everything in the Melbourne designer’s range – a finely honed collection of crepe, wool and suede – is made by local manufacturers using sustainable materials.
”It’s important to me that we are able to promote our brand as 100 per cent Australian-made,” Hon says. ”We’re not a huge company, but we’re proud of every single thing we make.”
In an industry flooded with cheap, disposable fashion mass-produced overseas, staying local while also turning a profit can be difficult.
Despite its reputation for fun and frivolity, the fashion industry at the local level is a notoriously tough arena for small and emerging labels that often struggle to get creations from sketch pad to store racks.
Medium-size fashion businesses
High wages and government regulations, such as the stringent new fair work laws governing outworkers, have prompted many clothing companies to shift their manufacturing overseas, taking specialist knowledge, skills and equipment with them.
Hon, like many local designers, is pinning his hopes on a new federal government project that aims to ease the financial burden of design and production for small and medium-size fashion businesses.
The Hub, which opened last month at the Kangan Institute, in Richmond, gives designers access to costly, high-tech equipment, including digital garment printers, industrial sewing machines, knitting machines, cutters as well as the country’s first 3D body scanner.
Strategic manager Julia Haselhorst hopes the Hub will encourage innovation and help struggling start-up brands to develop their ideas into sellable garments.
Designers
”We will be able to offer high-end equipment that isn’t widely available, which cuts out unnecessary labour that no one wants to do and focuses on intelligent design rather than long process,” she says. ”Things that as a small company you can’t afford.
”Designers will be able to develop their sample range and try new techniques with specialised mentors without the cost.”
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were 1554 clothing manufacturing businesses in Victoria in 2009, down from 1588 the year before. Meanwhile, clothing imports rose 17 per cent in the same period, flooding the Australian market with 1.2 billion units of clothing a year, three quarters of which comes from China.
Despite the gloom, there is hope. As demand for mass-produced, disposable fashion grows, so too does a counter-demand for premium and ethically produced clothing. It is in this market that the local industry hopes to survive.
”It’s very difficult to compete on price, but we do have other things going for us,” says Jo Kellock, of the Council of Textiles and Fashion Industries of Australia.
”Where we can add value is at the high-end, the functionality, the short runs, being closer to market, the diversity and being able to move quickly. But to do that we need to keep the machinery here.”
Designer Shauna Toohey
Designer Shauna Toohey, who exports her niche graphic-based label Perks and Mini (P.A.M.) globally, hopes the Hub will allow her to experiment with bold new designs that would otherwise be too costly to put into production.
”It can be really expensive to develop something new,” she says. ”You have to know that it’s going to work before you start because of the cost, which just leads to people knocking stuff off because it’s cheaper and safer.
”The Hub is exciting because, potentially, it will really push people to develop new things and allow us the freedom to experiment because there will be less stress on our finances.”
One Melbourne designer, Yeojin Bae, another supporter of local production, also hopes to push some fashion boundaries using the Hub’s digital garment printer.
”Print is a huge focus in my collection, and at the moment I’m printing overseas,” she says. ”Often when you’re doing sampling ranges, you’re in need to print faster, so having this facility locally in Melbourne will be a huge bonus.”
Coachella
Music and fashion meet at Coachella.
Fashion has become a big part of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which starts Friday.
So big, in fact, that brands from around the globe will descend on California for both weekends of the festival — and the week in between — to court performers and their fans.
The relationship between fashion and music is a symbiotic one, L.A. Times Fashion Critic Booth Moore explains in a story in Sunday’s Image section. For the fashion labels, a star’s endorsement draws other customers. For a band, playing at fashion events can earn enough money to pay for a tour.
And for fans, copying the clothes their idols wear has been part of the fun since music festivals began. Reporter Adam Tschorn singled out five fashion-conscious acts that are scheduled to perform at Coachella and describes their signature styles in Sunday’s Image too. Grace Potter, shown here, of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is one of them. She told Tschorn that she has loved fashion since she was a kid and that as a performer it’s important to be ready for ” our ‘big moments in the sun’ — our TV moments, our big, onstage Coachella moments.” We can’t wait to see what she’ll be wearing.
Tickets sold out in January, but if you’re planning to attend this or any other music festival this spring or summer, check out our photo gallery for inspiration on what to pack to look just right.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is scheduled April 13-15 and April 20-22.
