The ultimate cold mouse hand environment

If you are looking for a warm spot in the house or office to spend your computer time, look no further. IGMproducts.com has the answer! The ultimate mouse hand environment consists of a warm mouse hand warmer blanket pouch, an USB heated warm mouse and an USB heated warm mouse pad. Together, the three items generate enough heat to keep your mouse hand comfortably warm.

For more details, visit ValueRays or IGMproducts.

Giveaway at Grammy Janet's Place NOW!

Grammy Janet's Place is sponsoring a Mouse Hand Warmer free giveaway today through February 6, 2009. Click here to enter and read instructions.

Tear Away Planner Mousepad

From: USB Toys
Posted by: USBgeek on Nov 6th, 2008 Filed under: Mouse Pad, Products

We all know it where did you write down that appointment where did you leave your notes?

Now there is a simple and useful solution and it lives right under you mouse. A Tear away planner mousepad that let you plan 5 days easily in the top collums and leaves 3 boxes in the bottom saying Weekend, next week and Snowball in Hell. So you see this is not just a perfect place for you mouse to live on this is also a great place to keep your notes organized and on the end of the week you just tear it of and trow it in the paper recycling.

You see you never want another mousepad again this baby is gone save your world. The Mousepad comes with 60 pages and that means that it easily gets your through the year.

Go order your Tear Away Planner Mousepad and do not forget to help your friend to find one to so that all of our lives will be so much better organized.

Cold hand rantings from every angle

Photo Courtesy of DeviantArt.com

COLD HANDS
By LISA BEYER/JERUSALEM

For one man it was a giant leap. For the peace process, not quite a small step. Before his election as Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu had sworn he would never deign to meet Yasser Arafat, a man he considered little more than a terrorist. Last week, however, Netanyahu was finally nudged into a handshake with the Palestinian leader. It was an enormous psychological hurdle for the Israeli leader. His Palestinian partners, though, felt as if they were beginning a relationship from scratch.

Denials notwithstanding, Netanyahu had plainly been pressured into the summit. In his first three months in office he had assiduously shunned Arafat and frozen plans to expand Palestinian self-rule, as promised in previously signed accords. Then Israeli intelligence agencies began warning that as a result, Arafat was fast losing standing among his people and that instability, perhaps violence, might follow. Finally, Israel's dovish President, Ezer Weizman, threatened publicly that if Netanyahu would not meet Arafat, he would. Netanyahu agreed to a summit.

The summit produced no breakthroughs on the next steps of interim Palestinian self-rule: an Israeli redeployment in Hebron, the last major Palestinian city still under full occupation, plus further withdrawals in the West Bank. To Palestinian dismay, Netanyahu insisted on reopening the Hebron agreement already completed by the previous Labor government. And while Netanyahu said last week that he may eventually be prepared to start discussions on the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, those negotiations had already begun under Labor. Publicly, Arafat's aides praised last week's summit, but privately they expressed reservations. Said one: "We are not satisfied, and we are not hopeful."

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Cold hands, bright snow, dead batteries: challenges of cold-weather photography
by Find Articles

Snow may work white magic on the landscape, but it works black magic on photographs-and photographers. Few situations are as hard on you and your camera, or as tricky for your light meter.

The following tips can help you make photographing in snow easier and more effective, especially if you use a 35mm camera with adjustable settings.

Your equipment: avoid the big chill

If your camera depends on batteries for power, watch out. Cells are usually the first things to fail in the cold. Read your manual to learn what happens when your camera's batteries die. Some models quit altogether; other types with variable shutter speeds default to a single, fixed speed (usually 1/60 or 1/125 second).

If your camera switches to an unchangeable speed, you can still shoot if you can manually set the F-stop. To determine the correct exposure, use a handheld light meter or consult the printed guidelines that come with your film.

The best defense: keep batteries warm. Zip your camera inside your jacket between pictures. Or stow it in a camera bag. Tuck a hand warmer in the bag, too, being sure it doesn't touch the camera or acccssories. Check it often to make sure it isn't scorching your bag. Warmers, about $3 at sporting goods stores, can last several hours at a time.

And always carry spare batteries, stored in a warm, dry, inside pocket. Cut down condensation

Moisture can harm electronic and metal parts, especially if droplets freeze. Outdoors, try not to breathe on your camera; it causes condensation. Keep your camera in its case or bag when not in use; breathe away from it when shooting.

When you come in from the cold, you may see droplets forming on your gear. Beforeheading in, put all gear in your camera bag and close it up. The air inside will warm slowly, reducing or eliminating condensation. If you use your camera before it warms up, wipe off drops as they form. If getting into a car, stow gear in the unheated trunk.

Fend off frozen fingers

To set exposures and focus in cold weather, your fingers need to be both warm and nimble. Thin polypropylene gloves (about $8) or convertible wool mittens ($15, shown at middle right) afford a measure of both. Look for them in sporting goods stores and mountaineering .shops. You can try fingerless wool gloves ($9), though they don't offer as much protection. Don't let your camera go snow-blind Most light meters are averaging meters: they collect all the light in a scene, then give the proper exposure for the middle shades. In most situations, this means white comes out white, black looks black. But in a snow scene, the overabundance of white skews the averaee. Your camera doesn't let in enough light, and you end up with pictures of gray snow and dark faces. How you compensate for all that white depends on what kind of gear you use:

Automatic cameras. Some automatic cameras let you lock in an exposure. Move in close for a reading that measures your subject no snow lock that exposure in, then back up and shoot. For landscapes, lock in a reading on a relatively snowless part of the scene, then shoot.

If you can't manually override your camera's automatic settings, divide your film's ASA (ISO) number by four. Set your camera's ASA to that number. For ASA 400 film, for example, set your camera's meter to ASA 100. Note: If you decide to photograph a snowless situation on the same roll, remember to set the ASA back to 400.

Manual cameras. Take a close-up reading of your subject; that's your exposure.

If you can't lock in exposure or override the ASA (some cameras fix the ASA per a code on the film), include as little sunlit snow in your pictures as possible.

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Cold Hands?
by Nick Quarrier MHS PT OCS

Do you have cold hands much of the time? Especially before a performance? And even if the room is hot? If yes, you may be interested in this information.

Cold hands are a sign of an overactive autonomic nervous system. More specifically, the signs of an overactive sympathetic nervous system. Our emotional and physiological self are controlled by the autonomic nervous system - a system that increases and decreases our heart rate, breathing rate, etc. One group of nerves "speeds" us up and one group of nerves "slows" us down. These groups are known as the sympathetic nerves and parasympathetic nerves. When the sympathetic nerves are fired (stimulated) the heart rate increases and blood is shunted from our hands, feet, and abdomen to our large muscle groups such as thighs and hips. Many muscles tense during this stimulation. This is a primitive reflex response which prepares us to flee from a threatening situation. (remember in high school biology the fight or flight response?) The parasympathetics, when stimulated, slows the heart rate down, causing rest, relaxation, and eventually sleep. During parasympathetic stimulation blood flows throughout the body and into the abdomenal organs (to help digestion, etc).

We live in a world that causes a domination of sympathetic nervous system stimulation. Every time we drive in an automobile, more than likely our sympathetics are fired and our muscles tense as we maneuver through a threatening environment. On the job stress stimulates the sympathetics, athletic performance stimulates the sympathetics, and musical performance stimulates the sympathetics. If you feel stressed out much of the time, more than likely your sympathetics are firing. This constant firing of sympathetics can bias the body's muscles into a continuous state of contraction or increased tension. This tension is easily noticed in a piano player practicing a difficult and demanding score and is evident by the shoulders elevating and being held rigidly. As the blood is shunted from the hands there is a reduced amount of nutrients and oxygen available to feed those muscles that are wroking so hard to play the notes! And thus there is no wonder why soreness in the hands and forearms may develop!

One important factor in preventing a music related injury or in recovering from an injury is to make sure the muscles doing all the work are well fed with nutrients and oxygen. The sympathetic nervous system must be controled. Yes, we need the sympathetics to excite us and assist in us in many of our activities. But we must not let them rule and dominate our bodies. How can we control them?

One of the most effective ways to reduce the sympathetic nervous system firing and to increase the parasympathetic nervous system (to relax us and circulate more blood to distal muscles) is to deep breath. We have always heard, "relax, calm down, take a few deep breaths!" This is sort of true but not totally. By deep breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) a greater quantity of oxygen enters our lungs. And as a greater quantity of oxygen is inhaled, the breathing rate naturally slows down. As the rate slows down carbon dioxide released in exhalation slows down and accumulates in the lungs and in our blood stream. (remember, oxygen is inhaled, carbon dioxide and oxygen is exhaled). Well, as carbon dioxide builds up in our blood a pH change occurs in the blood. As the pH changes the chemical nature of the blood stimulates the parasympathetics to fire! And the heart rate slows, blood flows back to the hands and feet, and relaxation occurs. It is that simple!!! But! It takes a minimum of 10 minutes of deep breathing to get the pH in the blood to change! That is why, "take a few deep breaths" doesn't work to relax us.

So to help warm the hands, reduce tension in the shoulders, help prevent injury, practice deep breathing throughout the day. Deep breath in the car on the way to work, while at the desk, preparing to perform, while watching TV, etc., etc......... It takes some practice, but is extremely rewarding!!!! and Warming!!

___________________

Warmer Hands Naturally! Ten Easy Free Tips
from Sound Feelings

Ten easy free tips on how to increase hand warmth naturally, from Sound Feelings. We offer this free cold hands information as self-improvement remedies and secrets to help bad circulation, shallow breathing and stress. These symptoms are known factors of freezing cold hands. Instead of the typical coping techniques of mittens and gloves, unique solutions are suggested. These include physical therapy, nutritional supplements, relaxation and affirmations. Say goodbye to freezing hands! See also: poor circulation, cold hands therapies, cold hands treatments, cold fingers.

The following tips are intended for pianists but are applicable to anyone who has the problem of cold hands.

1 Keep Your Neck and Wrists Covered.

Primary blood vessels come close to the surface of the skin in the neck and wrists. If you keep these areas protected from the air, less heat will escape.

2 Avoid:

tight clothing, smoking, drafts, the wrong calcium supplements and margarine. Tight clothing restricts the blood flow into the extremities. Smoking, of course is known to clog arteries. Drafts affect people sensitive to cold much worse than others. Dolomite or “elemental calcium” can clog blood vessels. “Organic” calcium like bone meal or oyster shell does not do this. Margarine, contrary to popular belief, cannot be absorbed or digested easily into the body. As a result it tends to leave a residue in the arteries which can cause arteriosclerosis, resulting in poor circulation. Also, never eat “hydrogenated vegetable oil” which is the same thing as margarine!

3 Use Exercise or Physical Therapy.

Three exercise movements are helpful for cold hands. (A) While you are standing, rotate the shoulders forward, up and back in a circular motion for about 30 seconds. (B) Rotate the wrists in both directions for a total of 30 seconds. (C) Make a fist without digging the nails into your palm. (The final joint of your fingers is not bent.) Alternatively tense and relax the hands in this position for about 30 seconds.

4 Supplement Your Diet.

All of the following supplements are known to be helpful to improve circulation. Many of them complement one another because they work in different ways. You can find many of the items in health food stores: ginger, fennel, cayenne, potassium, niacin, iron, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin E, lecithin, Ginkgo Biloba, apple cider vinegar, distilled water, lemon juice in hot distilled water. (Lemon juice in hot distilled water will have an amazing effect on cleansing your liver which is the “heat producer” for your body.) Also if you’re trying to avoid meat for whatever reason, this could be contributing to the problem! Some people just need to eat meat once in a while. Don’t be fanatical. Please allow about 30 days to see if any dietary changes have helped the situation. Also, most people develop a lining of old “mucoid plaque” in their intestines. People who have cold hands tend to have more of this layer than others. The supplements that you want to absorb through your small intestine cannot be absorbed very well if you have this layer of old material. You will see a direct connection in your hand warmth and the removal of old mucoid plaque in your intestines. Here’s what you can do about it.

5 Remove Fear.

The most extreme fear response is called the “fight or flight syndrome.” This is when our adrenal glands produce adrenaline and our physical reactions change. These physical symptoms include cold, sweaty or shaky hands, rapid heart beat, shallow breathing, disorientation, misperception of time, upset stomach, dry mouth, memory lapse and others. This response is named for our reaction to a predator at our cave door during our supposed prehistoric days, to fight or to flee the danger. The adrenaline is nature’s way of giving us the extra quickness of mind and body to make a life or death decision very fast. The down side is that this leaves the body somewhat worn out and tense. Some sensitive people have a tendency to live their whole life in a quasi-fear state so that they are always walking around feeling anxious. As a result, they are constantly experiencing subtle aspects of the fight or flight symptoms, even though they are not conscious of any impending danger. It almost becomes a habit or an addiction. This person’s personality is what one might call a “fear personality.” The solution is to gradually lessen or remove the fear. There are many methods of reducing fear, including psychotherapy, hypnosis, affirmations or plain old willpower.

6 Breathe Deeper.

People with cold hands tend to breathe shallow. Be aware of your breath and occasionally practice deep breathing. Eventually this will become automatic so that you won’t have to think about it. Consider this: the more deeply you breathe, the more oxygen you bring into your system. This oxygen is transferred from the lungs into the bloodstream and it is responsible for the transfer of heat throughout the body. The more oxygen you receive, the warmer you will be.

7 Practice Affirmations.

Affirmations are a way to actually reprogram your subconscious mind. Believe it or not, saying “I have warm hands” to yourself can have a profound effect, if you do it right. First of all, create the statement so that it makes sense to you. (“My hands are warm, Heat comes from my hands, I embrace life with abandon, etc.”) Affirmations only work when you engage your emotions. You must be in a joyful state and you must believe it. If you have doubt or you are negative, it won’t work. Some people repeatedly say or write affirmations in the morning, evening, or at various times throughout the day. Because affirmations are a tool to create a new reality, do not get discouraged while you are currently playing out your previously-created reality. Allow for an overlap of realities with patience.

8 Reduce Stress.

Many people have a healthy stress response. After the stressful event, they move on. But most of us tend to develop cumulative stress that builds and builds. This cumulative stress affects each person differently. Every illness in the world can be attributed to stress. Sometimes the tension is felt literally in the muscles of the body which has a sympathetic influence on the blood vessels. In other words, they constrict over time. With stress reduction techniques, the blood vessels can dilate back to their correct size. There are many different methods of stress reduction. Do some research and find one that seems suitable to your lifestyle.

9 See A Chiropractor.

Although it may sound wierd to most people, consider going to a chiropractor. Even if you don’t have back pain, your spine may be out of alignment, which can affect the proper functioning of your liver and other internal organs, because the spinal cord provides the neural nourishment to each organ. Your liver, among other things, is kind of like the”heat producer” for the body. Think of watering your plants with a hose and the hose becomes kinked and the water won’t come out. That is what could be happening with your liver and it is not working right, as if someone turned off the switch. A chiropractor can detect this and set it right in one visit.

10 In the Meantime, Do Whatever is Necessary.

Until the above suggestions provide a more permanent solution to cold hands, you still should do what it takes to keep your hands warm. This could include the obvious gloves and mittens to the less obvious warming creams, glove warmers and other devices. Also, before you need to play the piano try immersing your hands and forearms into the sink filled with warm water for one minute.

___________________

Simple Method Found To Warm Cold Hands
from NY Times

A simple and inexpensive method of training the body to change the way it reacts to cold has proven highly successful in curing victims of a little-known disease that cuts circulation to the hands in cold weather, according to a researcher for the Army.

Using hot water and an ice chest, victims of ailment, Raynaud's disease, can train their body to prevent a routine reaction that leads to restricted circulation to hands and feet as the body saves energy to cope with cold, Dr. Murray Hamlet of the Army's Research Institute of Environmental Medicine said last week.

The curtailment of blood flow is harmless to most people because the circulation will resume after about 10 minutes, Dr. Hamlet said. But Raynaud's victims do not regain circulation to their fingers, causing a painful condition that increases the risk of frostbite and in severe cases can force amputation, he said.

Raynaud's is primarily caused by cold but also can be brought on by emotional stress and by frequent use of vibrating machinery, such as jackhammers and chain saws. For victims whose conditions are prompted by cold, the treatment has proven virtually foolproof in eliminating the problem, Dr. Hamlet said. Condition's Cause Unknown

When the body is exposed to cold, the nervous system constricts blood flow to hands and feet to retain heat. When the temperature of the extremities reaches dangerously low levels, the nervous system in effect throws a switch that dilates blood vessels and restores full circulation, Dr. Hamlet said.

But Raynaud's sufferers do not regain circulation because blood vessels leading to their hands do not dilate as they should. Researchers have been unable to determine what causes the condition, Dr. Hamlet said.

It is unclear how many people have Raynaud's, which occurs predominantly among women, affecting perhaps as many as 10 percent of them, Dr. Hamlet said. Many victims are not aware they have the disease because they think their body's response to the cold is normal, he said.

A procedure originally devised a decade ago by an Army doctor at an laboratory in Alaska to treat the disease has been refined by reasearchers at the Army laboratories here and now is being used more and more by civilian physicians, Dr. Hamlet said. Warm and Cold Water

Three to six times a day, every other day, Raynaud's sufferers undergo a treatment in which they first sit indoors with their hands submerged in warm water and then are put in a cold environment, exposed to the cold except for their hands, which are submerged in an ice chest filled with warm water.

After 50 rounds of treatment, all of the 150 test subjects at the laboratories here were able to venture into the cold without losing circulation to their hands, he said.

''We just retrain those blood vessels to dilate rather than restrict in response to cold,'' Dr. Hamlet said. ''It works extremely well.'' He said the treatment may not work, however, for victims of Raynaud's who developed the disease as a result of other illnesses, such as high blood pressure, arterial disease, drug abuse and trauma.

Dr. David Trentham, medical director of rheumatology at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital, said the success rate of the treatment had not been shown independently of the Army data but that it appeared to work well.

''It's a very innovative and interesting approach and there is an abundance of evidence to indicate why it should work,'' he said. ''It hasn't been confirmed but I think that is largely because it is so new.''

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Cold Hands and Feet
from Care First Library

Chronic cold hands and feet most often are caused by circulatory problems associated with medical conditions. Cold hands and feet can affect men and women of any age, but they are somewhat more common among older adults.

In an older person, cold hands and feet can indicate hardening of the arteries. In a younger person, the condition might mean vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels. When hardening of the arteries is the cause, physical exertion may bring on cold hands and feet, and rest may relieve the problem.

The most frequent but often misunderstood condition associated with cold hands and feet is a syndrome called Raynaud's phenomenon. Raynaud's is more common in women and may first appear between the ages of 20 and 50. Raynaud's may appear alone or be part of a more serious disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma or other types of vasculitis. About half of all people with Raynaud's have it alone, while others have Raynaud's as part of a more serious illness.

Raynaud's doesn't cause cold hands and feet, however; it is triggered by exposure to cold or stress. Exposure to cold causes blanching and pain in the extremities of individuals with with Raynaud’s.

People who suffer Raynaud's phenomenon are fine until they are exposed to very cold weather or place their hands or feet in cold water. Normally, your hands and feet will return to normal temperature within minutes after you leave the cold behind. But people with Raynaud's sometimes have cold hands and feet up to an hour after their exposure ends. They may experience cold, pain or a stinging sensation in their hands and feet. Their hands and feet may even appear abnormal after exposure to cold -- they look white, then blue, then red. This occurs in reaction to the blood vessels in the extremities becoming constricted (narrowed) and then taking awhile to dilate (widen).

What to Do
See your physician to rule out a serious condition, such as a major circulatory problem or a connective tissue disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or scleroderma. People prone to cold hands and feet should be sure to wear warm gloves, socks and shoes in cold weather. They should also exercise care when exposing their hands to cold water by wearing special waterproof gloves. If you know you'll be going somewhere you'll be exposed to cold, wet weather, take an extra pair of gloves and warm shoes or boots in case the first pair gets wet.

Use Medicine Effectively
Medications can be used to treat cold hands and feet. Perhaps the most widely used medications are the class of drugs called calcium channel blockers. Aspirin also improves blood circulation. Beta blockers, on the other hand, could worsen this problem.

Self-care Steps for Cold Hands and Feet
If you smoke, quit. Smoking can cause hardening of the arteries.

Use warm gloves, shoes and socks.

Limit your exposure to cold weather and cold water.

Eat a low-cholesterol diet.

Begin a graduated exercise regime with your physician's advice.

Nova Raider 6000dpi Mouse Pad Review

from Jonny Guru

I hate mousepads. They slide all over the place, they stain, and they start to smell funny after a couple of keg parties. Mine usually sits on the opposite side of my keyboard, with a drink on top of it so I don't ruin the finish on my desk. Frankly, I never even saw the point of them after the advent of the optical mouse. Back in the days of the trackball I understood it, you couldn't get those damned things to work on any other surface.

In reality, before the world of hardcore computer gaming came along there really was no need for the mousepad for the optical mouse. Nearly any surface would do the job. But as mice got better, and their DPI resolution improved well into the thousands, your standard desktop surface just didn't do the trick anymore. So people like Nova came along and decided to make sure you were getting the most out of your $75 mouse. @ OCModShop

____________________

Click here for a mousepad Warm Mouse Pad hand warmer with a non slip surface. It's a blanket for your mouse hand. Relieves cold and the pain whey your mousing is frigid.

Do you really think the Computer Mouse will die soon?

Computer Mouse to Die Imminently says Gartner

Author: Desire Athow
from IT Portal

A Gartner analyst has made a rather courageous prediction about the future of one of the most iconic computer items around; Steve Prentice says that the 36-year old device called the mouse will disappear by 2013.

The expert told BBC news that the mouse is fine for the desktop environment but is nearly useless for home entertainment or for working on a notebook; he probably forgets that the mouse was never designed for such purposes.

The illustrious pointing device originally started life as a block of wood and was invented by Douglas Engelbart; Prentice says that face and voice recognition technology as well as touchscreens will eventually replace the mouse as the preferred pointing device.

The Apple iPhone and the Nintendo Wii console also introduced new technologies to the larger public; the former brought the tilting mechanism that has now been copied elsewhere while the Wiimote introduced a more proactive feedback mechanism.

Unfortunately, both rely on people being more active than they really are; notice that people use mouse normally on a flat surface, for precise control and manipulation, when they are seated and for quite long periods.

Also prices of competing pointing technologies have yet to fall down before the mouse disappear; anyone remember the Nintendo NES Power Glove which was hinted as one mouse replacement device?

Dear Oprah & Doctor Oz.... help us solve the cold mouse hand problem!

Searching for an answer to define the "cold mouse hand" syndrome, Oprah and Doctor Oz were sent an online letter. We haven't heard back from them, and if/when we do, you'll read about it here.

Here's what we wrote:

Many people may not be aware of a condition called "Cold Mouse Hand." It affects computer users who work using a computer mouse. It's not carpal tunnel and shouldn't be confused with other mouse hand medical conditions. I believe the "cold mouse hand" problem is a fairly new discovery.

I started using a computer in the early 90's, and I owned and operated an ecommerce site for over 12 years. My work required me to sit in front of a computer using the mouse. A/C offices, fans, drafts and chilly weather would cause my mouse hand to get so cold my finger tips would become numb. The only relief to the cold mouse hand was to stop working, and that was not an option. I tried pulling a sweater over my mouse hand and wear fingerless gloves to keep it warm and that didn't work. I bought computer gadgets that promised to keep the mouse hand warm, and they were either non-ergonomic, caused pain, or were too small.

In February 2007, after suffering from a cold mouse hand for many years, I decided to obtain a provisional patent for a "Mouse House Hand Warmer" to address and fix the problem. But, I was still too busy operating my business to do anything with the patent.

In May 2008, I sold my ecommerce site and decided to research the cold mouse hand problem to focus on a solution. I was surprised to discover the problem was experienced by many people.

In June 2008, I made a Mouse Hand Warmer using blanket fabric, tested the prototype, and it worked. The Mouse Hand Warmer was born! I don't suffer anymore from a cold mouse hand.

If Doctor Oz finds the mouse hand syndrome, not carpal tunnel, but the "cold mouse hand" problem, an interesting, new topic, please ask him to shed some light on this mysterious computer geeks' situation. If you look for little inventions to address new problems, I will participate by sharing the problem and the solution with your audience. I hope you find this story and it's solution unique and worthy of a discussion topic.

Do you suffer from "mouse hand?"

Do you suffer from "mouse hand?" If so, click here. You'll discover a new product called Mouse Hand Warmer. It's a computer gadget designed to keep your mouse hand covered and warm. No more cold mouse hand!

Mouse Hand Warmer at Amazon, Etsy & IGMproducts.com

If you are one of the many computer users who suffer from a cold mouse hand all winter, a solution has arrived. The Mouse Hand Warmer is a new product being introduced this year by i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. The price is $19.95 and it includes free shipping. If you buy directly from the manufacturer, there's no sales tax, too.

The Mouse Hand Warmer is available online at this locations:

Amazon.com

Etsy.com

IGMproducts.com

It's a perfect gift for any computer user. If you sit for long hours at the computer with an exposed mouse hand, you'll agree, a cozy blanket is the solution to a cold mouse hand.

Carnival Cruise - Elation - We had the time of our lives!

The Carnival Cruise Ship, The Elation, set sail August 23, 2008 from San Diego Harbor for a five-day Baha California adventure. We had no expectations. We wanted to get away for a few days.

The Elation was gorgeous! Simply amazing!

Our destination was Ensenada and Cabos San Lucas, Mexico. Stormy weather didn't stop us. We changed course and instead of sailing to Cabos first, we reversed our destinations and avoided all stormy seas and weather.

The famous "Blow Hole" in Ensenada, Mexico.

Ensenada, Mexico

Leaving Ensenada.

There were contests and games to play! Will he win?

OK!

LANDS END

Cabos San Lucas, Mexico

Don't look Espanol to me?

Habla Englis?

Si Senore!

Was this the macarana or too much macaroni?
From this view I think it's too much macaroni!

