Envy Me...Why Not?

Exposed: Confessions of a Fashion Marketing Student

2008-09-11T05:52:00.000-07:00

I love the exposure I have received the past two years of being a fashion marketing student...actually in a way all this exposure has me confused on what I actually want to be when I get into the industry.

Before coming to The Art Institute of Charlotte I had dreams of moving to Miami, Florida and opening a swimwear boutique with my swimsuit collection and brand. Now, after being exposed to so much, I want to be so much. Some days I want to be a creative director at an existing fashion magazine, or one that I've created. Other days I want to be a fashion stylist, visual merchandiser and even a fashion show coordinator. But in the end, I loved that I was exposed to writing a business plan, designing store layouts and window displays, re-launching fashion lines with new marketing strategies, blogging and designing fashion magazines.

Although at times I do not like my school, I love the teachers for exposing and believing in me!

The Perfect 10: DimePiece

2008-08-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

The Perfect 10 clothing line is a lifestyle brand aimed to all the H.B.I.C., who make a positive impact and consistently turn heads. The line encourages women reconsider their role in the game, to be in control, and to appeal to an audience with genuine swag. The DimePiece

female is SEXY, and you know what she is all about through her dress.

The purpose is to make a statement. It translates to independence, swagger, boldness, and appeal.

DimePiece is a lifestyle brand that sells graphic t-shirts, bottoms, leggings, and hoodies/jackets.

These products are sold at 56 stores worldwide and can be purchased online at: https://shopcultist.3dcartstores.com/DimePiece_bymfg_7-1-1.html

To learn more about the designers behind DimePiece visit: http://www.dimepiecedesigns.com/PERFECT10/ (under PRESS)

Retro Rockstar: The M.A.C. Heatherette Collection

2008-08-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

Good girl gone bad. Retro and Rockstar. “Fashion is like a disco ball, it’s like magic, it’s like a unicorn running through the forest,” stated Richie Rich.

Heatherette designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains have collaborated with M.A.C. Cosmetics to create the Heatherette Collection cosmetic line that is everything glamorous and over the top. If you like to stick to neutrals for eye makeup and lip color, this collection is not for you!

Sparkle like a rockstar with the new collection featuring, lipstick, lip glass, eye shadow, dual-edge eye pencils, glitter, pigment, beauty powder, nail laquer, and false eye lashes. All the products are cased in a hot pink compact with holographic foil decal featuring the Heatherette logo.

The Lipstick is priced at $35.00, which comes in:

1. Lollipop Loving (clean mid-tone coral with subtle green iridescence)

2. Fleshpot Light (satin neutral beige)

3. Hollywood Nights (satin clean fuchsia pink)

4. Melrose Mood (amplified clean pastel pink)

The Lip glass is priced at $34.00, which comes in:

1. Bonus Beat (sheer yellow beige with gold pearl)

2. Sock Hop (soft mid-tone coral)

3. Style Minx (clean fuchsia pink)

4. Starlet Kiss (clean pastel pink)

The Eye Shadow x3 (Limited Edition) is priced at $70.00. The first trio comes in:

1. Mood Ring (pastel mint green)

2. Cloud Burst (True black with subtle green pearl)

3. Hoppin’ (clean pastel peach)

The second trio comes in:

1. Baby Petals (pastel pink)

2. V.I.P. (clean mid-tone yellow pink)

3. Cassette (blackened eggplant purple)

The Dual-Edge Eye Pencil is priced at $35.00, which comes in:

1. Black Funk/Pop Blue (true black/turquoise with silver glitter)

2. Phone Me/Text Me (charcoal grey/metallic silver with silver glitter)

3. Nighthawk/Front Row (coffee brown/neutral peach with gold glitter)

4. FAB Orchid/Dash Lily (jewel-tone purple/mid-tone lavender with silver glitter)

The Glitter is priced at $29.00, which comes in:

1. Reflects Gold (translucent glitter with gold reflection)

2. 3D Silver (multi-reflective silver)

The Pigment is priced at $39.00, which comes in:

1. Jardin Ave (gilded peach with silver reflect )

2. Pink Pearl (mid-tone pink with blue reflection)

To learn more about the complete collection visit: http://beautyiq.adorebeauty.com.au/index.php?news=211

The M.A.C. Heatherette Collection is sold at M.A.C., Sephora, and the M.A.C. flagship Pro store.