Fast fashion
Is H&M the new home of ethical fashion?
H&M is not just a big player in “fast fashion“, it’s a giant. Estimates (fast fashion behemoths do not give out many production figures as the sector is intensely competitive) suggest it sells more than 550 million garments every year. It recently announced net quarterly profits of $412m. It is second only to Inditex, owner of Zara, as the world’s largest clothing retailer. The great fast fashion war pits Sweden’s richest man, Stefan Persson, chair of H&M, against Spain’s richest man, Amancio Ortega, co-founder of Zara.
And now, in an audacious move, H&M is positioning itself as the ethical solution, the retailer that can make ethics and fast fashion synonymous. It wants to be an ethical giant, too. I say “audacious” because, to concerned consumers and activists, fast fashion’s rapid-response production system, reliant on low-wage production in some of the poorest countries on Earth, is pretty much held responsible for environmental and social degradation in the global wardrobe. Indeed, having spent a large amount of time railing against it myself, it felt pretty audacious for me, too, to be sitting in the Stockholm headquarters of H&M last week.
Guarantee
The Observer was given early access to the brand’s latest sustainability report that will be published on 12 April. Few corporate CSR reports are read so widely. From activists to analysts, everyone will be keen to see if H&M can really crack it. I am no different. However much I bang on about alternative ways to fill your wardrobe to ethically aware audiences – small brands, swapping, vintage, knitting – the top question I still get asked is: “So which high street stores can I go to?”
Be in no doubt, we are addicted to fast fashion. So, if H&M have solved all labour rights and environmental issues then I can pack up my soap box and toddle home, picking up some David Beckham underpants from his H&M Bodywear collaboration from one of the brand’s 199 UK stores with total impunity. But how clean are H&M’s Beckham pants? (On Twitter Joey Barton splendidly articulated lingering consumer unease: “Do one, Becks. They cost about 1p to make in a sweat shop in the Third World.”) Indeed, what guarantees does H&M offer across its ranges?
“I don’t think guarantee is the right word,” says Helena Helmersson, head of sustainability, brightly. “A lot of people ask for guarantees: ‘Can you labour guarantee conditions? Can you guarantee zero chemicals?’ Of course we cannot when we’re such a huge company operating in very challenging conditions. What I can say is that we do the very best we can with a lot of resources and a clear direction of what we’re supposed to do. We’re working really hard.”
CEO
I believe her. Thursday’s report will show some impressive sustainable figures: for example nearly 2.5 million pairs of shoes were made last year using lower-impact water-based solvents; all building contractors have signed a code of conduct to ensure “good” working conditions; recycled polyester equivalent to 9.2 million plastic bottles has been used, and H&M uses more organic cotton in production than any other group. This year I am told, 7.6% of its cotton was organic (an industry insider estimates H&M’s overall cotton use to be around 200,000 tonnes a year). By 2020 100% will be sustainably sourced cotton.
“H&M has definitely got better,” admits industry expert and CEO of Clothesource, Mike Flanagan. “From some presposterous moments in the recent past they have moved to being in a small clutch of four or five brands, including Nike and Gap, who believe that they have no alternative but to be as good as possible at sustainability. It’s a marked change.”
(The official word on the Beckham cruds is that this time they were made using conventional cotton and Elastane, but that H&M hasn’t ruled out “using other [eco] materials for future collections” and didn’t publish a list of factories used in China and Cambodia due to commercial confidentiality.)
Does Helmersson still wake up worried they’ll be the subject of a sweated labour expose? “Yes, I worry about that sometimes. I lived in Dhaka for two years. You see how things happen down the chain in a country like Bangladesh. Remember that H&M does not own any factories itself. We are to some extent dependent on the suppliers — it is impossible to be in full control.”
H&M
And therein lies the rub. While H&M talks about responsibility, in the supply chain where retailers devolve power to factories it can be easy to distance yourself. Helmersson says H&M has invested in 100 people in CSR, 75 of whom are auditors (assessing social and now some environmental conditions in factories) and produced a series of groundbreaking short films, including one on fire safety that it claims more than 400,000 garment workers have seen.