Hmmm... What should I have? Chocolate? Chocolate? or Chocolate?

Did we win the dance contest? hahahaha

Decisions, decisions!

I don't care what anyone says, I'm having 5 deserts tonight!

The Motley Crew!

Jerry! The best waitor onboard and
the person responsible for my jeans being too tight this week!

She's on V A C A T I O N !!!!!!!

The group who consumed more lobster than anyone else in the dining room!

Need I say more?

OMG! The melting chocolate cake is NOT on the menu tonight?

I guess we do look alike! Yikes!

Would you believe the entire group either had a Yorkie or Maltese at home?

Were we destined to be together? Yaaaaaaa......

Yes, We're Italian. Whatchagonadoboutit.

Yes, My Hairy chest is the best.

OK. Now, let's talk about the little boy's jammies!

Carrie Bradshaw meet your match!

Gimmee that chocolate before you OD!

But I want that damn chocolate. Give it back, NOW!

We had a BLAST!

We laughed.

We told stories.

We made plans to meet again!

Yes, we had the time of our lives!

Another Car-Shaped Computer Mouse

Any shape mouse fits nicely inside the latest geek mouse gadget
called the Mouse Hand Warmer. Drive your car mouse inside
the mouse hand warmer for a cozy, warm mousing experience!

from Geek Alerts

If you’re looking for a non-wireless alternative to last week’s Estilo GT Bluetooth mouse, this 800dpi Super GT model might be just the ticket.

Features:

2-button mouse with scroll wheel
Red break lights
Combo connector (USB, PS/2)
800dpi resolution
Accurate positioning
Compatible with Windows Vista/XP/2000
Dimension: 103 x 57 x 36mm
Weight: 72g


The USB Super GT Mouse is available in metallic blue or silver for $15 from the USB Geek website.

Mouse Hand Warmer a house for your mouse

Loft102 will be posting details about a new innovative geek gadget called the Mouse Hand Warmer. It's the registered trademark of a cozy blanket to keep your mouse hand warm during chilly temperatures. The product will be available in time for a drop in temperature, and we'll surely post all the details here. There's a new website being developed as we write this post.

If you've ever sat for a long period of time working with a cold mouse hand, you'll appreciate this cost-effective, energy-efficient item. This Mouse Hand Warmer has NO cords or wires to get tangled on your desk top. Click here for more details.

How to Keep Warm and Save Energy This Winter

Mouse Hand Warmer is available only online. Click Here. Don't suffer anymore with a cold mouse hand or numb fingertips. If you sit at the computer in a drafy office or room, the solution is just a click away. We've heard the Mouse Hand Warmer is the solution and it will be available online within the next few days. We'll post more details when they are received.


By Hayley Jones
During the colder months of the year we all think of ways to keep ourselves warmer, whether it is putting on an extra jumper or making sure the heating is on before we get out of bed in a morning. But what about keeping our home warmer in the first place, without heating bills going through the roof and carbon emissions sky rocketing?

In the first instance there are some very easy ways of fending off the cold winter air, and these won’t cost the earth! Firstly, check your heating system is working properly before the cold weather sets in. Think about getting a service for your complete system and especially the boiler if you have central heating (and if you havn’t, it might be a good time to think about getting it), as you don’t want to be wasting energy due to an inefficient system. Secondly, turn down your thermostat by 1°C, which will save you a great deal of energy and about 10% of the cost of your annual heating bills. (And you can always put that extra jumper on)! If you have thermostats on individual radiators, think about which ones really need to be turned on. If a room is not in general use, does it need a radiator blasting out heat?

Another cheap way of reducing heating bills is to ensure that your home is draught proofed. You’re not trying to heat the garden, so keep the heat inside your home by blocking off unnecessary gaps, but don’t forget that ventilation is important so never block up air bricks. Insulating your home will also really help to reduce your heating bills and save a great deal of energy. Both loft and cavity wall insulation are relatively easy ways to keep the heat within your four walls and won’t cost you a fortune.

Once you have instigated these relatively low cost energy saving measures, it might be time to think about some further investment into heating your home efficiently. Double glazing is quite commonplace nowadays, but if you don’t have it, it is certainly worth considering. Whilst this can be quite expensive, you could save up to £100 a year and 680 KG of carbon dioxide emissions.

All of these energy saving measures will certainly keep you and your home warmer during the winter months, saving energy and money and reducing your carbon footprint. So don’t wait for the first frosts, think about what can be done to keep your home warm now.

Drafty lofts make your mouse hand cold

Working late hours into the night in a drafty loft makes your mouse hand cold and your fingertips numb. There's no relief. Either you stop working or you pull your sweater's sleeve over the top of your mouse hand to help keep it warm. The only problem with that is it doens't work. Your mouse hand still gets cold because the sleeve slowly creeps its way backwards exposing your hand.

As a dedicated insomniac geek, I sit all hours of the day and night and work. For years my mouse hand would be cold from air vent drafts or cold nights. The suffering has stopped. There's a new product hitting the streets soon called the Mouse Hand Warmer. It is a soft polyester fleece blanket for your mouse hand. It's washable and is very slick looking. It has a modern appeal in neutral gray/black colors.

We're going to post the pictures as soon as the manufacturer (i-GlobalMall.com, Inc.) releases them to the public. Save this link or check back here soon for more information and how to get one!

Online Shopping Brokers: Zappos vs. Piperlime: A head-to-head

Online Shopping Brokers: Zappos vs. Piperlime: A head-to-head

Contemporary ideas for smart thinkers

Chris Georgesco is a modern art metal sculptor.
For more information about Chris and his work, visit GeorgescoArt.com

Will she love her new Designer Purse?

Just ask any graduate this year. She'll tell you plain and clear. She really wants an authentic Designer Handbag. A purse just like the ones her mother carries! Whether she's into Yoga or an obvious Fashionista, decide the award your girly grad deserves and say "congrats" with an authentic designer handbag for the Class of 2008. You know she really wants a designer purse this year! And, she's all grown up and wants something special.

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All the girls are carrying a new purse to their new job. Your little graduate dreams about a new designer handbag. There are many styles and designs to select in price ranges from under $100 to more than $500. It's up to you. Whatever you pick will be a hit. Some of our favorites are Tano bags, Melie Bianco handbags, Elaine Turner handbags, Pietro Alessandro handbags, Gucci Bags, Prada bags, Fendi bags and many more. And, they are all on Sale! See the coupon codes below and start saving on your graduation gifts for that special gal in your life.

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Graduation is here! She wants a REAL Designer Handbag! Have fun shopping! Here's a series of Graduation Tid-Bits we found amusing and thought you might, too!

Bad Graduation Gift Ideas
by Andy

A Briefcase: Oh, thanks Uncle Frank. You getting me this briefcase ensures that I’m supposed to work the same 9-5 office job that you've worked for that last 25 years while complaining about it and cheating on my wife with my secretary. (Sorry Aunt Jane)

“Planet Earth” on DVD: Am I that hard to shop for? How long did it take you to pick this out at Wal-Mart? Do you think that all I do is get high and watch the Discovery Channel? Well guess what, I DO!

“Planet Earth” on VHS: What? There’s like 20 tapes. Get out of my sight Grandma.

Money: What am I supposed to do with this? It's only four dollars.

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All Sorts of Graduation Ideas
from My Expression

Graduation Party Ideas
The Traditions of Graduation Party -Traditions are the lifeblood of every college. Traditions connect the students to the past of the college while at the same time preparing them for the future. From the historic to the contemporary, traditions can express a spirit of unity and create a sense of community while providing for loads of fun.

Graduation Planning Checklist - Its Graduation time! You’re planning on hosting a graduation party and you want it to be unique and exciting. Planning any party can be overwhelming and many things can go wrong. So, to be on the safer side, you need to come up with a graduation planning checklist to keep things from bouncing out of control.

The Do’s and Don’ts in the Graduation Party - So, you’re graduating from high school or college and what better excuse to throw a party! Spring is that time of the year for graduation invitations, announcements and gifts. Etiquettes and manners form a very important part of our being social animals.

What To Wear on Your Graduation Day - For 12 (in some cases more) seemingly never-ending years, you obediently went through the schoolyard quarrels, your first boy-girl party, your first date, the Prom, and now finally what you’ve always been waiting for – your Graduation day! This time you’re going to be wearing an outfit that your parents will finally approve of – a gown and a cap ...

Decorating your Graduation Party - So, its graduation day and you’re all set to host a special theme party. Yes, theme parties are fun and a whole lot easier to decorate! Half the fun of hosting a graduation party is decorating the party. You can decorate your room, your lawn, you table, and even your guests! You can turn graduation caps upside down and fill them with balloons or flowers ...

Graduation Speeches Etiquette - The graduation ceremony confirms each student’s quest for knowledge. Traditionally, the ceremony will include a graduation speech that seeks to put each and every students hard work (in some cases, not so hard work) into the perspective of their future. Yes, most of us have heard one or more graduation speeches either as spectators or as graduates ourselves ...

Graduation Gift Ideas - The date is fixed, and the invitations and announcements have already been given out. So, the day has finally come for you students to cry and to cheer and to leave your school or college halls forever. Yes, graduation day is indeed one of the biggest days in everyone’s life. After years and years of hard work, your efforts have finally paid off. You’re happy but ...

Chance to Promote Your Business with Graduation Open House Invitations - Do you plan to host a graduation open house for yourself or one of your children? It may not seem like it could work, but you can actually promote your business when you have an open house. You can start the promotion with something as simple as mention that the open house is being hosted by your business. This will definitely ...

Graduation Announcement Tips, Wording, and Special Poems
Graduation Announcement Wording Tips - Graduation is an important time in life, and should be announced properly. Stationary with crayons and graduation caps on it is an appropriate means of announcing a child graduating from kindergarten. A photo announcement is a nice keepsake for loved ones who are being invited to the graduation ...

Graduation Announcements Wording Ideas - So, you’re graduating from high school or college and you’re busier than ever! Your last year of college is filled with thousands of events and activities that you have never even tried to attempt during your college years. From sending out resumes and applications to asking for letter of recommendation, you have loads ...

Do it yourself Graduation Announcements - A great substitute to printed graduation announcements are announcements that you print by yourself on your personal computer. Not only are these ‘Do-it-yourself’ graduation announcements a lot more economical, but they can also be equally colorful and creative. Start of by using plain white card stock or even plain white paper ...

Sending Graduation Announcements - So, its graduation day and its time to let everyone know that you are a proud graduate. Now that all those seemingly endless years of toil and hard work have finally paid off, it’s finally time to celebrate. First things first, start by sending out graduation invitations and announcements to all your near and dear ones. Most colleges and high schools ...

Graduation Invitations in General and the Etiquette
Graduation Party Invitations - Planning the Party - Everyone who has played a role in the life of the graduate should be sent an invitation to the graduation party. It is understood by most that tickets to commencement are limited, however an open house allows for everyone to congratulate the graduate. - Invitations - You can choose informal themes, such as a backyard ...

Graduation Invitations Etiquette - There is a very good reason why people call graduation ceremonies ‘commencement ceremonies’. This is because graduation does not mark the end; it marks the beginning. Graduation is the achievement of all goals, and rewarding the graduate for his or her hard work is a must. Graduation time is the time to invite friends and family together for an exclusive ...

Choosing Graduation Invitations Theme - Whether for you or a friend, Graduation day is one of the most joyous and welcomed occasions in any student’s life. It marks the end of your educational journey that can sometimes seem to be an endless and intolerable journey. Graduation is a once in a lifetime event, so give this event the honor and prestige that it truly deserves. The very first ...

The Traditions of Graduation Cap & Black Color in Your Invitations - When it comes to graduation invitations or stationary there are some traditions that are still observed by most people. In the majority of samples that you look at while shopping you will find that there are graduation caps in the majority of them. This is simply an obvious choice of décor since it is an invitation for a graduation ...

Graduation Invitations Theme
Casual Graduation Party Ideas - If you want to throw a wonderful party for that special high school or college graduate in your life, don’t assume you have to spend a fortune and put together some very elegant get together. After all, your graduate has already worked very hard to achieve this accomplishment and now just needs some time to relax and unwind. That’s why sometimes a more casual ...

Throwing a Cocktail Theme Graduation Party - Graduating from college is a major accomplishment and is definitely one of the best reasons to have a celebration. However, too many graduation parties are all the same. If you want to throw an amazing party, then you’ll want to take a creative approach with your graduation celebration. One idea is to celebrate with a cocktail theme ...

Throwing a Party for Valedictorians and Summa Cum Laude Graduates - Graduating from high school or college is a huge achievement, but if your student is graduating with honors then that achievement is even more deserving of a special celebration. No ordinary graduation is going to be sufficient. Background on Graduation Honors - If you’re not familiar with all of the “honors” terminology, then ...

Black, Red, and Green for Graduation Invitations - Graduations are one of those major milestones in life that deserve not only to be recognized but also to be celebrated. Whether the student in your life has just earned a high school diploma, a bachelor’s degree, or an even higher degree, you’ll want to find a way to show him or her just how proud you are of their hard work ...
Ideas for a Formal Graduation Party - When we think of graduation parties, sometimes we have the impression that all of them are just full of young people drinking too much and playing loud music. And sure some graduation parties would fit that description pretty well, but that isn’t your only option if you’re planning a celebration for a special student in your life ...

Feng Shui Graduation Party Ideas - Celebrating a graduation is a big deal. The family wants to show their pride at how well their student has succeeded. The student wants to know that he or she has done a good job by achieving this important life goal. When you’re planning something this special, then it only makes sense that you should take into consideration every possible way of ...

Creating Tassel as Embellishments For Your Invitations - If you want to create a graduation invitation that is sure to get the attention of those you invite you can do a lot of it yourself. It can be fun to add your own personal touch to it, even if you order the actual stationary and then create a tassel as an embellishment. Everyone associates a tassel with graduation, so this can be a fun addition! If you ...

Clip-Arts for Graduation Invitations - Do you want to add some fun and uniqueness to your graduation invitation but you aren’t sure what may or may not be appropriate? If so, you aren’t alone. The fact of the matter is that there are a lot of fun or original things that you can do; you simply need to infuse your own style into it and get creative. Anything that you can imagine can generally be created ...

Personalize Your Graduation Invitations with Special Inspirations - A graduation invitation can be just a graduation invite, but there are some great things that you can do to add your personal touch and make it interesting and even inspirational to those that you send them to. There is nothing better than sending out invites that have been infused with your own personal style, whatever that may be ...

Differentiating Masculine & Feminine Invitations Theme - Because both men and women graduate from high school as well as college there needs to be a way to differentiate between invitations that are more appropriate for men and those that are more appropriate for women. This is not to say that there aren’t invitations that are appropriate for both genders, but if you want something that ...

Seasonal Graduation Invitations
Show Your Patriotism with Patriotic Graduation Invitations Theme - Over the last couple years the patriotism in our country seems to have been renewed and this includes the young, the old, and everyone in between. If you are graduating from high school or college why not share your patriotism with others with a patriotic invitation theme? Why go drab when you can serve to inspire those that ...

Graduation Photo Christmas Cards - Are you graduating early? Many students that graduate early, graduate in the winter months, which is a great opportunity to do something different with your graduation invitation. You can not only send an invite to all those that you would like to attend your graduation ceremonies; you can send a Christmas greeting at the same time by enclosing a Christmas card with a photo ...

After The Graduation
Sending Graduation Thank You Cards - So, your graduation day has come and gone, the ceremonies were amazing, the graduation party was brilliant, and above all, the graduation gifts were super cool! The graduate is happy, the graduate’s guests are happy, everyone is happy. But, after the ceremony, party and gifts comes the most daunting part – sending out ...

Graduation Photo and your Scrapbooking Project - Honoring the graduate is one of the most important parts of the graduation ceremony. If you’ve organized your photo albums over the years, then everything should be up to date. But, if you are like most of us, then you’re family photos are probably piled up in boxes in the attic. Since you are going to be graduating pretty soon, now ...

Career Guide After Graduation - Transitioning out of college can be both, an exciting as well as a scary experience. There are newer and tougher challenges to face, unwritten laws to be followed, unexplored opportunities for progress – and humiliation – in every nook and cranny. While recent graduates and most other college students are preparing themselves to become experts ...

Reunion Graduate Party Planning - Once you graduate, you only get to see you friends every ten years at each reunion! So you want to have a fun reunion party this time and not a boring formal one? Planning for your reunion would mean coming up with a special plan or an idea for the party. From the decorations to the food and particularly the entertainment, your graduate reunion party ...

Celebrate Memorial Day with American Fashion Designers

Use coupon code MDS08 for an extra 20% off. Click Here!

Celebrate Memorial Day in style and take an extra 20% off all the American Designers at eFashionHouse.com. We owe a lot to the European influence when it comes to fashion. Yet, the American Designers produce an image we call, "Home." People like Ralph Lauren, Liz Claiborne, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, Melie Bianco and Elaine Turner pave the way for upcoming American fashion influence.

Designers like Tano Bags, BCBG, Coach, Dooney & Bourke and Brighton bring a sense of American style and unique image to their collections. We honor all the American Designers this season and celebrate with them for Memorial Day 2008.

Whether you are looking for a new handbag, wallet, tote or leather shoulder bag, you can find a perfect American Designer Handbag for an unbeatable price. But don't lose sight of the true meaning of Memorial Day. We celebrate in honor of many people who have died in military service protecting our country. It's really about honoring our heros.

Yes, we are addicted to fashion, and we admire the creative design process. We are always seeking a bargain, and we shop online for the best deals we can find. So, get ready for Memorial Day with a celebration of American Designers at an additional 20% off, and remember our heros who lived their lives to make America our home.

MORE ABOUT Memorial Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May (observed in 2008 on May 26). It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it was expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911. It is also traditionally viewed as the beginning of summer by many, for many schools are dismissed around Memorial Day.

Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. US Eastern time. Another tradition is to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers place a U.S. flag upon each gravesite located in a National Cemetery.

Many politicians and community leaders give speeches at community gatherings on Memorial Day.In addition to remembrance, Memorial Day is also a time for picnics, family gatherings, and sporting events. Some Americans also view Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer and Labor Day as the unofficial end of the season. The national Click it or ticket campaign ramps up beginning Memorial Day weekend, noting the beginning of the most dangerous season for auto accidents and other safety related incidents. The USAF "101 Critical days of summer" begin on this day as well. Some Americans use Memorial Day to also honor any family members who have died, not just servicemen.

Flags flying at Fort Logan National Cemetery during Memorial Day 2006.Memorial Day formerly occurred on May 30, and some, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), advocate returning to this fixed date, although the significance of the date is tenuous. The VFW stated in a 2002 Memorial Day Address, "Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."

Following the end of the Civil War, many communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war or as a memorial to those who had died. Some of the places creating an early memorial day include Charleston, South Carolina; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Carbondale, Illinois; Columbus, Mississippi; many communities in Vermont; and some two dozen other cities and towns. These observances eventually coalesced around Decoration Day, honoring the Union dead, and the several Confederate Memorial Days.

Decoration Day, c. 1900. "You bet I'm goin' to be a soldier, too, like my Uncle David, when I grow up."According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who had died while captive. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic.

The official birthplace of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York. The village was credited with being the birthplace because it observed the day on May 5, 1866, and each year thereafter, and because it is likely that the friendship of General John Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A. Logan, who led the call for the day to be observed each year and helped spread the event nationwide, was a key factor in its growth.

General Logan had been impressed by the way the South honored their dead with a special day and decided the Union needed a similar day. Reportedly, Logan said that it was most fitting; that the ancients, especially the Greeks, had honored their dead, particularly their heroes, by chaplets of laurel and flowers, and that he intended to issue an order designating a day for decorating the grave of every soldier in the land, and if he could he would have made it a holiday.

Logan had been the principal speaker in a citywide memorial observation on April 29, 1866, at a cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois, an event that likely gave him the idea to make it a national holiday. On May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' organization, Logan issued a proclamation that "Decoration Day" be observed nationwide. It was observed for the first time on May 30 of the same year; the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a battle. The tombs of fallen Union soldiers were decorated in remembrance of this day.

Many of the states of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day, due to lingering hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were very few veterans of the Union Army who lived in the South. A notable exception was Columbus, Mississippi, which on April 25, 1866 at its Decoration Day commemorated both the Union and Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.

The alternative name of "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882, but did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967 . On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend and for the first time recognized Columbus Day as a federal holiday. The holidays included Washington's Birthday (which evolved into Presidents' Day), Veterans Day, and Memorial Day. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971 . After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply at the state level, all fifty states adopted the measure within a few years, although Veterans Day was eventually changed back to its traditional date. Ironically, most corporate businesses no longer close on Columbus Day or Veterans Day, and an increasing number are staying open on President's Day as well. The holiday has endured as one where most businesses stay closed because it marks the beginning of the "summer vacation season" (similar to neighboring Canada's Victoria Day, which occurs on the prior Monday).

Hip Urban Leather Bags & Jewelry Online

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Is it okay for men to carry around designer handbags, shoulder-strap bags, totes, and be into fashion

Versace Handbags - Unisex Moc Croc

from On The Subject Of Design

I'm a male and I'm into fashion to a degree. I like form-fitted clothes, designers, and carry around a louie vuitton, or a gucci/prada shoulder strap bag/tote, and I also have accessories (male of course) However I want one of those balenciaga types of bags that you just carry, almost like a portfolio or briefcase type, but obvously has a “purse” like quality too. Do they have those for men, and is it okay for men to carry around “casual” bags like that out and around, shopping, in the mall, etc, or is that too girly? Honestly, girls look hot when they're in style, and I don't see why men have to miss out? Please don't reply if you think guys should just go around looking like they just rolled out of bed, or have no respect for fashion. Or if it's gay. I don't care if it's gay. As long as it's not “bobby trendy” gay.

No economic slowdown on Internet

Mother's Day is May 11, 2008! Don't forget Mom.
She wants a new designer purse!

By Frank Davies
Mercury News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Internet commerce continues its robust growth, defying a sluggish economy that's teetering on recession, Google's chief economist and several analysts said Friday.

Electronic commerce has grown about 22 percent in the past two years, said Hal Varian, the economist, who spoke at a forum on the state of the Internet economy at Google's new Washington office. Ed Garrubbo, chairman of the Electronic Retailing Association, said online sales jumped 17 percent in the first quarter of this year.

"The lesson here is that the economic slowdown is not an Internet slowdown," Varian said. "The Internet is looking pretty strong compared to other sectors."

Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a non-partisan tech think tank, predicted continued growth for online commerce as high-speed connections increase and "the core technologies are becoming faster and cheaper."

"The absolute growth has been steady now for several years. The Internet economy is almost counter-recessional," Atkinson said. He added that comparisons with past slowdowns are difficult because this is the first downturn in which online commerce has played such a big role.

Garrubbo said traditional retailers such as Saks are experiencing a boost in online sales while other retail sales in stores are leveling off. The falling dollar is also helping online businesses attract foreign customers.

Research, he said 53 percent of all computer hardware and software sales take place online, along with 30 percent of all toys, video products and auto parts. One survey showed that two-thirds of all Internet users have bought products online.

The looming recession may actually contribute to e-commerce, Garrubbo said, because cautious consumers are doing more research and comparison shopping online before making a big purchase.

"A recession forces smarter decisions, and there's an increased desire to go online," Garrubbo said.

Michael Avon, a venture capitalist with Columbia Capital, said investments in Internet companies and start-ups have dropped off a little from last year. But he said the coming development of open platforms on mobile devices and the increasing use of social networks to sell more services and products - even $3 personalized ring tones - will create new business opportunities.

The key to much of the e-commerce boom has been the success of targeted search advertising. Google is able to closely measure consumer sentiment, Varian said, and showed data that indicated how search queries and clicks on ads reflected the downturn in real estate and the seasonal nature of car sales.

Because the impact of search advertising is more measurable than TV, radio and newspaper ads, and the coveted demographic group of twentysomethings use the Internet more than other media, spending on online advertising will start to catch up with TV ads, Avon predicted.

Atkinson sounded one cautionary note about the growth of e-commerce - that officials in Washington "still don't understand how much of a driving force information technology and the Internet are in the economy, responsible for a lot of growth."

He called personalized online ads "economic rocket fuel" that makes much of that growth possible. Atkinson warned that worthy efforts to protect consumer privacy online - now under discussion in the Federal Trade Commission and Congress - could have the unintended consequence of threatening that growth.

British designers crimped by lack of factories

Burberry Designer Handbag

By Rachel Sanderson

LONDON, (Reuters) - As the fashion show cycle heads to a climax in Milan and Paris, in London industry executives are debating if Britain's efforts to grow its own Gucci or Louis Vuitton will require a new industrial revolution. A decades-long decline in British manufacturing is back in the limelight with the launch of government-funded research to find out if, despite acclaim, young designers like Marios Schwab are at a terminal disadvantage to French and Italian rivals because they don't have a factory on their doorstep.

So far one problem is clear: however hot the designer talent, it is impossible to get ahead if you can't get your clothes made. "British designers are not progressing season-on-season because of the manufacturing," said Wendy Malem, director for not-for-profit Centre for Fashion Enterprise, who is leading the 100,000 pound government-sponsored project. "They cannot overcome the manufacturing glass ceiling."

In the past 40 years, British factories owned by some of the oldest brand names from Burberry to Barbour have closed down and shifted some of their manufacturing to cheaper places such as China and Eastern Europe. Burberry has kept two factories in Britain, in Yorkshire, but shut one in Wales last year because it was too expensive.

In Manchester -- once the locus of global coat making -- one of Britain's last surviving premium outerwear manufacturers offers a snapshot of British manufacturing's decline. Cooper & Stollbrand employs 60 workers today, stitching and cutting trench coats, overcoats and bomber jackets often in signature hunting-and-shooting fabrics such as tweed and gabardine.

Their number has fallen from 200 in 1995 and 450 in 1971, a year sterling strengthened sharply against the dollar, increasing costs for British exporters and marking the start of retailers' exit to cheaper sites. Now, with a renaissance of British luxury underway -- thanks to a crop of new talents and booming new demand for high-end goods from Chinese and Russian consumers -- this manufacturing gap is gaining attention.

