Housing Crisis & Home Fashion Industry

Through out all of history there have been many housing crisis and once again we have hit another one this year. Though to some who have the money to spend and more money then they know what to do with arent effected there are still the other 100,000's of people who are effected by this. People are having trouble buying and renting houses whether its due to finanaces or the economy or whatever it is.
When industries rely on people to purchase homes to keep their businesses running its hard because they dont have any control over the other aspect that is controlling their business. Its hard for the home fashion industry because if homes arent being purchased then there isn't a need for them to decorate their homes and make them a piece of their own. It is said that over 86% of businesses are being affected by this Housing Crisis.
Below I have attached a great article that would be beneficial to read :
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/1404.html


[The 86% fact was taken from the link posted above]

Guest Speaker, Elyse Mullis

Today in CRS 231 we had a guest speaker who was by far the best and most interesting thus far. She was funny and her spastic guestures made it hard for you to not pay attention. I thought that she did a great job of telling us what she did and how she got there. It was just great to head someone that was close to our age actually living the life that some of us dream of. She made a great point during her visit. She said "how far you get in life is all about who you know and what connections you have." This is very true because the better connections you have with people will get you a lot farther than if you were just coming in to be interviewed and you have no prior record with that person. Good record that is.
Elyse Mullis went to UNCG just like all the rest of us and through her connections with her friend's parents she recieved an intership where she learned to do things such as Photoshop and other graphic design programs. Though this had nothing to do with her English major that she recieved at UNCG, this got her a job doing something she also loved. She now does Graphic Design for a quilting company called Westminster. At first I thought well that doesn't sound like a dream job but as she told us what she did and how she works with fashion designers off tv shows, such as project runway and other famous quilt and fabric designers.
I thought that this was an overall great speaker because she opened a lot of students eyes to see that there are dream jobs achievable right out of college. She was a great inspiration for those students to follow their dreams.

I will list a few of the companies websites below, so go check 'em out!

www.westminsterfabrics.com
www.freespiritfabric.com

Though many do not know where the clothes they are buying come from or how they are made, it is a very sad world behind the “fashionable” clothing thats at a cheap rate. This is the definition from Wikipedia that will basically sum up what a sweatshop is; “A sweatshop is a working onment with very difficult or dangerous conditions, usually where the workers have few rights or ways to address their situation. This can include exposure to harmful materials, hazardous situations, extreme temperatures, or abuse from employers. Sweatshop workers are often forced to work long hours for little or no pay, regardless of any laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labor laws may also be violated.” Now that sweatshop has been defined, there are many points that need to be brought to one’s eyes about a sweatshop.

Sweatshops are in almost every country and they are in the thousands. They have been around for hundreds of years and for many this is the only way of life. It is very difficult in the conditions that they have to work in and especially harder on children that have been forced to be there. Sweatshops have very dangerous working conditions that most of the people here in the US would not even think of entering. The wages are the lowest of any job out there, if you would even consider this a job. There are a lot of other factors that also play into these sweatshops. Women and children are taken advantage of and are abused, sexually and physically. We spend thousands of dollars a year on clothing and only dollars in the 20’s go to these workers.

Sweatshops are a horrible way of life and thinking. Though many of us will not change what we buy or how we do things there are many organizations out there that are trying to change things for those who are not as fortunate as we are.

I would love for you all to check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MljpjyQ-E-M

Work cited: http://www.wikipedia.com/ ; http://www.darhtmouth.com/

Milan Fashion Week

When I was watching the Milan fashion week show clip I saw a lot of articles of clothing that was not very usable in the everyday closet but though Milan Fashion week is known for its creativity, I was very impressed with the amount of pieces that I liked and would be usable to actual wear. Many of the designers always seem to impress me but Fendi I loved especially with the neutral colors and the pop of red that was added to the garment. I also love flowers and that automatically gave Fendi a good taste to me. Emilio Pucci and Marni, I also liked. Though I wouldn’t wear any of these garments in particular, I loved the risks they took with the bright colors and the shapes, bringing back a 80’s feel in the clothing. They were very funky and fresh. There was one outfit in particular by Dsquared2 that I loved because it was so casual and sporty looking. It was a great pair of jeans, plaid shirt and a yellow jacket. This is something I would walk right of the house wearing.
Overall with all of the collections, I was highly surprised about the amount of usability that was inquired in the lines. It was great to see this but I also, believe it or not, missed the way out there collections that make you express your feeling by raising a eye brow and gasping, thinking who could possibly come up with something like that.

