Long Day and Long Night at Art Institute of Charlotte.

I am currently a Fashion Marketing and Management at the Art Institute of Charlotte. Before attending the Art Institute of Charlotte, I had 10 years of experience in retail buying, marketing, management, visual merchandising, and sales. After years in retail, I had fallen in love with the industry and began the search for higher education in the field. I understood that by gaining more knowledge about this industry that it would provide more opportunities.

Attending the school has helped me to realize that fashion is not limited to only clothing, but is an art of expression. The Art Institute of Charlotte has exposed me to all aspects of fashion and has sparked an interest in marketing. Each quarter at the Art Institute of Charlotte has allowed me to hone my skills and ignite my passion for the field. My creative skills have developed to be able to incorporate research to fit the needs of the client. I have learned to justify my creativity by bring supporting evidence to the table that adds value to the work. Additionally, my motivation to produce high quality work and the drive to being successful keeps me moving to the next level. To me, everyday is a learning experience

Like any other experience there comes the good, bad, and ugly. There are many good times at the school. One of the most exciting opportunities at the school was when a group of Fashion Marketing student and I held a fashion show to benefit the community. Edible was a fashion show to help feed the hunger. The bad were the long days spent by my computer doing projects without sleep. The ugly is when I turned in projects that I spent long weeks on and it was not good enough and I have to go back and redo it. Despite my bad experience I would not trade it for anything; I have learned skills and habits that I can apply to my career of choice.

Fashion to The Extreme: Why is America Wearing $300,000 Price Tag?

Cindy McCain’s extravagant fashion $300,000 sparked conversation up from the media. Mrs. McCain’s ensemble to the Republican National Convention included $280,000 diamond earrings, a $3,000 Oscar de la Renta gown, a Chanel J12 watch valued at $4,500 and a pearl necklace that cost between
$11,000 - $25,000. Not to mention designer shoes, so what does this fashion state about American’s possible first lady. How can McClain state that he understands real Americans when his wife is a wears $300,000 assemble to the convention. Real everyday Americans can not afford this extravagant price tag.

How can one understand the working class when you choose to remind the public that you are high class luxury status? So is Cindy trying to win America’s vote for her fashion or will she step out of her shell and begin to understand the poor and working class?

B Kamins Deep Wrinkle Concentrate

B Kamins deep wrinkle-fighting serum dramatically lifts plumps and tightens deep-set creases around the eyes, mouth and forehead. This formula has deep firming and pore-tightening ingredients that perfects the skin without using of needles. Collagen boosting ingredients help restore firmness and plumpness to the skin. Powerful anti-oxidants help to fight ongoing damage from chronological and environmental aggressors.

Estee Lauder Turbo Lash Motion Mascara

Lancôme’s introduces new vibrating mascara Lauder’s. This new mascara is "Turbo-charged" motion mascara with auto-powered, vibrating brush gives volume, length, curl and separation all at once. It gently separates and saturates lashes. With this discover you will find lashes you didn't even know you had. Here's how Lauder's works: Twist off the cap and the tube automatically powers on and starts vibrating.

5 Essential Pieces in My Closet

There are 5 essential pieces in my closet that allows me to go from day, weekend to evening. The 5 essential pieces are yellow double-breasted, sleeveless ruffle top, stretch skinning leg jeans, pencil skirt and little black dress.

OFFICE

I took the yellow double-breasted jacket from last year and add ruffle front sleeveless top and grey pencil skit. This look is an
up- to- date look for a modern-day business women who enjoys fashions. This outfit screams out elegant.

WEEKEND

I kept the top and jacket that was worn to work and add a pair of my best fitting denim. To complete this look I added animal print shoes and the season best color accessories.

EVENING

I Pulled out my little black dress from last year and add the ruffle sleeve stop to give an up-to date look. Glam is theme for the evening event. So I add CZ earrings, black studded bangle and hot 4in” silver pumps to complete this look.


"Now look in your closet and see what you can find to create your different look with five basic pieces."

Showstopper

Last season's yellow can be mixed with this year trends. Yellow, burnt orange, and green are great complimentary colors to combine to create new looks for this season. Wait before you dispose of your last season looks. I encourage you to mix trends to create an update look. So go shop, buy some items, and start mixing.

Sagging: A History

Many trends have come and gone, but most people are not aware of where the trend began or how long they will last. Most trends tend not to have long staying power. One trend that has had more than 10 years of popularity is sagging pants. Sagging pants is the art of wearing ones pants below the waist, usually hanging low enough to show underwear. There is some controversy as to where it started. So has the trend been popularized from behind prison walls? Or is it the influence of hip-hop?

One theory of how sagging pants originated is from prison in the 1990s. Prisoners are given oversized uniforms without belts. Belts are a popular way to commit suicide; by hanging oneself, to hang others, or to be used as a weapon in fights. Other reason is that when they wear their pants below the waist is that it is sign that says that they are homosexual.

Sagging pants were not meant to be trend for the males. The other reason was that wearing your pants below your waist states that you were another inmate’s property. The inmate who related the story was an elderly black gentleman who had been sentenced to life in prison and had been there for over fifty years. He marveled how such a mark of shame has become a fashion statement. He says “that younger inmates don't believe him when he tells them, but swears it's the truth”.

The trend has been contributed to the influence of the music industry. Many artists, in the hip-hop genre, were known for letting their pants sag. It became more common to see rappers, like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog and Lil Wayne, in a video with their pants sagging to right at below their hips. It became even more popular as these same rappers began their own clothing labels. Clothing labels, like Phat Farm, Ecko and FUBU, are known for not even offering a small sized men’s shirt.

The characteristic of the low-slung look became mainstream and took off during the early 1990's when Calvin Klein used rapper Marky Mark in their advertising campaign for underwear. This advertising campaign was the first glimpse of men showing their underwear in a sexy way.

The sagging pants trend made way to skateboarders in the suburbs and high school hallways. Work wear brands such as Dickies and Ben Davies designed baggy clothing that became popular with skateboarders

As the trend grew, it began to influence the styles of jeans. Low-rise jeans are intended to sit low on, or below, the hips. More men and women began to wear underwear to function with their low-rise jeans. However, the look has been predominantly male and the recent trend for women to reveal their G-string underwear. Low-rise jeans may be worn to display more skin at the waist, torso, and hips. Low-rise jeans may also partially reveal the buttocks when the wearer sits down or bends over. Cleavage becomes visible.

Trends

Law

Stereotypes