Fashion Faceoff: Lindsay Lohan vs. Charlize Theron

Ding, ding! Today's Fashion Faceoff contenders are Lindsay "Hot Mess" Lohan, known for her frequent arrests and car crashes, and Charlize "Oscar Winner" Theron, known for her performances in movies like "Snow White and the Huntsman" and her sophisticated red carpet style. Lohan's chances don't look good! Time to decide ... who wore it best?

What They Wore: Designer Dion Lee's Illusion dress in black, featuring a halter neckline and cutouts throughout.

When They Wore It: Lohan donned the dress November 20 on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," while Theron chose it for the CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards in Las Vegas on April 26.

How They Styled It: Both ladies left their locks down. Lohan added Christian Louboutin ankle boots, Cartier earrings, and a sparkly bracelet. Theron wore her frock with Giuseppe Zanotti sandals.

Judge's Scorecard: Lohan wins points for, well, showing up on time for an appointment without any major mishap, although she loses big points when it comes to the fit of the frock. Theron's dress fits her like a glove, and the length hits the former model just right. Still, is that enough to win today's Fashion Faceoff? You decide!

Fashion FYI: Vogue documentary on HBO

"In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye” will debut at 9 p.m. Dec. 6 on HBO, coinciding with the 120th anniversary of the fashion magazine. The documentary takes a look at some of the world’s most influential fashion images, as conceived by the magazine’s iconic fashion editors. Drawing on Vogue’s archives, the film features behind-the-scenes interviews with editors who have contributed to the magazine’s legacy, including current editor Anna Wintour, and Vogue subjects such as Nicole Kidman and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Details: www.vogue.com

WOMEN OF BEAUTY

Naxos of America has released three DVDs devoted to three iconic women of beauty and fashion: Helena Rubinstein, Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder. The DVDs sell for $19.99 each.

Details: www.naxosusa.com

FASHION SHOW

Nadia Salon in Shadyside is hosting a fashion show at 4 p.m. Sunday as part of the Holiday Promenade on Walnut as Continuum Dance Theater transforms the salon into a holiday masterpiece of fashion, music and performance art. Fashion show tickets are $15; $30 for VIP.

Details: www.thedanceticket.blogspot.com

SHOP N SIP EVENT

Enjoy wine, cheese, chocolates and a gift with purchase from 5 to 8 p.m. every Thursday in December at Crossroads Boutique & Cattiva in Greensburg.

Details: 724-832-8900 or www.crossroadsboutique.com

SHOW OFF YOUR LEGS

With the holiday party season upon us, People Style Watch offers tips to help bare your legs so they will be smooth, bronzed and glowing.

Exfoliate: Soften skin with a scrub that cleanses and smooths. Apply it in circular motions from your feet up. For better results, use a loofah or body brush.

Bronze: Get an instant glow with a temporary bronzing gel. A matte formula minimizes imperfections in a natural way. Make sure to apply it in front of a full-length mirror to avoid streaks. If you want a more-subdued color, mix it with moisturizer.

Luminize: For added sparkle, finish with a shimmery powder or cream. To make legs look extra-long and lean, apply it just down the center of your thighs and calves.

ORGANIZE IT

Allure magazine talked with Jeanine Lobell, a makeup artist and the founder of Stilla Cosmetics about how to organize a makeup bag.

“Foundation inevitably leaks, shadows crumble and powder explodes — I’ve learned how to minimize the mess,” she says.

Look inside: A bag with nylon lining is easier to clean than a leather or cotton one. Keep makeup-remover wipes in there so, if anything does spill, you can clean it up quickly.

Double-check: It sounds simple, but the crucial step in preventing disaster is tightening all of the caps. Any compacts with iffy hinges should go in a plastic bag. Eyeliner caps always pop off, so I prefer twist-up pencils.

Sort brushes: Stash brushes by type in long, narrow, snack-size bags, so dark shadow brushes don’t contaminate your blush brush.

