Constance Boardman
Category Archives: Clothing
5 Tips for Choosing the Right Shoe
Choosing the right shoes goes beyond fashion. You not only want to have a pair of shoes that is not only fashionable but also one that will comfortably keep your feet in good shape. However, many people discover that they made the wrong choice after they have already made the purchase. As such, this article highlights a few considerations that you should pay attention to when buying shoes. Continue reading to discover 5 tips that you should consider as you shop around for the best shoes.
1. Time of the Day
Many people do not know that there is a specific time of the day when they should buy shoes. Because your foot expands as the day progresses, you should avoid shopping for shoes in the morning or evening. Instead, you should purchase your shoes in the afternoon.
2. Take Measurements
Again, you should have the shop attendant measure both of your feet before you choose the right shoes. Some people have the habit of saying that the wear this and that shoe number. Although this is somewhat reliable, it may not be accurate all the time. This is a tricky point that may easily lead you to the wrong shoe size. There is no particular age at which your feet stop changing. First, you should note that most feet grow larger and wider as people age. In some other cases, you will find that one foot is larger or smaller than the other. In this case, you should go for the shoe that fits each leg. In the same vein, you should make use of shoe size charts to accurately find your shoe size.
3. Stand in the Shoes
Avoid the common mistake of trying on shoes while sitting. Instead, you should stand in the shoes to feel how comfortable they are. Ensure that there is about a half-inch gap between the end of the shoe and the longest toe. This will ensure your comfort as your feet press forward when walking. While standing, wiggle your feet to confirm that the shoe is comfortable enough.
4. Walk Around
Standing in the shoes might not be a sure way of determining how comfortable they are. Try walking around to confirm that you are fully comfortable. Check whether the shoes pinch off or feel snuggly. Do not rationalize that the shoes will fit with time. Just get shoes that feel completely comfortable at the moment. This is the surest way to buy shoes that will serve you for a long time
5. Examine the Soles
Most shoes will appear new even if the sole is badly damaged. Therefore, you should make the sole one of your top considerations when combing the market for the right shoes. Go for a sole that is sturdy enough to last a long time. Keep the environment in which you live in mind as you determine the durability of the sole. If you live in hot areas, go for soles that are heat-resistant. The sole also determines how comfortable the shoe is. Balance between durability and comfort and settle for shoes whose sole is both long-lasting and comfortable.
What types of hair extensions are considered to be good for styling?
Styling your hair is usually relatively simple when you just have your base hair and whatever tools you wish to use to create new and interesting styles such as straighteners, curlers, combs, clips, bobbles and other fun things that allow you to really go crazy with your hair and make it your own. Everybody has the ability to do this with the hair they have and for the mostpart you can make some pretty whacky or conventional styles depending on what your taste is and how outgoing that you want to be.
However, the problem that leads to the requirement of hair extensions in this particular situation is that of unusually short or thin hair. Whilst it is obviously desirable to be able to style hair as and how you want to in every single situation you must come to the realisation that this is not always possible, and there are always going to be certain extraneous factors that are going to cause you some distress with styling hair. It is not ideal to have hair that only grows in a certain way, but being able to get hair extensions that are really good for styling so that you can still manage to style them is a very important thing to have. Without this freedom and this right it is very hard to be happy with your hair or to just have it exactly how you want it. We should all have equal opportunities in this matter.
If you are looking for a hair extension material to avoid when it comes to styling there is only one kind that springs to mind, and this is unsurprisingly the synthetic extensions. They are the more affordable alternative in the hair extension market, and it is pretty unsurprising that a substandard and replacement product doesn’t exactly react to certain things in the same way that human hair does. For instance, if you were to try and style this particular hair type with straighteners or curlers you may be in for a shock as synthetic hair is not resistant to heat, which could cause you to burn your base hair and scalp as well as the extensions. This is in addition to the fact that this material is also not very good at dealing with any sort of dampness or colouring and can ruin because of it. For an extension that is going to let you style it this is not ideal.
This answer to this puzzle and the best form of hair extension material that I have ever used would have to be that of human hair. You can pick up a lot of human hair extension types and attachments with London-based salons such as www.inanch.com, and as you would imagine these particular extensions are designed to react to anything in exactly the same way that regular hair would, which makes it far easier to style, mould and make your own.