Sam Maher, of the NGO Labour Behind The Label, the UK platform for the international Clean Clothes Campaign, is not so impressed (although she is yet to see the latest 2011 report). “I’d like to be at the point where unions can phone H&M and talk through any labour disputes. The Clean Clothes Campaign should no longer need to exist. Sadly that’s far from the case. DVDs ‘educating’ garment workers are all very well but I think workers know there is a problem. They aren’t stupid. What’s needed is proper dialogue with unions and freedom of association, long term investment and proper resources. It’s not good enough to act unilaterally and say: ‘We’re Swedish and we do things very well.’”
What would change her mind? “For starters I would like to see them signing the Clean Clothes Campaign’s memorandum of understanding on fire and building safety in Bangladesh. PVH [owners of Tommy Hilfiger] has just signed but three more big signatories are needed. H&M is currently considering it.”
Fashionably
There is of course another fashionably attired elephant in the fitting room: a business model predicated on producing millions of units and on a fashion cycle that favours 30 to 50 trend-driven fashion seasons a year (the original spring/summer and autumn/winter cycles are alien to fast fashion) are hardly a recipe for sustainability. Isn’t ethical fast fashion just a big fat oxymoron?
Helmersson says: “It’s a question of how can we make the fashion more sustainable? That’s what we are working on in many ways to do that.”
To that end Thursday also sees the launch of the new Conscious Collection, with pieces made from eco-fibres ranging from organic cotton and recycled plastic bottles to Tencel (derived from plant cellulose) and a glamorous adjunct of “eco” pieces including a silky hemp, pieces that have been worn by celebrities on the red carpet (coincidentally this is a similar idea to the Green Carpet Challenge I co-founded with Livia Firth in order to up the profile of sustainable style).
H&M acknowledges there is more to do: “We must close the loop on fibre. How can we see waste as a resource?” emphasises Helmersson. “You see my dream is to be perceived as a company who can offer all people in the world – even those without much money – the possibility to dress really well and sustainably. That’s how I want people to perceive us, not as a brand connected to mass consumption.”
Full marks for ambition. But do I buy H&M as an ethical paragon? Not quite yet. They are still clinging to too many parts of the fast-fashion supply chain to bring anything revolutionary. But I’m enjoying their new attitude and I remain open to persuasion.
Summer fashion
Summer crashes fashion field.
The calendar said autumn but the sunny weather suggested summer at yesterday’s Golden Slipper Day at Rosehill. Fashion followers were left in a flap due to the warm conditions at the highlight of the autumn racing carnival.
While some of the young women at yesterday’s races dressed for the conditions in summer dresses and floral headpieces, those who competed in the Fashions On The Field contest stuck to the strict autumn racing rules.
Those who followed the dress code paid the price, sweating in long sleeved dresses, furs, feathers, stockings and gloves.
From left: Jacinda Webster, Aimee La Rocca – winner of Fashion on the Field – and Brittney McGlone. Photo: Helen Nezdropa
Celebrity stylist and Sydney Carnival style ambassador Kelly Smythe, a fashion judge, said that contestants should follow the traditional racewear rules no matter what weather conditions.
”Fashion is pain, you have to deal with it and you must still abide by the rules and respect the dress codes that have been put in place,” she said.
With clear skies and tops of 27 degrees, yesterday’s temperature was more like a summer’s day than mid-autumn.
Ms Smythe said there are tricks fashion followers could employ to maintain the code as well as a level of comfort.
“You still have to abide by the basic rules of a felt hat or headpiece but you can do simple things that are still an elegant way to make your autumn look more comfortable such as leave the jacket behind or drop the stocking because bare legs are still acceptable,” she said.
Sydney Carnival ambassador Jesinta Campbell said it was not easy dressing in autumn trends on warm days.
”It is very hard; you need to plan ahead and always check the weather and have a back up in case you need to go to plan B.”
Myer’s group general manager of marketing and brand development, Megan Foster, said she was looking for women who were prepared to suffer in the name of style.
”I’m judging for trends and fur,” she said. ”Felt hats and rich colours are all big trends this season and I look for fabrics when judging. I wear five-inch heels in the name of fashion, so it’s not about comfort.”
Those who were willing to set comfort aside were richly rewarded with $60,000 in prizes up for grabs at Fashions on the Field.
Dressed in a cap-sleeved black Ellery dress and felt headpiece, Aimee La Rocca took out the first prize.
Designer Kym Ellery thought the dress was a winner because it complied with the autumn fashion code but was also appropriate for the weather conditions.
”The beauty with Australia is that we can dress in resort-wear all year round,” she said.