"SELLING YOUR SOUL"
Pierre Mallevays, a former LVMH executive and now managing partner of Savigny Partners LLP, a corporate finance and M&A boutique specialising in luxury goods, said British luxury's renaissance may have come just in time. "British brands simply cannot emulate the French and Italians -- they need to reach back and find their history, but in many cases that history in no longer there," he said in an interview. "Where the British were very good traditionally was in their own production and their own manufacturing. Once you start dismantling that by selling factories you sell your soul." Of course, Britain is not alone in shifting manufacturing offshore.

The best-known French and Italian brands can start making a handbag or shoe in China or Turkey and bring it back home to be finished and gain the "Made in France" or "Made in Italy" tag. But designers in Paris and Milan have the benefit of commercial networks in the luxury goods trade developed over centuries and still thriving local artisanship, that is often protected by the biggest conglomerates. PPR's Gucci Group, for example, trains the artisans making its Bottega Veneta signature woven leather bags.

By contrast, designers and luxury industry executives say Britain is jeopardising the growth of its talent by taking the move to offshore too far.Among Britain's most acclaimed young designers, Christopher Kane is one who is suffering from the lack of nearby manufacturing capacity.

Even with his credentials -- he was partially sponsored by Donatella Versace through his master's degree -- Kane said he has difficulty finding anyone willing to make his clothes. "Especially being a young designer, it's actually quite hard to source outside Britain because people really don't want to touch you, you don't have a brand as such, like Gucci, or huge amount of money behind you," he told Reuters. At home, the few factories left find it inefficient to turn out the small runs Kane requires, or they do not have the skill.

NOT JUST NEWCOMERS
Complaints about lack of skill, in a country where a century ago artisans were rated more highly than those in Italy, are not just restricted to fashion's newcomers. Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye, the new French chief executive of luxury store Liberty founded in 1875, told a recent industry meeting how difficult it is to find someone in Britain who can still operate the traditional block printers used for its signature fabrics. Cooper & Stollbrand owner Michael Stoll said the British had been too short-sighted: "In Britain, loyalty has been to short- term profit, rather than long-term gain," he told Reuters. At the Centre for Fashion Enterprise Malem, working jointly with British-government sponsored endowment Nestor, plans interviews with 30 designers to provide a snapshot of the 800 million pound UK design industry.

Her aim is to lobby the European Union for assistance in providing British designers with equal access to manufacturers as that available to their Italian and French rivals. But not all Britain's upcoming luxury designers believe a lack of factories should curb their international ambitions.

Anya Hindmarch, creator of the "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" tote whose high-end handbags have been photographed in the clutches of Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon, will have 55 shops by May after openings in Las Vegas, Moscow, Beijing and Japan. Having started her business aged 19 after selling bags in Britain that she spotted in Italy, Hindmarch says being British is in her products' "DNA" but she will manufacture "all over, wherever we think it is the right thing for that particular bag". "It is about being tenacious and getting on with these problems," she told Reuters in an interview. "You have to wake up and smell the coffee and get through the tough times." (Editing by Sara Ledwith)

7 Style Secrets from the Red Carpet

We can never get enough feedback and tips for style & fashion!

by Cynthia Nellis from About.com

1. Play Up Your Coloring
2. Elaborate Dress or Major Bling (But Not Both)
3. Don't Dress Your Age
4. Steer Clear of Style Ruts
5. If You Can't Hide It, Flaunt It
6. Show Off Your Best Feature
7. It's All About the Hair


Play Up Your Coloring . Julianne Moore in emerald green Yves Saint Laurent designed by Tom Ford at the '03 Academy Awards. You don't need Julianne Moore's or Marcia's Cross' red hair and fair skin to look striking in color. But you do need to know which hues work best with your skin and hair. Don't buy into the belief that there are a limited number of colors that work for you; instead, be your own best stylist and hold up hues to your face to see which ones bring out your skintones, eyes and hair the best. In general, warm hues like fire engine red and coral look best on brunettes with darker coloring; cool pastels work for blondes. But there are a myriad of colors -- metallic gold and silver included -- that work for all colorings. If you're not sure, drag a friend to a store and get a second opinon while trying on lots of colors to see which ones compliment your look best.

Elaborate Dress or Major Bling (But Not Both) . Cate Blanchett, 77th Academy Awards, Cate Blanchett's cornflower blue dress with fabric flower and flowing scarf was stunning enough by itself. The addition of button diamond earrings added a bit of sparkle, but didn't overwhelm. The idea here is to make either the dress or the accessories the focus, not both. For example, a black strapless gown with no adornment could carry a chunky diamond bracelet and necklace or a pair of chandelier earrings. Solid color dresses and neutrals are a great backdrop for colorful jewels.

On the other hand, the more ruffles, tiers and beading a garment has, the simpler the accessories should be. It doesn't mean you have to go bare (although if you are young and gorgeous, that's a big statement in itself), but you need to use restraint and choose smaller pieces.

Don't Dress Your Age. Jane Fonda in Vera Wang at 72nd Academy Awards in 2000. The pitfall to dressing for special occasions is that women on either end of the age spectrum look wrong if they dress their age: in froufrou dress, young women look ready for prom. More mature women look mother-of-the-bridish in outfits that are deemed "appropriate" for their age group. Younger women like Scarlett Johansson can carry off classic Hollywood glamour girl looks like platinum hair, lush red lips and form-fitting gowns. In a grown-up dress, a younger woman looks sexy. Over 40-women can take a cue from Jane Fonda and stick with soft, modern hair (stiff updos look frumpy on mature women) and updated dresses. That doesn't mean they have to dress too young by flaunting ridiculous oversized tattoos like Melanie Griffith or wear microminis. It does mean that the dress should show some skin, even it's only a peek of a shoulder or an arm. Long sleeves, long dresses and high necklines age every woman.

Steer Clear of Style Ruts. Nicole Kidman in gold Dior with then-husband Tom Cruise, in '00. Nicole Kidman experiments with fashion. She's worn a metallic dress that matched her hair, a flapper girl dress and a peacock feather on the red carpet. None of it was so out there or strange that it wasn't understandable, but her look is constantly evolving. Nicole may turn up in pastel ruffles one event, and a black dress with straps that smack of bondage at another. Sarah Jessica Parker is another fashionista that forges her own style trail. Whether she's experimenting with placement of priceless brooches or trying out an elaborate new updo, Sarah Jessica always looks like she's having fun. The best way for you to have fun with fashion is to try something new: venture into a store that you've never shopped in, wear straight-leg jeans if you're a bootleg girl, try a mini and tights instead of a full, knee-length skirt. The idea is to push the limits of your wardrobe and experience innovative looks.

If You Can't Hide It, Flaunt It. Queen Latifah, left, in Carmen Marc Valvo at the '06 Golden Globes with Scarlett Johansson. Designer fashion is made for the skinny. It's sad, but true. But that doesn't stop bodacious broads like Queen Latifah from strutting down the red carpet looking gorgeous in a made-for-her Carmen Marc Valvo gown. She would never cover up her assets with a high-neck gown or wear a sack-like dress to disguise curves. Likewise, usually tiny celebs who are pregnant at awards shows have learned to play up their newly ripe figures. The most memorable was a ready-to-deliver-any-day Catherine Zeta-Jones in a low-cut black Versace, the most recent was a glowing Gwyneth Paltrow in a not-meant-to-be-slimming ethereal cream Balenciaga gown at the Golden Globes in '06. Learn to embrace your body, too. If you aren't comfortable in curve-hugging dresses because of too much jiggle, then try a body slimmer underneath for more control.

Show Off Your Best Feature. Hilary Swank at the '05 Oscars in a backless Guy Laroche. Susan Sarandon shows off her cleavage, Hilary Swank displays a toned back, Angelina Jolie makes sure nothing overpowers her full lips. Everyone has at least one great asset, even if it's something as simple as thick hair, white teeth or nice legs. You don't have to do anything too extravagent to show off your best feature, just make sure that your look enhances it. If your best feature is great skin, the last thing you'd want to do is cover up every inch of it with clothing.Dressing for your best feature is less about dressing for size or age and more about making the best of what you have to work with.

It's All About the Hair . Natalie Portman in Lanvin and headband at '05 Oscars. Nothing kills a red carpet look quicker than bad hair. Whether it's too casual or too contrived for the dress, the wrong hairdo can make or break a star's look. For more casual special events -- say the Grammys vs. the Academy Awards -- celebrities often go with slicked-back ponytails or messy buns for a more laid-back look even when paired with a formal gown. One of the worst mistakes you can make for a special event is to go with your everyday hair, unless your hair is fabulous everyday (Halle Berry comes to mind). Even if you only add a sparkly barrette or a pull back part of your hair, it's enough to set off the look as being special. In fact, just going with a fancier version of your everyday look is much easier to carry off than going with a complicated beehive or some other look that's hard to pull off.

Is Moscow the new Big Apple?

from the Telegraph.co.uk

Moscow is being hailed by some as the new New York. Celia Walden samples its excesses. If you've ever worn tight shoes, you'll know that the relief you feel when you take them off is so akin to euphoria it leaves you dizzy. Imagine a whole capital city, hobbled for 72 years of communism, united in that sense of deliverance. Ceilia Walden finds Muscovites are suicidally serious about fun. Then try to imagine waking up after a night out in that city - or don't: it's a painful business. Inky nightclub stamps in Cyrillic script brand the back of my hands; my hair and, by proxy, bedclothes reek of cigarette smoke: and my head reminds me why, even in binge Britain, we choose not to chase each glass of wine with a thimbleful of vodka.

"This city is a sick place," shrugs Elena, the biggest party girl I know and the perfect companion as I set about uncovering whether Moscow lives up to its claims as the new New York. She means sick in the LA sense of the word: when a place, style or person is so outlandishly hip, cutting-edge or viciously innovative that it prompts only that most contrary of adjectives. Others may prefer to use the same word in its original meaning. Not for nothing, I am about to discover, has Moscow been named the capital of excess.

My first night was gentle enough: dinner at Turandot (a new £30 million restaurant built in the style of an Italian palazzo, complete with waiters in 18th-century dress), followed by two bars and three nightclubs. advertisement"We'll ease you in," laughed Elena as we arrived at a rave in an old factory where pornographic pop-art lined the walls and strobes bounced off eyeballs avid and dry from drugs. Two £25 drinks later and we were off again in search of transport. Nobody takes taxis in Moscow. So far, so very un-Manhattan. Instead, they hail down any car that will take them: a Skoda, a Lada or, occasionally, something fancier, courtesy of a dignitary's chauffeur doing a spot of moonlighting.

We were in luck: a black Merc with leather seats and a siren on the roof pulled up. MPs in Russia are allowed them "for emergencies". "Can we have the siren on?" I joked, as we sped, at 120 miles an hour, past endless construction sites, towards Solyanka, Moscow's answer to Soho House. "Nyet," came the gruff reply. Two minutes and a 500 rouble note (£10) later, we were wailing past grey, gridlocked streets.

On arrival we were ushered through the VIP zone, into the VVIP zone, up a fire escape and through a kitchen into the VVVIP zone. You're nobody in this town unless you're forced to walk through a kitchen to get your shot of Stoly. There, a gaggle of women with machete-like cheekbones were dancing on the bar-top, below them a troika of men, looking skywards in awe as they guzzled champagne.

Muscovites have waited so long for their time to come that they act as though it will all be taken from them come morning. "See those trapdoors?" grinned one clubber. "People climb on to the roof to have sex - even in December, when it's minus 10." Dimitri, my taciturn photographer, shook his head. "Is any of it really making these people happy?" Looking at the knicker-gazing businessmen by the bar, I'm fairly certain the answer is yes. "You guys seem to think our women are all prostitutes," said Artemy Troitsky, an outspoken music critic and writer, often described as the Russian John Peel. "And you're sort of right. They will establish early on what you can offer them and tell you what their previous boyfriends gave them. Russian men have grown quite wary, but foreigners are easy prey."

The women are clearly high?maintenance: in clubs and bars, miniature chairs ensure that designer handbags - often worth as much as £2,000 - never touch the floor. Culturally the capital is a frenzy of amorphous creativity, with one art form bleeding into another: bars are selling books, nightclubs sell clothes. All-night contemporary art museums (with their own DJs) are springing up across the city. Norman Foster has been commissioned to build 20 new buildings, and Philippe Starck is designing a whole village just outside Moscow. "People forget that what Communism left behind was a skilled workforce," explains Tony Brenton, the British ambassador to Moscow. "Add money to that and it's an extremely productive combination."

And one that is attracting Brits with dollar signs in their eyes, such as Tony Blair, who is rumoured to have secured a £125,000 speaking engagement in the capital this summer, and Damien Hirst, who is to take his diamond-studded skull to Russia in June. One detail says it all: Moscow is the only place in the world where movie billboards have the film's budget in the same-sized type as the title, as though the fact the new George Clooney epic cost £65 million makes it worth seeing. Contemporary art is also big business. "Over the past seven years we have had this new class of people who want to buy and collect art," says Igor Markin, owner of Moscow's Art4 museum. "Some chose to buy football clubs instead, of course… I just heard that Roman Abramovich's girlfriend, Dasha Zhukova, has bought a space to open her own museum."

Abramovich's name is on everybody's lips: he is the ultimate success story, and a great supporter of the Russian contemporary art scene. The following night, at the launch of the Moscow Photography Biennale, I met John Mann, Abramovich's PR director at his company Millhouse: "New York isn't as 24-hour as Moscow. I have two bookshops near my flat that are open all night, two supermarkets with everything you could possibly need, and I can have a drink at seven in the morning. In a few years' time, New York will be claiming it's the new Moscow, trust me."

Even fashion has caught up. Tsum, the gigantic Moscow department store modelled on Selfridges, has a greater collection of Balenciaga, Miu Miu and Lanvin than Harrods or Harvey Nichols, as well as exclusive ranges designed by Daria Werbowy and Naomi Campbell. The clothes cost 40 per cent more than elsewhere, but people still buy them. "Don't forget that Russians lost everything three times, in 1990, 1993 and 1998," said Natasha, a Russian model shopping for the latest designer gear in perilous stilettos. "Now they are happy with their lot and happy with Putin. Everything is not affordable but it's available, and that's enough."

Russians are filling the capital's restaurants: at Sky Lounge, a huge New York-style eatery, businessmen tuck into millefeuille with sorbet of foie gras and fruit jelly. Vostok, another celebrity haunt, offers its cheapest starter at £30. Sushi is the latest craze. Luxury has bred a new physicality. Men and women now work out, cut carbs and get mani-pedis in their lunch hours. But the real beauty staple is their weekly steam bath. "The winters are harsh on our skin," said Sandra Vermuyten of marka:ff, a Moscow-based arts PR company, as she led me into a room heated to 120 degrees and full of naked beauties. It looked like a slaughterhouse: 40 women, like me wrapped in sheets, were draped across benches or lying on the floor, trying to escape the crushing temperature.

"You can't be the first to leave - it's a matter of honour," whispered Sandra. Minutes later she started beating me with a birch branch - "to get the circulation going". I looked at her in disbelief. "Oh, I'm sorry - would you prefer me to use pine?" she replied. When I finally escaped I felt two kilos lighter. "Vodka cocktail sound good?" chirped Elena and we hitched a ride to Krisha Mira - a club filled with giant Buddhas, where, at 6am from a roof terrace, we watched the sun come up over the Moscow river. I've spent all-nighters in New York and LA and been disappointed to discover only a forced, self-conscious attempt at hedonism. Muscovites are suicidally serious about fun.

But if this is New York, then it's the New York of Brett Easton Ellis and Jay MacInerney, or the Chicago of the Twenties, where corruption and decadence, though spectacular to witness, can be a heartbeat away from despair. "The thing I have come to love about Moscow," says Ambassador Brenton, "is that it is a highly urban, highly unpredictable place with a slight undertone of danger." "As long as the oil prices stay the way they are," sighs Troitsky, "the lifestyle will continue. Politically we are in limbo, but for you guys, for visitors? It may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit a capital that burns money."

Forget the flowers! Mom wants a new designer handbag for Mother’s Day

What mom really wants for Mother’s Day is a new designer handbag so eFashionHouse.com is making shopping for mom easy with free shipping.

Sky Valley, CA (PRWEB), April 24, 2008: Gone are the days where shopping for mom meant a pretty floral arrangement or a box of her favorite chocolate. Today’s moms are more interested in trendy or classic designer handbags, so eFashionHouse.com is making shopping for mom a little easier with free shipping for Mother’s Day (May 11).

Named Best of the Web by People StyleWatch for below retail priced designer handbags and recognized by About.com as the top of three online retailers of off-priced Chanel, eFashionHouse.com has all the designers and styles moms want. From handbag darling Elaine Turner, to couture legend Chanel, to American staple Coach, eFashionHouse.com offers the latest in designer handbags for all budgets.

"It’s not only fashionistas that want the latest designer handbag all the time, today’s mom is very hip and wants to carry a nice leather handbag as well" said Anna Miller, eFashionHouse Owner. "To meet the needs of our clients, we now carry handbags that are age-friendly…meaning most of the designers we carry cater to women of all ages who simply love fashion."

Not only does eFashionHouse.com, and its five fashion ecommerce stores (BrandsBoutique, LuxuryVintage, DesignersLA, ItalysOutlet and ValueBags), offer a wide variety of authentic designer handbags but they guarantee the lowest prices online for Tano, Melie Bianco, Murval, Elaine Turner and Pietro Alessandro. Plus the site offers a layaway plan that allows its clients to pay over time and still get the bag of their dreams.

If you still don’t know what to get mom, here’s a couple of hot selling bags that are sure to make her smile (and maybe even giggle with glee):

• COACH Hamptons Cream Large Tote – 26% off
• ELAINE TURNER Andie Platinum Distressed Leather Satchel – 24% off
• Tano Bauhaus Leather Tote – 21% off
• Gucci Brit Medium Tote in Brown – 26% off
• Yves Saint Laurent Downtown Tote in Cream – 21% off
• Vintage Chanel Quilted Lambskin Shoulder Bag – only $499

In addition to huge savings on brand new, 100% authentic designer handbags, shoppers will receive free ground shipping from April 24th thru May 2nd on purchase over $100 with coupon code MD08. Plus there is no sales tax on all purchases worldwide.

About eFashionHouse.com
Anna Miller is the President of i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. She operates the website http://www.efashionhouse.com/ and sells high-end authentic designer handbags and accessories at off-retail prices. EFashionHouse.com was named Best of the Web by People Magazine StyleWatch for Discount Designer Handbags and Purses. eFashionHouse.com should not be confused with any other website selling a similar product or using a similar name. EfashionHouse.com is the home of five fashion ecommerce stores: BrandsBoutique, LuxuryVintage, DesignersLA, ItalysOutlet, and ValueBags. Anna is considered an Internet Pioneer & Ecommerce Entrepreneur. She’s been reselling Designer Merchandise online since the early 90s. eFashionHouse.com has an extensive Press Page and a Fashion Blog Network. Visit the site for more details.

Designer gear key to pleasing peers

by Caroline Marcus

GIRLS are feeling the pressure to buy designer handbags worth hundreds of dollars, with some enduring teasing for not having the right look. Tiarna Element, a 15-year-old from the Hunter Valley, said her friends were desperate to own designer fashion and cheaper fakes wouldn't do. Teenagers really want to be able to say. 'This is real' instead of saying, 'This is a knock-off'," she said. "People feel better if they have the real thing, although most people can't tell whether it's fake."

Tiarna said despite living in a rural area, removed from the glitzy designer boutiques in the city, her peers still hankered after bags by Guess and Paris Hilton. Already, four of the girls in her circle of friends own Guess handbags, worth up to $200. She said that not having the right bag was something girls could be bullied about. Adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg said this generation of teenage girls was "the most tribal" he had come across.

"To belong to that sort of tribe, you have to have the correct accoutrements: not only having the right hair or listening to the right music, but having the right clothes and accessories," he said. "There is no question that there is rampant affluenza in these girls and in these schools. Can you be excluded and taunted and teased for not having the right stuff? Absolutely. It happens every day." He said the bullying could lead to low self-esteem, anxiety and mood disorders, and even agoraphobia.

The editor of Girlfriend magazine, Sarah Cornish, said teenage girls today were more aware of fashion brands because the internet gave them easy access to information. The internet, along with mobile phones, had also made bullying more prevalent. "That pressure [to fit in] has always been there, but I think the level of bullying has taken on a new level with the advent of cyber-bullying," Cornish said. "It's not just in the playground. Now, it's 24/7."

Source: The Sun-Herald

Tommy Hilfiger to link fashion with contemporary music

Tommy Hilfiger monogram hobo designer purse

Adam Sherwin, Media Correspondent


A firm believer in reinvention, the US designer and entrepreneur is teaming up with SonyBMG to present a series of online concerts to lure younger shoppers

Tommy Hilfiger is convinced that reinvention through new media and music is the way forward in the fashion industry. Launching an online music channel in London, in partnership with SonyBMG, the street-fashion entrepreneur has promised to transform the brand he founded, which has lost sales to fashion labels such as Abercrombie & Fitch. Mr Hilfiger told The Times: “Luxury brands with very high price points are starting to feel the pressure. People are not buying $2,000 (£1,013) handbags, but they are certainly buying affordable, wearable clothes.”

He gave warning that the credit crunch was hitting high-end brands but said that a £2 billion flotation of his empire, shelved during recent market uncertainty, would be revived. Apax bought the Tommy Hilfiger brand, famous for its “preppie” look, for £1.6 billion in 2005. A planned flotation in January was postponed when equity markets dried up. Mr Hilfiger said that interest in the initial public offering (IPO) remained strong, but that the company would concentrate on expansion plans, opening 50 more outlets, before returning to the market.

Mr Hilfiger, 57, remains the principal designer and a shareholder in the business, which is seeking to regain its cutting edge. Europe is the new focus after the brand had become overexposed in the United States. Tommy TV, an online music channel, will offer exclusive concerts, called The Hilfiger Sessions, featuring stars such as Wyclef Jean and Beyoncé. Jean will appear at the first Hilfiger concert in London next month. Young musicians, who upload their tracks to the site, will be chosen to join the stars. SonyBMG hopes that the initiative will uncover new talent that it can sign.

Mr Hilfiger said: “Fashion brands have to reinvent themselves, just like Madonna does. We felt it would be most appropriate to connect Hilfiger to new media and to the brand’s heritage with music.” Hilfiger has clothed stars including Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones and Britney Spears, since the New York designer founded the company in 1984. Mr Hilfiger has no plans to quit. He said: “I plan to be there for ever. I look at Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Karl Lagerfeld and those guys are ten to 15 years older but still going strong.”

Maarten Steinkamp, the chief executive of SonyBMG Europe, said that the Hilfiger partnership would help to offset the decline of CD sales. He said: “File-sharing is here to stay and the fall in physical sales will continue. Branded entertainment, like X Factor and Tommy TV, allows us to uncover new talent and bring to it the marketing and distribution power where we remain strong.” The Hilfiger empire stretches from its famous menswear that features baggy jeans and sweatshirts to fragrances and home furnishings. The IPO was shelved in January after Apax, the London private equity group, blamed “recent volatile market conditions”. Mr Hilfiger said: “There was lots of interest and the IPO is still on the table but there is no hurry.”

The credit crunch is having a marked effect on fashion brands. Coach, the largest US maker of luxury handbags, reported its weakest profits growth for eight years. Richemont, home to the Cartier and Montblanc brands, said that demand was slowing, and Burberry, the British label, said that it might miss profit targets after poor sales in Spain. However, Mr Hilfiger said: “Our business has not been negatively affected by what is going on in the economy. We keep on growing. We have just signed a lease on a new Fifth Avenue store in New York.” He acknowledged that the brand had room to improve in Britain. He said: “Our business is smaller in the UK than other European countries. We are strong in Spain and Germany.” European sales stood at about £400 million last year.

Ambassadors for the Hilfiger brand, which opened its first UK store in London in 1999, have included Lauren Bush, a model and niece of the American President. The range appeals to “middle youth” purchasers aged 40 and older, so Mr Hilfiger is talking up its rebellious roots to attract younger shoppers. He said: “I wanted to dress like Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend or Jimmy Page but where I grew up it was impossible to find those outfits. That’s why I started designing clothing inspired by these musicians. “The best artists have changed their music and image to keep on top. It’s important to know how to constantly reinvent yourself.” Tommy TV will not link directly to purchase opportunities. Rather, it has been designed to create an “emotional engagement” with the brand among music fans.

Tommy Hilfiger CV

— Born March 24, 1951, in Elmira, New York

— Aged 18, buys jeans in New York and resells them in a local store

— Founds Tommy Hilfiger Corporation in 1984

— Takes company public in 1992

— Apax buys Hilfiger in 2005 for $1.6 billion

Fashion on a Budget - Designer handbags, clothing and shoes

By Woody Lee

There has been a lot of talk about the economy lately and the forecast isn't looking too good which means it's time to start looking at ways to tighten the budget and cut back on the things you don't absolutely need. Though the thought about going without might seem grim at first, there is a silver lining when it comes to shopping. Just because you have less to spend on fashion doesn't mean you have to stop trying completely, following is a list of tips that help the budget fashionista in all of us keep looking fabulous.

Clothing
I thought starting off with the most obvious wardrobe item was a good way to kick off the list especially since a lot of us have already started thinking of spring wear, plus shopping for clothing on a budget is often the easiest. Although no one likes to worry about the economy, one positive result is retailers know that consumers are holding onto their money tighter than before, so they are more willing to hold sales and make higher decreases to entice consumers to spend. Here's a great way to take advantage of dropping prices but still come out with the stuff you want:

Be a savvy sale shopper: I already mentioned how you might notice more sales and promotions from retailers in an effort to boast slow profits, so as a savvy shopper it pays off to know when your favorite store is holding a 'secret sale' (join a mailing list or befriend the sales staff to become a VIP), end-of-season sales (household names like Banana Republic and Macys hold seasonal sales where items are 40% off), watch for the buy-one-get-one-half off type of coupon sales because you can buy the non-sale item you've been eyeing and get another item half off.