Hallyu: The Rise of Korean Fashion
he Rise of Korean Fashion: Is this social change good or bad?
They say life is simple. I totally agree with that if I am just one of those natives who lived thousands of years ago. The only thing that they worry about is how to find food for their survival. But in our generation today, that’s totally different. One of the many things that we involve ourselves to self-debate is on choosing the clothes to wear for the day and how to look good and presentable to the public.
The Rise of Korean Fashion
In terms of aesthetics, in general, the whole world look up to Western style as the best and most prominent. But there also came a time when the rest of the Asian countries and even Westerners looked up to Japan for unique and new fashion trends especially their street style. “And now, it changed once more. Japan, who used to dominate the Asian continent in the world of fashion, is replaced by Korea!” (Korean fashion for Men, 2013, para. 2).
Because of the drastic boom of Korean dramas as well as Korean Popular Music (Kpop), Korean fashion (including korean hairstyle and their fancy accessories) became so famous around the world. People, especially teenagers, are going crazy about their colourful, trendy, unique, and impeccable style which perfectly fits their age array. There are three basic trends which best describe Korean clothing:
- Loose fitting – This is just one of the common features of Korean fashion. We all know that Koreans or Asians in general, have slimmer body frame compared with Americans or Europeans. Korean designers do not make their clothing such that it’s totally loose, “somewhere along the look they will streamline it nicely or have some ‘tight-fitting’ designs” (Fashion Blog, 2010,What’s so special about Korean fashion/ Korean clothing, para. 4).
- All things asymmetrical – Korean designers love to innovate things that’s why they have a knack for the weird and whimsical. Korean dress with asymmetrical hem creates an illusion and elongates your body.
- Laces – Laces are commonly used for lingerie or for the clothing of older women. But now it is a new fashion statement with younger ladies as lace comes in all kind of colours, patterns and texture these days.
Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Senior Deputy Director Jung Chang Wook says that, “Korean stars are very stylish, fashionable, and have attractive faces. In the Philippines, hallyu (Korean wave) and K-Pop are the most powerful tools to promote Korea.” He further added, “For Koreans this hallyu wave should be sustainable. There’s no culture that stays alive forever – it goes up and down – but so far the Korean wave has been getting better every year. Koreans always propose new versions of their creativity each year, and that’s why the Korean wave develops and is sustained.”
Is this social change good or bad?
Basically, let’s admit that we are now in a modern world of inventiveness, distinctiveness, and complexity. Humans’ sense of fashion is one of those dramatic changes which can be easily seen in our society. For me, to be a fan of Korean fashion is not a bad thing. Many people imitate someone’s style to have at least a pattern or guide on what to wear or not. If you don’t have an eye for Korean fashion then it is fine as well. The good thing about this social change is that it is not imposing and it does not totally affect other people’s lives. The sole benefactor of this is the individual itself. Some people might think that this kind of “Korean invasion” is a dangerous thing in disguise because of the great impact it marks on the population of the youth. But think of it, does the government have to even interfere with the youth’s sense of fashion? Do they have to impose the youth on what television show or music genre to like? Of course not! It’s totally outrageous. What I’m trying to say is, let’s not make things so complicated to the point that even in the simplest things man can exercise his freedom will still be an issue of the society.
One thing is for sure, nothing can be bad as long as it does not affect the primary aspects of our lives. Too much is never ever good. It’s a good quality if you want to be presentable to the people you come in contact with. But we must not forget that our everyday life is more of a casual thing. Korean fashion may be over the top if you don’t know where and when to execute your style. As a Korean fashion site says, “however you will have to know what can be viewed in the public as appropriate or just plain crazy.” Let’s not look at our adornments as costumes but instead, let’s look at it as a part of our inner self. “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quite spirit, which is so precious to God” (1 Peter 3:3,4).
Wanna see how beautiful Korean fashion is? Just look at this following pictures.. Enjoy!
JYJ’s fashion (JYJ is one of the KPop groups that are well known around the world, kindly search for them if you have time and look for their effortless fashion statement)
Source: Flickr
Park Yoochun in his commercial filming for High Cut
Source: Flickr
perfect dress for the ladies
Source: Flickr
all it takes is a vibrant attitude
Source: Flickr
go for the extraordinary
Source: Flickr
cutie pink jacket
Source: Flickr
Patricia Field for K-Fashion
White-wigged mannequins and models. Those were the center of attention last Monday afternoon, August 5th (despite the K-pop tunes, cocktails and Korean hors d’oeuvres) when THE K-FASHION PROJECT held a preview of its second season at Intermezzo at the Javits Center. Presented by ENK International (with whom they have an exclusive partnership), the PROJECT was created by the Korea Fashion Association, which was established in 1985 under South Korea’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy and now has a membership of about 300 fashion companies.
