Interesting Information about the Swimsuit!

It’s almost the best time of the year! SPRING BREAK is quickly approaching! Most of you will be traveling somewhere warm and probably be wearing swimsuits. Unfortunately I didn’t prepare myself very well, so this week I will be spending most of my time in the gym…. Besides the fact that I need to work on my swimsuit figure, I thought it would be fun to share some interesting information about swimsuits! 

* The release of the popular song, “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” in 1960 rocketed the bikini swimsuit into a position of popular culture icon.

* The bikini was originally shunned in many countries throughout the world and took quite some time to gain in popularity. In fact, the wearing of bikinis was actually banned at the 1951 Miss World pageant. It was believed that contestants wearing bikinis in the swimsuit competition would have an unfair advantage over their more modest competitors.

* In Australia, Speedos are called “Budgy Smugglers” a term which is derived from the name of a small parrot, the domestic budgerigar. Apparently, the body-hugging swimwear looks as if it is attempting to conceal a parrot when viewed from the front.

* The bikini is named after the islands in the Bikini Atoll in the North Pacific’s Marshall Islands where the U.S. tested the atomic bomb in 1946. Both the tiny swimsuit and the bomb had an explosive influence American culture.

* Speedo is currently the world’s largest-selling swimwear brand. The company was founded in 1914 by hosiery manufacturer Alexander McRae. The name was created by a Captain Jim Parsons who won a company competition with the slogan “Speed on in your Speedos.”

In the mean time, here is a video to help you get that Bikini Beach Body!! 

Keeping it Neutral

It’s not spring yet! Although the weather has been nice lately, don’t be fooled, it’s still too early to bring out those bright colors. So lets keep it neutral for now… I’m going to show you some ways to look classy while staying neutral. Pinterst is the perfect place to search fabulous styles and find creative fashion ideas. Whenever I am bored in class or want to postpone doing my homework, I go on Pinterest. I searched neutral colored outfits on Pinterest and this is what I found: 

* Adding gold to an outfit is a classy way to keep it neutral

* Accessories are key because it adds more style to the neutral tone

* Brown boots are really big this fall and they look great paired with neutral colors

* Gray is dull but it’s a good color to wear to class when you are staying casual

* Dress up an outfit by wearing neutral colored heels

* Neutral colors aren’t boring, don’t worry about looking too plain

* I think neutral colors look great with blonde hair and brown hair

* You don’t need to wear bright colors to stand out, all three of these neutral outfits have great style

Feedback from a Fashionista

Purdue is not a fashion school, and I realize this, but that doesn’t mean students can’t make a fashion statement. As a result of not having much to choose from in West Lafayette, students are stuck to shop at the same stores. Collette was brave enough to make a move onto State Street and I applaud them. Since there aren’t that many bars left either, we should just make State Street shopping row! I have been wondering what other students think of Purdue fashion…

After studying abroad in London, she has seen the most innovative fashion trends. Hopefully one day that style can be brought to Purdue. In the mean time, she wishes campus would get more clothing stores to shop at. Morgan says, it’s hard to make a fashion statement here at Purdue with the limited amount of shopping available.

Morgan Painter seemed like the perfect candidate to interview because she studied fashion in London over the summer. She is currently a senior at Purdue and she has seen it all. Morgan struggles with finding places to shop at on campus. I feel she agrees with my opinion of fashion here at Purdue. Listen to Morgan’s response when I asked her about shopping on campus.

5 Fashionista Party Themes

Spice up your life and get creative at your next college party with one of these five themes! Besides Halloween, college is about the only time you can dress up in crazy costumes and look completely normal. If you haven’t attended a theme party yet, please do yourself a favor and add it to your bucket list. My favorite experiences at Purdue have been theme parties!

Toga: Grab those sheets off your bed and you’re ready for a great night! Toga party is the easiest theme you can pull together last minute. This college tradition was made famous by Animal House in 1978. Learn How to Make a Toga out of a Bedsheet! photo 

ABC (Anything But Clothes): Now it’s time to get creative! An ABC party is exactly what it means, you literally wear Anything But Clothes. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean everyone shows up in their birthday suit! Instead, you have to assemble a fashionable outfit out of materials other than clothing.