Shop online: Even the most experienced shopper can find it daunting to keep up with the sale schedule at their favorite stores which is why shopping online has become so popular. Gone were the days where you weren't sure of your size or if something looked good, most online shops allow for easy returns. But it's better to know the types of clothes you look good so you won't have to mail back a bunch of returns. The best part about shopping online is that often times you can find the same brands at cheaper prices because an online retailer doesn't have to pay for retail space. If you don't believe me, I found Rachel Pally dresses at 50% off at DesignersLA.com or check out ShopBop and click on the 70% off sale section (you'll be amazed at what you see). Plus if you sign up for your favorite e-tailers email list, you'll get even more savings with sale announcements and coupon codes sent right to your inbox. What's easier than that?

Invest in classics: Though sale shopping can result in a ton of savings, to really save money try not to buy something you won't end up wearing just because it is on sale. Sure a designer label pink suede skirt at 80% off is a great deal but if it's hot outside or pink suede isn't in style when the weather cools, you've wasted money that could have been used toward something you'll wear again and again. Trends are always fun but invest in a couple of classics that can take you through an entire season. I'm thinking white wide-leg pants and a yellow dress but you can pick your favorite spring staples.

Vintage: If the thought of secondhand shops scares you than you haven't been shopping at the right vintage store. Vintage can be ultra-hip and you'll be surprised to see what you find in the right vintage store. Make sure to find one that offers items in good condition and reasonable prices (some are actually expensive) and go hunting for shift dresses, capris and 50's style blouses that have been seen in all the fashion magazines. Plus there are even some great online vintage shops (JillsConsignment and LuxuryVintage) that carry amazing stuff in awesome condition.

Handbags and Accessories
It doesn't matter if there are tough times or not, fashionistas are constantly on the lookout for bargains on designer handbags. The good thing is that a good designer handbag has a much longer run than designer clothing because if you invest in the right designer purse or designer jewelry you can wear it for many months as opposed to changing up your clothes due to trends and weather conditions. And even though designer "it" bags cost more than ever, the average designer label handbag costs $2k, I've done my homework and found ways to score a hot designer bag, designer jewelry or accessory from Prada, Gucci, Tod's, Chloe, Anya Hindmarch, Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Burberry, and even Chanel at up to 70% off retail. Don't believe me, see for yourself:

Shop online: As with shopping for clothing, shopping online for designer accessories can really pay off. Unlike clothes, you don't have to worry about how an item will fit because most reputable sites will list the exact measurements and provides photos from all angles so you can see exactly what you're getting. Since online retailers don't have as much overhead as say a big department store (it's hard to find a designer handbag in a small boutique), they are able to offer substantially more savings for the exact same purse. I recently picked up an authentic Chanel handbag at for 50% off retail at eFashionHouse.com and the selection is endless. Based on my budget (and a little bit of principal) I would never pay full price for a designer handbag because I know if I wait for the "it" bag craze to die down, I'll visit my favorite site and get the bag 40% off. You can also shop for brand new designer jewelry from Chanel, Gucci and others at more than 60% off.

Wait for end-of-season sales: All of the major department stores mark designer handbags off toward the end of the season an although it's nice to carry a bag as soon as the season starts, if you can hold out, you can find what you're looking for. But if you plan to wait for these sales, make sure you are the first to know because inventory goes fast and is usually sold out the day a sale starts (if you miss the boat, visit the discount designer handbag web sites who sell authentic bags at a discounts year round).

Out with the old, in with the new: If you are as much of a handbag lover as I am than you probably have a couple of designer handbags lying around that you haven't used in a while which means you can afford to get rid of them. If you sell these unused accessories on eBay or to a consignment shop, you can have some extra money to spend on the designer handbag you really want. Try it out, it won't hurt as much as you think.

Vintage: More than even clothes, vintage designer handbags, jewelry and accessories (wallets, scarves, etc.) can not only save you money but even outlast many of the trendier bags. Sites like LuxuryVintage sell authentic Chanel handbags in amazing condition (little to no wear) for as low as $400 and since Chanel handbags are timeless, this is a small price to pay for a bag you can wear for years to come.

Don't be a snob: In addition to the luxury leaders like Marc Jacobs and Prada, the handbag heyday has allowed for smaller labels like Elaine Turner, Tano and Pietro Alessandro to make a name for themselves. Often made from the same high end materials as couture fashion houses, it's easier than ever to score an ultra-soft trendy handbag, like the Elaine Turner Paige Python Frame Bag or the Alex Tote, for a fraction of the cost of an expensive designer label.

Cheap Chic: We usually don't like any handbags that fall into the $15-$40 range but we have to say that lines like Melie Bianco and Murval are quickly making us change our mind. We wouldn't recommend spending your money on a bunch of cheap, poorly made handbags but if you want the look of the moment handbag, than Melie Bianco will probably have it. Visit DesignersLA.com and be amazed at how Melie Bianco manages to make such stylish and gorgeous handbags at such unbelievable prices.

Shoes
There is not a lot of advice we have on shoes because we think that most savvy shoppers (who are women at least) have this category covered but we'll include a couple of pointers just in case you need a refresher:

Invest in a good pair: Shoes are quickly becoming like designer handbags in the fact that they are wildly expensive and there are now a ton of "must-have" styles. Christian Louboutin is the leader of the pack, followed closely by Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blanik but finding a pair of these beauties at a discount can be pretty tricky but not unheard of. If must have another pair of shoes (to add to the 30 you already have), than try to invest in as much shoe as you can afford. Maybe we walk a lot but we've found that investing in a good pair of shoes (leather upper and leather sole) can take us a long way.

Online: There are a ton of online sites selling only footwear and it's sometimes hard to go through them all but the one good thing about so many choices is that there is more competition which means that price points will be lower. We haven't found a ton of online sites that we like to shop at for shoes because we tend to shop for more high end brands (goes back to that investment thinking) and there aren't a lot of sites that sell expensive shoes but one place I have found luck at saving money is eBay (yes, eBay). I would never purchase a designer handbag from eBay because there is no way to guarantee that you are actually getting an authentic designer handbag but shoes are less likely to be knocked off. But be prepared to search often because the selection is limited however you can find some amazing deals (brand new Lanvin flats for $200 or Prada heels for $100). So brush up on your bidding war skills because wining a pair of Manola Blanik Mary Janes is harder than actually walking in them.

Sales: Like clothes and designer accessories, the best and easiest way to save money is to know when your favorite shoe store is having a sale, but the early bird gets the worm in shoes sales because if there is one thing women have in common its shoes.

So although a slow economy can be a huge drain on your wallet, just remember that looking good doesn't have to suffer a recession as well. Become an experienced (and smart) shopper and you'll ride out tough times with the shirt on your back.

Woody Lee is a free lance writer, blogger and fashion addict living in New York City. She loves fashion, she loves high quality designer handbags, and she absolutely dislikes paying full price.

Myth Buster Designer Handbags in the News

Myth Buster Designer Handbags in the News

It was a fleeting thought, but nonetheless, we were thinking about renting a purse the other day. Poof! The thought was gone.

We did some Google browsing and stumbled across all the news media quotes listed below. So, we decided to consult some handbag experts to bust some of the myths floating around. We also did our own research and came up with some surprising data. Bottom line, it's not cheaper to rent a designer handbag. In the long term, you are better off owning the purse of your dreams. The media has taken hold as usual, it is all hype and drama. The proof is in the numbers. Rental fees can be as high as $300 per month or more for a famous high-end designer handbag (12 x $300 = $3600).

No wonder all the advertising is being pushed like none other. People are being blind-sighted by one of the worst investments a woman can make with her hard earned cash! Too bad there aren't laws to protect financial rape. Women, wise up. If you can't afford to buy yourself a new purse a few times a year, you certainly shouldn't be worried about impressing people with designer fashion accessories.

Here are a list of quotes made by prominent publications. They are myths, and we just busted them!

MYTH #1 -
“Because hot handbags have such a short shelf life, why not rent one instead of buying? That’s the logic behind…” — The Washington Times

Not true. A classic designer handbags does NOT have a short shelf life. Let's take the Fendi Baguette as an example. It started the entire "it" bag movement about twelve years ago and it's still going strong. As a matter of fact, Fendi introduced a "rebirth" of the detailed ornate baguette this past season. It's still alive and doing well. And, for all you Fendi baguette lovers out there, those designer handbags you purchased over the years are now becoming collector's items are reselling for a ton of cash. So, don't cash in yet. Hang onto, or still hang it over your shoulder and look fabulously current carrying a Fendit baguette. The Fendi Baguette is available in a small version about 9 x 6 inches in size or the larger MaMa Baguette style. Whichever, you picked a winner.

Not only has the Fendi Baguette survived over a decade of shelf life, it has been copied by all the major handbag brands. The word "baguette" is not synonomous to any small shoulder bag that fits neatly tucked under the arm when carried over the shoulder. Coach has one, so does Prada, Gucci and all the big handbag designers.

MYTH #2 -
“Fashion handbags are now a $5 billion industry, and a growing number of women are renting bags instead of buying them. For the price of a single designer bag, women can rent a year’s worth.” — NPR

Not true. Wait. Maybe true if you are willing to settle for less than the high end designer handbag style. You can rent at a low rate, but the designer bag is a low-rate, too. You get what you pay for in rentals and in retail.

A year's worth of high-end designer rentals like Chanel would cost much more than the price you'd pay for owning a classic Chanel handbag of your own. Chanel maintains its value, too. So, look at a Chanel purchase as an investment. The classic black quilted lamb leather chain shoulder bag rents for more than $300 per month. HUH! You can purchase one for about $1500. That's 5 months of rental fees, not including insurance and other hidden fees for renting Chanel.

Classic Chanel bags last a lifetime and are passed down through generations. Rentals are like booze, here today and gone tomorrow.

MYTH #3 -
“Do you want to look like Uma Thurman, the new face for Louis Vuitton, but just can’t afford those accessories? No problem. Now the middle class is scrambling for brand-name luxuries, borrowing has become the next-best way to look rich.” — Time

Think Keith Richards. Can't resist the Time Magazine quote we stumbled upon online. The new face of Louis Vuitton is Keith Richards! LOL. Now, re-read the quote above. Replace Uma Thurman with the name Keith Richards. Think Twice about what you wish for!


MYTH #4v-
“Ten years ago in the US the trend was towards cappuccinos and lattes – the sort of small luxury indulgence that was affordable to everyone. It’s the same idea with handbags you can rent.” — The Times

What? handbags have been around since the beginning of time. Check out Wikipedia. There's some great information online about the history of the handbag. Man-bags transformed into women's purses, and they've continually evolved throughout the ages. As a matter of fact, the best thing about a fabulous handbag is it can be carried to make your raggiest pair of jeans, a pair of flip-flops and cotton T-shirt look like Vogue. All you need is a fabulous bag and your entire ensemble is pulled together to make a fashion statement.

Yet, renting a designer purse is not a good comparison to the cost of a cup of coffee, even if it's $5 from Starbucks. Let's see, McDonald's just introduced the "designer" flavored ice coffee drink on tap for $1.89. Hmmmm....am I dreaming? The Times is a bit off in their price comparisons here. To rent a high-end designer handbag you'll be putting out more than $300 per month. Let's see. Big decision here. Should I rent a purse or make my car payment?


MYTH #5 -
“In the age of new luxury where some people would forgo a month’s rent for a the new Chloe Paddington bag, retail analysts say there is a burgeoning group of middle-class Americans who are indulging a yen for high-end fashion. Companies ...are catering to fashionistas who lack the disposable income to satisfy their cravings for Coach satchels and Chanel clutches, but for whom carrying a cheaper knockoff is blasphemy.” — The Boston Globe

Sorry, Boston Globe, the Coach handbag is so very moderately priced that renting one is not a very good investment of a person's money at all. To encourage people to rent Coach is not a good financial strategy. Buy Coach. Actually, renting Chanel is not a good investment either. The rental fees for Chanel begin at about $270, and that's not including membership fees, insurance fees, and other hidden fees none of the news media discloses in all the free advertising they do to promote designer rental companies.

Rent a luxury car? Rent a luxury airplane? Rent a luxury suite? These make financial sense for the occassion at hand. Renting a purse? Well, think twice about your cost and pay-off. Do your homework first before jumping into something you can't get out of later.

Nobody should ever carry a fake counterfeit handbag. However, designers like Melie Bianco and Murval make fabulous similar looking eco friendly handbags for a fraction of what you'd pay for a good counterfeit. And, if we are working toward a youthful "new earth" movement, then doesn't the inauthenticity of "renting" a purse to look good actually make a person look bad? Renting a designer handbag in order to "look good" is like living a lie. Authenticity rocks!

MYTH #6 -
“Cash-strapped fashionistas rejoice. The authentic $850 Gucci pink clutch you’ve been eyeing … can be yours for $72.90.” — National Post

You'll have to show us this to prove it. All the handbag rental stores we scoured had much higher prices than $73. Maybe $73 per day, with a minimum rental membership fee, plus other fees like shipping, insurance and etc., etc. Do you really think paying $73 to carry a Gucci bag for one day is going to transform your life? your appearance? your stature? Hello?

MYTH #7 -
“You can pretty much look like a million bucks, without breaking the bank.” — KCNC-TV CBS, Denver

I wonder what Susie Ormand would say about that! Let's ask her. Susie, if you are reading this post, please send us an email with your comments. Is renting a designer handbag a good use of a person's budget? Email KarrBernadette at hotmail.com. Thanks Susie!

Now, refer to the comments made about Myth #4 and living your life authentically. Thank you.

MYTH #8 -
“If you’re a handbag junkie, there is hope online – a service that rents out designer handbags and prevents you from breaking the bank.” — CBS Market Watch Weekend

See Myth #6.


MYTH #9 -
loan[s] out ‘it’ bags that cost more than your rent – and that are guaranteed to be out of style in three months – plus a host of classic styles from designers such as Louis Vuitton, Coach, and Donney & Bourke.” — Time Out New York

See Myths #1, #6 and #7.


MYTH #10 -
“Wake up and smell the Chloe. The Chloe Paddington bag, that is…it’s now possible for you (or that hard-to-please fashionista on your holiday gift list) to carry the $500 or $2000 bag of your dreams – and to swap it out for a brand spanking new model every month – for a fraction of what it would cost to buy all the latest must-have bags outright.” — FWD

Swapping bags out can only be achieved if the bag is available! But your monthly dues is automatically charged to your credit card. Just like that gym membership. It's not any good to your budget unless your are using it and getting the results you want.

But, if you save your money and make a personal invnestment in a designer handbag, it's yours for a lifetime. When the bag is yours all it takes is a walk to your closet when you are in the mood to change handbags . And, you never have to worry about who carried the bag before you. Can you imagine using a purse someone you don't know used for possibly carrying their puppy?

MYTH #11 -
‘I love it. I would never – and could never – afford to buy one of the bags, but I can rent one for three weeks for about $50.’ — SLTtoday.com

Not true. A three week designer handbag rental is about $210 at one of the lowest membership fee schedules for a really nice bag. Anything less than that, you may as well not even consider.

MYTH #12 -
“It says that you’ve arrived. That you’re part of an exclusive club. That you are a fashion insider.. And an affluent one. Your purse packs a punch.” — The Denver Post

Do you see the humor in this quote? Who are you trying to fool? The people around you know whether you can afford the purse you are carrying. What do you think people would really be saying if they see you carrying a designer handbag they know you can't afford to own?

MYTH #13 -
"…thousands of women have signed up to lease the latest luxury brand bags on market, many of them coming back for more week after week, month after month, or every time a new event or outfit calls for the perfect handbag.” — Baltimore Sun

Pure media hype. There's no proof in the quote by the Baltimore Sun. As a matter of fact, there's so much hype in the media it makes the regular person ask, "What's all this hype about?" Think about it. Paying rent sucks. We do it for a place to live or a car to drive. When it comes to a purse, let's get real. Now, we have to worry about making enough money to pay our purse fees?

MYTH #14 -
“A key feature of the business is that women can rent several different handbags over a year for the same price or less than it would take to buy a new purse.” — Pioneer Press

Agreed, a person can rent several purses over the course of one year. But, the cost would be much higher than making an investment in the purchase of one classic high end designer handbag. See Myth #2.

MYTH #15 -
“Business is booming…and retail experts say consumers don’t attach a stigma anymore to leasing large sticker items like cars, even furniture, so it makes sense that pricey purses would fall in line.” —WXYZ-TV, Detroit

Once again comparing a handbag to a $60K Lexus is not a good comparison. Same holds true for furniture. Pricey purses carry very high rental fees.

MYTH #16 -
“Fashion conscientious women will pay hundreds, even thousands of dollars for handbags , everything from Gucci to Kate Spade, but now there is a local company that offers the exact, and we mean the exact, purses for as little as $20….” — KSTP-TV, Minneapolis

Not true, period.

MYTH #17 -
“It can cost a pretty penny…to carry a stylish handbag, and if you want a new bag each season, you’re talking some big bucks, but we’ve found away around it.” — Action News – WXYZ-TV, Detroit

For the rental price you pay, you can easily purchase a gorgeous new handbag every season.

Click here.

'Designer' Condoms: What, No Louis Vuitton?

Marc Jacobs Designer Monogram Condoms

ftom Trendinista


I never thought I would be saying this, but the "it" condom is replacing the "it" bag this season. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating, but you get where I'm going with this. Planned Parenthood has come to the realization that tapping into the modern young woman's fashion-obsessed psyche might just get her to carry condoms in her purse. (Hey, designer birth control pill cases worked. Why not designer condoms?) For $6, you can nab a 3-pack of fashionable love gloves cute enough to show off to friends. An interesting idea, but a little heavy on the cheese:

"Old stereotypes about who should buy condoms are so last season! Proper Attire condoms are the "must-have" accessory this season and were designed with sexually active, stylish women in mind."

So last season? Must have accessory? (Are women supposed to feel comfortable carrying them in their handbags, or are they supposed to sling them over their shoulders?) If I had my way, they would be FREE, handed out at stores where sexually active, stylish women shop, and have designer-inspired names like "Lube-y Vuitton," Dolce & Banana," and "Christian La-crotch." Now THAT would be a designer condom!

Recession proof online shopping designer handbags

by Anna Miller

With all the talk about recession issues there’s one thing you can depend upon no matter what shape the economy. Online shopping saves you time, money and stress. At close to $4 a gallon, gasoline is not worth buying to drive around town. It is easier to sit at your computer and get everything you need. Save that gas money and use it to buy yourself something.

One of the great things about shopping online is 24 hour 7 days a week availability. And, with the help of search engines like Google, a person can get anything they want at prices much lower than what they would pay at the store.

Considering fuel charges alone, one trip to the local shopping mall could be as much as you would pay for a new designer handbag by Melie Bianco or MURVAL. These designers create the high end look without the high end price tag. They also provide roomy versatile purses made of eco friendly materials. If there is one thing a woman can not live without it is an occasional new purse.

If leather is your choice of handbag, Elaine Turner makes a complete line of affordable, moderately priced women’s bags and accessories. Elaine is fairly new to the designer handbag scene. She started her handbag business in Dallas, Texas around 2000. Her designs are made exceptionally well, and the handbags have classic appeal among women.

All-in-all, to recession proof shopping habits, you must start thinking smart about using your budget wisely. An average trip to the mall or department store costs about $12 in gasoline, plus lunch about $16 (minimum), and parking in major cities anywhere from $6 - $15. That’s a hefty price to spend an afternoon browsing stores. The irony of the situation is most of the stores you browse are available online, too.

You may feel the day out is deserved after a long work week -- agreed. Treating yourself with a reward is motivating. That’s not the point, here. If the economy dictates our spending, then maybe we need to re-examine how we spend and where our money goes.

McDonalds just announced the introduction of a new flavored ice-coffee on tap in their fast food restaurants. I bet many of the Starbuck addicts at $5 a pop will try switching to the $1.89 McDonald coffee. It is a smart choice and an alternative without depriving yourself of something you enjoy. And, the savings is huge if you drive through or stop for coffee once per day.

Same is true with designer fashion accessories like handbags, purses, scarves, hats, jewelry, and tote bags. Why deprive yourself of something you want if there is a way to obtain the items at affordable prices. A fashion keepsake is something you will have forever. So, it only makes sense to find something affordable and adorable. Online shopping provides resources to get these special things at great discount prices.

It appears as though the designer industry is out of control. From handbags to watches to foot wear, shoes, boots, and just about anything with a designer label has gotten to an unreachable, unattainable price level. Some people advocate the rental of these high end designer items to give the appearance of affluence. It is somewhat discouraging to know people feel the need to put on a fake front by renting fashion. And, it doesn’t fit into the smart shopper attitude. Why rent and pay high fees when you can buy something of your own.

Actually, with all the transmitted diseases and germs spreading like viruses, who would want to use a purse an unknown person carried previously. Scary thought seeing as an average trip to the doctor is about $150, and if medication or a shot is needed, add another couple hundred dollars. Not worth the risk nowadays. Designer rental companies are a lot of hype and advertising without ROI (return of investment) for the customer – very high cost, extremely low value.

Well, it is time to go surfing -- nope, not to the ocean, directly to Google. You want a new designer handbag -- easily, type into the search box, Designer Handbag. A list of resources appears before your eyes. Browse the online stores, compare prices and choose wisely. Contact the website with questions. A good online store will respond to your questions promptly. Find those special places online to get the things you want without any overhead expenses. You can shop anytime day or night, save time, save money and do it all in the privacy of your own home.

Happy bargain hunting online is a great way to shop smart using your budget wisely.

About the Author
Anna Miller is the President of i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. She owns and operates a website called eFashionHouse.com. Selling online for over twelve years, Anna is considered an Internet Pioneer and Ecommerce Entrepreneur. eFashionHouse.com was named Best of the Web by People StyleWatch Magazine for Discount Designer Handbags & Accessories. About.com named eFashionHouse.com the top online retailer of discount Chanel. For more information, visit http://www.efashionhouse/

Last-A-Lifetime Accessories

For more information about the above Hermes Kelly Bag
write to
"CustomerCare at eFashionHouse.com"

Lauren Sherman, Forbes

Drop $25,000 on Hermès' Cape Cod 1928 Watch, and you're likely to get more than jealous stares. In 25 years, the limited-edition timepiece with a rose gold face and Havana crocodile strap should still be ticking--and still be in style.

It's one of a crop of new accessories that are expected to remain wardrobe staples over a lifetime.

What makes them classic? Like an Hermès Kelly bag or a pair of Tiffany (nyse: TIF - news - people ) knot cuff links, the new pieces--including Marc Jacobs' envelope clutch and Ferragamo's leather penny loafers--have distinctive, but understated, designs. Construction of such future classics is key. Buyers should note whether a piece was made by a machine or sewn by hand--like the Jacobs clutch--and how much time was put into crafting the piece (the Ferragamo loafers require about 25 hours of labor.)

"If you want a piece you're investing in to last, you need to think about the innate quality of the item," says fashion writer Kathleen Beckett, founder of Beckett's Black Book, a personal-shopping service. "These pieces have a refreshing edge that's not going to be lost."

Bochic's chocolate-pearl necklace also fits the bill. Colored strings now top bright whites as many women's pearls of choice and have earned classic status within the last decade. This set of Tahitian high-luster multicolor pearls are rare, and the price proves it: $36,000 for a string.

"Pearls are a great investment, as they're becoming harder and harder to harvest," says Beckett. "However, nobody wants the little safe white-pearl choker anymore."

Though a steep $975, Ralph Lauren's (nyse: RL - news - people ) 1.25-inch-wide black American alligator dress belt is the ultimate in versatility, and alligator skin is always in style. It may be worn during the day with a smart suit and in the evening with an elegant jacket. The classic square buckle comes in polished sterling silver.

Cool but classic sunglasses are a staple as well. Persol makes timeless plastic and rimless styles in a range of colors. The new rectangular 2834 S is available in tones ranging from sunny yellow to traditional tortoise. Color is fine in such small doses, but Beckett says that the pop-art inspired, rainbow-colored shoes, handbags and ties seen on the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 runways won't stand the test of the time.

"Unless you're someone who loves the retro-chic look," she says, "stay away from bold colors when buying investment pieces."

"It's also wise to invest in well-known brands." Stephanie Phair, vice president of merchandising and business development at Portero, an Internet luxury-auction site, says that when scouting modern accessories, she pays attention to the maker in addition to quality and craftsmanship.

"Certain brands will always hold their value," says Phair, who adds that pieces from Hermès, Marc Jacobs and Cartier are sure bets.

These lines don't come cheap. But pay up now, and you'll almost certainly benefit later.

An eye Turner this season - Elaine does it again

Use coupon code OFF10 for an additional 10% off Elaine Turner handbags for a savings of up to 50% off full retail. Guaranteed the BEST price online for Elaine Turner Handbags.

About Elaine Turner
from ElianeTurner.com

In 2000, former apparel designer and merchandiser Elaine Turner put her industry experience, love of accessories and passion for all things stylish to work on her first-ever handbag collection. Elaine’s impressive fashion pedigree, coupled with a keen interest in textiles and timeless style, led to the creation of a unique, conceptually-driven debut collection that instantly stood apart from the rest. Fans of the Elaine Turner collection have come to anticipate her rare yet elegant combinations of the unexpected. "We are recognized for our use of embossed exotic leathers such as ostrich, croc, and python. Seasonally, our uniquely designed and painted grass cloth bags have also become a well known signature look for the line," says Turner. Striking custom hardware bearing Elaine Turner's signature crown logo is also iconic to the brand.

Although Elaine Turner incorporates elements that make her bags conversation pieces she's never a slave to fly by night trends. "I stay true to my customer's desire for something decidedly sophisticated and classic, but with a twist."