Start over: About once a month, “I empty my bag, flip it inside out, and give it a good wipe-down with a brush cleaner and paper towel. And four times a year, I do an overhaul: I keep my concealer, bronzer and cheek color, but to update things, I slip in a new lipstick or shadow that’s hot for the season,” says Lobell.

Zuoan Fashion Limited Announces Reporting Date for Third Quarter 2012 Financial Results

Zuoan Fashion Limited (ZA) ("Zuoan" or the "Company"), a leading design-driven fashion casual menswear company in China, today announced that the Company will report its third quarter 2012 financial results before the market open on Wednesday, December 5th, 2012.

Zuoan's management will host an earnings conference call on December 5th, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. US Eastern Time. Listeners may access the call by dialing +1-913-981-5507. A webcast will also be available via www.viavid.net. A replay of the call will be available through December 12th, 2012. Listeners may access the replay by dialing +1-858-384-5517, access code: 9427782.

Zuoan Fashion Limited is a leading design-driven fashion casual menswear company in China, and is head-quartered in Shanghai. Zuoan offers a wide range of products, including men's casual apparel, footwear and lifestyle accessories, primarily targeting urban males between the ages of 20 and 40 who prefer stylish clothing that represents a sophisticated lifestyle. Through extensive networks of distributors and retail stores, Zuoan sells its products in 29 of China's 32 provinces and municipalities. As of June 30, 2012, Zuoan had 1,331 stores located in China.

The Top 10 Fashion And Beauty Startups This Year

One of the highlights of working for a publication such as Springwise is the sheer breadth and variation of the ideas that we are exposed to on a daily basis. We rely on a network of 15,000 “spotters” worldwide to submit innovative startups they’ve discovered during their week from virtually any industry in the world, from automotive to publishing, from financial services to tourism. We then review these, and share the best with our readers.

Once a month however, we like to focus our attention on just one sector, and pull out our favorite ideas from that area over the last 12 months. This month we’re looking back on the top startups from our “Fashion & Beauty” section.

Even the briefest glance at the selection below will reveal an emphasis on fashion startups that facilitate or rely upon social connections. C&A’s ingenious Facebook hangers and Volga Verdi’s discount service are both based on the premise that knowing what others consider fashionable and in vogue influences the individual’s shopping behaviors. This is, of course, nothing new. We have always relied upon style icons and lookbooks to help inform purchasing decisions, but using social networks as a guide to what’s currently fashionable, rather than individual trend leaders, could point the way to a democratization of such “trend setting” in the future.

A recent conversation with a friend at fashion label Lucas Nascimento highlighted how services such as Moda Operandi and Springwise-featured FashForward.com are enabling members of the public to purchase outfits straight from the catwalk, rather than waiting for a retailer to buy a collection and make it available. Of course there will always be a need for style leaders to guide tastes, but, similar to the C&A initiative and Volga Verdi, it’s easy to see how Moda Operandi and FashForward.com can be read as another step towards putting more power into the hands of consumers before major trend setters are involved.

Another obvious trend to pick out from the list is the desire for garments to do more than simply look good or keep us warm — the iLoad fabric featured below, which can deliver therapeutic medicines transdermally, is a striking example. Aesthetically, designers such as Marios Schwab have made good use of thermochromic dyeing in the past, and Alex Wang’s new collection even features glow in the dark outfits (skip to around 8.30 in the video). However, going a step further in this top ten is Refinity, looking to enable the wearer to constantly redesign the pattern and look of their clothes, just as BLESSUS allow wearers to alter the cut and design of garments using a zipper system. Echoing the thinking behind the Naturalis appliance also featured below, these startups all recognize that consumers have a real desire for clothes and beauty products that are customizable in some way, making them more unique while also enabling the user to involve themselves in the design process.