Rubik’s Cube: This party theme starts out simple, but quickly gets out of control. Everyone shows up wearing one item of clothing for each color on the Rubik’s cube (white, red, blue, orange, green, and yellow). Then, once you get to the party, you swap clothing items with other guests until you can create an outfit of one solid color. Tip: accessories like gloves and hats make this process a lot easier. photo 

Alphabet: Pick a letter in the alphabet and everyone has to dress up in a costume that starts with that letter. Be creative and think of something unique! It is kind of challenging, but really funny to see what people come up with. For example, the letter T could have people showing up as turtles or teachers.

High School Stereotype: Now is your chance to dress up as a geek, a cheerleader, a jock, a band member, or even just make fun of your own high school clique. If you want a great laugh, dig up that old uniform and see if it still fits! photo

Coupons for College Fashionistas

Staying fashionable on a college budget can be difficult. I am that type of shopper that only likes to shop sales. I hate when I buy something at full price and then I see it on sale later, so now I just wait until it’s on sale. But if you wait too long, it might sell out before it goes on sale! Usually the sale prices are around 25-30% off, so what if you could get these discounts on full price clothing? That’s basically shopping the sale, right?

RetailMeNot.com has made shopping the sales simple and easy! I’m sure every Fashionista is subscribed to e-mails from their favorite stores that fill their inbox with promotions and coupons, but RetailMeNot does all that and more. It allows you to search any store and displays all the coupons that are currently active. This website also gives you the discount code that can easily be used online. RetailMeNot will make shopping the sales less time consuming and more efficient. They have every store you can think of. I am a huge fan of RetailMeNot and I use it all the time!

“Coupon-ing” is important for college students, because lets be honest, we don’t have all that extra cash to spend. 97 Ways to Save Money in College states #1 “Coupons: not just for old people! Clip coupons from the newspaper or download them off the internet is one of the easiest things anyone can do to keep a bank account healthy.”

Dress to Impress

This is for all you Fashionista’s trying to get a job right now! Next Wednesday, at the Purdue Memorial Union, there will be a Career Fashion Show. The fashion show will demonstrate appropriate business professional and business casual clothing from stores such as JC Penny. Students who attend will be entered for the chance to win a one free men’s or women’s business suit! The event is sponsored by Liberal Arts Career Development and everyone is invited to attend.

Wednesday, February 29th

3pm-4pm PMU 118

I highly recommend attending this Career Fashion Show because it’s very important to dress for work success. College Fashion has great examples of How to Dress Professionally: Business Dress Code Basics.

Professional Dress: This is the most conservative type of business wear.  It’s what you’ll be expected to wear in the office if you work in accounting, finance, or other conservative industries (or if you just have a really conservative boss!)  For women, this means a business suit or pants suit, or dress and jacket.  For men, professional dress means a business suit or a blazer, dress pants and a tie. Where to shop for professional dress clothing: Brooks Brothers, Ann Taylor (women only), Men’s Wearhouse(men only), and Nordstrom’s Women’s Suits (women only).

Business Casual: This is a more relaxed version of “Professional Dress”, but it doesn’t mean you’re actually going to be “casual”!  This is likely going to be your office dress code if you work in a semi-conservative workplace, but some interviews and events may also call for business casual.  Basically, business casual is a shirt with a collar and/or a sweater, khakis or dress pants and nice shoes for women.  Women can also sometimes wear a moderate length dress or skirt (read: knee-length or longer!).  For men, business casual is a polo shirt or shirt with a collar and/or sweater, khakis or dress pants and dress shoes.  No tie is required. Where to shop for business casual clothing: Banana Republic (look in the “Work” sections), Eddie Bauer (look in the “business casual” section).

Do looks sell?

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Chicago Auto Show. At first I thought this event was all about cars, but then I found out it has a fashion aspect as well. The Chicago Tribune calls the auto show models, “car geeks in dresses and heels.” I enjoyed looking at the cars, but I found myself watching the models more. The models were more successful at selling the cars than the actual display itself. So the question is, do looks sell?