Rock the Vote: Obama Style

2008-08-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

Rock the Vote this year in the biggest Presidental Election to ever hit the USA. Show your Obama pride by rocking the OBEY OBAMA PROGRESS t-shirt. This t-shirt can be purchased at Urban Outfitters for $28.00 in either black or white. Beyonce has one, and I own one too!

Closet Insider: Top 5 Essential Items For Your Wardrobe

2008-08-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

Five essential and fabulous fashion garments can be transformed easily into three different distinct looks that can be worn from work, evening, and weekend.

My Top 5 Wardrobe Essentials:
1. Solid Color Tank
2. Dark Blue Skinny Jeans
3. Solid Color Blouse with Ruffles
4. Printed Dresses
5. Black Pencil Skirt

This is how to make it work:

Work
Throw away the boring black blazer and pin stripe skirt suit…Bring some color into your work outfit. Just because work may be dull, doesn’t mean your wardrobe has to be. Take a simple black pencil skirt and pair it with a solid color ruffled blouse. To add more color to this ensemble pair it with different color shoes and a clutch that is a different color from your blouse. Depending on your style wear silver or gold jewelry.

Evening
Strike a pose for the camera (click click click). The evening is your time to shine, and you will never…I repeat NEVER go wrong with either a simple black mini dress or a dress with animal print. Take a animal print (cheetah) mini dress and pair it with gold or tan four inch heels and a black clutch with gold jewelry to accent the outfit. Now get ready for the paparazzi.

Weekend
The weekend for some is a time to relax, wear flats and kick back, but for others like myself, getting dressed up for the weekend is more important than getting dressed on the weekdays. Take a simple solid color tank top and pair it with dark blue skinny jeans (or even high-waisted jeans). To add more flavor to this outfit pair it with black/white stripped, peep toe 4 inch heels and a gold metallic tote. Keep all your jewelry black and simple, like a bangle and beaded necklace. For those who can’t deal with walking in heels on the weekends, switch the four inches for cute black gladiator sandals.

To get more of these looks featured and more visit the following stores or websites:
Wet Seal
Forever 21
Charlotte Russe
Steve Madden
AMI Clubwear
Bakers Shoes

Cool & Quiet: Fall 2008 Color Trends

2008-08-14T07:02:00.000-07:00

Pale tones and Bright hues are the chosen color palette for this fall season…so move over black and grey, because this season is represented by the Cool and the Quiet.

The Cool:

Fiery corals, icy blues, and lemon lime yellows and greens inspired the bright color palette. Color combinations like these are not often seen for the autumn/fall seasons, but color forecasters have stepped out the box and took color for the usually dark seasons to another level.

The Quiet:

Dramatic purples and lavenders, sapphire blues, and pale Easters egg greens create the “quiet before the storm” color palette. Not only are these colors a big trend for the fall, but incorporating animal print into your outfit is as well. Whether it’s your shoes, clutch or belt, cheetah print can create a fierce and fun appeal to your outfit.

Mixing and Matching Spring and Fall Wardrobe:

Spring 2008 color palette featured deep purples and eggplants, rods of gold, and princess pink. Icy blues and pale greens were also a big color trend in the spring. For those on budget or who are looking to create more looks from existing clothes, but still want to be trendy for the fall can easily mix and match hues from both spring and fall. If you still have shades of purple, eggplants, gold, icy blue and greens from last season they will still be popular to wear for the fall season. Add a few new color hues from the Cool and Quiet palette and you will be runway ready.

For Those Who Can’t Leave Black Alone…this is for you!:

If you must always wear black and other neutral colors, but would love to add some color to your wardrobe, the easiest way to do this is to add color your handbag, belt, or even your shoes. It’s not to overpowering, but it’s classic and simple at the same time.

Sagging vs. America: Stereotypes

2008-08-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

The Confederate Flag, racism. Middle-Eastern man with a turban, terrorist. These are all sterotypes that have shaped our nation into thinking negatively towards other ethnicities that have made the U.S. such a unigue country.

Just recently another formed image or opinion has been made about “sagging pants.”

Sagging pants as we know was popularized in the early 1990’s, which can be attributed to the hip hop culture and its artist. This saggin style is worn by blacks as well as a few white males. Ever since then the African Amercian man has been plagued by this stereotype. Thug, criminal, convict, and ignorant are just a few words that are associated with the stereostype of saggin pants.