Management
Gray hair’s in fashion, but what about at work?
Jeanne Thompson began going gray at 23. She colored her hair for years as she worked her way into management at a large Boston-area financial services company, then gave up the dye for good about a year ago.
The earth didn’t shake, and the 44-year-old Thompson was promoted to top management the following year.
She is among a new type of gray panther, a woman who aspires to do well and get ahead on the job while happily maintaining a full head of gray.
“Women put pressure on themselves to color,” the Exeter, N.H., woman said. “It’s a bold statement to be gray because it’s saying, ‘You know what? I did let my hair go, but I’m not letting myself go.’ People take me more seriously now. I never apologize for the gray hair.”
But not everyone finds it so easy.
Laws, of course, exist to ward off discrimination in the workplace, yet legions of men and women have no interest in letting their gray fly. Not now, when the struggling economy has produced a stampede of hungry young job-seekers.
But gray heads have been popping up on runways and red carpets, on models and young celebrities for months. There’s Lady Gaga and Kelly Osbourne — via dye — and Hollywood royalty like Helen Mirren, the Oscar-winning British actress.
Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund chief, is one of the most powerful women in the world, and she keeps her hair gray. So does Essie Weingarten, founder and now creative director of the nail polish company Essie Cosmetics.
For regular working women, it’s a trickier issue.
“I don’t think a woman in the workplace is going to follow that trend,” David Scher, a civil rights attorney in Washington, said with a laugh. “I think women in the workplace are highly pressured to look young. If I were an older working person, the last thing I would do is go gray.”
Yes, he’s a dude, and at 44 he has virtually no salt in his hair, but he wasn’t alone in issuing a warning against workplace gray for women.
U.S.
“While the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 was created to protect employees 40 years of age and older, some men and women may still encounter ageism in the workplace,” said Stephanie Martinez Kluga, a manager for Insperity, a Houston-based company that provides human resources services to small and medium-size businesses.
“The long-standing perception that men with gray hair are experienced and women with gray hair are simply old may still be an issue that affects employees in workplaces across the U.S.,” she said.
Some of today’s new gray panthers also offer strong words of caution about exactly how well those anti-discrimination laws work.
Anne Kreamer is gray and proud, but she didn’t unleash the color until she left her day job to become self-employed. She dedicates an entire chapter of her 2007 book “Going Gray” to workplace issues.
“We only fool ourselves about how young we look with our dyed hair,” said the Harvard-educated Kreamer, a former Nickelodeon executive who helped launch the satirical magazine Spy before writing the book exploring her journey to silver.
When it comes to gray on the job, Kreamer said, context counts. The color might be easier in academia over high-tech, for instance, and in Minneapolis over Los Angeles. Job description and your rung on the ladder might also be in play: chief financial officer versus a lowlier, more creative and therefore more gray-tolerant position like assistant talent agent, for example.
Kreamer dubbed the largely unspoken phenomenon “hair-colorism.”
In 1950, 7 percent of women dyed their hair, she said. Today, it’s closer to 95 percent or more, depending on geographic location. In the ’60s, easy, affordable hair dye in a box hit store shelves, changing the follicle landscape for good.
“When women were going to work, it was like they could reinvent themselves and say, ‘I’m no house frau anymore.’ Hair dye got kind of linked in there and we never looked back,” said Kreamer, who went prematurely gray and colored for 25 years. “It’s still very complicated.”
Sandra Rawline, 52, in Houston knows how complicated it can be.
A trial is scheduled for June in her federal lawsuit accusing her boss at Capital Title of Texas of ordering her to dye her gray hair in 2009, when her office moved to a swankier part of town. The suit accuses him of instructing her to wear “younger, fancier suits” and lots of jewelry, according to the Houston Chronicle.
TV news
Rawline, an escrow officer and branch manager, wouldn’t comment for this story. The newspaper said her superior called her lawsuit preposterous.
The reason we know about Rawline and Lagarde and Weingarten and Mirren and — let’s throw in NBCUniversal exec Lauren Zalaznick — is that their gray strands stand out against a sea of, well, not gray.
Weingarten, 62, began going gray at 18 and said she colored for years. She gave it up about 20 years ago.
“People would say, ‘Are you crazy? You have to color your hair,’” she said. “I had my own business. I was an entrepreneur. I could do whatever I wanted, but the truth is I know a lot of women who are petrified to show gray hair because it means they’re maturing.”