As Elaine Turner collection continues to evolve and expand, so does her company. 2007 brought many exciting company developments including the launch of small leather goods, beach and travel collections.

Also, the opening of Elaine Turner retail boutique at Dallas NorthPark Center and the launch of in-store boutiques at all Tootsies locations.

The Elaine Turner collection ranges in retail price from $195-$695. It is available at the Elaine Turner flagship in Dallas as well as fine retailers nationwide including 150 specialty stores.

World's Most Desirable Luxury Brands

CHANEL accessories

photo courtesy of eFashionHouse.com

Nicola Ruiz, Forbes

Ask a friend what he would buy if he had a bigger bank account and he might rattle off a list that includes a limited-edition sports car, a round-the-world trip or a million-dollar beachfront home.

Goods by Gucci, however, top the lists of luxury brand lovers. That's according to an online survey conducted late last year by The Nielsen Company, a market research firm. It asked 25,000 consumers in 48 countries which luxury brand they would buy if money were no object. Besides Gucci, respondents chose Chanel, Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior (other-otc: CHDRF - news - people ).

It's easy to see why Gucci reigns. Worldwide sales, though recently tapered, have jumped since Mark Lee became president of the company in 2004, then CEO the following year. In 2007, sales increased 11%; that's on top of a 17% increase in 2006 and a rise of 18.4% in 2005. Gucci is a part of the Gucci Group, which has a number of fashion brands in its portfolio, including Yves Saint Laurent and Sergio Rossi. PPR, a French holding company publicly traded on the Euronext exchange in Paris, owns the Gucci Group.

"Gucci manages to offer high fashion and very commercial items," says Michael Macko, fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue (nyse: SKS - news - people ). "That red and green stripe is some of the most iconic luxury branding ever created, and people want a piece of it."

Behind The Brands
Born as a leather goods company, Gucci is now most well known for its logo-ed handbags. When the company opened a new 46,000-square-foot store, the largest of its 233 worldwide, on the ground level of the Trump Tower on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue last month, they also launched a "Gucci Loves New York" handbag collection which sold out within two days of opening. Proceeds from the bags went to Playground Partners Central Park Improvement Program.

Chanel and Calvin Klein tied for second. The privately held Chanel, famous for the little black dress, tweed suit and quilted handbag, was founded by Coco Chanel in 1909 and is currently helmed by Karl Lagerfeld. It stays relevant thanks to a slew of consistently classic yet stylish products. The label's current must-haves include a quilted leather envelope clutch and a sleeveless embroidered cashmere dress with pink trim; its current pitch woman is Keira Knightley.

Calvin Klein's global retail sales surged to $4.5 billion in 2006--that's an increase of 50% since Phillips Van Heusen acquired the company in 2003. It manages such reach thanks to its three labels: Calvin Klein Collection (designer apparel and accessories), ck Calvin Klein, (bridge apparel and accessories) and Calvin Klein (better apparel and accessories). Top looks for spring include slim trousers cut on the bias for men and a high-waisted white skirt suit for women.

Shopper Stats
When looking at who actually buys designer brands today, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong come out on top. Almost one-third of survey respondents living in these areas claimed to buy the brand with the iconic interlocking-G logo. Only 7% of North American shoppers polled buy Gucci products.

While designer goods are certainly desirable in emerging markets, North America was the least interested in luxury brands, with 35% of respondents claiming they would not be tempted to buy even if money was not an issue. When quality comes into play, 34% of respondents in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America believe designer goods have the highest quality vs. non-designer; that figure falls to 20% for both Europe and North America.

What would you buy if money were no object? Weigh in. Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.

"In emerging markets such as Latin America and the Asian Pacific, designer brands are probably more of a proclamation," says David Boyd, vice president of Nielsen Global Research, "a way to set themselves apart or feel that they've arrived as part of the new economy."

Regional differences also emerge over counterfeit goods peddled at market stalls globally. Over a quarter of North Americans questioned believe that fakes are just as good as the real thing, but in Asia, where most of the fakes are produced, consumers hold them in low regard, with only 8% putting them on par with the genuine article.

"People in Asia can pick out a fake bag like no one I've seen," says Boyd, "But in the U.S., people are less aware and less concerned, because in the U.S. luxury brands are considered more mainstream."

GUCCI designer handbag black tote bag monogram motif 200047 designer purse.

No. 1: Gucci
Guccio Gucci founded the House of Gucci as a saddlery shop in Florence in 1906. A century later, the company's horse bit and stirrup motif is an enduring symbol of luxury. He started out selling leather bags to horsemen in the 1920s and progressed to luxury luggage as his clients graduated from equine transportation to horseless carriages. Today, with Frida Giannini at the creative helm, handbags with the interlocking double-G logo are among the company's biggest money makers.

CHANEL designer handbag cream quilted lamb designer handbag

No. 2: Chanel (tied)
Chanel is one of today's best-known fashion brands, and has been practically since it was founded by Coco (Gabrielle) Chanel in 1909. Coco Chanel established herself as the 20th century's single most important arbiter of fashion by offering women no-nonsense, elegant, relaxed and functional clothes. Today, the tweed Chanel suit with a nipped-at-the-waist cardigan jacket remains one of the most popular--and most copied--fashion staples. In 1983, Karl Lagerfeld reinvigorated the brand with a dose of sexiness. He's been designing the collection ever since.

No. 3: Calvin Klein (tied)
In 1968, Calvin Klein and an investor started the company as Calvin Klein Limited with a small line of men and women's coats. In the '70s, Klein won two Coty Awards for his minimalist styles, and by the middle of the decade he had created a designer-jeans craze by putting his name on each pair's back pocket. Advertisements featured a 15-year-old Brooke Shields who famously said, "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins." In 2003 Phillips Van Heusen acquired the brand, and today there are three tiers within the collection ranging from high-end pieces to moderately priced casualwear.

No. 4: Louis Vuitton
The French luxury fashion and leather goods brand, now a main division of the French holding company LVMH, was founded in 1854 as a luggage retailer. The company is now known for its monogrammed leather handbags and employs designer Marc Jacobs as its creative director. Keeping up with the demand for exclusive luxury, the company is collaborating with a series of artists for limited-edition handbag collections.

Lady Dior Pink Leather Tote Bag

No. 5: Christian Dior
The designer founded the company in 1945 and quickly became famous for the "New Look," a fitted jacket with a nipped-in waist and full calf-length skirt. After the rationing of fabric during the World War II, Dior's lavish use of material was bold and shocking. Since 1996, chief designer John Galliano has been at the creative helm of the French fashion house, owned by the LVMH luxury goods group.

Versace Unisex Croc Leather Clutch Bag

No. 6: Versace
Gianni Versace founded the Milan-based company in 1978. After his 1997 death, his sister Donatella Versace, formerly vice president, stepped in as creative director and his older brother Santo Versace became CEO. Today, despite talks of going public, the company is still entirely owned by the Versace family. While the collection is known for its flashy, embellished style, this spring the looks that came down the runway put more emphasis on cut and volume than shimmer and bling.

No. 7: Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani, 74, is the sole shareholder, president and chief executive of the designer brand. The fashion and luxury goods group manufactures, distributes and sells everything from apparel to cosmetics to home interiors under a range of seven brand names, but it is best known for its menswear.

No. 8: Ralph Lauren
After a stint as a Brooks Brothers tie salesman, Ralph Lauren, 69, started his powerhouse brand 42 years ago with a collection of ties. Today there are over 35 boutiques in the United States. The company offers three collections: Polo is the fast-fashion-fix line for the young metropolitan male; Black Label is a more upscale, edgier version of city dressing; and Purple Label is the ultimate deluxe line. The designer has a personal fortune of $4.2 billion.

Prada Monogram signature shoulder hobo handbag BR3350

No. 9: Prada
Milan-based Prada was founded as a leather goods company in 1913 by Mario Prada. His granddaughter Miuccia inherited the company in 1978 and grew the business into a fashion apparel company. Her claim to fame was the signature Prada nylon handbag, which helped turn the family company into a billion-dollar business.

The YSL Downtown Bag

No. 10: Yves Saint Laurent
Founded in 1961, Yves Saint Laurent was the first fashion house to launch women's ready-to-wear. He opened Rive Gauche boutiques for women in 1966 and added men's ready-to-wear in 1974, which helped make designer luxury labels more accessible to the wider public. The Gucci Group acquired Yves Saint Laurent in 1999.

Spring Savings are in the Air at eFashionHouse.com, Plus Site Welcomes Melie Bianco, Murval and Elaine Turner

eFashionHouse.com ushers in spring with new arrivals, savings up to 50% and adds three new handbag designers - Melie Bianco, Murval and Elaine Turner.

Sky Valley, CA (PRWEB) March 26, 2008 -- After months of winter fashion accessories, spring is finally on its way and eFashionHouse.com celebrates with savings of 25-70% on the latest trends in designer handbags. Committed to offering shoppers the best online prices for purses, eFashionHouse.com, named Best of the Web by People StyleWatch for below retail priced designer handbags and recognized by About.com as the top of three online retailers of off-priced Chanel, just added hundreds of new designer handbags from Marc Jacobs, Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Anya Hindmarch, Isabelle Fiore, Coach, Tano and many more top designers, just in time for spring. The site also added three new designer fashion brands - Melie Bianco, Murval and Elaine Turner - to its huge selection of designer handbags for even more savings.

"We are excited to add Melie Bianco, Murval and Elaine Turner handbags because the handbag demand has changed from including not only the big designer names to now welcoming other chic designers with more affordable prices," said Anna Miller, eFashionHouse Owner. "Regardless of the Economy, women still want to buy themselves a new purse, and making affordable prices available online is the purpose of eFashionHouse where you do not have to spend a fortune to carry a new quality designer handbag."

With all purses priced under $100, both Melie Bianco and Murval are known for their trendy styles and amazing prices. A favorite among fashion editors, Melie Bianco has been featured in an array of magazines, like Marie Claire, People, Cosmopolitan and Self, because it is "chic and affordable" line (prices range from $30-$75) features funky and wearable styles perfect for the trendy fashionista. Another brand that is known for offering the look of couture without the high price, French company MURVAL was created by two sisters, Muriel and Valerie, who recognized the need for fashionable accessories at accessible prices. With its bags costing less than $50, MURVAL comes out with two collections a year and despite the low price points scores high among the fashion crowd.

Though not in the under $100 category, Dallas-based fashion designer Elaine Turner is still considered a bargain since her line features the finest embossed exotic leathers and signature painted grass cloth bags. Elaine Turner quickly rose to the ranks of the fashion It Bag and the brands popularity continues to grow because of its distinct and creative approach to classic looks in handbags and accessories.

Shoppers who crave the more luxurious designer handbag names can still look forward to savings and shop for the latest trends because eFashionHouse.com has it all. Some of the featured handbag styles available at a discount are:

• Marc Jacobs Patchwork Lou bag - 35% off retail
  
• Moschino Patent Leather Brownie bag - 28% off retail
  
• Anya Hindmarch Neeson bag - 20% off retail
  
• Chloe Bay Bag - 31% off retail
  
• Yves Saint Laurent Downtown Bag - 21% off retail
  
• Chanel Small Caviar Tote - 22% off retail
  
• Isabella Fiore Puff Enough Satchel - 15% off retail

In addition to the discounted prices, shoppers can receive an additional 10 percent discount using coupon code OFF10 when making a purchase from the eFashionHouse Sale Section. Plus, budget conscious fashionistas can always take advantage of the eFashionHouse.com layaway plan which allows shoppers to pay over time.

About eFashionHouse.com
Anna Miller is the President of i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. She operates the website http://www.efashionhouse.com/ and sells high-end authentic designer handbags and accessories at off-retail prices. eFashionHouse.com was named Best of the Web by People Magazine StyleWatch for Discount Designer Handbags and Purses. eFashionHouse.com should not be confused with any other website selling a similar product or using a similar name. EfashionHouse.com is the home of five fashion ecommerce stores: BrandsBoutique, LuxuryVintage, DesignersLA, ItalysOutlet, and ValueBags. Anna is considered an Internet Pioneer and Ecommerce Entrepreneur. She has been reselling Designer Merchandise online since the early 90's. eFashionHouse.com has an extensive Press Page and a Fashion Blog Network. Visit the site for more details.

eFashionHouse - PRWeb Press Release Group

Interested in an EFH Layaway Plan? You can put anything on layaway.
Read about the EFH Layaway here: eFashionHouse.com Layaway Program

Marc by Marc Jacobs Handbags - Appealing To Fashion Forward Celebrities

Victoria Becham for Marc Jacobs

By Sheila Nelson

Marc Jacobs handbags are known for being very versatile, and chic. Added to the Marc Jacobs International line in 2000, Jacobs handbags have since become one of the most coveted products available. Marc Jacobs handbags are commonly made from soft calfskin and feature signature details, such as polished gold metal hardware and buckles, and they instantly glam up any outfit. Marc Jacobs handbags are produced with the finest materials in order to present a high quality handbag.

Marc Jacobs handbags are also known for their fashion forward edginess and defining grunge look which is startling but also pleasing to many women. Jacobs' edgy creations have appealed to the hip, youthful and trendsetting crowd since the 1990s, which has made him a legend among fashion forward celebrities. Super models Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell were willing to walk his first runway show free of charge. Even as Jacobs' handbag line swelled in popularity, Marc by Marc Jacobs handbags maintained Jacobs' singular style and continued to display a sophistication that never swayed with changing trends.

Marc Jacobs handbags come in a range of materials from classic leather to modern linen. The more notable Marc by Marc Jacobs handbags are the leather patchwork or quilted designs that are usually outfitted with gold fittings and accessories. Some of Jacobs handbag designs utilize all kinds of leather such as ostrich and others for the more particular consumers. Jacobs usually have designs for each season, and they appeal to all kinds of women. Jacobs handbag designs are also very casual and are made in refreshing colors.

Jacobs defines himself for his excellence in design and his eye for fashion forward style. With bold colors and striking styles, Marc Jacobs handbags are made for women who pride themselves on distinction. Jacobs continue to create and gain supporters and fans for his highly sought after Marc by Marc Jacobs brand, which includes his prestigious handbag collection. Jacobs was the youngest artist to be awarded The Council of Fashion Designer's of America's (CFDA), Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent, a Nobel Prize of the fashion industry. Marc Jacobs has made an excellent name for him and continues down the path of success in the fashion industry.

Marc Jacobs' original handbags are shipped directly from Italy and come with an elegant dust bag. Marc by Marc Jacobs handbags can be found at major high end department stores and online at eFashionHouse.com.

The Perfect Pair - Black & White Designer Handbags

There's nothing more constant than black and white fashion accessories. No matter what you wear or how you feel, something in black or white fits the look and the mood. Just like peanut butter and jelly, black and white prevail when it comes to fashion. No matter what't happening in the fashion scene, you can always depend upon black and white. Your little black dress is complimented by a black and white bag. Your white summer frock is easily accented with a black or white accessory. We believe in versatility, color and style. But, when it comes to the bare necessities we recommend black and white anytime of the year and anywhere you go. Black and white designer handbags make a statement and the right impression.

Visit these links to see a variety of designer handbags with price-points we can smile about... you can't afford not to take a look!

Click here for Bally Handbags - A whole new collection just added of Bally designer handbags and accessories at very affordable price points. Bally leather tote bags, handbags and shoulder bags. Plus, a group of small Bally leather goods include wallets, pouches and travel accessories.

Click here for Melie Bianco Handbags - A variety of synthetic leather handbags in styles, colors and designs everyone loves. Melie Bianco takes the best from the best and makes handbags we can afford.

Click here for MURVAL Handbags - The new Spring Collection just added just-in-time and just for you. Check it out. New arrivals added weekly. Directly from Paris, the Murval quilted collection is a designer winner.

Save this link ..... new items arriving throughout the coming weeks.

Rush: Necessary relationship

Upcoming milestone fosters evaluation of fashion accessory
By Versel Rush


As I approach my half-century birthday (and as of Sunday, I am officially closer to that than my 49th), I feel that it is time that I share with the male population the greatest love-hate relationship we women have. Nope, it’s not with our boyfriends, husbands, or significant others. It isn’t even with our mothers (though having a teenage daughter makes me question that).

It is with our purses—or handbags, if you prefer.

I know that years (several, in fact) ago, I wrote a column discussing the distinct disadvantage women political candidates had since many slacks do not have pockets, which means that you have to try to shake hands, wave, hold a microphone, make a decent speech, etc., while holding a purse on your shoulder or wrist. A true juggling act at best and, more likely, an assault with a semi-deadly weapon when the purse smacks a voter or the candidate herself.

However, even in circumstances when it is best not to carry a handbag, most women do love their purses, and I am including myself in that category. Purses are glorious accessories. You can find very expensive designer purses and carry them for prestige and, in most cases, for years because of their sturdy construction.

Or you can buy cheap and change out often—my modus operandi. I choose purses based upon the price first then the size. I consider compartments, zippers, buttons, and try to avoid Velcro. Shoulder straps are very important and I try on a $7 shoulder bag with as much care as some men do thousand-dollar suits before and after alterations. Like most women, I like my purse to “match” but not be identical. Unlike a lot of women, I don’t have many handbags. I usually use one or two until they are worn out and no longer usable—I am not a slave to fashion as anyone who knows me can tell you and I also don’t like changing my purse since that can require quite a bit of time.

Which is where the hate aspect of the female-purse relationship rears its ugly head. It seems that no matter how big, how small, or perfect a handbag can be, things get lost. I have a longstanding belief that astronomers should use my purse as an alternate for the study of black holes in the universe. And, of course, the ability to find the lost item is inversely proportional to the importance of finding it in the shortest amount of time. I have had more missed calls than you can imagine. I have lost paperback books I wanted to read at restaurants. I can spend 10 minutes looking for a set of keys that I keep with two large keyfobs (including a small flashlight). I think if the FBI was serious about finding Jimmy Hoffa, they should start in some of my old purses.

So, not only do I spend time looking for the thing I need desperately, I also waste time putting all the stuff I didn’t need at that moment back into the purse, and the individual compartments, so that my purse can once again weigh my shoulder down. Then, when my lovely purse has given it all and the seams are ripping and the lining is torn and coming out, do I clean and toss those old receipts and other nick nacks when I get a new purse? Nope, it all goes into the new one just in case the stuff is ever needed. Can’t understand, huh, guys? Think of it as a much cheaper, much lighter version of a toolbox.

NOW you get it!

Burberry feels consumer chill

BURBERRY designer handbags large nova check messenger bag designer purse.

By Rachel Sanderson and Dan Lalor

Reuters


LONDON: Shares in Burberry , designer of this season's hit $3,000 Knight bag, took their biggest-ever daily fall on Tuesday after the fashion house said it may undershoot full-year forecasts.

The company, best known for its trench coats, said third-quarter total revenue to December 31 rose 26 percent to 235 million pounds but retail sales missed targets after it slashed prices more than usual during its December sale. Finance Director Stacey Cartwright said she was still "shooting for" 210 million pounds adjusted full-year earnings before interest and tax, but "it looks a bit of a stretch from where we are today". Cartwright said the retail sales were also hit by a faster-than-expected decline in its key Spanish business. A "couple of glitches" in its IT delivery system meant "we didn't get some product into stores on a timely basis", she added.

Shares in Burberry, Britain's largest luxury fashion brand, fell more than 16 percent to 405.5 pence, sending a chill through the luxury sector. It was Burberry's biggest daily fall since it was listed in London in 2002. UBS analyst Yashuhiro Yamaguchi said the U.S. market, accounting for around a third of Burberry's total revenue, still had good momentum, with 19 percent sales growth. "But we expect cyclical slow down to spread over time," he added. Merrill Lynch analyst Antoine Colonna cut his rating on the stock to "neutral".

SHARE DECLINE
Shares in European luxury good companies have declined in the past three months as expectations grow of a slowdown in high-end spending as global energy prices rise and U.S. and European housing markets weaken. Investors have cut the value of Burberry's shares by 26 percent in that period, deeper than the 11 percent fall for the DJ Stoxx personal and household goods index that includes European rivals LVMH , Christian Dior and Richemont .

Luxury goods executives have argued their sales will be sheltered from the downturn in consumer spending that is hitting many mid-market retailers, as those who can afford goods like their $3,000-plus handbags are relatively immune to economic hardship. Cartwright said Burberry's shift to premium pricing in the past year, including raising the price of its luxury handbags by 25 percent, would help it in the current environment. This spring, Burberry will sell a handbag called "Warrior" in golden alligator skin for 13,000 pounds.

"Our luxury positioning gives us an advantage in these unpredictable times. It doesn't insulate us completely, but it gives us an edge," Cartwright told reporters on Tuesday. Burberry said total revenue rose an underlying 23 percent to 254 million pounds in the three months to end-December. Within that, retail rose 14 percent to 161 million pounds, with same-store sales up 6 percent. Wholesale business was up 74 percent at 74 million pounds, with licensing fees up 7 percent to 19 million pounds.

(Editing by Will Waterman)

Surreal: Accessories that are "an elegant joke"

BALENCIAGA designer handbags gray wool and brown leather designer purses

By Robb Young
International Herald Tribune

There is a breed of designer that relishes the idea of biting the hand that feeds him. Determined to parody fashion and all its paraphernalia, greats like Franco Moschino and Elsa Schiaparelli teased the establishment with hats made out of model fighter jets or shaped like lamb chops.

But then eccentric accessories have long been a favorite means to mock the glamour of the fashion world or to put a surrealistic mirror up against its iconography. Today, young designers are continuing the tradition by dissecting accessory classics and patching them together again in extraordinary hybrids and ironic caricatures.

"We like an elegant joke, not a cheap disposable gimmick," said David Percival, one half of the London label A'N'D, whose most recognizable item is the "shoebag," a handbag that sprouts from the sole of a ladies pump and is perfectly engineered to sit atop a single delicate heel.

The duo is infatuated with creating such mutant accessories , although more the sleek laboratory kind than an ode to Frankenstein. Satchel purses are molded from the upper of a loafer; wallets decorated with the ribbing of a brogue; eyeglasses without lenses that have been split in half and are dangling from earrings; and leather gloves elongated into a buckled belt.

"It's important to not take things too seriously, but it's also amusing to create things that require the viewer to double take on what's seen, to rattle their comfortable perceptions of everyday life, things that at first glance look somewhat 'normal,' " adds Percival's partner, Azumi Yamashita.

Subverting the ordinary is an extension of the deconstructivist movement of the 1990s, when designers like Martin Margiela turned jackets inside out and reassembled classic garments into unexpected new shapes. Only now it is less of a sober conceptual exercise and more tongue-in-cheek.

"Designers have always been inspired by using everyday objects. However, we become less aware of it as they become part of the design lexicon," said Nathalie Kabiri, owner of the jewelry boutique Kabiri in the bohemian Marylebone district in London.

Harriet Vine and Rosie Wolfenden, the pair behind the cheeky costume jewelry line Tatty Devine, have made a career out of defying the conventional idea that accessories are status symbols or a decorative flourish.

"For some, decorative means tiny diamond earrings. For me, a giant paperweight clothes pin is decorative," said Wolfenden, who admits that their hand-painted series of hyper-real popcorn and potato chip pendants molded from glossy resin could be dismissed as simply ridiculous by casual observers.

"Cuckoo clocks, giant Swatch wall clocks, macrame hanging owls - they all have a voice, an internal story. Sometimes the items we choose make no sense, but they are never random," she said. Fine jewelry too has become a playground for surrealist parody. In the hands of young independent labels like Belmacz by Julia Muggenburg, opal and onyx earrings in the shape of human eyes with tear drops suspended from gold chains pay homage to Luis Buñuel's period films.

Harking back to two surrealist masterpieces, Salvador Dali's melting pocket watches in "The Persistence of Memory" and Meret Oppenheim's fur-covered bracelets, the Belgian designer Natalia Brilli has stretched metallic leather veneer over a Rolex-style watch, transforming it into an embossed bracelet.

It's little wonder that the watch is a recurring theme for this new generation, who find themselves surrounded by fashion's vortex of accelerated time. A'N'D also renders its watch parodies timeless - either as plastic reincarnations, mirrored so that the wearer sees himself in the watch face, or as watch-shaped cutouts in leather cuffs. Desiree Heiss and Ines Kaag of the Paris label Bless have carved rosewood bangles in the shape of an analog watch, and Husam El Odeh of London has used the silhouette of an early digital watch to create a transparent Perspex cuff with two real gears suspended within.

"This came from the imagery surrounding airport X-ray security equipment. I found myself mesmerized by the intimate objects that can sometimes be revealed in public," said El Odeh, who has also used a watch motif in his recent collection, which includes a cast metal pendant and suspenders made of linking wristwatches. "I am a firm believer that fashion needs to question itself. I like the way fashion can on the surface pretend to be important but retains a certain irony about its own function," he said, pointing to his personal favorite, a necklace with an engagement ring trapped in a plastic ID-tag pendant.

And what accessory better marks a member of the all-important fashion pack than the requisite pair of sunglasses? El Odeh has embedded them in a sun visor cap, and the Danish designer Vibe Harslof of the brand Fafafa has curved sunglass lenses into bracelets and cast them in silver miniatures for earrings and necklaces. Whether extremely intellectual or absurdly extreme, designers making a pastiche out of how we wear our finery and trimmings don't always have to stoop to the fashion equivalent of slapstick comedy. But a self-deprecating punch line delivered with the right amount of craftsmanship can be a mighty potent message.

Art in the bag

Kellie Hush

High-end fashion brands are joining forces with artists to boost their image. Luxury fashion houses have excelled for decades at creating beautiful emporiums in the hope of driving consumers through boutique doors to buy into the dream. These fashion stores can also remind consumers how powerful a brand is with no-expense-spared fit-outs. But as the bar rises and competition stiffens within the luxury industry, so too have the projects commissioned beyond the fashion realm. And it is all in the name of selling more bags, watches, pens, shoes and clothing.

