Shopping For Your Prom Dress Online

Preparing your entire prom look always starts with the prom dress, and for that you have to have a good head start of at least two months before the prom. A good head start on putting your prom look together, not just your prom dress, will save you from getting stressed out later on whatever details you may have overlooked just because you rushed through your preparations.

Thankfully, it is no longer necessary for you to visit shops selling prom dresses and physically comb through their stock just to get the right one. All you need to do is to surf the Net and look for online retailers that sell prom dresses. You do not have to leave the house to get your shopping done, unless you do not have Internet at home.

The Budget for Your Prom Dress

There are a few things that you need to consider and decide before you turn on your computer and surf for prom dresses that you can buy online. One of these is your budget. How much can you afford to spend on buying a prom dress?

To answer that question, you need to ask your parents how much money they are willing to give you so you could get the elements of your prom look together â€" your prom dress, your shoes and accessories, your hair and makeup, and other incidental expenses. If the money your parents are allotting you is not enough, or if they are not spending for your prom dress, then you would have to depend on your savings and come up with some extra cash before the prom.

Remember that a prom dress does not have to cost a lot. Regardless of how much you have, you can always get a fabulous prom dress with patient searching and creative thinking.

Deciding What Prom Dress You Want

Once you have the matter of budgeting for your prom dress settled, then you can move on to other details such as what kind of dress you want to wear and what type of dress will suit your figure best.

There are many styles of prom dresses that you can choose from. What dress style would suit you depends largely on what you want and what your body type is. Here is a rundown of some of the basic styles that you can find on prom dresses and what body type they flatter the most:
1. Bubble dress. The bubble dress has a cinched waist and a curved-in hem. Cute and fun, it is great for girls with skinny figures because it gives them the curves they lack. It is also awesome on girls with full figures because it emphasizes the curves they have.

2. Corset dress. The corset dress sports a tightly laced top that is good for creating a fetching cleavage and the illusion of a small waist, especially when matched with a fluffy skirt. A prom dress of this type is good for the full-figured girl, as it embellishes her lovely curves.

Current Fashion Trends in Costume Jewelry and Accessories

Current Fashion Trends in Costume Jewelry and Accessories
by: Michael Gietl

Color Trends in Costume Jewelry

The fall fashion trends are ushering in another excellent season for costume jewelry and accessories. Rich colors and bold looks dominate the trend. Teal, amber and amethyst are the important colors with olivine and green used as neutrals. Topaz and peacock are also important and all indications are that rich color will continue into the spring season. Metals are seeing a return to gold, but silver is still stronger.

Bold Designs Dominate Fashion Jewelry

Fashion jewelry thrives when bold designs are in vogue and that is very much the case this season. The high fashion look is popular in necklaces, earrings, and bracelets with natural components contributing to the designs. Wood is continuing its second season of popularity with shell important even in the fall line. But the rising star in natural materials is gemstone, which provides the beauty of natural semiprecious stones to the costume jewelry designs. This will definitely continue and accelerate in the spring line. Also popular in neckwear are 48 inch and 60 inch ropes that are worn extended or doubled. Jet is strong in holiday jewelry and estate looks (antique designs) are becoming fashionable in bridal jewelry.

Traditional Costume Jewelry and Accessories

While costume jewelry in bold designs and rich colors forge the way for leading fashion, there is a larger market that shouldn’t be ignored in more traditional and classic looks. Theme jewelry in pendants, earrings, and charm bracelets has an appeal that goes beyond fashion alone because it identifies with what the wearer cares about. In addition, traditional rhinestone, bridal jewelry, evening bags, and formal gloves have a classic look with timeless appeal. There is a major market for these items that will always be present even as fashion changes.

Accessory Trends

Sequins and buttons are very big in all accessories, especially in handbags and evening bags. Beyond these, the looks of the larger bags introduced by leading designers are the trendy styles of the season. These are the bags the stars are carrying, which goes a long ways towards popularizing the styles. In evening bags, large sequins and buttons are very much in vogue, but traditional looks seem to be carrying the day.