The new “gray movement” doesn’t keep tabs on membership, but blogs like Terri Holley’s Going Gray are proliferating, along with pro-gray Facebook fan pages and Twitter feeds.
“Society has boxed in women on what’s considered to be beautiful, and this defies how we’re supposed to look,” Holley said. “People say, ‘I’m so glad I found you. I’m so glad we’re having this conversation.’”
Dana King, 53, started going gray in her 20s, began dyeing in her 30s and went to work for San Francisco’s KPIX in 1997, rising to news anchor. In January 2010, she first approached her general manager, a man whom she had known for a decade, about her giving up the dye.
“He didn’t like the idea at all and he asked me not to do it,” King said. Soon after, she did it anyway, with the comfort of a no-cut contract good to May 2013.
“It got down to the point where I was dyeing it every two to three weeks. I just decided, ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’ I felt like I had sold my soul and betrayed myself,” she said.
After sharing her hair story on-air, King was deluged with emails from viewers, including many women who colored and some who worried she had fallen ill. “The response was overwhelmingly positive,” King said. “They said it was a relief for them, that they could see someone that made it OK to be gray.”
King knows her road to gray wouldn’t have gone so well had she been a TV news star elsewhere.
“I work in a youth-oriented industry and I’m not an idiot,” she said. “This is not Miami. This is not Los Angeles. I would have been fired had I worked in some other markets. I can’t get a job anywhere else, I don’t think. I have no illusions about what I’ve done and I’m good with that.”
Family
Family violence spirals in north-west
A WOMEN’S support group is alarmed by Brimbank’s rising rate of family violence, despite police saying the increase is down to improved levels of reporting.
New police data released last week showed assaults increased almost 10 per cent in 2011, while assaults excluding family violence were up 3.9 per cent.
There were 1432 assault offences recorded, up from 1304 in 2010.
The statistics are calculated based on crimes per 100,000 people.
The latest figures compared crimes recorded in the 12 months to December 31 last year with the same period a year earlier.
Brimbank’s Inspector Mick Grainger said reporting of family violence had increased, which showed improved public confidence in reporting such matters.
But Women’s Health West chief executive Dr Robyn Gregory said the statistics could also reflect a disturbing increase in the rate of violence in Brimbank homes.
“There is evidence to suggest more reporting is occurring, but we don’t actually know for sure that these statistics reflect that,” she said.
“At Women’s Health West we are inundated with calls from women from Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham who are struggling at home and need our services.”
She said difficult economic times could lead to increased rates of violence against women and children, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
“We’re living in a harsh world at the moment and places like Brimbank have higher levels of unemployment and poverty so this can increase the stress on local families,” Dr Gregory said.
“There is clearly not enough services available to people living in these areas and I would like to see more funding to help prevent family violence from occurring.”
As reported by the Weekly last September, a study called for more funding to be directed to services like the Western Centre Against Sexual Assault in Footscray and an increase in resources for police. Author Helen Tachos said there remained a need for better services for victims and perpetrators of family violence.
Inspector Grainger said police continued to focus on violent crime including family violence, robbery and assaults.
Last week’s data also showed residential burglaries increased 58.5 per cent.
Inspector Grainger said robberies and house burglaries remained significant issues across the area.
“We are very, very concerned about the rise in house burglaries and it is difficult to pinpoint the reason for this other than to say there is an increase in this type of offending,” he said.
“There are new homes on the fringes of Brimbank which are attractive to thieves but that’s not all of it.
“Social disadvantage in these areas can also lead to more residential burglaries.”
Coles fashion
Coles fashion halt over abuse claims.
WITH great fanfare, Coles announced last year it would be the first supermarket chain in Australia to bring men’s and women’s fashions to the grocery aisles.Six months after the Mix clothing label went on sale, Coles has suspended buying from a textile factory in Bangladesh after revelations workers have been beaten, fired and imprisoned in a battle over wages and other rights.
The Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, a US-based organisation, wrote to Coles managing director Ian McLeod last month, outlining allegations of gross abuses.
These included below minimum pay rates of 16¢ to 22¢ an hour, unpaid overtime and holiday leave, and being forced to work up to 84 hours a week. As well, workers were subjected to ”routine sexual harassment, beatings, mass firing, corporal punishment and imprisonment on false charges”.