Last week in Hong Kong, French fashion house Chanel officially launched its latest global power project, the ambitious Mobile Art. Commissioned by Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld, the futuristic mobile art gallery was designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid. Created from fibreglass panels, the 700-square-metre multimillion-dollar pavilion took six months to build and will be dismantled seven times to travel the world. For now its home will be Hong Kong's Star Ferry Car Park before it is packed into 65 containers and shipped to six more cities, ending its tour in Paris in 2010.

"The cost is not important. Chanel is about the dream," says Bruno Pavlovsky, director of Chanel's fashion division. "The project is more about building the Chanel image and what you see today is consistent with our vision for the next 10 years." The 20 commissioned artists had free reign to use any creative medium but all works had to be strictly inspired by the 2.55 quilted handbag designed by Coco Chanel in 1955.

Chanel's contemporary artists include Yoko Ono, Sophie Calle, Stephen Shaw, Wim Delvoye and Fabrice Hyber. Mobile Art curator and the editor-in-chief of the magazine Beaux-Arts Fabrice Bousteau says the initial list was "artists that I like - that's what a curator does. And all said yes, so we now have an exhibition with work by artists who have a strong personality and voice in their work."

The most controversial submission is Wim Delvoye's pigskin 2.55 bags (actually made in the Chanel workshop) and two stuffed tattooed pigs, named Jamie and Slobodan. "We decided not to reject any project," Pavlovsky says. "Chanel herself was controversial, so to have pieces that evoke controversy is OK." After the French artist Sophie Calle had accepted Chanel's commission, a work conflict led her to advertise in a Japanese magazine seeking an artist to carry out her project. Her vision was to stop passers-by, tell them to empty their bags and offer to buy both contents and the bag they were carrying. Soju Tao won the job with a bag budget of EUR11,000 ($17,794). Tao convinced several Chanel-toting strangers to hand over their bags with one 2.55 in the exhibition containing cash, house keys, a camera, mobile phone, an address book and Shirley MacLaine's book Out On A Limb.

Chanel is not the only luxury brand in recent times to collaborate with artists. Cartier's exhibition space in Paris is at its Foundation Cartier and features the work of contemporary artists and photographers. In 2004, Cartier gave the space to designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, who filled the room with intricate designer dresses made using bread. Hermes has exhibition spaces in its Ginza and Singapore boutiques, and currently has its Hbox mobile video theatre screening work by leading video artists at Paris's Pompidou Centre.

In 2006, Louis Vuitton opened its permanent Espace Louis Vuitton gallery on the top floor of the luxury brand's Paris flagship store on the Champs-Elysees. The gallery opened with an exhibition called Alphabet Concept, by New York performance artist and photographer Vanessa Beecroft. Her 13 pictures portrayed nude women wearing clown wigs and with their bodies entwined to shape "LV". Also in 2006, nine artists, designers and architects, including Hadid, were commissioned to create bags for the exhibition space. The seventh and current exhibition, Orients Sans Frontiers, is inspired by the adventures of the automobile from Beirut to Beijing.

Currently running in Melbourne is High Art, a multi-venue exhibition which is part of L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Taking place on shopping strip High Street, Armadale, Australian designers Scanlan & Theodore, Kirrily Johnston, Lisa Ho, Arabella Ramsay, ksubi, Lee Matthews and Herringbone have collaborated with artists to create installations inside their stores.

Next week Montblanc will take over Sydney's Martin Place with its own "art" installation. Famous for its pens, Montblanc commissioned six contemporary artists and photographers, including David LaChapelle, Jean-Marc Bustamante, Sam Taylor-Wood, Sylvie Fleury, Gary Hume, and Anne and Patrick Poirier to create six shopping bag sculptures. Standing three metres high, the bags have been exhibited on the Champs-Elysees and the Rockefeller Centre.

Designer exhibition spaces have been criticised by the art world, which claims there can be no creative independence when artists are commissioned by a commercial patron.

Yves Carcelle, chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton Malletier, told the BBC at the opening of Espace: "The artists were free in their work. The main difference between art and creativity in fashion is that in fashion you need to sell the product. Art works only if you give it total freedom." When asked if Espace was designed to sell more handbags to tourists, especially the Japanese, who flock to the store to worship the logo-decorated luggage, the answer was: "Sell more handbags? Yes, that's my dream."

Chanel's Pavlovsky is also honest in what Mobile Art hopes to achieve: to sell more bags. "We hope the exhibition will create a strong image for the 2.55. Chanel No. 5 and the fashion already have its own iconic status."

Kellie Hush travelled to Hong Kong as a guest of Chanel.

Chanel is not the only luxury brand in recent times to collaborate with artists. Cartier's exhibition space in Paris is at its Foundation Cartier and features the work of contemporary artists and photographers. In 2004, Cartier gave the space to designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, who filled the room with intricate designer dresses made using bread. Hermes has exhibition spaces in its Ginza and Singapore boutiques, and currently has its Hbox mobile video theatre screening work by leading video artists at Paris's Pompidou Centre.

In 2006, Louis Vuitton opened its permanent Espace Louis Vuitton gallery on the top floor of the luxury brand's Paris flagship store on the Champs-Elysees. The gallery opened with an exhibition called Alphabet Concept, by New York performance artist and photographer Vanessa Beecroft. Her 13 pictures portrayed nude women wearing clown wigs and with their bodies entwined to shape "LV". Also in 2006, nine artists, designers and architects, including Hadid, were commissioned to create bags for the exhibition space. The seventh and current exhibition, Orients Sans Frontiers, is inspired by the adventures of the automobile from Beirut to Beijing.

Currently running in Melbourne is High Art, a multi-venue exhibition which is part of L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Taking place on shopping strip High Street, Armadale, Australian designers Scanlan & Theodore, Kirrily Johnston, Lisa Ho, Arabella Ramsay, ksubi, Lee Matthews and Herringbone have collaborated with artists to create installations inside their stores.

Next week Montblanc will take over Sydney's Martin Place with its own "art" installation. Famous for its pens, Montblanc commissioned six contemporary artists and photographers, including David LaChapelle, Jean-Marc Bustamante, Sam Taylor-Wood, Sylvie Fleury, Gary Hume, and Anne and Patrick Poirier to create six shopping bag sculptures. Standing three metres high, the bags have been exhibited on the Champs-Elysees and the Rockefeller Centre.

Designer exhibition spaces have been criticised by the art world, which claims there can be no creative independence when artists are commissioned by a commercial patron.

Yves Carcelle, chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton Malletier, told the BBC at the opening of Espace: "The artists were free in their work. The main difference between art and creativity in fashion is that in fashion you need to sell the product. Art works only if you give it total freedom." When asked if Espace was designed to sell more handbags to tourists, especially the Japanese, who flock to the store to worship the logo-decorated luggage, the answer was: "Sell more handbags? Yes, that's my dream."

Chanel's Pavlovsky is also honest in what Mobile Art hopes to achieve: to sell more bags. "We hope the exhibition will create a strong image for the 2.55. Chanel No. 5 and the fashion already have its own iconic status."

Kellie Hush travelled to Hong Kong as a guest of Chanel.

Cufflinks for Men - Casual Elegance

By Andrew W John

If you are a man who is looking to make a real impression in the boardroom or in the office, cufflinks can do a lot of the work for you! Even in today's increasingly casual workplace, there is a real niche to fill when it comes to jewelry on men, and often, that is where cufflinks come in. For such a small addition, they can do a great deal for you. As any success-oriented person needs to be,, you need to be constantly aware of the image that you are projecting. You'll find that with a little bit of work, you can choose just the right pair to accent your image.

There are several types to consider when you are out shopping for a basic pair. Double-faced are the most formal kind and they have two similarly sized faces that are connected with a metal bar. Chain cufflinks on the other hand, connect two similarly sized faces with chain. The easiest type to deal with are push through types and they have a rounded end that is pushed through the button hole, while hinged back ones will have a swiveling bar that will align with the post when the face is pushed through and then lock at a right angle to seal the cuff.

When you are selecting your cufflinks, think about what you normally wear. Do you like warm colors like brown or umber, or do you prefer cooler blues and greens? While the former should be paired with gold or bronze colored cuff links, the later do quite well with silver that have been polished to a high shine. You'll find that having a little bit of flash at your wrist is a great way to command attention, whether you are running the meeting or just sitting in.

Take some time to look at the different designs that are available. You'll find that many of them have logos and designs on them, so find a design that calls to you. If you are selective, or if you have a specific design in mind, talking with a local artist or jewelry maker can end up with you taking custom ones home. Take some time and really think about the statement that you want to make. If you like a hint of subdued elegance, think about using duller stones like amber or a handsome gray mother of pearl. If you really want to stand out, make sure that they are polished brightly and show not a single scratch.

It can often take a little bit of effort to stand out in a crowd, and you can do exactly that. Cuff links are opulent without being overbearing, rich without being spoiled. With the right outfit and the right poise, you'll find that your cufflinks can help you get grounded and then soar!

Couture sale at Loft 102

We're Crazy for Couture! Are you? Click here to see what's waiting for you. Designer handbags and accessories below retail from all the top Designers. Receive free ground shipping $200 orders and pay no sales tax worldwide. Visit the Sale and Final Clearance sections and get deeper discounts. eFashionHouse.com was named Best of the Web by People StyleWatch and named the top online Chanel retailer by About.com. Check it out. We know you are crazy for couture or you would not have read this far! See the eFashionHouse Press Page. Interested in an EFH Layaway Plan? You can put anything on layaway. Read about the EFH Layaway here: eFashionHouse.com Layaway Program.

Pet owners warned over latest celebrity craze - the pooch pouch handbag for mini fashion dogs

By GEORGE WEYMAN

All the rage: A woman takes her dog for a walk in a 'puppy purse'
Animal charities are warning pet owners to keep their dogs on a lead after the latest in a range of carry cases for small dogs was launched. Dog owners can now carry their pet in a small fashion bag, slung across an arm and hanging loose from the waist, in a style made popular by Hollywood celebrities Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson. But the bags, which cost as little as £22, could cause serious distress for dogs, the RSPCA has warned.

It has joined animal welfare charity Four Paws in condemning the bags, which have helped create a boom in small dogs like Chihuahuas and toy Yorkshire terriers. "A dog is not an accessory and people should not be influenced by fashion," an RSPCA spokesman told the Daily Express. "The RSPCA is concerned about the practice of carrying dogs in handbags as some celebrities do. It could actually become distressing to the animal. "A dog's welfare should always be of primary importance."

The charity warns the growing demand for miniature puppies so popular with celebrities has fuelled a cruel and illegal puppy smuggling trade from Eastern Europe. The puppies are often bred in filthy conditions before being taken to street markets, it claims. The abolition of EU border controls means there are no checks on whether dogs have been inoculated or are old enough to be transported. And the dogs are often traumatised by the experience, with as many as 30 dogs a time being crammed into the back of car boots in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland for a painful journey to Britain. Animal welfare charities warn the latest trend in dog handbags can only increase the demand for small pups. Designer carriers are considered de rigueur for celebrity dog owners and such upmarket labels as Gucci, Hermes and Louis Vuitton report a roaring trade in the pooch 'purses'.

NYC Conducts Major Chinatown Raid

Shop Online for authentic designer handbags at eFashionHouse.com - Online since 1996

Women's Wear Daily
Published: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
By Ross Tucker

NEW YORK – New York City police officers conducted raids on an entire city block of buildings in Chinatown this morning and have started the task of seizing loads of counterfeit fragrances and accessories. Investigators involved in the bust said at least eight buildings were targeted in the sweep. Undercover investigators made purchases of counterfeit goods from as many as 56 vendors who had set up shop in the buildings.

Kevin Dougherty, president of private investigation firm Counter-Tech Investigations, which was involved in the investigation, said it would likely take two days to empty out the contents of the buildings. The majority of items seized so far have been handbags, scarves, belts, watches and fragrances. No arrests have been made, but city officials will move quickly to issue violations of health and safety codes, effectively shutting the buildings down. It’s a strategy that has been successfully employed elsewhere in the city and puts the burden of counterfeiting on the shoulders of landlords.

Intellectual property lawyers and brand owners believe the raid could signal a turning point in the battle against Chinatown counterfeiting operations.

Spring eyes the bright side

By Cherly P. Allen
IndyStar.com

There's no chance of going unnoticed in the season's playful and brilliant hues

The fashion forecast this spring looks brighter than ever. Eye-popping shirts, dresses, jackets and accessories already have begun to adorn the racks and shelves of department stores. You can tickle yourself with fuchsia, sparkle in ocean blue, mellow out in lemon yellow or look poised and chic in lime green.

"It's been many seasons since we've seen such a vibrant, fun color palette in fashion," says Sonya Cosentini, a T.J. Maxx style expert. "We're seeing fresh, bold colors and graphic prints on everything from casual to career looks."

Green, in particular, is a big trend for spring, says Suzanne Guymon, communications director for Dillard's. "It looks great with black early in the season, transitioning beautifully as the perfect complement to white as the weather gets warmer."

Men's dress shirts are sporting subdued lavender, aqua and orange. Golf shirts are bright in sunshine yellow and vivid red. Last summer's popular sellers, such as Bermuda-length shorts and baby doll blouses, will be updated in bright plaids, stripes, florals and geometric patterns. The classic swing jacket will also see an infusion of color this spring -- grass green, bright white, cobalt blue and red.

The swing jacket is the perfect transition piece, Guymon says. "In addition to looking great with a classic trouser, it works well over a sheath dress or partnered with a fashion denim jean." The season's colorful prints offer a simple yet chic way to update your wardrobe, Cosentini says. "Pair a dramatic print top or dress with simple neutral accessories. A sense of balance is key."

The great thing about this season's hues is how well you can incorporate them with traditional fall solids, says Juanita Beck, ladies department manager for Stein Mart. "It's a natural transition," Beck says. You can sport a pair of solid gray or black slacks with a pastel scoop-neck sweater or silk blouse with quarter-length sleeves."

"We're just starting to get the spring stuff in," Beck says. "We've got such a variety. There's a lot of silk out this season with busy bright patterns -- polka dots, jagged edges and florals."

Accessories are also sporting bolder and brighter colors -- from pastel solid clutches and straw handbags to lime green plaid shoes and deep red beaded necklaces. "I've seen a lot of red," Beck says. "It's kind of a mixture of bright color in the jewelry as well."

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What You Need to Watch Out when Purchasing Designers Handbags from Online Auctions

from I & Fashion, Fashion & I

First of all remember that a handbag reflects your personality! That's why you need an authentic handbag that you will have forever and be proud of.

First thing you have to see when you are about to bid on a designer's handbag is: Does the auction states and guarantees that the handbag is authentic or full money back? If not, you should ask. Make sure you can get a full money back guarantee if the handbag is found to be fake. Authentic handbag sellers don't mind guaranteeing full money back if the handbag is found to be fake. They know their merchandise and they would not jeopardize their reputation to make $50 extra on a fake.

Be extremely cautious if the seller has no feedback. The lower the seller's feedback the greater the risk you are taking in purchasing from him/her. On the other hand, the higher the sellers' positive rating, the more likely you will at least get your money back if the item is found to be fake.

Does the seller offer multiples of the same and/or new items at a very low price? Does the offer sounds too good to be true? It might be. Some times the merchandise is counterfeit, but the pictures might reflect authentic merchandise. Check out how much the other sellers are selling the specific model. Is the seller you are buying from selling way too low? Be cautious.

Does the seller have hidden feedback? Some sellers hide their feedback after a negative feedback left from a bad transaction. Why the seller hides his/her feedback should make you think twice. The seller should have his/her feedback available for buyers to see. This is what differentiates sellers that work hard to keep satisfied clients, and people that try to make quick money selling fakes.

Are the photographs in the auction taken from another website that is selling authentic merchandise? Look for inconsistent pictures in the listing. If the picture is taken from someone else, you never know if you are receiving authentic or fake merchandise. Further more, even the seller sometimes might not know that he’s selling is a fake.

Be very cautious if the seller is very new and holds a private auction. The seller should have a decent feedback before choosing the option of private auction.

If you have even the smallest doubts ask for more photos. If you get excuses from the seller and he/she is reluctant in providing more photos, think twice. Also, if the seller provides you with more photos, again look for consistency. Is there a date on the photos? If so, were the photos taken the same day?

Remember: Always ask. The seller should always provide answers. The seller wants your business. An honest and professional seller will always reply with clarifications you might need.

Does the seller have negative feedback reflecting dissatisfied customers? You don't want to buy from someone that has many negatives. If you do not feel comfortable do not buy because it is cheap. Even if seller sells authentic merchandise, he might be selling defective merchandise that could not otherwise sold in a boutique.

Check out this small but extremely important detail on the picture: DO NOT BUY a Gucci, Prada, or Louis Vuitton if there is a round tag hanging from the handbag. Those tags are attached on the fakes.

New York Fashion Week: Coming this fall: a season of versatility

DESIGNERS OFFER LESS-OSTENTATIOUS, ACCESSIBLE CLOTHING FOR SOPHISTICATED WOMEN

By Donna Kato, Mercury News

Peter Som Canary Chantilly lace T-shirt, plum ombre plaid satin swag skirt.
(Richard Drew / Associated Press)

Carolina Herrera Corduroy double-breasted vest, embroidered blouse, suede riding pants and corduroy fedora. (Bebeto Matthews / AP)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Yellow track dress with pin worn with gray painted beret, black jeweled sunglasses, smoke wristlet purse and cubist bracelet. (Seth Wenig / AP)

Zac Posen Red and black embroidered dress. (Kathy Willens / AP)

Vera Wang felt jacket with felt jabot over short-sleeve coat with bias stone silk chiffon drape-neck top and silk gauze skirt. (Richard Drew/ AP)

NEW YORK - Early on during Fashion Week, mass retailer Gap presented its fall collection by new designer Patrick Robinson on models posed on a raised platform. The press, buyers and stylists walked around the staged area to get a close look at the anorak jackets, slim-fit cargo pants, chunky sweaters and henleys the Bay Area-based company plans to offer six months from now.

It wasn't high fashion, and the prices are sure to be far, far less than the average cost of a skirt offered by most of the 100-plus designers who showed this season. But after a week's worth of ready-to-wear collections, the significance of the Gap's presentation became apparent: It underscored the intersection of fashion and economic reality, reflecting the current mood among most of us wondering if a recession is about to hit and whether we should save instead of spend. It's also another example of the pairing of accessible fashion with established designers.

For the Gap, the show introduced Robinson, who was the designer behind Perry Ellis, Anne Klein and most recently, Paco Rabanne. His name alone will bring in style-savvy customers who now think of the Gap only for casual wear and basics. There wasn't a specific direction that emerged from the fall collections this season. The message was one of individuality for the woman who wants to look sleek. With jackets, vests, skirts and trousers overtaking the runways, next fall will mean versatility for those confident enough to mix up proportions and try new shapes. "There's definitely more of a sportswear than a couture influence this fall," says Tom Julian, longtime fashion analyst and director of trends for McCann Erickson, a global advertising agency. Women are less inclined to be ostentatious and more willing to buy if something looks like a good investment, has versatility and might do for more than a season or two.

While certain luxury goods are still selling well, according to retail analysts, the willy-nilly spending on It bags and high-end labels of the moment has slowed, adding pressure on designers to offer just the right items for fall. "Fashion has been increasingly dressing up for the past several seasons and is in the feminine frame of mind," says June Rau, Nordstrom's fashion director for the western region. "Women will take certain pieces they're familiar with and work it into their wardrobe." The overall aesthetic is "polished and precisely put together," she adds, and what will make a jacket or a skirt look fresh is a color choice, a winter floral print or a fuller, boxier shape.

American designers seem to have decided on a more practical approach for fall, what with all the basic black, bundled silhouettes and traditional, winter fabrics. Much of it was richly sophisticated, as if they realized that there was more substance to courting a woman rather than an ingenue. Rather than showy gold glitz, it was a warm, mustard-gold shade that prevailed on runways. Marc Jacobs, whose runway ensembles at first glance always appear odd and unwearable (cocoon-shaped coats with ballooning backs, belted below the hips? Long knicker-shorts with dropped crotches?), remains the most-watched American designer. For the first time, his slot was the last show of the week this season, and except for a color pallette that included winter pastels, his clothes were unlike anything seen all week.

The coats were at once long and lean, voluminous and complicated. The evening gowns were melancholy and slinky. And once you got past the tricorn hats and lust-inducing handbags, there were sweaters and pants and jackets that could be construed as . . . classics. While frivolity was scarce on most runways, there were still plenty of fanciful and luxe touches. Metallic jacquards showed up in the collections of Vera Wang and Angel Sanchez. Fringe swung from bags, boots, skirts and vests at Zac Posen, Anna Sui and Betsey Johnson. Fur and feathers were flying on the catwalks of Badgley Mischka, Monique Lhuillier, Naeem Khan and Behnaz Sarafpour.

Themes and designer inspirations were made apparent at many shows. Michael Kors, whose signature is luxury American sportswear, sent his models out in oversized specs and "Mad Men" fedoras, wearing coats and belted shifts that would look grand on Eva Marie Saint. A huntress theme at Carolina Herrera translated to autumnal colors of squash, pumpkin, China blue and brown along with tattersall plaid. Riding jackets, capes and feathered hats were aristocratic touches that made the point. Diane von Furstenberg related an entire story for her collection, starting with a muse who sews diamonds into the hem of her dress to flee from Berlin to Shanghai, then moves on to the art deco glam of New York. No era is specified in her program notes, but the clothes had a touches of the 1920s, '30s and '40s in the form of flapper dresses, belted jackets and loose-fitting trousers.

The Bay Area has reason to proudly proclaim designers Peter Som, Derek Lam and sisters Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte as its own. Their presentations each season have become must-attends by influential magazine and newspaper editors and top retailers. Som had one of the best shows of the week with a collection that was both dreamy and practical. A blue and black metalassé full skirt and fitted black washed patent leather jacket was fresh and edgy for a designer who usually sticks to pretty. Among his best pieces were side-draped dresses and skirts.

This is Som's debut collection for Bill Blass, and he captured the late designer's essence with a number of trouser suits, cocktail dresses, gala gowns and substantial ruffles. Also noted were a few Som-ish touches in the playful details, prints and color combinations. Lam took inspiration from Isak Dinesen, the pen name of Karen von Blixen-Finecke who wrote "Out of Africa" in 1937. His collection played with proportion, serving up elegant suits and layering that flowed from one garment into another. While the dark tones and tailoring could have been too heavy, the clothes were lively, with movement and drama. In just a few seasons, Rodarte has become one of the top draws during Fashion Week with meticulously constructed garments that come close to couture. The designers Mulleavy, who now live in Pasadena but grew up in Capitola, offered more of the stringy, webby knit separates and ethereal ballerina frocks that they did for this spring. While the dancer dresses were confections of froth, it was the gorgeous, airy knits that will be coveted for closets this fall.

At the House of Lanvin, the Return of French Chic

For more information about the Lanvin Kentucky Tote, click here.

By CATHY HORYN

PARIS — A few moments after the last dress appeared at the Lanvin show, a garnet-color silk drape that swept the boards of the Salle Wagram and was worn with a single strand of pearls, the applause started. It grew thunderous when the designer, Alber Elbaz, took his bow, and it followed him backstage, crowded and hot, as people pressed forward — the models, the photographers surrounding him — and then another spontaneous cheer went up.No show of the spring 2005 ready-to-wear season, which ended here on Sunday, received such a response.

Mr. Elbaz's collection was perfect because the clothes themselves were imperfect. They were made of washed cotton and silk faille, often with raw edges. Some of the jackets, shapely, with wide lapels, were creased at the elbows, as if they had already been worn, and Mr. Elbaz's many skirts came not just in different volumes but also in subtle degrees of volume, which you can get only when clothes are made by hand.

Contemporary life is messy and fast-paced, and for that reason clothes should look relaxed, but few designers are able to adapt French technique to that modern ideal better than Mr. Elbaz. It might be a single-buttoned jacket in white silk with a loose back (after Balenciaga), worn over a knee-length black skirt that looks as airy as gazar, or a plain raincoat in taupe faille that is manifestly Parisian in its silhouette.

Mr. Elbaz's starting point was Venice and Fortuny, to which he added a blend of Lyon silk and Madame Grès drapery, and tribal patterns from Uzbekistan. Lyon, Venice, Uzbekistan: unwittingly, he had taken the Silk Road.

But there is nothing remotely casual about his brain. Few young designers would have the audacity to propose a teacup-shaped skirt with a silk top draping over it — the proportion would rattle them — or see the simplicity of putting a navy charmeuse shirt, its sleeves rolled up like a man's, with a slim black faille skirt.

Among those who came to the Salle Wagram on Sunday to watch were two of Mr. Elbaz's former bosses: Ralph Toledano, now the president of Chloé; and Pierre Bergé, the former chief of Yves Saint Laurent.

By contrast, the clothes that Stefano Pilati showed in his debut collection for Yves Saint Laurent lacked air. They came close to falling on French clichés of seduction: the nipped little waist, the high heel with a pompom on the toe, the short skirt gathered bustle-style over the fanny. At this stage, there's no need to point out that Mr. Saint Laurent's clothes represented all things French, but what made him modern, especially in the 1960's and 70's, were the things he rejected about French life, particularly its stuffier bourgeois codes. And Mr. Pilati, strange as it must sound, embraced them in this collection.

While he was right to want to impart a sense of line at Saint Laurent, even if the short lengths and fussy skirts will be cruel to most women, Mr. Pilati needs to get his head around what made Saint Laurent clothes click with women in the first place. That doesn't mean duplicating the safari jacket or the smoking, only understanding why they mattered — and then finding a contemporary expression, as Mr. Elbaz has done at Lanvin.

Mr. Pilati has the talent. It was evident in a deep purple suede coat and in his spree of polka dots. But he needs to relax, break up the outfits, and be more daring than respectful.

As Loulou de la Falaise, who was Mr. Saint Laurent's assistant for many years, said on her way out of the Lanvin show, French chic looks cool again. "It's not about showing off," said Ms. de la Falaise, whose own collection of seersucker trousers mixed with chiffon Liberty prints and cotton tuxedo-front shirts picked out in lace effortlessly underscored that point.