Sunglasses are definitely big and bold with aviators the runaway favorite. Retro looks are also excellent and colored frames with matching lenses are very popular.

Hats and Headwear

In millinery, dress hats are an important part of the market, with ladies hats the dominant player. The looks are very traditional with a new element of pre-made bands allowing for the versatility of custom designs. Casual hats, however, account for the major share of the market and no design in 2005 is more important than the rollup cowboy hat. While the design is not popular in every region of the country, the sheer number of sales makes it the number one hat of the year. This rugged look that is typically American has risen to such popularity that it becomes an important fashion statement. After cowboy hats, the three most fashionable designs are wide brim floppy hats, ladies fedoras, and newsboys. The entertainment field has played a major roll in popularizing these designs and the fashion looks continue into the fall season with felt, leather, wool, and leatherette used as the material for the fall versions.

Profile for Jobs: Fashion Marketing

Profile for Jobs: Fashion Marketing
by: Silas Reed

Jobs in fashion marketing can be an exciting deal for anyone with a creative bent of mind. If you are an artistic person and are wondering how to possibly turn your passion into a highly remunerative profession, then this is surely something worthy of your perusal. Though challenging and demanding, this is an industry for those who love to keep pace with the fast moving and ever changing world of fashion.

If you have an inherent knack for grasping the fashion styles that are going to be well received in the market or if you find it easy to convincingly market a new trend, then consider your work half done. It is an extremely rewarding career if you think about the influential posts that you get to hold in the world of fashion. You practically get to decide the style statement that people will flaunt. Nothing is as empowering and flattering to a person’s ego than the idea that he can control teeming millions, subconsciously with his innovative ideas and ingenious outlook.

Apart from having the inherent knack for identifying popular fashion taste, people aspiring to get jobs in fashion marketing needs to have a professional degree from an accredited university. They need to be original and display creative talents as well as have a head for understanding business. After all fashion marketing is all about being able to understand what will work and what not. That is to say, it is about identifying those fashion trends, which when produced in mass will help the company recover its production cost along with a substantial profit margin.

The professional degree does nothing more except hone your skills in sales, marketing management and imparts you a more solid understanding of consumer psychology. Since fashion marketers have to coordinate their work with a number of different units such as retail outlets, fashion photographers, fashion designers; this humongous task of collaboration makes it an extremely taxing job. It also necessitates that fashion marketers be good with their PR skills and their understanding of effective promotion and advertising.

Now that you have a clearer understanding of fashion marketing job profile, let me tell you that this sector has been identified as one which holds a lot of promise for growth and expansion. Competition to get into the best company and work with the best fashion house is tough and why won’t it be so, when fashion marketers on an average get to earn as much as 80k a year?

A degree in fashion marketing is sure to fetch you good job opportunities. You can either work with fashion designers or big houses as fashion marketing assistant, visual merchandisers or stylists who style the models before their walk on the ramp. And if you are creative and daunting enough and have full confidence in your ability you can go for self- employment, that is to say you can establish your own boutique and run it with élan.

Employment in fashion marketing is not a difficult thing to secure if you know a few tips. For example it is always advisable to network and network well, I mean. Try and carry your business card and let the world outside feel your presence. Attend meetings and parties- both social and informal. Also remember to keep a look out for available job opportunities and if you do your homework well, you land yourself a job in no time!
About The Author

Silas Reed, Writer for http://www.marketingcrossing.com/lcjobtypelisting.php MarketingCrossing, writes articles that inform and teach about different marketing job profiles. Please visit http://www.marketingcrossing.com/lcjobtypelisting.php http://www.marketingcrossing.com/lcjobtypelisting.php and sign up for a FREE trial to gain access to ALL of the many exclusive job listings we offer in the marketing profession.