The mission of the KFA is to “promote, strengthen and globalize the competitiveness of the Korean fashion industry”. Certainly, when you have your brands (this season, showcased by four debuts: Buckaroo Jeans, JESSI N.Y., UGIZ, and Culture Call) styled by the inimitable Patricia Field – mission accomplished. ENK said that this collection “brings an Asian flare that is youthful, edgy and playful”. Well, Patricia Field is a champion at that game. And this being THE city of “Sex and the…”, there’s a flirty femininity that is not always girlish, but appropriately womanly, to this collection, as well.
Patricia Field’s involvement in THE K-FASHION PROJECT began with a visit to Seoul in June of 2012. Invited by the Korean Government, Field visited the stores of Korean designers, including Buckaroo whom she worked with on last year’s New York showcase. “This is an opportunity for me to work with K-Fashion again and I am looking forward to styling each collection. With their own unique identities and style, I am excited they are participating in Intermezzo and hope they are able to show the essence of Korean fashion.”
How to Buy Women’s Wholesale Clothing
Thousands of people wander around the internet everyday, wondering how to purchase wholesale women’s and junior’s clothing. I see hundreds of posting to forums with bogus answers. Well, during my venture to start a trendy fashion store, I did massive research to find quality up-to-date leads on fashion clothing. I’ve listed some quality, local, easy to deal with vendors/websites to help you begin your search for your business. Also, in my opinion, you don’t have to be a business to purchase wholesale. Companies like www.fashionhousela.com offer very low minimum quanities (around 6 pieces) to where you can purchase big if you have a big family, just like grocery shopping! Happy wholesale hunting!
1. Shop Locally
For starters, many cities already have wholesale districts. You can begin your search right in your own or surrounding city. Some of these cities include Los Angeles, Houston ,Miami, Dallas, and New York. If you are not familiar with where these districts are, ask around or do an internet search. Usually, they are associated with the Fashion or Garment district in your area. Here are some popular districts:
– LA Fashion District
– Miami International Merchandise Mart
– Dallas Market Center
-Harwin Drive Shopping District in Houston
These shopping districts and showrooms also host and participate in trade shows. Trade shows are where designers from all over come together and showcase their pieces and merchandise for the upcoming season, exclusively for retailers.
-Magic Trade Show
– Off Price Show
-Dallas Trade Show
Check here for a host of other trade shows
2. Dealing with China, Korea, and Japan for wholesale items
Personally, I would not recommend a wholesale website with no real contact information, no reviews, and no English speaking staff. One website in particular, who has lots of up to date wholesale womens fashions is Causeway Mall. Causeway Mall has lots of Japanese and Korean trendy clothing for women and juniors at affordale prices that are sure to make you a profit.
www.causewaymall.com
Also, lots of sellers on Ebay in China, Japan, and Korea that have items at retail price will work with you and provide you with wholesale prices. Just ask!
4. Shopping Women’s Wholesale Online
Many companies provide you with the convenience of shopping wholesale clothing online. Some even offer sample pieces to test the quality. Some companies offer low minimum quantities while others require you to purchase in large batches.
– FashionGo.net
FashionGo is one of the best by far! FashionGo allows you to shop the entire LA Fashion District and more from the comfort of your home, elimintating all costs you would’ve acquired from traveling to Los Angeles (if you don’t live close). it features over 70,000 active sellers of women’s wholesale fashion, accessories, and shoes. I must admit, it’s rather trendy, too!
www.fashiongo.net
15 Tips to exploring the LA fashion district
LA’s Downtown Fashion District is full of so many hidden treasures. The Fashion District is made up of 90 blocks, 4,500 apparel and accessory lines, and more than 1,000 stores. Other names for Downtown LA’s shopping area include: Santee Alley, the Garment District, and The Alley. To be a successful Downtown LA shopper here are a few things you should know:
Tip #1: Browse before you buy. Go around and check out all of the shops before you commit to buying from the first store you walked into. Nine time out of ten, you’ll find the exact same thing for half the price just down the street. But don’t think about it too long, new merchandise circulates through these stores every day. Chances are it won’t be there tomorrow.