The factories employ about 5000 workers, supervised by about 70 Chinese managers.
The ”cheap chic” Mix clothing line, with most items priced under $25, is on sale in 60 of 700 Coles supermarkets.
Institute director Charles Kernaghan said the workers were treated like slaves.
Trouble flared at the end of January after 50 workers were sacked, workers called a sit-down strike – and leaders were allegedly beaten and jailed.
”Coles is not sourcing any further clothing from Rosita and we will not do so until we have completed an independent ethical audit,” a spokesman said.
Attempts to contact the factory owners in Hong Kong yesterday were unsuccessful.
Fitness
Fashion with a purpose.
Fitness, fashion and fun pretty well sums up one group of Ottawa ladies who are teaming up with Michael Kors to host a cocktail party to raise funds for breast cancer.
Team BFF – Breast Friends Forever – plan on raising $10,000 for Bust a Move, a fitness fundraiser being organized by the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.
Team BFF is made up of fashion lovers and includes Melissa Shabinsky, Stephanie Spruston, Mary Taggart, Mary Ann MacIntosh, Susan Margles, Maria Bassi and Catherine Whitla.
The group approached Michael Kors boutique in the Rideau Centre to help with their fundraising efforts and Laura Gatsos, Michael Kors public relations manager, jumped on board. On April 11, the store will host a fashion event from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. where guests can shop, enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and mingle with friends while browsing through the fashion giant’s spring 2012 line. Tickets are $50 and 15 per cent of all purchases that evening will be donated to the cancer foundation.
“I got involved because I felt it was a great way to combine fun and fitness and a cause that is so important to women in our community – women’s breast health,” says Shabinsky, who is co-founder of Revolution Organics. “We are all friends, but by helping to raise awareness and funds for research and treatment, it makes us breast friends – all looking out for each other and the other women.”
Bust A Move is a six-hour fitness fundraiser for breast cancer being held April 21 at the Ottawa Athletic Club. Each participant must raise $1,000.
The Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation hopes to raise $500,000 for its breast cancer programs throughout Eastern Ontario.
Dating
Dating
There are not a whole lot of profiles for people who are outside the US or Canada or United Kingdom. They seem to be expanding there fast and some areas have more members than others, but these areas are not huge just yet so at the moment this site will be most useful to those in the US, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
You do get a free membership to check the site out, but you can do next to nothing with it. You can only browse certain areas of the site and you must buy a full membership before you can do anything of real substance. I understand them wanting to sell memberships, but it would be nice to at least be able to check out a profile or a chat room with the free membership.
Conclusion:
This is a very well put together site that has a lot of members, tons of great search and browse features and is well designed. The chat rooms, webcam options and extra help add plenty to this dating site that will keep you busy meeting people for a long time and the photo verification service is a great addon that will help you avoid the inevitable fake profiles. I do wish the free membership let you do more, but this one is well worth getting a paid membership to so it isn’t a huge deal. Whether you are looking for someone for something a little naughty or nice, Meet Locals is a great place to start
Thanks to apps like dating new “Locals” feature, keeping up with online dating is as simple as updating a Facebook status. And that may be just the problem. Instead of winking, poking, and messaging people from the comfort and security of your bedroom, the matches that pop up on your phone may be the creepy guy sitting in the coffee shop corner reading yesterday’s Globe. Or the horny broseph. Or (hopefully) the guy that always bikes by you on your nighttime runs. All these people have a semi-vague idea of where you live, work, and play because you’re this little, high-rated dot on a map on their phone.
Online Free Dating
According to Research done by online free dating YanikaDate.com, one in five new relationships begins with an online connection.
“Of course everyone is online free dating,” said “Not-a-Ninja,” who would only reveal his name as CJ “All we do is go to work and then go out drinking with our friends, and if you haven’t met someone that way, you’re not going to meet anyone.”
Back when the Internet was born, online free dating may have been just one step up from strangers in AOL chatrooms asking your A/S/L. But since post-grad life in a major city is rather un-social, online free dating has gone from creepy to commonplace.
Until now.
There are a lot of things to like about YanikaDate.com so I will hit some of the basics first. They have a ton of profiles on this site with users all over the globe. To help you wade through this sea of profiles there are some nice browse and search options. You can do some very basic searched where you simply search based on age range and location or you can get a whole lot more detailed and cover everything from body type to looks as well as interests and what they are looking for. My initial searches brought back 1000s of results, but as I narrowed them down and refined my searches I was able to find people who are more along the lines of my interests.