“I was at work and someone that I work with came up to me and tried to act as if I was ignorant and had no college education because my gym shorts were saggin,” stated Renondo Wilson, a student at The Art Institute of Charlotte. Since it is mostly African American males that choose to wear saggin pants, some feel that it is racial profiling when some cities put a ban on saggin pants. Some councilmen and other government authority (mostly oldheads) feel that it is offensive to see young men saggin. Because this is primarliy worn by black males some feel like it is targeting black males as if “we” (black people) are not targeted enough. Of course we all know the orgin of saggin pants started in the jail system when they would take the immates belts away so they would hang themselves. It has since then carried over into the hip hop culture. Many rappers we see also sag, but is it really indescent exposure if you can not see the buttocks or the underwear? Is it really necessary to associate jail time and a fine with saggin pants? Studies show that when some of these same African American men go to college there is a lack of saggin, because these men mature and realize that they wanted to be apart of the fad. In essence sagging pants are just a fad, the same as bell bottoms and hot pants. In the words of King David “This too shall pass.”

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Le Monde de la Mode: Fashion Week in the Queen City

2008-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

The city of Charlotte, North Carolina has seen many BIG things happen. The biggest International and multi-platinum superstar Beyonce has graced the city with her vocals. The biggest college basketball tournament, CIAA, has it’s own special weekend in the queen city. And after all, Charlotte is home to both the Bobcats arena and Carolina Panthers football stadium. What more could this rising city want? Well we want what New York, Paris and Milan all have in common. What is that you ask?

Fashion Week…and that is just what we got!

It always starts with a sketch and becomes fashion. A design and garment that embodies inspiration and a lot of creativity. Just like the big fashion capitals of the world, the queen city will have the biggest event of 2008...Charlotte North Carolina Fashion Week. The event is held from Thursday, September 18^th through Saturday, September 20^th at the Blake Hotel in downtown Charlotte. This three-day event is produced by Networkz 2000 LLC and includes runway shows, hair and cosmetology workshops (as well as modeling/runway training and fashion styling/image consulting), vendors and live entertainment from Blue Erro Soul Entertainment Recording Artist, Eric Roberson.

So who are the designers of inspiration and creativity? Charlotte North Carolina Fashion Week (CNCFW) is showcasing designers from Charlotte, New York, Atlanta, and other cities throughout the north and southeast. The designers/collections include: Flow by Tara Davis, Dammi, Luis Machiaco Couture, Pixton Bridal, Foxx Skynz by Design, Elleira Couture, Thelma Caraway, T Simone, Pat Brown, and Rain Anthology.

Not that this event isn’t fabulous enough with all the good things mentioned so far, but it only gets better. To top of all the designers, live entertainment, workshops, and vendors, the host of CNCFW is none other than former Project Runway contestant and Charlotte native, Carmen Webber.

This isn’t your ordinary church fashion event. THIS IS CHARLOTTE NORTH CAROLINA FASHOIN WEEK. A three-day event that you must be apart of!

Londyn Pe: The Fashion Trendsetter

2008-07-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

Londyn Pe a.k.a. Lauren Powell is a walking time machine. It seems like everyday she is representing a fashion decade from the past. "When people see how I dress, they say I dress 80s, but my favorite decade is actually the 20s. I wish I could get my hands on some more clothing from the 20s." This New York born and Maryland raised trendsetters style is inspired by fashion from everywhere and she switches it up whenever she thinks of something new. To her fashion is art and her body is the canvas. She believes anyone with a creative mind can put together pieces the way she does. When walking the halls of her school, The Art Institute of Charlotte (where she is majoring in Fashion Marketing and Management), she gets in the mind state of her style icon Gwen Stefani. "She the best and doesn't care what anybody has to say about what she wears. That's the mentality you have to have nowadays." Which is really true. Gwen Stefani isn't the only style icon that Londyn Pe admires. When asked who inspired your latest haircut, she replied, "Hahaha. Rihanna. I'm not gonna even lie. I love her stylist, which makes me love her even more, lol." But when it is all said and done, and life comes to an end, Lauren only wants to be remembered as one thing..."FLY!"

The Royal Court: Graphics in Fashion

2008-07-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

In the world of fashion, 2008 was truly the year where designers based their collections around graphics and geometric shapes for the spring and fall seasons.

These graphics and geometric shapes bring about a new look in any collection. On the high-end level of haute couture, designers such as Emilio Pucci, Anna Sui, and Balenciaga stepped out the box and took creativity and color to another level. They are the royal court of “who’s who” in graphics in fashion.

The Prince of Prints

The “prince of prints”. Fur, ice and crystals. Couture designer Emilio Pucci best describes graphics in fashion. His inspiration came from the natural landscapes of the Mediterranean and the exotic culture. He created an external logo with his signature graphics, abstracts and kaleidoscope of color prints.