Marni:

Fendi and Dsquared2 below:

All pictures from www.style.com and Fashion Runway Report was used for viewings

Fashion; Art or Usability

I believe the fashion is both a work of art and usability. Most of the pieces that you would see walking down the runway are a work of art and you wouldn’t wear these out every day. You would wear these to special events such as The Red Carpet, a fancy get together, or possibly even your wedding. I think that some of the pieces that are displayed on the runway, most people wouldn’t even wear out in public, maybe unless it was Halloween. Maybe a piece like this one from Betsy Johnson’s 2009 Spring collection; This in my opinion is not something you would see someone wearing every day, or at all. It is a very elaborate piece and draws a lot of attention to it. Thought there is nothing wrong with this, it might just be drawing attention for the wrong reasons.
Here is another piece that I think is a piece of art that if I saw someone wearing it outside of a fashion show, I would have to take a second look and think that either they are getting paid a lot of money to wear that or they have just lost their minds. - D&G, most likely this looks cost a couple thousand dollars, it just doesn’t grab my attention is a pretty way.


Other pieces are for everyday wear, such as the grocery store, or a walk in the park, or just for work. There are some great outfits that are very professional and also appropriate for everyday wear. The high end fashion is also greatly well made and will last for years on in. Here are some pictures of everyday wear that I enjoyed looking at.

[The pictures below: When I uploaded them the message said that it was completed and they were uploaded, but you could not see the pictures when I clicked back into my blog, so I provided the hyperlinks! Feel free to look!]

http://www.style.com/slideshows/fashionshows/S2009RTW/RBONE/RUNWAY/00150m.jpg
- Rag and Bone- Spring 2009 - This outfit has many different pieces that can be mixed and matched with other things for a different look.

http://www.style.com/slideshows/fashionshows/F2004RTW/AFERRETT/RUNWAY/00010f.jpg - Alberta Ferretti - Spring 2009 -This is a great jacket and a staple piece.

http://www.style.com/slideshows/fashionshows/S2009RTW/BOUT/RUNWAY/00050m.jpg
- This is an adorable outfit that can be dressed up with a cute pair of heels that is shown here or even flats for a more casual look.

Though none of these outfits you would wear gardening in the yard or washing a car, you can always be fashionable for those kinds of things as well. Probably a cute little workout suit and a pair of tennis shows that you don’t mind getting dirty would do the job.

Pictures: http://www.style.com/

-My Designs-

If I were to create a garment, I would create a dress of course, because I love dresses. Dresses are my favorite piece of clothing. They can be dressed up or dressed down. There are daytime dresses and evening dresses. The dress that I would design would be a daytime dress due to the fact that I would get more wear out of it. It would be probably be a shade or many shades of red, maybe have some white in it to make it a little more daytime. I would want there to be some kind of pattern, maybe subtle flowers, or some kind of geometric shapes. It would be cotton and most likely be strapless because I like to show off my collar bones. It would fit tight around the chest area and then slightly flow out from there just to the knees. I would also add a bow to accent the waste, or right below the bust area. I love bows, they are feminine and give a little touch of character. I have never drawn before so I have below a few pictures of the color and pattern I would aim for and the shape.

Now, why did I pick this and why did it inspire me?

I love the color red because I have always been told it looks nice on blondes, mostly by my grandmother whom I adore. I always trust her and my mothers opinion. The fabric I chose was cotton because it is easy to take care of and requires no special treatment. This way I can wear and wash the dress all the I want and as many times as I would like. I also picked a dress because no matter what I am wear as long as its a dress, I always have the little extra "pep in my step," I always feel confident and sexy. The shape inspired me because this was how my graduation dress was shaped and it was a little more fancy so I would love to have one that was wearable in the daytime.

Picture one: The Shape (also has bow where I would put it)

And Picture 2: The color/pattern - except possibly flip the colors, whats red, turn white, and whats white, turn red.

Ethic Influences on Dress

Some countries have dress that has been the same for centuries and those influences through the styles of dress have come to the United States. These different styles have become very fashionable and then return to old news in our fashion circle. Though we use these for fashion reasons, other countries use theirs for religious purposes, for protection, and for higher leaders in the government. Some of these pieces of dress that we use her in the US scarves, the tunic, and the veil. These are all influences from other countries such as Iraq, Thailand and one major continent, Africa. These countries have they own specific dress that show some influence in ours.

African people dress with tunics of bright colors, these tunics are long shirts down to the knees. Women in the US to do almost identically to the African women.

Iraq women and men wear scarves to protect them for protection from the sand. Women not only wear scarves but head dresses due to religious reasons. We do not wear them for religious reasons here but we do wear them for weather to keep up warm.

The way women dress in Thailand is my favorite. The fabrics are so elegant and soft looking full of bright colors. Women dress in silk dresses and the colors and styles have been an influence on the US.