When you get a big site like this you always run the risks of having fake profiles or fake user pictures. The fake profiles are typically profiles where the person who owns it is trying to sell you something. The fake pictures are where people are using pictures that are not them in order to draw more interest to their profile. Online free dating has a system in place where you can verify that the picture in your profile is you. They put a stamp on those profiles as being verified so if you see one that is verified you know the picture is 100% accurate. Go create your account and check out the fun features.
I really liked some of the bonus features here including the chat rooms, user forums and video chat options. They have both live chat rooms and user forums that cover different geographic areas as well as different areas of interest. This allows you to talk live or converse with like-minded people or with people from your area. You can check out people who are broadcasting from their web cam and if you have a cam you can connect to others for 1 on 1 cam chatting.
libido women
In life, most women have been instances where I would like to increase your libido. The level of libido is different in all women. Certain factors negatively affect the female libido. But there are ways to handle it. In most cases, choosing the right tool, the woman can cope with this problem. It is important to find the cause of low female libido.
1. Hormone therapy
Hormone therapy is used when the level of libido decreases due to menopause.
2. Change Lifestyle
Simple tips to change living habits to help improve libido. Exercise helps improve libido as strengthen the cardiovascular system and improve circulation. Another good way – eating healthy foods. Avoid alcohol, nicotine and drugs
3. Rest
Stress, depression and anxiety have a negative impact on a woman’s libido. A woman with low sexual desire to find a right kind of rest and relaxation. If you have severe depression, consult a specialist.
4. Stimulants
On the Internet, you will obviously notice the ads female libido stimulants. Some work, some do not. Those who work, usually contain herbal extracts. Most of their component plants stimulates circulation in the genital area. But before using such means to consult a doctor.
5. Communicate openly
Communicate openly with your partner is sometimes the best remedy for low libido. Talking frankly often help to ignite the passion between the partners. Women who are experiencing complex communication need to see a specialist. Even if romantic partners delicate relations, a woman needs to talk openly with your partner about your problem. Honest conversation ensures that both partners are aware that in this problem, none of them are not to blame.
Lancel
Great brands do not come in one day. They grow deep roots in the history of fashion in the history of their country and feed force in tradition and success. Lancel – one of them.
Accessories for Ladies
Hardly anyone today would ever think that one of the major manufacturers today handbags – home Lancel – began his now 134-year history with the opening in Paris, a small factory producing pipes. A little later, its founders, a couple Alphonse and Angèle Lanceley, went to retail. So in the big boulevards came to this store the aesthetes who are committed to excellence in everything – from the soles of shoes to the tip of a pipe. On his shelves had room for mouthpieces, crystal, porcelain, silver and gold.
Several years later, the fashion for smoking touched and women – girls emansipe smoked at the end of the XIX century. Enterprising couple immediately responded to the trend and offered them sets consisting of a cigarette case, and bags, which could be smokers and cash.
New wishes
No less attentive to the needs of women was Albert Lanceley, the son of Alfonso and Angela, who’s parents handed over the reins in 1901. It aims to outperform the desire of Parisians and offer them a convenient things even before they think about their necessity. So, Albert managed to patent the automatic lighter, portable radio bambino and perfect for flying on an airplane suitcase Aviona. The phenomenal success of the enterprise allows to Albert in 1929 to build a four-story flagship Lancel at Place de L’opera.
Lightness of Being
In 50th grade Lancel has received recognition in the fashion world, but continues to evolve, responsive to changes in society. Thus, it was decided to extend the sphere of influence by attracting new audiences and introducing products with more democratic prices (for example, bags made of artificial materials). Appear extremely handy suitcase “Kangaroo” and ideal for walking bag Trotteur.
The next spiral development of the home is move in 1970 to new owners – brothers Zorbid. Their major achievement – starting in 1982, a successful line of sports bags Mistral.
Like many other fashion houses, the Millennium Lancel has ceased to exist by itself. He became part of Richemont, which also includes Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Montblanc, Baume & Mercier, Chloe. From this mark only won – after the transaction in 1997 and its popularity has increased, the number of boutiques around the world.
company Richemont
Many attribute the success of the brand that in its history it has developed, inspired by fantasy, humor, adventure and magical feeling Francais Legerete (French lightness).