With those thoughts in mind, I leave you with Springwise’s top ten startups from our Fashion and Beauty category over the last 12 months. There’s plenty here to inspire, and it’s always worth considering how some of the thinking behind these great ideas could be applied to other industries as well…

1. Online retailer focuses on stylish but modest fashions

 We always like discovering businesses that go against the grain, and Mode-sty caught our attention because of its refusal to accept the status quo in the fashion world. While many high street chains focus on the younger and more liberal market to shape their collections, Mode-sty prides itself on stocking conservative items for women who are uncomfortable with revealing garments.

2. Anti-aging products personalized with customers’ stem cells

 Many brands have been adding twists to their products that enable consumers to add personalized touches in recent years. However, U Autologous took this one step further with their advanced technology that uses the stem cells of customers to create a tailor-made anti-aging product. The company collects these cells from the customer at a young age and then stores them for use in later years.

3. New DIY appliance enables consumers to make their cosmetics at home

 A DIY approach is favored by many in a world where transparency and customization are major selling points. Naturalis may well be welcomed by resourceful types then, as it encourages users to make their own cosmetic products at home. The thinking behind this device is that users can customize products as they see fit, and avoid using scents or ingredients that they dislike or are allergic to. Empowering the consumer is an appealing business approach, and one that may prove popular in this increasingly saturated market.

4. Fabric ink can change the design of a garment on demand

 Children often marvel at the “magic” behind Etch A Sketches, where their drawings can vanish with one push of a plastic wiper. Perhaps an adult equivalent is this fabric ink from Refinity, which can be washed away by a special detergent – leaving the garment unadorned and ready for a new pattern or color. For those keen to experiment with their clothing, this could be a useful way of avoiding shelling out for new items on a regular basis. It also means that the ink can be easily removed from a garment before it is recycled, making the sorting of fabrics by color during the recycling process much easier. The company is currently developing an in-house service for printing and removal.

5. Brazilian fashion retailer displays Facebook ‘likes’ for items in its real-world stores

 Linking the online and offline worlds is an aim that many businesses dedicate a considerable chunk of their time to. C&A achieved this by displaying Facebook ‘likes’ on the hangers of their clothing. Small screens embedded in the hangers show the increasing tally of ‘likes’ different items of clothing are receiving from the online community. An interesting retail tactic to encourage online engagement while tapping into people’s desire for others’ approval.

6. Reloadable fabric administers medicine via the skin

 While the majority of the innovations we see in fashion are focused on aesthetics, iLoad took a unique medicinal approach to their new material. Their reloadable fabric can administer medicine via the skin – potentially perfect for busy people who may well forget to take regular doses throughout the day. Any innovation that has efficiency at its core is sure to be greeted with interest by time-strapped consumers.

7. Modular outfits created and customized with concealed zippers

 BLESSUS created a line of clothes that can be modified through zippers in the clothing. Many professional women can find themselves carrying several outfits in their bag to accommodate a clothing change for a night out, so adaptable clothes that can be adjusted to fit with different occasions could be a useful alternative to lugging a number of items around all day. A lightweight innovative approach to fashion fans fond of wardrobe changes.

8. For every online shopper, a clothing size profile via webcam

 Online clothes shopping is an increasingly popular way of purchasing new items without taking a trip to the shops. However, the lack of a chance to try before buying can be a huge downside to this mail order model. Berlin-based UPcload seems to have provided a solution though through its sizing service, which can obtain the specific measurements of its users and then suggest sizes accordingly. If this saves online customers having to return items through the post it can only be a welcome innovation in the fashion world.


9. Jeans connect to social networks

 Most consumers today now expect easy access to the web, particularly their social networks, at all times. Denim retailer Replay recognized this demand and responded with their Social Denim range, a line of jeans that includes a small pocket for a bluetooth transmitter so that wearers can link up their smartphones and update their mood on their social networks through the click of a button.

10. Fashion brand offers discounts based on a shopper’s social influence

 In a similar vein to the C&A campaign that makes use of Facebook ‘likes’ to encourage customer purchases, Volga Verdi in Italy encourages their customers to make full use of their social networks in order to receive discounts on items. The more contacts a person has, the higher the discount they can receive. This provides an easy way for retailers to tap into the wider networks of their customers to promote their brand, and encourages customers to spread the word far and wide by increasing their pool of contacts with the reward of discounts.