How To Become A Fashion Designer When You Are A Kid

How To Become A Fashion Designer When You Are A Kid
by: Silas Reed

There are two schools of thought on the qualities needed to become a fashion designer. One school of thought believes that an eye for fashion is inborn and God gifted and cannot be acquired through practice and perseverance. The other school of thought on the other hand believes that it is hard work and perseverance that can make a fashion designer out of a kid.

However, a look at the successful fashion designers of the world would confirm that it is a blend of talent and hard work that can make a successful fashion designer out of a kid.

So what are the qualities that make a successful fashion designer? Let us take a look at the principles and qualities:

First, a natural flair for design is a must, be it a design for men or design for women fashion. An aspiring fashion designer must have the basic acumen for men’s fashion or women fashion. The fashion designer must be able to, on the top of the head, decide a design for any category whatsoever.

Second, an aspiring fashion designer needs to have a formal training. A diploma or a degree in a fashion institute of repute will just do fine. The fashion designer will be adequately trained on the various aspects of the business of fashion designing which are so critical. This will go on to make a complete fashion designer.

Third, an aspiring fashion designer must have an ideal blend of knowledge with the theoretical aspects of fashion design as well as the practical aspects of fashion design. Hence, the fashion designer will design fashion with a blend of theoretical knowledge and its ideal practical application. Such a combination goes on to make for a good fashion designer.

Fourth, an aspiring fashion designer must be good at making basic sketches. A basic sketch gives a good idea of how the design will finally like. Hence, a good fashion designer must be able to visualize in mind how the design will look like in the end and draw a sketch accordingly.

Fifth, good visualization skills for a fashion designer are a must. A good fashion designer must also have an eye for details. While designing the most intricate of the designs, an eye for detail is a critical quality that a fashion designer must possess. A good visualization serves as an inspiration and sets the objective for the final design.

Hence, a fashion designer must be equally good at men’s fashion and women fashion. This profession is however, not a bed of roses, with high competition and a high failure and rejection rates, it is always a steep climb.
About The Author

Silas Reed, Writer for http://www.Employmentcrossing.com/lcjobtypelisting.php EmploymentCrossing writes articles that inform and teach about different Employment job profiles. Please visit http://www.Employmentcrossing.com/lcjobtypelisting.php http://www.Employmentcrossing.com/lcjobtypelisting.php for a list of some of the many jobs we offer in the Employment profession.

Fashion Models

Fashion Models

Fashion models are brilliant for helping clothing firms, make up brands and accessories companies to market their product and help get their message across to their chosen audience, and fashion models are also a great choice for events and launches.

Here at Mission Models, we represent a huge variety of fashion models that can help any company get their event off to a great start. Our fashion models are much more varied that the fashion models on the books of other agencies, and we can provide fashion models for every type of occasion, from a fashion shoot to a catwalk show.

We are based in the bustling capital, London, and this location ensures we always have an amazing range of fashion models available for any type of work. We believe working in London, one of the world's top spots for fashion, gives us an edge over other fashion models agencies and also ensures the quality of our fashion models.

Our fashion models have worked in a range of sectors and for a wide variety of publications and events, and some of the most prestigious fashion models clients we have had include What Digital Camera magazine, the BBC mini series Material Girl, high end hair salon chain Toni and Guy and the prestigious Asian Wedding Exhibition.

This range of work shows the calibre of our fashion models, but also highlights how varied our fashion models are. This makes us a reliable agency for firms of all kinds and no matter what type of fashion models our clients are looking for, we will find something to suit their needs and fashion models budget.

Another well known publication our fashion models have featured in is Stuff magazine. This gadget focused read is noted for its use of stunning cover fashion models, and our fashion model Anara appeared on its cover shortly after appearing on an Ultratone advert.

If you need fashion models for a high profile event, product launch or fashion show, get in touch with us and check out our amazing range of stunning fashion models of all shapes, sizes, hair colours and ethnicities.

FASHION FOR MY PET

Would you like to learn how to make a dog collar that really stands out in a crowd? Whether your goal is to save a little money or to pull out all of the fashion stops in "dogue" couture, you can make something that is super cute for your best friend even if you have just a little bit of sewing ability.