The models dress very classy and most of them were wearing colors such as black or blue. Their goal is to model the car, but it seems most of the attention is focused on them. The models are more than just pretty faces in heels, they are trained specialists that provide information about cars. In 2011, 74 percent of Chicago Auto Show attendees were men. “So why not have a beautiful woman provide that information about the car, to get them interested?”

Models say they can earn anywhere from $200 to $500 per day. Wow! I wish I could dress up, put on some heels, and stand next to a car for that! When it comes to marketing and advertising, fashion is very important. “Forget the big hair, sequined gowns and cleavage. Modeling at auto shows has taken a decidedly more pedestrian turn, with “ordinary-looking” people being the most sought-after types to shill for all the shiny new vehicles.”

Betsey Johnson Nailed It!

Now that Betsey Johnson is teaming up with OPI to create a limited edition nail lineup, we can bring some style to our nails! “With her love of hot pink and bold stripes, fashion designer Betsey Johnson is known for her colorful and outrageous clothing. Fans who can’t get enough of her designs will soon be able to decorate their nails in a similarly over-the-top style.”

Don’t worry about breaking that low-budget! The nail polish is only $9.50 (that is perfect for us college students!) The nail collection will be available next month in Sephora stores across the country. Betsey Johnson didn’t tame down her style for the nail collection. “The collection is just how I like it—loud, outrageous, pretty, pinky and kick-ass rock and roll,” she said.

• Forever Wild – an exciting black grape hue
• Pushing Your Luck – a deep red shade
• It’s My Pink! – a hot pink, scented nail polish
• Sparkling Personality – a gleaming silver glitter
• Alley Cat – a purple-y fuchsia
• Cartwheels on the Catwalk – a seafoam green
• XOX Betsey – a sandy nude shade tone

(Colors shown below)

Having your nails done might not be a college fashionistas top priority, but to the models participating in NY Fashion Week, it is. During almost any show at NY Fashion Week, there are approximately 20-40 models who have to get manicures. Only about 14 nail techs are on hand at each show, and each one has less than 10 minutes to make a model’s nails look perfect.

 

Interesting Information about New York Fashion Week

Every Fashionista has most likely been keeping up with New York Fashion Week. If not… tomorrow is the last day! Try and check it out before it’s over because it is an amazing event. New York is one of the biggest fashion capitals in the world, and this week they have been hosting the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. It is one of the most famous fashion events, and my dream is to one day attend this event. But in the mean time, here is some interesting information that you may not have already known!

* The first New York Fashion Week was in 1943. Back then it was called “Press Week.”

* Approximately 230,000 people attend New York Fashion Week.

* They’re responsible for more than $446 million in visitor spending.

* Each show at New York Fashion Week only lasts 7-20 minutes.

* There are 200 shows during New York Fashion Week with about 30 models per show.

* About 10 of those models do an estimated 4 shows a day, while about 5 more girls are considered the top models of the season and might do 5 or 6 shows a day.

* The four major fashion capitals of the world are New York, London, Milan, and Paris. The fashion weeks in the respective cities take place in the exact same order every year, starting with New York. There are two fashion shows every year in each location – one in February and one in September.

 

 

Brighten up your Style

Adding a pop of color to your everyday outfit can brighten up your style. It’s as simple as that. Just a little splash of color can make a huge difference. You can use color as an accent to the outfit or even just accessorize with it. Pinterest is full of trendy ideas and ways to utilize color into your outfit. Purple and Turquoise are big colors this winter. They look great when you pair them with neutral colors and many other base colors.

Accessories are the perfect way to bring color into your outfit. Next time you are buying a plain black purse, re-think and shop like a Fashionista. Start buying some color! Not only will it brighten up your style, color may also brighten up your day. A popular trend that I have seen around campus lately is colored jeans. Anything goes in fashion… so be a Fashionista in your own way and spice up your style with some color.

Creative ways to brighten up your style:

* Colored shoes (TOMS come in a large variety of colors)

* Colored handbags (check out Marc Jacobs)

* Colored jewelry

* Colored scarves/hats