Grandfather takes China by storm - as women's fashion model

Liu Qianping was visiting his 24-year-old granddaughter in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou recently when the women's clothes the aspiring fashion entrepreneur was packing into boxes caught his eye.

His visit came as the model that granddaughter Lu Ting and four friends had booked for a photo shoot to promote their online fashion business suddenly canceled, dealing a setback to their new venture.

But Liu, a 72-year-old former farmer visiting to escape the chilly winter of central Hunan province, stepped in to help.

"I walked into the room and saw them packing up some clothes and I thought they looked quite interesting and quite cute," Liu told Reuters.

"So I tried on a jacket and they found it really funny, and I thought it was quite funny. So they asked if they could take pictures of me and post them on the Internet to sell the clothes. And I said, 'why not?'"
It was at that time two weeks ago that a star was born.

Liu, known affectionately as "MaDiGaGa" - funny elderly - is now one of China's most recognized models.
Delighted with his new fame, Liu says he now sometimes looks at fashion program on television for ideas on how to pose but generally relies on Ting's team for direction.

He does, however, have his own opinions on styling.

"He will tell us which items should be stronger and what should be improved," Ting said.

"He really likes bright, contrasting colors while I prefer more tone-on-tone combinations. So he gives lots of advice when we try different combinations, so we have some very different styles."

Since her grandfather became involved, visits to their online site have increased four-fold and continue to rise.

Liu, who traveled to Shanghai with his daughter for the first time last week after they were invited to appear on television, said he had been approached by other companies to model for them but had turned them down.

"I never dreamed of lucky things like these happening to me. Now, my name has spread to everywhere in the country," he said.

Ting has been criticized on the Internet and accused of using her grandfather, but he insists the experience has put a spring in his step and she says they are now closer than ever.

"We have no firm plans on how long we will continue, it depends on my grandfather," Ting said. "If he is happy and his health is fine, we will keep using him as our model."

From Catwalk to London Streets, British Blokes Are Models of Men’s Fashion

The Sartorialist, aka photographer/blogger Scott Schuman, had a hand in it. And obviously Tom Ford. And really, centuries of designers and men who cared just a bit more than the average male. But in the end, it's all Becks' doing.

Thanks to him, more and more men are actually paying attention to what they wear. No longer content to throw on that free T-shirt they got with a beer purchase, men are buying fashion magazines, reading fashion blogs and yes, even buying clothes based on fashion. Nowhere is this shocking trend more evident than in the UK.

You see, the man knows how to dress, and he cuts a damn fine figure to boot. Being married to one of the most stylish women in the world certainly forces his hand a bit, but you get the sense that he has a genuine interest in, and decided taste for, the clothes that go on his back.

Great Britain, of course, has a long and rich tradition of excellent tailoring and above-standard men's clothing. But it was not exactly the norm to be fashionable. Credit Beckham and his counterparts for the recent global shift of focus in the way we view men's fashion.

This past summer saw the launch of The London Collections: Men (or LC:M, as GQ dubbed it). LC:M was an entire event devoted to men's fashion, three days of male-focused style that was so big Prince Charles himself hosted a lunch to celebrate the event (a gallery of the prince's style choices is on the event's website).

Considering London's longstanding history of bespoke and high-street style (not to mention the breeding ground that is the fashion college of Central Saint Martins at University of the Arts, London, among others), it only makes sense that London would be a launch pad for menswear into the next level of fashion. Plus the Beckham effect, of course.

Now preparing for a January encore, LC:M is the perfect platform for established menswear designers and newcomers alike to showcase their expertise in a field that, compared to women's fashion, has been historically left by the wayside.

Many of us know and love big names like Burberry, Paul Smith, and Christopher Kane. But it's the opportunity for young British talent to showcase work that makes LC:M so exciting. MAN — a joint operation from established names in the field — proudly supports hand-picked newbies through sponsorship and mentorship (they have a knack for being spot on, too: J.W. Anderson and Christopher Shannon are testament).