Following the instructions below, you can adapt our tutorial to make dog collars that will dazzle the imagination! For dogs of all sizes, from big dogs to little dogs, this sewing project is a fun and easy accessory to make for your favorite dog. Let's get started now so your dog can be sporting a spiffy ribbon dog collar later today.

For an awesome, personalized collar, use your creativity to bling it out for a girly dog collar, or make a boyish tough-guy collar for your boy dog. Let them model it at your next dog park outing and you'll both be stars!



How to Make a Dog Collar - Dog Collar Hardware and Supplies Needed:
How To Make a Dog Collar
Completed Project Photograph:


Step 1 - How to Make a Dog Collar

After purchasing your supplies, you will thread your machine with coordinating thread to the webbing and ribbon that you've chosen, and cut a piece of webbing that is six inches longer than your dog's actual neck measurement. Cut a piece of ribbon that is seven inches longer than the neck measurement.

Instructions here are for the simplest type of dog collar - one that is not adjustable. If your dog is fully grown, this collar will last you a very long time. If your dog is a puppy or still growing, make this style first to learn how to make a dog collar (basic style) and later you will be able to understand more complex instructions for adjustable collars

Before you begin sewing, you can heat seal the ends of nylon or propylene webbing to keep the ends from fraying. WARNING!! Do not try this with any natural material (cotton or hemp) or you WILL start a fire, and only try this if you feel totally comfortable and are an adult or have an adult present!). This only works with non-natural materials like nylon or polypropylene. To heat seal the end, use a lit candle with an open flame, and bring the cut edge of the webbing close to the flame. It does not actually have to touch the flame to melt the webbing edge and seal it. Once you see the edge of the webbing melt a little, take it away from the heat source and allow a few seconds to cool. Repeat with the other edge of the webbing, if desired. Please do this process only if desired, and understanding that it is done at your own risk.

Layering your choice of grosgrain or printed riboons over the webbing so the "right sides" are both facing up, you will see that there is a 1/2" overlap of the ribbon at each end. Pin these ribbon ends over the edges of the webbing, and then turn the pinned strip right side up on your sewing surface to begin to sew them together. Sew each edge of the ribbon to the webbing, staying close to the edge, but making sure that you sew through both ribbon and webbing. (Figure 1)



Step 2 - How to Make a Dog Collar

After you have stitched the ribbon to the webbing and the ends of the ribbon have been folded over the webbing and stitched, you are ready to progress to Step 2.

Unclip the buckle, noticing the slight curvature to the pieces. The buckle should have a slight outward curve as it clips around your dog's neck when the collar is completed.

Take the "male" end of the buckle and thread the right side of the sewn piece through the opening of the buckle, making sure that the buckle curve is followed correctly. Pull the webbing through the opening and loop back through, with about three inches that will be sewn down. (See Figure 2). You can flip the collar to the right side and sew across the width of the collar to secure this first half of the buckle.



Step 3 - How to Make a Dog Collar

Next, flip the collar over again and sew across the width of the collar one more time to secure the 3" flap. (NOTE: In my photo - See Figure 3 - the flap is shorter than three inches, but I make them longer now).



Step 4 - How to Make a Dog Collar

You're almost halfway finished with the tutorial on "How to Make a Dog Collar!" See, it isn't hard, when you follow along step-by-step, right?

This next step has a few different parts....

First, thread on the D-ring and let it fall somewhere in the middle of the collar. The other end that you sewed already will keep it from falling off completely. Then, thread on the remaining "female" end of the collar buckle and loop about three inches back through to the back of the collar. (See Figure 4) Remember to follow the curvature of the buckle. Now, go find your dog!

Before you sew this step, fit the collar to your dog's neck. It should be comfortable, and not easily slip off his/her head. Usually, it is advisable to fit two fingers under the collar to ensure that it is not too tight, but you can use your own judgment for your dog. Once you have it fit properly, carefully pin the collar so you will not lose the measurement.