Olivier Theyskens at Rochas and Lars Nilsson at Nina Ricci have also given a fresh spin to French dressmaking. The news at Rochas was blurry floral prints and a more relaxed attitude for day, though Mr. Theyskens's best gesture was to hint at undressing in his immaculate clothes. He did this mostly at the back, with a glimpse of a couture foundation or a half-open seam that suggested a dress being unzipped.

Mr. Nilsson continues to expand on Nina Ricci's sexy underpinnings, adding bras he worked on with the corsetier Mr. Pearl, while giving more substance to the clothes: gray taffeta jackets subtly pinstriped with white threads and charming wrap dresses with hazy polka dots and a hem of Jacquard-weave lace. His palette, too, is more expansive, with raspberry and a deep raisin tone added to the Ricci buttercup.

Rounding out a strong Paris season was Valentino's glossy collection, which, along with VAL belt buckles and chic Empire dresses in lilac, had major Tressie hair (you know, older girls, Barbie's friend). An American retail chief compared the collection to a candy store of treats, and later was seen bounding toward Ladurée, the pastry shop. I guess he couldn't wait. Valentino's plissé dresses and his creamy whites, mixed with coffee and gold, made for a sweet hit parade.

Things about clothes that boys just don’t get

By HADLEY FREEMAN

Fashion should be about self-expression, not worrying about what pleases men – if they don't like it that's too damn bad, says style expert Hadley Freeman, left. Here she offers her wardrobe wisdom to help you feel more confident and look even better

BAGS and why we love them
Women love bags for the same reasons they love shoes: they don't make you feel fat, you don't have to get undressed to try them on, size is either a non-issue or simply not related to your stomach, and they don't necessarily suit Kate Moss any better than you. Get one with a strap just long enough to shove on to your shoulder or hold in your hand. Don't be an idiot and get one in suede, cotton, canvas or some other non-waterproof fabric that you have to worry about getting dirty. You can find perfectly decent bags on the high street but they tend either to look like they're made for 13- year-old girls or for Her Maj herself.

This is yet another reason, on top of the more obvious status symbol cachet, why more and more women are forking out for designer handbags. Plus you will probably give your bag more of a battering than you will a summer dress, so it is worth spending a little bit more on something that is well made and won't fall apart after three outings and one rainfall. A smidgen of practical justification – but just a smidgen, mind.


DRESSES: God's gift to women
There is no garment more liberating to women than a dress (except maybe a nice hotel bathrobe, but we're not allowed to go to work in those yet). A good dress will never make you feel fat, can be worn with flats or heels, and everybody can find a style that suits them. None of these statements can be applied to trousers, which squeeze round your waist and thighs, often make your bum look the size of Ecuador and slip down ever so immodestly when you sit – and yes, I am including jeans in these criticisms. With judicious layering you can wear a summer dress all year round, and the fact that you need to deal with only one garment in the morning is the sartorial icing on this fashion gâteau.

To the old rule "the higher the hemline, the lower the heel," one could add "the higher the hemline, the longer the sleeves", merely to compensate in terms of flesh coverage. The joy of most dresses lies in their kindness to most body types by sculpting them into a more flattering shape. (Warning: the wrap dress is, contrary to popular belief, kind only to the chosen few. If you have a curvy bust, narrow waist and flattish stomach, well done, you have found your uniform. If you fall short in any of these departments, its much praised jersey fabric manages to be both unflatteringly clingy and immodestly loose.)

JEWELLERY and when fashion just gets obnoxious
There is no point to real jewellery except to show off how rich you are. The only excuse would be if you were living in some soon-to-be-toppled economy where you had to convert your life savings into something that wouldn't be worthless tomorrow. All too often women think that if they're going to get the jewellery out they may as well go the whole hog – a statement piece. Think oversized clanging earrings, hideous brooches, whacking great necklace dangling down a cleavage. Accessories are the sprinkles on a cake – there to improve, not form the whole meal. They are not essential and, when done badly, definitely an over-sweetened detriment. But when employed with a sage and delicate hand they make the difference between generic blandness and decorative indulgence.

HEELS: The highs, the lows – and when fat is better than thin
The whole theory behind heels is that men, allegedly, find them sexy. A spindly spike creates the illusion that the woman is an airy Tinkerbell-like creature who can float through the air, carried only by toothpicks beneath her feet, such is her lightness. The brilliant thing about the thick heel is that it doesn't look like you're trying so hard to be sexy and this, in itself, is sexier. There is something undeniably tragic about seeing a woman teeter about on her spindly heels all in the name of male approval, whereas a woman who wears thick heels oozes confidence.


The stiletto is the oddest concept, and it would have been interesting to see how it was first pitched: "Hey, I know, guys! Let's make shoes that force women to walk on their tippy-toes all day. Crank up the machines!" And yet, here we are, hundreds of millions of women hoisting themselves daily on to the balls of their feet in the name of fashion, spending hundreds of pounds on shoes they literally cannot walk in. Stilettos make women: a) grumpy, b) lazy (due to immobility), and c) pathetically slow. This is not to deny that high heels can be fun.

Yes, they're glamorous and yes, they're quite fun to dance in for a few minutes. But there are so many pretty, dainty flats to wear to parties, and you'll dash about like a veritable dynamo, leaving men in your wake wondering who that fabulous creature was. Wear stilettos and you'll spend the evening slumped uncomfortably in the corner before you give it up, take off your shoes and show the world your cracked heels and hammer toes.

SIZING: The high-street myth
Billions of women bow down daily to the altar of size, basing their mood and general sense of self on whether or not they are able to fit into the size 10 trousers today. If it's a yes, you'll skip down the street to the bus stop, patting small children on the head and waving jauntily to the newsagent as if you were starring in a Judy Garland musical. Can't even get them over your thighs? A cloud as dark as pitch swamps your horizon, you're filled with self-loathing and disgust and cancel that lunch with your friend because you have decided never to eat again.

Yet sizes alter between shops and designers because there are no stipulations about what the measurements are – everyone knows that one store's size 10 is another's size 12. Many high-street stores need to bear in mind that a large majority of their customers are teenagers and therefore their sizes have to be a little smaller to avoid putting negative digits on some of their labels. But that does seem a bit tough on the adult shopper.

So although sizes should not be seen as a negative reflection on your personal appearance, they should, nonetheless, be taken pretty personally. A store whose sizes seem to be so angrily unwelcoming is a store that is saying it doesn't want you as a customer. Respond in kind with a spin on your heel and your purse remaining tucked inside your whatever-sized jeans.

VANITY: The joys thereof?
When people knock fashion the most common criticism is that it's a vain, self-obsessed pursuit. But the fact is that feeling pride in one's appearance instils happiness and self-confidence. I concede that at times this does cross over into extremes resulting in quite the opposite, with women labouring under a lifetime curse of self-hatred and physical contortion – and this is very wrong. But it seems similarly anti-female to insist that in order to be a true feminist, one is not allowed to have any vanity. This is just a breath away from the old anti-feminist stereotype about hairy armpits which has made a current generation of girls loath to describe themselves as feminists in case this makes them sound in favour of body hair as opposed to equal pay.

Patriarchal society or not, everyone likes to look good. Even Ann Widdecombe went blond, and, as this proves, this is not just about looking good for the boys – it's about looking in the mirror and having a little smile. DATES and why they are the one event for which you really needn't worry about what you wear. Of course you want to look nice, but you know what looks best of all? You feeling comfortable, relaxed and confident about your appearance. You could find the shortest, slinkiest, sexiest dress in the world, but if you spend the whole evening tugging at your cleavage and pulling down the hem you may as well have worn a sack for all the seductive signals you're giving out.

Don't wear stupid shoes you can't walk in, and don't wear anything that will give you hypothermia; just stick with an old favourite that always makes you feel good and has garnered you compliments in the past. A girl laughing and dancing and making sparkly conversation = attractive; a girl whingeing about being cold and insisting on getting a taxi for a 200-yard journey = a colossal pain.

Taken from The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable by Hadley Freeman (Penguin, £15).

JEANNE LANVIN

LANVIN designer handbags tall black patent leather tote kentucky bag. It's a tote or shoulder bag. It's the ultimate designer purse. A perfect find for the designer purse connoisseur. A tall black patent leather trimmed with black grain leather. Double rolled and stitched straps. Fully lined. Inside pocket. LANVIN silver and gold tone medallion hangs off one side of the handle. Black leather strapping completely around the top of the bag and down front and backside. Adjustable notches can be used to change the size of the bag. The Lanvin Kentucky bag measures about 14 x 13 x 5 inches with double straps about 20 inches each. The drop is about 8 inches. The Lanvin bag is called the Kentucky bag. It is constructed of patent calf veau verni. This model has been handcrafted with the most natural leathers and treated in order to respect their authenticity. The irregular aspect is inherited from the natural beauty of this leather.Guaranteed authentic. Comes with sleeper bag.

Lanvin is a Paris clothing label founded by Jeanne Lanvin. Jeanne Lanvin was born in 1847 and died in 1946. She was a French fashion designer and the founder of the Lanvin fashion house. Lanvin became known for her mother and daughter outfits and exquisite robes de style as well as her modern and global approach to the fashion industry. Lanvin was the eldest of 11 children. At age 16 she was an apprentice milliner at Madame Felix in Paris then trained at dressmaker Talbot and 1889 set up as a milliner at 22 rue du Faubourg Saint Honore. The House of Lanvin is one of the most famous Paris design houses of our time.

from The History of Fashion

Madame Jeanne Lanvin's active fashion career spanned 50 years from the 1890's up to the New Look just after World War II. In 1867 Jeanne Lanvin was born on New Year's day of 1867 in Parus, France. She was the eldest of 10 children of a pair of Paris journalist. She started her career at the age of 13 in the year 1880 at the hatshop of Madam Felix in the famous fashion street of Paris, the Rue du Faubourg Sant-Honore.. Then she trained as a dressmaker at a house called Talbot. In 1889 she started up her own millinery shop in the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore and added womenswear to her line.

In 1901 the Lanvin name was added toi the French Fashion Yearbook (or directory of designers) and she became very popular.. In 1895 Jeanne married the Italian aristocrat Count Emilio di Pieror. In 1897 her daughter Marguerite was born. She divorced Count Pietro in 1903. However, she remarried in 1907 to a journalist named Xavir Melet, who later became the French consul in Manchester, England, although Jeanne did not live in England much.

While making hats in the first decade of the 1900's, she also made dresses for a younger sister and her daughter. Lanvin's clothes came to the attention of other mothers with daughters, who asked her to make dresses for them, so in 1909 Jeanne began making dresses for sale (in addition to hats) and her reputation grew in Paris as a designer of mother-daughter fashions. As can be seen from the pictures shown here of early 1910's (Edwardian era in England) of the clothes she made, she made no distinction between women's and children's wear, the youthfulness of both being an important aspect of early 20th century fashion. Demand by young women for her clothes, persuaded Jeanne Lanvin to open a Haute Couture section of her house, selling very high quality -mother/daughter fashions. Jeanne's love of Botticelli, stained glass windows and Impressionist paintings was the inspiration for her romantic clothes. She dressed the Princesse de Lucinge, Sasha Guitry's four wives, and numerous other celebrities of the day. A tulle collar worn on top of a black daydress, is shown here.

The Lanvin Logo

Paul Iribe, the famous illustrator, created the Logo shown on the right, for the house of Lanvin, from a drawing by Jeanne herself stressing the bond between here as a mother and her daughter Marguerite (called by her ......) shown on the left. Jeanne Lanvin's daughter Marguerite was a beautiful child and young adult, adored by her mother, with a brilliant sense of style. Her mother loved to dress her in wonderful creations. In the early 1920's she made a very aristocratic marriage to a French Count. She was one of the leading fashion icons of the 1920's and 1930's. She changed her name to Marie-Blance abd became the Comtesse de Polignac, continuing to wear her mother's beautiful gowns. In 1913 Lanvin created her famous "robes de style" based on 18th century designs. These small waisted, full skirted dresses remained popular for many years and were fore-runners of the New Look which Dior brought out just after World War II.

In 1914 influenced by orientalism, she turned to exotic evening wear in Eastern-style velvets and satins. During the 20's Lanvin made a simple Chemise dress which later became the basic outline for the twenties. Over the following years, she introduced several interesting developments. In 1921 a Riviera collection introduced Aztec embroidery. In 1922 a Breton suit appeared in the Lanvin collection. This comprised a gently gathered skirt, a short braided jacket with lots of small buttons and a big white organdy collar turning down over a red satin bow. A sailor hat topped the outfit.

In 1919, just after World War I ended, Jeanne introduced what was called the "Wartime Crinoline". It was a big change from the Hobble skirt in fashion just a few years earlier (started by Poiret) and ladies preferred the new mid-calf length fuller skirt, with the waist in the proper place. One of her designs from 1919 is shown here.on the right. With this look, a parasol, a wide-brimmed hat and a fan were compulsory accessories if one wanted to be "de rigeur". Many of her evening gowns were fringed with monkey fur, ostrich, steel beads, velvet ribbons or silk tassels.

As the 1920's came in, dancing was the craze, so dresses got shorter, withe fringes at thehem, and a flatter chested silhouette was popular. Hair was much shorter than in the Edwardian decade and so the Cloche hat became popular. Headbands were also a craze to keep the hair in place while doing dances like the Charleston. Jeanne Lanvin kept up with all these new crazes by designing the clothes the young twenties ladies wanted. Jeanne Lanvin dressed film actresses like Mary Pickford, Marlene Dietrich and Yvonne Printemps in the 20's and 30's. She also had clients like the Queens of Italy and Roumania, and English princesses.

Her work was easily recognizable by her skilful use of embroidery and her fine craftsmanship as shown here from 1923. She used a particular shade of blue so often that it came to be known as "Lanvin Blue". For Jeanne Lanvin, women were meant to wear clothes of unabashed feminity, in colours that were pretty, and whose shapes had a "young girl" look. She often set the mood with narrow empire-waisted dresses and long trailing sleeves. In 1926 a menswear division was opened by Lanvin, and so she became the first couturier to dress whole families including sons and fathers. Her branches were opened in Nice, Cannes and Biarritz.

The fabrics that she used were silk, taffeta, velvet, silk chiffon, organza, lace, tulle, etc. She used a lot of free-flowing ribbons, ruffles, flowers, lace, mirrors, etc., and liked ornamentation like applique, couching, quilting, parallel stitching, and embroidery. The house of Lanvin, like all other houses, suffered throughout the 2nd World War, although she kept designing. In 1946, Jeanne Lanvin died at the age of 79. Her daughter Marie-Blanche took over the running of the house, till she herself died in 1958. Antonio del Castillo, a Spanish designer, joined Lanvin as designer in 1950 and returned the house to great success. He remained until 1962. In 1963 Jules-Francois Crahay, a Belgian designer, took over the reins of the house, and remained till 1984. In 1982 Maryll Lanvin, the third generation of the Lanvin family, started designing for the house. The Cosmetic giant L'Oreal acquired the house of Lanvin in 1990 and has appointed several designers thereafter.

During the 90's in addition to presenting his own collections, Claude Montana has also been designing for Lanvin. Giorgio Armani also designed for a while. From 1997 to 2001 Christina Ortiz was the chief designer for haute couture. From 1997 to 2001 Lanvin's ready-to-wear collections were being designed by ex-Versace, ex-Herve Leger designer Ocimar Versolato. In August 2001 an investor group led by Shaw Lan Wang, a Taiwanese media baroness, took over the house of Lanvin. They appointed Israeli-born designer Elber Albaz as the new creative director of Lanvin. His first collection was Fall 2002.

Alber Elbaz

In October 2001, the house of Lanvin announced the appointment of Alber Elbaz as the new creative director. His first collection was Fall 2002. Click on Alber Elbaz to read more about him.

Spring/Summer 2003 :

Alber Elbaz presented Lanvin's Spring/Summer 2003 collection in Paris in October 2002 which was very well received. This is an outfit from that collection. He beat the drum for Africa and produced a graceful collection of rugged linens, raw edges and proud heads.

Fall/Winter 2003 :

Alber presented the Fall collection for the house of Lanvin during Paris Fashion Week in March 2003. On the right is an outfit from the collection which had a ladylike-meets-military theme. Elbaz pushed delicate classicism towards an inspiring new edge. He used extravagant materials - satin ribbon Chantilly lace, couture-grade silk, python skin and fur - and worked them alongside more modern exposed zippers and ribbed jersey.

Spring/Summer 2004

During Paris Fashion Week in October 2003, Alber Elbaz showed his Lanvin collection for next Spring. A dress from this collection is shown on the left. His particular focus was seamless draping, possibly the trickiest of all technical challenges. He showed slinky thirties-era glamour. He wrapped satin and taffeta around the body, with edges tied in loose flat bows or flicks out from sides of dresses. Silver or bronze sequined dresses looked divine and right in step with this season's styles. He described how the collection evolved by saying "every dress was done three times and everytime I cancelled something, in the end we only did dresses made out of one piece of fabric. This was new for me, very light, almost timeless. I added masks to give a mood of carnival of happiness and enjoyment." If you want to read more about Alber Elbaz career, click here.

Fall/Winter 2004 ready-to-wear

Alber Elbaz presented the Lanvin Fall collection in Paris during Fashion Week in March 2004. An outfit from the show is pictured on the right. this is a glorious feather coat which seems to fly away. Alber is a favourite with celebrity ladies because of his signature touches. His taffeta trench coats, satin ribbon details, his use of jewelry. This time he pinned crystal flower brooches on day dresses and put shredded chiffon roses in buttonholes. Some of his creations were so innovative, like a twisted loop at the back of a short black silk dress that opened to transform into a train. Another was a draped silk apron that untied to leave a bare shif beneath. He showed vests which could be worn over or under coats and detachable collars and cuffs to change your outfit according to your mood.

Spring/Summer 2005

During Paris Fashion Week in October 2004, Alber Elbaz showed his Lanvin collection for next Spring. A dress from this collection is shown on the left. This collection emphasized the success that Alber is having, showing generous skirts and puffy silhouettes drenched in exquisite colour from intense purples through sophisticated neutrals and pastels. He used Greek pleats along the lines of Madame Gres' creations and flowy gowns like Fortuny's tunics. His embellishments were strands of pearls, ribbons or blue stones, and he even added brass-bobbles to pockets.

Autumn/Winter 2005

The much beloved Alber Elbaz' Autumn/Winter collection for the house of Lanvin, was shown during Paris Fashion Week in March 2005. On the left is one of the beautiful Little Black Dresses included in the show, this one with a high waist line and a fluttering chiffon skirt. He has been most successful at Lanvin because of his soft dresses and simple coats. He played with different silhouettes in a masterful way, short and wide for a swing coat or full skirt and long and slim with a mini trench coat. A sharp tuxedo coat dress or a playful feathered dress, along with a grey jersey column that was grace itself.

Lanvin's Success

Alber has become much beloved by Lanvin clientele. He uses not only black, or the white he chose when Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons asked him to participate in her London store, but also vivid satins in parakeet green or fuscsia, or a bright red trenchcoat. He says that his boss offers him freedom and respect so that he can mix sportswear with couture grace, comfort with elegance.

Spring/Summer 2006
Paris Fashion Week

Alber Elbaz presented his Lanvin Spring/Summer 2006 collection during Paris Fashion Week in October 2005. A grey satin sleeveless knee-lenth dress from the collection is shown on the right. It has applique black satin flowers on it. He went for the eighties look, with a lot of black clothes worn with obi sashes or a Japanese hair ornament. Shoulders were sharper this season, and neckties gave some clothes a masculine air. He used Japan and cherry blossoms as inspiration for his cocktail dresses. He did use a few witty details, like a zipper deliberately left half closed on the back of a dress. Kimono dresses, delicately wrapped, were charming.

Getting a Handle on Louboutin

from Women's Wear Daily

PARIS — Christian Louboutin is outfitting his business with a new platform of controlled growth. Key legs of the plan include a concerted push into handbags, a rollout of boutiques and more aggressive protection of the brand's trademarks, especially Louboutin's signature red soles. In an exclusive interview, Louboutin and Alexis Mourot, his chief operating officer and general manager, outlined a plan that includes:

- Building handbags, which represents less than 5 percent of sales today, to 20 percent of the business in three years.

- Expanding the company's network of freestanding stores to 36 locations in the next three years, up from nine at present.

- Trimming wholesale distribution worldwide to give the brand maximum exposure in the best doors.

In recent years, Louboutin's growth has been explosive and the designer — known for an exacting, hands-on approach to design and quality control — tapped Mourot from Marc Jacobs International to exert a tighter grip on various aspects of the business, from the supply chain and distribution to brand management.

Retail sales of Louboutin products reached 170 million euros, or $248.2 million, last year, according to Mourot, and revenues have been advancing in excess of 40 percent annually.

"The only thing that stops our growth is our production capacity," said Louboutin, dressed in a striped blazer and vivid orange corduroy pants. Mourot said he's streamlined the order-taking process, and negotiated a "number-one priority" status with all the brand's factories in Italy. "It's great to have a good product, but it's even better to have great products delivered earlier and better," he said.

On the distribution front, Mourot has been weeding out smaller doors in the U.S. and Japan, particularly apparel-driven boutiques where designer footwear gets little prominence.

"The sell-through is always better when you're well represented and when you're not mixed with the clothes," Louboutin explained. "And when we're in a shoe salon, we want to be the best one with the best representation."

Wholesale represents 88 percent of revenues, a proportion that will change as Louboutin boutiques, both company-owned and with retail partners, open up around the world. Coming this year are new locations in Las Vegas; South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif.; London; Jakarta, Indonesia; Singapore, and either Beijing or Shanghai, plus a second store in Moscow and a third in Paris.

Mourot said he envisions up to 10 stores in the U.S., "but no more." An agreement with Hong Kong-based Pedder Group calls for 12 stores in the next four years in the Asian region, excluding Japan.

At present, the U.S. accounts for 52 percent of Louboutin's sales; Europe, the Middle East and Russia, 30 percent, and Asia and Japan, 18 percent.

Louboutin introduced handbags about two years ago, and has even collaborated with a local graffiti artist on some styles. Recently, however, he assembled a dedicated team of designers, merchandisers and production experts to build the business and respond to growing demand from customers, especially for daytime styles.

Part one of his fall 2008 collection includes a range of functional bags — some with built-in pocketbooks, others with intricate passementerie embroideries — along with jewel-like evening clutches and pouches with chain handles. A coin-purse-style clasp with two heel-to-heel stilettos is a signature feature on many styles.

Mourot and Louboutin said existing stores would be expanded or reconfigured to better display the expanded bag ranges.

As for trademark protection, Mourot declined to give specifics on recent cases, citing confidentiality agreements, but he vowed to become more vigilant in protecting the Louboutin trademark, with the red soles now recognized worldwide as the designer's property.

And, while it's fast approaching big-league status, Louboutin's company retains an informal and familial atmosphere — his headquarters a jumble of separate offices, showrooms and ateliers on Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau that ensures a constant game of "Where's Christian?" Louboutin said he's keen to keep things that way: "It's still a very young adventure."

Anya Hindmarch's designer handbags getting a lot of press lately

ANYA HINDMARCH ossie handbag in bronze metallic leather

Anya Hindmarch: Dave's got a brand new bag lady
She turned a £5 cotton shopper into the most desirable handbag around and was trying to save the planet. Now the superstar designer is helping David Cameron do the same for the Tories

Interview by Cole Moreton

When Anya Hindmarch says that she loves Baroness Thatcher, I want to run. "She has been such an inspiration," says the designer, and I want to leave her sitting there in her boardroom, calm among scented candles and £600 handbags, and flee – down the stairs, past the willowy beauties in the office and out on to the streets of Battersea. I want to find a betting shop, and say to the man behind the counter, breathlessly: "A fiver. On Dave. To say he loves Maggie."

If he can make sense of that, the odds will be high. David Cameron, Conservative leader, often seems embarrassed to be in the same party as the elderly, wild-eyed Baroness Thatcher. But here is Anya Hindmarch, the nation's most fashionable designer of handbags (go on, name another) who is a good friend of Dave and the glamorous organiser of this Wednesday's Black and White Ball – the glitziest night of the Tory year, when the New Cameronians will strut their stuff – enthusing about her debt to the Iron Lady. "I started my business young," she says. "I was 18. Lady Thatcher was pushing the nation to say, 'Get on with it. Get out there. Get going.' Everyone was buying shares ..."

She makes it sound as thrilling as naked skydiving. Perhaps it was. Plenty of people came down with an equally nasty bump, but that's forgotten now in Tory circles. So was Thatcher, but watch this space. As she speaks I think, hmm, Dave must be for turning.

Anya Hindmarch knows what people want before they do, you see. That's her job. The woman sitting straight-backed at the big white table, dressed in black, is also an alchemist. She sniffs out moods, plucks fancies from the air, and combines them with leather and cloth to create objects that sell for a lot of gold. If she says Thatcher is cool again, she's cool again.

Twice Glamour magazine's Designer of the Year, Hindmarch will have 60 shops around the world by the end of this, her 40th, year. Madonna carries her bags, as does Scarlett Johansson. To those of us who can't tell a Prada from a Lada, she is best known for I'm Not A Plastic Bag, the £5, limited-edition tote that caused near-riots when it went on sale last year. The unbleached cotton bag was meant to help save the planet by easing pressure on landfill sites, but also made her a household name. On the day of release, 80,000 people queued to buy one.

"It was unbelievable," says Hindmarch, but that's false modesty. "We planned to get as much drama and hysteria into it as possible." Why? "I wanted to make people aware that doing what I used to do – going to the supermarket, taking 30 plastic bags because I've got five children, going home and putting all the bags in the bin and, ultimately, the landfill – is stupid."

The queues were replicated in the States and around the world. In Taiwan, 30 people were hospitalised in the scramble. "It was awful." Sales of that bag have now stopped, except on auction sites. But how do you plan for "drama and hysteria"?