Tip #2: Cash is king. Most stores only accept cash. Very few accept Debit and Credit cards. Most ATM’s have a $100 limit.
Tip #3: DON’T dress to impress. You will be doing a lot of walking so make sure you wear comfortable shoes and clothes. Being a Power Shopper isn’t easy. Also, don’t wear anything that screams “I’m not from here!”
Tip #4: Beware of signs. Some stores are not open to the general public. If a store is only wholesale it may have a sign posted that’s says “Solo Mayreo.”
Tip #5: Bring your Papers. If you have a resale license/ Sellers Permit bring a copy. You can set up accounts with merchants to buy at wholesale costs.
Tip #6: Business Hours. General business hours run from 10am to 5pm. When the shops close it’s like a ghost town, so don’t plan to hang around after hours.
Tip #7: Bargain and Barter. In these areas, no one pays full price. I advise you to do a little bargaining. If you speak Spanish or Korean, that is a plus!
Tip #8: Take business cards. If you come across a little store you like, and plan to go back, take a business card. Chances of finding the store after you’ve been walking all day, are highly unlikely.
Tip #9: Lack of Dressing rooms. FYI, there are no formal dressing rooms. Consider wearing tight fitting tank tops and leggings when you shop, this makes it easy to slip clothes over what you are wearing. If you can’t return it you should make sure it fits.
Tip #10: Final Sales. Most sales are final. So make sure you check garments carefully for damages.
Tip #11: Plan. It is important to plan and be prepared. If you plan to do a lot of shopping it might be a good idea to use a shopping stroller. Don’t forget bottled water, it gets hot out there in the summer.
Tip #12: Restrooms. There are limited restrooms. You can usually use the restroom at the California Market Center. It seems to be the best place, if you have to go.
Tip #13: Parking. Find a parking lot! It will cost anywhere from 15 to $25 to park all day. To avoid tickets, try not to park on the streets if you plan to shop all day.
Tip # 14: Restaurants. Remember the Fashion district is for shopping not eating! There are a few fast food joints in the area, McDonalds, Subway and El Polo Loco. There is a little café located next to the Geary building that has good sandwiches. If all fails, you can always find your way to the cafeteria in the California Market Center. Consider starting your shopping day at Starbucks on the corner of 9th and Santee. There are also several little hotdog stands, if you stop at one, make sure you try the mango and watermelon covered in lime juice and pico de gallo. It’s perfect in the summer!
Tip #15: Get a Map. Be sure to pick up a free copy of theLA Fashion District map guide, or check one out online.Fashion District map
Things you can find in the Fashion District: Shopping, Beauty Supplies Stores, Clothing Stores, Children’s Clothing Stores, Baby Clothes, Clothing Accessories Stores, Formal Wear Stores, Men’s Clothing, Shoe Stores, Athletic Clothing, Costumes, Uniforms, Western Wear, Women’s Clothing Stores, Maternity Clothing, Jewelry, Leather Goods Stores, Flea Markets, Swap Meets, Toys, Used Clothing, Luggage, Custom Clothing, Hats, Buttons, Fabrics, and Perfumes.
Must Know Terms
• Close Outs: The item will no longer be made or sold.
• Overrun: Extra merchandise available after retailers have filled their orders. Are often sold at discounted prices to the general public.
• Retail: Refers to the business of selling goods to consumers of the general public.
• Sample: Product that is made to be shown as the example to wholesale buyers and retailers before product is ordered and large quantities are produced. Womens apparel samples are generally size 4 or 6.
• Seconds: Items with some type of flaw that affects the overall quality or look.
• Solo Mayoreo: Wholesale only. Store is not open to the general public and retail shoppers.
• Wholesale: Refers to the business of selling large quantities of goods, typically to be sold in retail stores.
• Keystone: a markup that generally means double the wholesale price.
• Minimums: a minimum order amount, may refer to quantity or dollar amount.
Links to check out:
• http://www.thesanteealley.com/
• http://www.fashiondistrict.org/
You are now ready to Shop. Enjoy your adventures in the Downtown LA Fashion District!