NOTE: If you have a dog that has a smaller width head than neck, you will need a different type of collar entirely - a martingale collar - a style that is designed for Greyhounds and other sleek-headed sight hounds

Step 5 - How to Make a Dog Collar

Once you have your dog collar pinned for the proper fit as described above, go back to the sewing machine and sew across the width of the collar to secure the female end of the buckle in its proper position.

Then, stitch another parallel line across the width of the collar about 1/2" away from the stitching line you just made. This helps to space the D-ring away from the buckle, so that they do not conflict with each other.

Now, slide the D-ring in place next to the seam you just stitched (Figure 5), sandwiching the D-ring in place and stitching just on the the other side of it to secure it.



Step 6 - How to Make a Dog Collar

You could actually stop at this point and go clip it on your dog, but Step 7 is so much fun, I am sure you will want to keep on going! (See Figure 6 for the complete, yet un-embellished collar.)


Step 7 - How to Make a Dog Collar

Now comes the really fun part! Use tiny buttons, rickrack, jewels, chain- anything that you can sew on by hand- to make your dog collar really cool. I chose little pink buttons, and sewed them on to the center of every other flower (see Figure 7). Your ribbon design might help you decide what embellishments to choose.

That's it! Ta Da!! You have a unique, fashion collar for your favorite furry friend- and you made it yourself at a fraction of the cost of a store-bought collar!


We hope that you enjoyed this tutorial, and will check back soon for more cool stuff from our website.

See you at the dog park!

Some of Our Pages You Won't Want to Miss:

Everyone hates fleas! Read about Killing Fleas successfully here

Free Paw Print Clip Art for your projects!

Check out our Top Dog Names List

Han Chinese clothing

Dynastic China
Main article: Han Chinese clothing
Traditional Chinese clothing is broadly referred to as hanfu with many variations such as traditional Chinese academic dress. Japanese clothes and Chinese clothes are very similar. Depending on one's status in society, each social class had a different sense of fashion. Most Chinese men wore Chinese black cotton shoes, but wealthy higher class people would wear tough black leather shoes for formal occasions. Very rich and wealthy men would wear very bright, beautiful silk shoes sometimes having leather on the inside. Women would wear bright, silk coated Lotus shoes under their bound feet. Male shoes were mostly less elaborate than women's.
[edit]Civil and military officials
Chinese civil or military officials used a variety of codes to show their rank and position. The most recognized is the Mandarin square or rank badge. Another code was also the use of colorful hat knobs fixed on the top of their hats. The specific hat knob on one's hat determined one's rank. As there were twelve types of hat knobs representing the nine distinctive ranks of the civil or military position. Variations existed for Ming official headwear.


The Night Revels of Han Xizai painting, originally by Gu Hongzhong, depicting life in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period


Robe of Qianlong Emperor with the Chinese dragon, hallmark of the Emperor of China and imperial families
[edit]Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)
See also: Cheongsam and changshan
The rise of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in many ways represented a cultural rupture with the past, as Manchu clothing styles were required to be worn by all noblemen and officials. This style eventually became popular among the commoners.[1] A new style of dress, called tangzhuang, included the changshan worn by men and the qipao worn by women. Manchu official headwear differed from the Ming version but the Qing continued to use the Mandarin square.


This jacket is made of silk. Chinese legend suggests silk production was discovered by Lady Hsi-Ling-Shih, the wife of the mythical Yellow Emperor.
[edit]Republican era