"The fashion formula," she says, quietly but quickly. What's that? "If a designer who would normally sell a bag for £500 suddenly sells one for £5, the access point to the brand is much lower. Add an incredibly important cause that everyone is starting to think about. Get Keira Knightley wearing it, and other beautiful chicks who are very influential. Then there is scarcity value, which was not manufactured – we just had no idea how many we would need. That's quite a potent formula."

The attacks on her were potent too. The bag was made in sweatshops, wasn't it? "Categorically not. It was made by a fantastic factory which makes for the biggest American companies and is audited externally every month." Shipping it here from China was hardly planet friendly though? "That's naïve. We're not going to be able to make something that will create the awareness we need for £5 in England. My God, I wish ... but we can't." But some shops sold it in plastic bags, didn't they? "No. We told the stores not to let anyone do that. Some customers did take a plastic bag from the counter because they had been queueing all night for their girlfriend and didn't want to get a mark on it. You want to smack them, but there's nothing you can do about it."

The bottom line was the message. "People who bought one are spreading the word. We did something I am proud of." The transportation was carbon offset. "I'm not convinced by all that, but there are big wins we can make. Let's focus on those."

That sounds very much like Dave. "Oh God. Stop it!" Like Cameron, she grew up in a happy family, has lots of money and lives in an exclusive area (Belgravia, in her case). Like him, she has the ability to make you forget all that when you meet her. You can almost see her lugging shopping from Sainsbury's into the back of her Land Rover, without a nanny or personal assistant in sight. Almost.

"I'm thinking Jude Law," she says on the phone to one of her sons, who wants to know how to get his hair cut. Hindmarch is married to James Seymour, a director of her company. He was a widower when they met and had three children already. They have had two more together. "Actually," she says, flicking the phone off, "I'm thinking of Jude Law pretty much all the time!"

She's nice. That's disconcerting. The girls downstairs stared as if they'd never seen a slightly overweight, poorly-dressed man before, but she even apologises for eating a quiche and a mountain of broccoli while we talk. She's deadly serious about business, but admits with a laugh that fashion is "a bit frilly". It's a form of brainwashing isn't it? "Yes," she says cheerfully. "I'm fascinated by it. We will look back on this era, with those stick-thin women with those huge lollipop heads, and go, 'What was anyone thinking? How could that ever be attractive?'"

That's Anya Hindmarch talking. The name on the bags the stick girls carry. The daughter of a self-made man. Born in one of the posher parts of Essex, she didn't go to university after convent school. She went to Italy to check out leather goods, and came back with a handbag that "all the cool girls were wearing". She sold them – thanks to a friend of a friend – through Harpers and Queen. Hindmarch still designs the understated, handmade bags herself, from whatever inspires her. "Fifties architecture, at the moment."

But come on, why bags? What is there to get hysterical about? "I love bags," she says, "because you don't have to try them on, you don't have to be a certain size, they can completely alter your mood." Really? "Ha! It's weird talking to a guy about this. A girl spends a ridiculous amount of money on a handbag. It's madness. But why? They are mood altering. When an actor gets into his shoes, he gets into the part. It's the same thing for a girl with a handbag," she says. "It is a form of self-expression, which is very important in life. It's showing our colours. It's tribal."

How does she square an environmentalist's dislike of waste with blowing a fortune on a bag? "Look, there's a huge industry behind this. There's an awful lot of people downstairs I employ, all of whose families are supported. That is the way the world works. I'm a commercial girl." And a modern girl. A leading member of the "new gang" of successful, young and fashionable Londoners she says are committing to the party. The environmentalist Zac Goldsmith was alongside her on the organising committee for the Black and White Ball, but many more creative and successful friends have "come out of the closet" in recent months, she says. "They all agree we need a change."

Guests will pay at least £450 (and up to £35,000) for a ticket. Charles Moore, the former Telegraph editor, called last year's party "an ordeal" featuring "someone dressed like a Russian prostitute sprawled on a bar playing an aluminium guitar". But that wasn't organised by Hindmarch. "I hope it will be elegant and beautiful. We've built eight Chelsea Flower Show gardens inside a tent."

This being New Tory, the flowers will be exquisitely tasteful, but not just for show. "We're donating most of the plants to schools and parks through the Conservative Social Action Programme. That's probably as much as I should say on politics." Probably. Let's press on anyway. It's the Notting Hill Party now, isn't it? "The people I have spoken to are not the Notting Hill gang," she says, a little crossly. "They're from all sorts of backgrounds. People who have got off their bums and done something."

Very Thatcher. Hanging on the wall of her office in a frame is a handwritten letter from the baroness, thanking Hindmarch for the navy blue handbag she sent as a gift. And guess what? Dave loves Maggie now too, it turns out after this interview. To many people's surprise, on Thursday he presented this "towering figure" with a Great Briton award. Anya Hindmarch knew what was in the air. It's what she does. Shame about the bet, though – with a big win, I could almost have bought a handle.

8 Style Musts If You're Front Row At NYC Fashion Week (Or Would Like To Be)

by Huffington Post

1. Well, let's see, no sooner had I written a piece entitled "The Death of the Designer Handbag," than I see the Wall Street Journal has written almost exactly the same article in last weekend's paper. I predicted it, the WSJ blessed it, so, I think it's fair to say that as you're sitting front row (or in any row for that matter) at the shows here next week, it's not about making a fashion statement with your new tricked out handbag. It's all about the non-descript handbags today. Want to be cool sitting along the catwalk? Don't flash a logo.

2. So if it's not about the bag, what does stand out? The watch. Now, here, it's ALL ABOUT logo, my friends. I am personally feeling a larger face, preferably round; silver or gold, diamonds or no diamonds. There are no set rules here, almost anything goes. This is a category worth spending on. A great watch can make the most basic outfit look totally chic.

3. Fashion shows are dramatic--they are theater--so dress a bit the part yourself. Add a special something to your look. You'll know you've hit it when you're just a little hesitant to step out your door, but excited with what you've pulled together....that's when you know you're on to something. Take a bit of a risk, and have fun doing it.

4. Sunglasses. 'Nuff said.

5. If you're deathly shy, bring your blackberry. You can keep your face in it until the show gets started and look very popular and very busy in the process.

6. If you're definitely NOT shy, bring your lapdog.

7. Wear the designer's clothes to the show, particularly if you are planning to duck backstage after the show to lay a congratulatory peck on the cheek. There is no greater flattery.

8. Lastly, if you really are sitting front row, you probably don't need this piece of advice but I'll dispense it just in case. Pay attention to the condition of your shoes. I can't tell you how many runway pictures I've scanned where front row attendees invariably have their legs crossed and one foot is front and center...a ratty looking shoe, center stage in someone's shot of the $10,000 gown. Ugh.

In my next blog I'll send up photos of what goes on behind the scenes at a fashion house: the fun, the stress, the insanity leading up to the fashion show. Stay tuned and as always...stay well-dressed.

Italy's Prada plans for June IPO-WSJ

NEW YORK, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Italian luxury fashion house Prada has scheduled its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) for June, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The report, quoting a source familiar with the matter, said the company was planning to list despite worries of a U.S. economic slowdown spreading to Europe's luxury market. The source was quoted as saying the IPO was scheduled for the latter half of June.

Prada, whose designer Miuccia Prada is known to set trends in clothing, shoes and handbags, has said it aims to list in 2008. In December, it said it had appointed banks to coordinate the deal. The company has previously ditched listing plans due to market volatility. "There is nothing new to what we said in December, which is that we are considering an IPO for 2008, and there is no schedule yet," a Prada spokesman in Milan said on Thursday.

"We are meeting with our advisers and we will be evaluating the timing in due course." (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Milan)

Melie Bianco Handbags - A Modern Day Wonder Under $100

DesignersLA now carries fashion forward Melie Bianco handbags
which retail for under $100

Sky Valley, CA (PRWEB) January 28, 2008 – Dedicated to offering its clientele designer handbags at off-retail prices, eFashionHouse.com, named Best of the Web by People magazine’s StyleWatch, continues to find ways to pass on even more savings to its valued customers by carrying famed Melie Bianco handbags. Known for creating handbags that are “chic” and “affordable,” Melie Bianco is fast becoming the talk of the town among fashion editors and style mavens alike due to her fashion forward styles and entirely attainable prices.

“We are so excited to carry Melie Bianco in the DesignersLA store. If owning a designer handbag made from the finest craftsmanship for under a hundred dollars seems to good to be true, than you don’t know about Melie Bianco handbags,” says Anna Miller, eFashionHouse.com owner and operator. “Not only do Melie Bianco handbags fit our young, edgy clientele but they work with our customers who are on a budget or don’t like dropping thousands of dollars on a beloved designer handbag.”

A local Los Angeles designer, Melie Bianco handbags can be seen on the arms of Hollywood starlets but are priced so that non-celebrities can be just as fabulous, which is why her collection has been featured in such fashion magazines like Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Self and People StyleWatch and on TV shows like Today Show and Good Day New York.

Made from the softest “butter-like” faux leathers, Melie Bianco handbags feature sleek modern designs, like distressed patent leather, silver python and gathered hobos. Plus for those who are looking for an alternative to leather, all Melie Bianco handbags are made from faux leather (but you’d never know it). And at such affordable prices, $56-$76 depending on the style, Melie Bianco handbags make the perfect gift for friends and family.

One of five eFashionHouse.com online stores, DesignersLA has been operating since 2003 and only carries Los Angeles-based fashion designers. The site carries a wide range of LA designers from local legends like Bells & Whistles and Melvone to household names like Juicy Couture and Trina Turk. Inventory includes handbags, jewelry and more and all items are 100% authentic and below retail.


About eFashionHouse.com
Anna Miller is the President of i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. She operates the website http://www.efashionhouse.com/ and sells high-end authentic designer handbags and accessories at off-retail prices. EFashionHouse.com was named Best of the Web by People Magazine StyleWatch for Discount Designer Handbags and Purses. eFashionHouse.com should not be confused with any other website selling a similar product or using a similar name. EfashionHouse.com is the home of five fashion ecommerce stores: BrandsBoutique, LuxuryVintage, DesignersLA, ItalysOutlet, and ValueBags. Anna is considered an Internet Pioneer & Ecommerce Entrepreneur. She’s been reselling Designer Merchandise online since the early 90s. eFashionHouse.com has an extensive Press Page and a Fashion Blog Network. Visit the site for more details.

How do I tell him all I want is Chanel!

Please read this today. Please read this in time for Valentine's Day! All I want is Chanel. I don't want candy. I don't want flowers. Save your money and get me something I really want. Chanel will last forever. CoCo Chanel is a fashion icon. I need and want a new toy. Chanel is a perfect new adult female toy. Be nice. Don't laugh at my thoughts. I'm being honest. Really, I am. All I want is Chanel. A Chanel handbag, Chanel jewelry, Chanel belt. ANYTHING CHANEL. Yes, I love you.

eFashionHouse offers online shoppers unlimited designer handbag purchases

Unlike other online stores, eFashionHouse.com offers online shoppers freedom to purchase an unlimited amount of designer handbags. Many large department stores limit online designer handbag purchases to one item per customer.

Sky Valley, CA (PRWEB) January 21, 2008 – eFashionHouse announced today they have no limits when it comes to online shoppers. They do not limit the amount of items one customer can purchase. Unlike the department stores who announced on January 10, 2008, a worldwide purchase control of designer handbags, eFashionHouse proclaims the opposite.

“Our Internet business moto is ‘Shopping without Boundaries.’ We are in business to cater to the world,” said Anna Miller, eFashionHouse.com’s owner. Online shoppers can purchase as many items as they want when placing an online order at eFashionHouse.com.

eFashionHouse was named Best of the Web by People StyleWatch and recognized by About.com as the top online retailer of Chanel.

eFashionHouse ships worldwide, offers deep discounts off retail, charges no sales tax and provides free USA FedEx delivery for orders over $200. Selling online for over twelve years, eFashionHouse lists high end brands like Chanel, Prada, YSL, Gucci, Fendi, Bottega Veneta, Tods, Coach, Tano, Marc Jacobs, Ferragamo, Dior and more.

Unlike many of the other online stores selling the same products, eFashionHouse allows online shoppers to purchase as many designer fashion accessories they want. There’s no limit to the items online shoppers can purchase and the money they can save. eFashionHouse is known for deep discounts on their entire product line.

Aboute FashionHouse.com
Anna Miller is the President of i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. She operates the website http://www.efashionhouse.com/ and sells high-end authentic designer handbags and accessories at off-retail prices. eFashionHouse.com was named BEST OF THE WEB by People StyleWatch Magazine for Discount Designer Handbags and Purses. eFashionHouse.com should not be confused with any other website selling a similar product or using a similar name. eFashionHouse.com is the home of five fashion ecommerce stores: BrandsBoutique, LuxuryVintage, DesignersLA, ItalysOutlet, and ValueBags. Anna is considered an Internet Pioneer and has been reselling Designer Merchandise online since the early 90s.

Online Shopping Brokers: Online Shopping Brokers: CHANEL NEW ARRIVALS

Online Shopping Brokers: CHANEL NEW ARRIVALS

About.com recently named eFashionHouse.com as the top online retailer of Chanel Handbags & Accessories.

Shop eFashionHouse.com

LA loves CHANEL: Contemporary classic Chanel handbags

Browsing and surfing led to a page with Chanel handbag rental fees online. Why in the world would anyone rent a Chanel handbag? Or any purse at all? The fee to rent a Chanel handbag for a member is $45.00/week or $131.00/month. A guest rents the same bag for $69.00/week or $174.00/month. Is that crazy? Or, what? How about this deal. Purchase your own Chanel handbag for 30% to 60% off retail. Click any of the pictures above or throughout this editorial blog post. Then, smile! : )

Renting a handbag spreads germs, virus and bacteria. Yuck. There's no way for you to know who handled the rental bag, what was carried in it, or what's lurking on its surface. Save the $200 fee each month for a rental and buy your own. Here's a link to see all the latest styles and prices 30% to 60% off retail everyday prices no coupon needed.

Or....put any handbag you desire on LAYAWAY. Within a few months, the bag of your "rental" dreams is yours to keep! Consider your money a well-spent investment. Here's a link to a LAYAWAY plan. Do it! or, at least take a peak and read about it.

CHANEL NAKED BAG designer handbags clear Chanel classic designer purse black. An authentic Chanel Naked Bag priced just right. Comes with all the trimmings. Cards, sleeper bag and box. Ideal size for everyday or evening. Perfect bag for all year wear. Dress it up or carry it wearing your favorite jeans and a T-shirt. Clear body with black leather trim. Silver hardware and chain strap woven with black leather. It's a classic, it's CHANEL.

The Chanel Press release about this bag reads:
How many secrets can a woman’s bag hold? Having passed through the x-ray machine, CHANEL’s new Naked Bag will answer this enigma when travelling by plane or train. To travel with transparency, Karl Lagerfeld came up with a mini-collection of plastic and truly bare bags. Simultaneously elegant and practical, all have black, gray, golden or white piping, or are purposely left bare. Stylish and aesthetic, they come in three models in a range of four colors. Nothing to hide? Dare to bare it. Shimmery gold leather trims this clear Chanel classic bag, topped by a signature chain-wrapped leather strap and logo. Features a single inside pocket drop handle.

The Chanel Naked Bag in classic flap front design with a CC turn lock closure measures about 11"L x 7"W x 3"H and has a long chain strap which can be carried over the shoulder doubled or made longer into a single shoulder strap. See photos for more details.

eFashionHouse.com is recognized as the top online retailer of off-priced authentic CHANEL handbags & accessories by About.com. For more information, please visit the eFashionHouse.com Press Page - Click Here.

CHANEL items are priced as marked at 30% to 60% off retail. Everyday prices no coupon needed.

eFashionHouse.com 2008 New Year Event: Designer Handbag Store Liquidation

eFashionHouse.com 2008 New Year Event: Designer Handbag Store Liquidation

Year-End Clearance - FINAL MARKDOWNS - Everyting Must Go!

Be the first to know.

January 2 - January 11, 2008

Use coupon code 25EFH08 for an extra 25% off Site Wide!

Our everday prices are 30% - 60% off retail. Beginning January 2 through January 11 take an extra 25% off the lowest marked price.

Click here to shop Final Markdowns

http://www.efashionhouse.com/productlist_saleefh.html/clearance/4

This offer is for a limited time only. All items will return to their original prices after January 11, 2008. This offer can't be combined with any other coupon or discount code, on layaway plans or prior purchases. Some restrictions apply. Write to CustomerCare@eFashionHouse.com with questions. Thank you for shopping with us. Happy New Year!

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eFashionHouse named Best of the Web by People StyleWatch for Off-Retail Priced Designer Handbags. About.com named eFashionHouse Top Chanel Online Retailer. Online since 1996 offers FREE SHIPPING $200 orders and NO SALES TAX worldwide. Questions? Write CustomerCare@eFashionHouse.com - 24-hour message center 310.828.1281.

Shop FIVE Online Fashion Stores - http://www.eFashionHouse.com
BrandsBoutique - LuxuryVintage - ValueBags - ItalysOutlet - DesignersLA

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The 2008 dinosaur: A discount designer handbag

by Anna Miller

It used to be available at the click of a mouse. Logon to your favorite search engine, type in the words discount designer handbag and become thrilled with an endless list of online resources for authentic designer fashion at discount prices. Discount designer handbags are becoming a thing of the past. That is, authentic high end designer purses are costing more and more every year. You may still be able to pay a few hundred dollars for a good fake bag, but authentic designer handbags are no longer a bargain.

Names like Chanel, Gucci, Fendi, Prada, Dior, Tods, etc. are considered the fashion bag icons, and in 2005, the average cost of one of these high end fashion bags was $2000 each. Since that time, the average cost has increased to about $3000 or more each. Fashionistas worldwide ask, "When is this going to stop?" Is it really fair to charge such a high price for a purse? Is it smart for the Designers to do price their items at unobtainable costs? The average woman, working an average job, making an average salary, supporting an average family can't pay $3000 for a new purse! But, nonetheless, she dreams about it, and probably even sheds a tear or two because she can't get the designer purse she wants.

The department stores are getting smarter, too. They don't overstock high end designer handbags making them a demand item vs. leftovers after the season ends. Sales are far and few in between. In 2006 and 2007 many stores had sales before December 25th with NO leftovers during the true Sale Season. Consumers are paying premium prices for leather, a logo, monogram and a designer name. They fear not getting what they want if they wait for a Sale!

Most people hate fakes and counterfeit merchandise, but the business is booming because the authentic merchandise is too expensive. Stores like Target and a few others are smart. They are featuring Designers to produce low-cost fashion merchandise to help circumvent counterfeiting. Let us hope this works. Counterfeiting is bad. More stores should follow in the footsteps of Target and offer low cost designer products.

The manufacturing costs and the increased value of the Euro have definitely influenced the cost of designer fashion handbags. If an item is made from Italian leather and manufactured in Italy, the cost is high. If the same item is made of Italian leather and manufactured (or assembled) in another country the final cost is lower. When we look at the items we want and compare prices we need to take the manufacturing process into consideration. Many people do not want a Burberry bag assembled in China. They want the same bag assembled (or made) in England. They don't realize the cost of the bag made in England has a much higher price tag than the exact same bag made in China.

Get ready for 2008. If you are a designer handbag addict like many of us are proud to proclaim, get ready to pay a higher price for a new purse in 2008. You may still be able to find the purse of your dreams at an off-retail price, but the price won't be as low as you have paid in the past.

If you purchase only authentic merchandise, there are online resources to fulfill your needs. When shopping online, look for a website with longevity and fast replies to emails. Ask questions before you buy. Many of the lower priced items are scarce or limited in availability. When you see something you want, don't wait too long to make a purchase or it may not be available the next time you visit the website.

Be careful not to fall prey to websites selling counterfeit designer handbags. Many of the sites say they are authentic, but they aren't. If you see a site selling current collection items at half price, please be careful. There is no way anyone (even the Designer) can sell their designer bags at half price.

If you are looking for a good price and need guidance, ask for help. If you are planning to purchase authentic designer handbags in 2008, plan to shop around for below retail prices. They will still be available, but not as easy to find as they were in the past.

Anna Miller is the President of i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. (IGM). She owns and operates the website http://www.eFashionHouse.com. IGM has had online presence since 1996 and sells authentic designer handbags and accessories at below retail prices. Anna is considered an Internet Pioneer and Ecommerce Entrepreneur. eFashionHouse.com was named Best of the Web by People StyleWatch for off-retail priced designer handbags and was recognized by About.com as the top of online retailers selling Chanel handbags. Visit eFashionHouse.com for more information.

I would never rent a designer handbag

By Woody Lee

In case you haven’t noticed, designer handbags have made headlines lately because of the rising costs, increased demand and crazed enthusiasm surrounding the latest “it” bags. As a self-professed designer handbag connoisseur, I am constantly on the look out for the latest handbag trends. There’s one trend in particular that irks me more than a row of fake Goyard and Chanel handbags on display on 5th Avenue – handbag rentals. The Media is hyped with coercing people into joining a designer handbag rental service to carry a designer handbag in lieu of actually purchasing one. Although renting can be a smart alternative in many situations (car rentals, apartment rentals, cabana rentals, etc.), handbag rentals are not exactly your best investment.

Like with living accommodations, financial advisors most often say buying makes for a sound investment because your money goes toward something that can one day recant its value or even make you money. Renting neither makes you more nor does it provide you with something to sell, so why would anyone “rent” an expensive designer handbag. A lot of people like the idea of renting their favorite handbags because it minimizes the high expense associated with purchasing one or they like the idea of carrying a new handbag every month. But wouldn’t you rather put the hundreds of dollars it costs to rent a handbag (rental, membership and shipping fees) toward saving for the handbag of your dreams, rather than put a lot of money (at least $200/month) toward something that you don’t even own? Personally, I like to look around for the best deal and use my money to add to my growing handbag collection. And for the fashionistas who want to carry a new handbag every week or month to maintain status, your friends and co-workers will know you don’t actually “own” the handbags and are merely throwing your money away.

In addition to throwing your money down the drain, people who rent handbags take the risk of ultimately paying for the handbag they rent at above-retail costs. For instance, if your rented handbag is lost or stolen (which happens often), the renter has to pay for the replacement cost which could be in the thousands of dollars. And don’t even get me started on damage fees when renting a bag. How many times have you been out to a bar and spilled on your brand new designer handbag or dropped it on the ground. Handbag rental services charge you for damage (other than normal wear and tear) to the handbag.

Despite a bad investment and the stress related to worrying about lost or theft of the rented handbag, one of the biggest concerns I have with renting a handbag is “germs.” When your rental handbag arrives, you have no idea who rented it beforehand. You have no idea what was carried inside the bag or where the bag had been prior to it arriving at your doorstep. Throughout the year there had been studies released about the many germs and bugs that thrive inside a handbag, including e-coli, salmonella, bacillus, superbugs and many more viruses. But what’s even worse than the fact that it is hard to have a germ-free bag, is that handbags pick up these germs from normal use (using public restrooms, dirty make-up bags, etc.). Now think about all the places rented handbags may have been -- you get the picture.

Plus there are many other options to renting a designer handbag which entail actually owning designer handbags such as:

Shop around: There are a lot of web sites that offer today’s hottest names in designer handbags at discounted prices, like eFashionHouse and Overstock to name a few.

Take advantage of sales: most big name retailers have great sales throughout the year, and although the handbags aren’t as discounted as the online stores for discount designer handbags, you can still find a deal.

Layaway: Some web sites, like BrandsBoutique, offer layaway plans so you can pay over time but still grab a handbag when you see it.

Go Vintage: Vintage handbags are back in a big way. In fact some handbag websites are now offering vintage bags and even consider them premium inventory. So don’t waste money renting a pre-owned bag when you can purchase one for the same price as a rental! Visit online shops like luxuryvintage and jillsconsignment.

Save: One of the smartest options to owning a must-have designer handbag is putting your money in a savings account until you have enough money to buy the handbag you want. Plus, once you are able to afford the designer bag, your investment item can be resold (today’s goods are tomorrow’s vintage). Some of the designer handbags resell at a higher cost than your investment.

If there is a designer handbag you are considering to get, but don’t have the money to spend to get it, think twice before using a handbag rental service. You might think you’re saving money, but in reality your investment actually has no pay off.

If you don't get the designer handbag . . .

With every passing season comes the desire for a new designer handbag! Don't know why, it's just because. We lust for Chanel and Hermes. We settle for practical and durability. Some of the best choices we make don't necessarily involve refinancing the house for a new purse.

Although it's easy to spend a fortune on a new designer handbag, it really doesn't make much sense. It all depends upon personal wants and needs. So, if you asked for a new designer purse for the holidays, and you're not sure it's going to arrive, think positive. There's always the New Year Sales to get the purse of your dreams.

Some of the best bargains online will be after the holidays. Here's a tip, click here and start shopping before anyone else finds this coupon. Use coupon code NY08 and take an additional 20% off your total purchase. Although some exceptions may apply, at least 99% of the site's designer fashion accessories, designer handbags, designer purses and everything else designer are on sale. Plus, pay NO sales tax and get free ground shipping on $200 orders.

Visit the Chanel section. All the Chanel items are priced as marked, but they are very deeply discounted and selling fast.

Happy New Year 2008!

Free 2-Day Delivery - Shop eFashionHouse.com

Free 2-Day Delivery for Holiday Shoppers is available at http://www.eFashionHouse.com. Use coupon code FREE2DAY during checkout. A $200 minimum purchase is required for this offer. The coupon value is $18.00. Only one coupon code can be used per order. To use more than one coupon, place separate orders.

eFashionHouse.com was named Best of the Web by People StyleWatch for discount designer handbags. About.com recognized eFashionHouse.com as the top of three online retailers selling below retail priced authentic Chanel handbags and accessories.

Don't wait too long to finish your shopping. eFashionHouse offers free shipping and no sales tax on all its orders. For more details visit the website or contact CustomerCare@eFashionHouse.com. Happy Holidays!