Girls
Most girls are dissatisfied with their body. The origins of this problem lie deep in childhood. Someone in the family or friends once said, a little girl that she recovered, or that it was “not as pretty as Mary.” These words are put on the child’s mind an indelible mark. That phrase will haunt a girls for life. Growing up, she will strive to perfect the shape.
Self-confidence and self esteem
If a girls was lucky that she has parents who learn to be assertive and to value yourself. In adolescence, it is particularly important to explain the girl’s appearance – not the most important thing in life. The idea is that the child does not hurt himself. If a girl learns to love herself for who she is, then it will not happen.
Society
In adolescence, even very well-balanced girls might get into a negative impact. The fact remains that – in the modern world, admire the beauty, incredible harmony, and the unrealistic body on the covers of putting pressure on young girls, forcing strive for perfection. How much would they not say that it is not necessary to have standard sizes 90-60-90 and look like a star screen, in the age of fifteen, when self-esteem through the floor, it does not help.
Self-punishment
This attitude often leads to the figure of the girls to self-punishment. Seeing that nothing happens, she begins to “stick” of failure. As a consequence, gaining excess weight. What exacerbates the situation. Trying to cope, some are beginning to lose weight unnatural ways. Starvation or vomiting after meals have become commonplace in the lives of women. Someone follows the advice of friends and enjoys a medication for weight loss. And one begins to actively engage in sports or smoke, while refusing to eat.
Such methods have a detrimental impact on both physical and mental health of girls. Habits is very difficult to get rid of. Without help, many girls are getting into this situation, always remain lonely and unhappy. They begin to hate themselves and do not know how to cope with these problems.
Why is this happening? Why do girls go voluntarily to suffering? There is no clear solution to this problem, which would fit all the girls. Some hard to abandon habits, because they can not imagine their life without a struggle with my body. To live in harmony with yourself, love yourself for who you are. And then you will love the others!
Beatles
Liverpool was the home and place of inspiration for the legendary Beatles. Most of the attractions of the city have become popular thanks to their songs. And, no doubt, you should definitely visit these places landmark during your trip to the UK.
1. Penny Lane
Penny Lane (Penny Lane) - apparently not particularly notable shopping street, which is located near the home of John Lennon. It is here that Lennon and McCartney met to take a bus bound for downtown. It is believed that the song «Penny Lane» McCartney wrote as a response to «Strawberry Fields Forever» Lennon (Beatles).
2. Strawberry Fields
Strawberry Fields (Strawberry Fields) - a garden near the house of the Salvation Army in Liverpool, where Lennon, McCartney and Harrison have often spent time as a child. Lennon, inspired by memories, devoted to this part of the song "Strawberry Fields Forever".
3. «The Cavern Club»
«The Cavern Club» famous concerts that were given here Beatles during their formation. In the period from 1961 to 1963, the legendary band played at the club 292 times. And it is in «The Cavern Club» talented quartet first spotted by Brian Epstein. Later the building was demolished, but in 1984 Joe Davy has built in its place a new, almost completely repeats the old «The Cavern Club».
Chat Rooms
I do not want to learn, I want to get married! – Exclaimed the hero Fonvizin to escape from school for a comfortable life in chat rooms. Society is changing – changing values, so to marry or to study and careers? Family and marriage is the most valuable things in life for most men and women. Sometimes we just forget about these values or replace them by others. Men are in modern society because of stereotypes is difficult to admit to himself and others: “I want to marry; I want to have a family and marry the woman he loved on chat rooms!” Some men do not want to get married, trying to make a career and become independent. Then he could not tear himself away from his business, and there is no time to start a family and get acquainted with a girl for marriage. Often, the reluctance to get acquainted with a woman and get married by a variety of fears: fear of losing freedom, fear of failure, negative experiences of the past. If you are held in all respects, a businessman or if you, say, a little more than 30 or 40, and you, unlike the hero Fonvizin already received their education, then left it for a small, but the most significant and important – to find a woman and marry her. Why does the thought “I want to get married!” visiting you lately every time you wake up, fall asleep, are you going late at night on the familiar streets of his native city, meeting with friends, making friends – in short, whenever there is free time? The answer is simple and even banal: you alone! Welcome to our chat rooms!
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!