In January, all eyes will be on Agi & Sam (ideal client: "Ace Ventura Pet Detective"), Astrid Andersen and Shaun Samson (ideal client: "some guy loitering on the street looking cool") as the three MAN talents of the season.

So, ladies and (especially) gentlemen, welcome to the era of the fashionable male. David Beckham inspired it, Scott Schuman voiced it, and now it feels like all of London is designing it, with The London Collections: Men paving the way for the entire industry to notice. It seems menswear is having its Swayze moment: These days, nobody is putting it in the corner.

Black Friday - Glamour on a Budget at Bella Fashion Jewelry

Bella Fashion Jewelry is offering excellent Black Friday deals all weekend, with over 100 items available for under $1. In addition, Hair Barrettes Wholesale adds a new shopping option - 6 packs, 8 packs, in addition to dozen packs.

Hayward, CA (PRWEB) November 23, 2012
Black Friday is the day of the year when the most dedicated bargain shoppers put their deal hunting skills to the test. Those looking for some of the best value for their money can head directly to bellafashionjewelry.com or bellafashionwholesale.com for $1 deals, and even items priced at below $1. Bella Fashion will be a can’t-miss stop on Black Friday shopper’s lists, with its sale lasting from Friday, November 23rd to Sunday, November 25th at midnight.

The sale will offer over 100 of the websites’ hot items at amazingly low prices: a beaded multi-strand necklace and earring sets, with teardrop shaped earrings, at $1 set. The Black Friday sale at Bella Fashion, available to both wholesale and retail shoppers at the respective sites, is an all weekend event that offers shoppers the opportunity for unparalleled glamour on a budget.

Many new arrivals will reach Bella Fashion just in time for the Black Friday $1 sale, including styles so unique that friends will never believe the price tag. Hoop-shaped earrings with rows of gold tone on black, and antique gold-tone earrings with jewel toned accents are sure to be favorites. Trendsetters will fall in love with the dangle earrings: a metallic chain design with sweeping, geometric ornaments in silver and gold-tone, and a two-sided dangling chain with butterflies or hearts.

For wholesale shoppers looking for opportunities this weekend, Hair Barrettes Wholesale offers a new buying option that is even more flexible for its valued customers. In every category, Hair Barrettes Wholesale will begin offering select items available in six pack, 8 pack options in addition to dozen packs for buyer’s convenience. The website is pleased to offer this compromise to retailers who want items at low prices but in smaller quantities, allowing a convenient balance between pricing and quantity.

The Bella Fashion family has its customers as its first priority this holiday season: that’s why the Black Friday sale will last all weekend, and Hair Barrettes Wholesale has opened up flexibility. With delightful dollar deals and six pack options, customers know exactly where to turn on Friday.
About Hair Barrettes Wholesale

Bella Fashion Jewelry is a leading provider of fashion jewelry and fashion accessories to help customers stay up to date with the latest fashion trends at affordable prices. Bella Fashion Jewelry has been in the business of fashion jewelry and accessories for over 21 years, and has just launched its new wholesale subsidiary, Hair Barrettes Wholesale. Bella Fashion Jewelry, owned and operated out of Hayward, California, now operates at three levels: at retail site, bellafashionjewelry.com, no minimum order amount is set, and pricing is at everyday discounted retail pricing. Free shipping is offered for orders of $30 or more. At bellafashionwholesale.com, 1st and 2nd tier of wholesale pricing are offered, minimum order amount is set at $30, and shoppers are allowed to buy 1 each of each style or color with free shipping for orders of $60 or more. At its newly launched wholesale site, hairbarretteswholesale.com, minimum order amount is set at $45. Products at hairbarretteswholesale.com are 6 packs, 8 packs, or dozen packed, and pricing is at 3rd tier wholesale pricing which competes with buying direct from China factories.