Two women wearing cheongsams in a 1930s Shanghai advertisement.
The abolition of imperial China in 1912 had an immediate effect on dress and customs. The largely Han Chinese population immediately cut off their queue as they were forced to grow in submission to the overthrown Qing Dynasty. Sun Yat-sen popularised a new style of men's wear, featuring jacket and trousers instead of the robes worn previously. Adapted from Japanese student wear, this style of dress became known as the Zhongshan suit (Zhongshan being one of Sun Yat-sen's given names in Chinese).
For women, a transformation of the traditional qipao (cheongsam) resulted in a slender and form fitting dress with a high cut, resulting in the contemporary image of a cheongsam but contrasting sharply with the traditional qipao.
[edit]Early People's Republic
Early in the People's Republic, Mao Zedong would inspire Chinese fashion with his own variant of the Zhongshan suit, which would be known to the west as Mao suit. Meanwhile, Sun Yat-sen's widow, Soong Ching-ling, popularised the cheongsam as the standard female dress. At the same time, old practices such as footbinding, which had been viewed as backwards and unmodern by both the Chinese as well as Westerners, were forbidden.
Around the Destruction of the "Four Olds" period in 1964, almost anything seen as part of Traditional Chinese culture would lead to problems with the Communist Red Guards. Items that attracted dangerous attention if caught in the public included jeans, high heels, Western-style coats, ties, jewelry, cheongsams, and long hair.[2] These items were regarded as symbols of bourgeois lifestyle, which represented wealth. Citizens had to avoid them or suffer serious consequences such as torture or beatings by the guards.[2] A number of these items were thrown into the streets to embarrass the citizens.[3]
[edit]Clothing in contemporary China (1980–present)

Chinese fashion has drastically changed over time. Following the relaxation of communist clothing standards in the late 70s, the way Chinese dressed and the fashion trends of the country were also changing. Contemporary urban clothing seemed to have developed an obsession with brand names. In major urban centres, especially Shanghai, an increased western look is preferred, and there is an emphasis on formal wear over casual wear for adults on the streets. Teenagers prefer brand names and western clothing. Children usually wear clothes decorated with cartoon characters.
However, there is also effort by the hanfu to revive traditional clothing forms such as the hanfu by the hanfu movement. At an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shanghai in 2001, the host presented silk-embroidered tangzhuang jackets as the Chinese traditional national costume.
However in rural China, clothing tends to be the same as it was in the 1960s. This is because life in rural China has not been influenced by western lifestyle. Also, most people residing in rural China cannot afford such new and pricey clothing from new western style companies. However, many rural Chinese in the less isolated areas have blue jeans, T-shirts, and modern jackets because of many factories that manufacture these goods at an affordable price. Rural Chinese just don't have the fancier modern clothing such as designer jeans, high heels, miniskirts, dresses, etc. People in rural China also tend to have cotton shoes, but the wealthier areas may have cheap sneakers. In rural China non-western modern clothing e.g. Mao suit are usually hand-made by grandmothers who are very experienced in tailoring and sewing.
[edit]Image gallery


Jade burial suit fashion



Emperor Wu of Jìn, by Yan Liben (600–673)



Tang Dynasty court ladies from the tomb of Princess Yongtai in the Qianling Mausoleum, near Xi'an in Shaanxi



Official Song Dynasty portrait painting of Empress Cao, wife of Emperor Renzong of Song



Ming Dynasty Empress Xiao'an



Phoenix crown of the Ming Dynasty empress



A Ming Dynasty portrait of the Chinese official Jiang Shunfu (1453–1504). The decoration of two cranes on his chest are a Mandarin square "rank badge" that indicate he was a civil official of the first rank.



Detail of Jiang Shunfu's rank badge



The Qing Dynasty Qianlong Emperor in ceremonial armour on horseback



Officers of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in the United States in tangzhuang dress, with riding jackets (馬掛) over changshan.



Old Chinese garb from the early to mid-20th century

[edit]See also

Culture of China
National costume
China
Chinese language
Chinese history
[edit]References

^ Manchus and Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861-1928 by Edward Rhoads, pg. 61
^ a b Law, Kam-yee. [2003] (2003). The Chinese Cultural Revolution Reconsidered: beyond purge and Holocaust. ISBN 0333738357
^ Wen, Chihua. Madsen, Richard P. [1995] (1995). The Red Mirror: Children of China's Cultural Revolution. Westview Press. ISBN 0813324882