Each and every one of Pucci’s collections, dating all the way back to the 1950s featured his signature geometric and abstract prints, so his Fall 2008 Collection was no different. The inspiration was drawn from the mountain and the cold. The prints have a recurring mountain theme and the accessories capture what the snowy season is all about. Featured in this wintery wonderland collection were icicle necklaces, silvery sequins, crystal beading and bags that mimicked shards of ice. They collection began with dresses, leggings, and winter coats that ranged from dark grey and yellow to white and black. The collection ended with icy sapphires, corals, various shades of emerald and aqua blues, even Jamaican water would envy. Pucci definitely didn’t let his fans down with this collection.

The Queen of Eccentric

Just from looking at Ms. Sui’s Fall 2008 Collection it is safe to say that she is a multi-cultural and talented person. Born in America, Anna Sui has always had an eye out for fashion. At a young age she began making her own clothes. “I was completely obsessed. I don’t know how my parents put up with me,” Sui stated. Since then she has evolved into one of America’s top designers with her eccentric style and bold colorful patterns.

The Fall 2008 Collection is the most colorful of them all. Every tunic, pants, and shirt has some style of a geometric pattern, almost tribal-like. The aesthetic movement, Tiffany vases, fortuny pleats, Gustav Klimt, and American Indians are the inspiration for this season. It is evident that Anna Sui has many inspirations (the prince of prints, Emilio Pucci being one of them), and she makes good use of her surroundings.

The King of Pansies

This year Balenciaga has outdone himself by using some astonishing graphics in his Spring 2008 Collection. The color scheme consists of a plethora of vibrant colors, such as snorkel blues, tangerine oranges, kelp greens, soft pinks, and bumble-bee yellow—just to name a few.

Nicolas Ghesquiere, the head designer for Balenciaga says he was exploring new territory because he had done prints before, but never thought of using flowers to enhance the collection. Bringing nature to the runway, Balenciaga is in full bloom this spring using pansies, peonies, daffodils, and hyper- gorgeous hydrangeas to his advantage, with this revolutionary technique.

Balenciaga wanted to create ensembles on the catwalk with standout shoulder lines, wide-bell shaped hips, and knee-high, woven, leather gladiator boots. Nicolas Ghesquiere has an eye for architect design and he is a sculptor of shape, with innovative graphics he is promised longevity in fashion industry.

This is only the beginning for graphics in fashion.

Sexy on the Beach: The New Trend in Swimwear

2008-07-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Looking sexy on the beach has been kicked up a notch and taken to another level. A level that is exotic, stylish and trendy. A level that is meant for the woman who is fashion forward yet playful, classy, and seductive. A woman who demands attention and knows exactly what she wants.

A combination of the finest materials, natural jeweled pieces, wood chunks, rare stones and gems create the alluring and intriguing collection in Amaya Swimwear.

Lila Nikole Rivera, the 2005 Magna Cum Laude graduate of The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale created Amaya Swimwear. The concept of the swimwear line was to produce a stylish, exotic and wearable swimwear line for women that love to glam up their beach wardrobe.

The Collection:

In my opinion the evolution of the swimsuit and print designs has changed drastically. They are no longer the simple and solid colored one and two pieces. Swimsuits are now sexier, daring, and detail oriented.

Currently Amaya Swimwear has seven collections of swimsuit designs never seen before. The collections include: Signature, Kaleidoscope, Graphix, Rainforest, Candy Rain, The Black Out, and Aquatic Effervescence. Majority of the swimsuits are made of imported Italian Lycra blend which are all hand sewn, not factored produced. Besides from the "out of the box" designs and structure of the swimsuits, the most eye-catching factor are the colors, which are bright and vibrant. They range from fuchsia, yellow, various shades of purple and green, blue, orange and many more color combinations are seen throughout each collection. Next to color is the graphics and prints. They range from snake, zebra, stripes, and jigsaw patterns and prints.

If you are that fashion forward woman who desires to have all eyes on her, then you should be wearing Amaya swimsuit.

Envy Me...Why Not?

2008-07-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hello! Welcome to my Blog. My name is Aysia Renee and I study Fashion Marketing and Management at The Art Institute of Charlotte. The title "Envy Me...Why Not", represents my swimwear line and slogan House of Envy. Hope you enjoy my blog...Remember: "Dare to be Sexy, Dare to be You, Dare to be Envied!"