FetchShoes.com launch new showcase of 100,000 shoes

FetchShoes.com recently said that they are going to be launching a new showcase which includes over 100,000 pairs of shoes. This location is going to be home to over 1400 brands, which can be found in 50 different stores around the country. This is the first time such a wide collection of shoes has been brought together in one place.

The founder of the company, Ralphy, has commented, “This new store is an aggregation centre and we’re launching it with a huge range of shoes that are going to appeal to almost every type of consumer. The range means that customers are going to have an unrivalled choice of shoe compared to anywhere else.”

FetchShoes.com will focus on generating quality fashion and style guide content and become the world’s largest repository for footwear online featuring the latest arrivals and web’s bests deals”.

Launch halo brands include Adidas, Nike, Uggs, Hugo Boss, Armani and Puma from the likes of House of Fraser, John Lewis, Size? and Selfridges.

For more details visit FetchShoes.com

However, even an average consumer can manage to stay in fashion by shopping at these stores and more if they learn how to spot a great deal and act on it quickly to make high fashion a bit less harmful on the budget. The key to getting a good deal at Top Shop of Miss Selfridge requires you to stop by the high street stores on a regular basis so that you can keep an eye on the prices of your favourite items.

However, a truly experienced shopper knows that the best way to get a sale is by piling on the discounts. This is due to the fact that you can easily get more of a discount on your clothes if you are careful with the credit cards that you choose to use to pay for them. With the right credit card discount you can easily add on discounts that make a clothing purchase a little bit easier on your budget.

For example, some credit cards offer you cash back on your purchases, so if you compare credit cards and choose to buy your clothing with a card that offers you benefit you will get some cash back at the end of the month or cash back period that will help lower the actual price that you paid for the clothes.  After all, if you earn back 5% on your purchases in the form of cash that is the same as getting a bonus 5% off the sale price.

Along the same line of thought, credit cards that offer you fuel perks are another great way to help soften the price tag of items from Next, House of Fraser, Top Shop, or any other high end fashion shop.

In fact, any bonus perk that you can use to help lower your other household expenditures is like earning an extra discount on clothes helping to make it easier to shop at the boutiques that you want since you will have automatic sales in your pocket from the moment you walk in the door.

Inspiration for the collection is from global style sand the colourful and vibrant prints combine different continents. International artists and illustrators have helped create a collection which is quite unique. One quarter of sale proceeds is equally divided amongst four youth HIV/AIDS projects, aiming to inform and educate younger people. These charities are:

Designers Against Aids: This group educates and trains young people in HIV/AIDS awareness, they can then share the message with their own communities

MTV Staying Alive Foundation: Which globally raises awareness of the virus. They offer grants to young people which focuses on HIV prevention

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): Supports an individual’s right to equal rights and good health

YouthAIDS: A prevention initiative from the PSI (Population Services International. The initiative reaches 60 countries and over 600 million young people.

The influence of the Duchess is so strong that people have started copying her, producing a number of “copy Kates”. The Duchess’s style has become softer and as she grows in confidence, she has become more experimental. Her favourites remain the shift dress, paired with a clutch bag and court shoes.

Catherine favoured dresses by British designers, following her wedding. Amongst her favourites are Amanda Wakeley and Catherine Walker, who design elegant and fitted styles, which flatter her slim frame. These have become the basics in her wardrobe; however she has become more adventurous, choosing softer fabrics and more vibrant colours. Extra accessories help update her look.

A seasoned hat wearer, Catherine has also become accustomed to wearing belts to emphasise her waist, with jewellery to finish the look. Her Derby outfit was a complete triumph with a Joseph jacket to compliment her Reiss dress, accessorized by an LK Benner clutch and Whiteley Hat Company fascinator, triggering off a flurry of fascinator sales. Catherine champions the high street, often wearing her favourite labels.

Bicester Village Shopping Outlet was her choice to buy an outfit for an engagement with Her Majesty. Missoni sold out of coats, after she was seen wearing one. Last month she borrowed her mum’s dress when she was due to make a speech in Ipswich.

When Catherine was introduced to the Obama’s last May, a Reiss dress, costing £175 made an appearance. The Reiss website crashed, such was the demand for the dress. It appears we love everything she wears, and rush to the shops to buy the same thing.

There is nothing flashy about Catherine; she has an excellent, elegant fashion choice. She is an ambassador for British designers and has given the fashion industry a boost. On the red carpet Catherine has made quite an impact in gowns by designers like McQueen and Temperley. The dresses were sexier than anything she has worn before and we can’t wait to see what is next.

The awards will take place on the 11th June  and the InStyle sponsored award that is garnishing the most attention is the Scottish Designer of the Year award. Competing for the award will be Saunders who won last year, Gray, Kane, Fulton, Gianna Colarossi, and Sonia Rykiel.

There will also be given a wide array of other awards up for grabs including Scottish Model of the Year, Scottish Retailer of the Year, Scottish Accessory/Jewellery Designer of the year, and Scottish Communicator of the Year. In addition, there will also be awards that honour photographic talent, emerging design, and a Scottish Fashion Icon award to be announced after the event.

International talent will also get to compete for Best Use of Scottish Fabric with local contenders Mulberry and Corrie Nielsen going up against APC the French brand and Brora. The awards take place once a year and are designed to honour Scottish contributors to the world fashion scene while also offering a platform for new talent in Scotland to display their tactics.

The judging panel is made up of plenty of fashion experts including Eilidh MacAskill from InStyle, Dolly Jones from Vogue, Paul Reed from Grazia, and Rankin the photographer. The ceremony will take place in Glasgow at The Clyde Auditorium and will feature the awards, a catwalk show, and some top musical acts.

Even some online entrepreneurs and specialist shops are now offering cash for large bags filled with old clothes due to the fact that British high street labours can demand high prices and profits in areas such as Africa and Europe.

It used to be that second hand shops paid on average about £220 a tonne, according to figures compiled in 2007, but today the price has jumped up to £650 per tonne. One reason for this is because demand has jumped since the EU grew to include many eastward locations in the middle of the 2000s making more markets for clothes to be sold at.

Charities are reporting that the news is not all that great for them however as donations are falling now that people can get more money for the clothes elsewhere and are no longer as willing to donate them.

On the other hand, some charities are benefiting from the increased price in textiles due to the fact that they are a valuable commodity if used correctly. For example, the Salvation Army Trading Company collects donated clothing and then sells them for money that is put towards charity and has seen their revenues increase over the past few years.

Local governments that are having trouble with their budget cuts also are getting in on the fun taking advantage of textile prices and following the lead of Hertfordshire councils which have placed a contract on operating textile banks. The winning textile bank would have to pay the council a certain percentage of sales for all the clothing that is collected.

A recent article in the Daily Mail highlighted the range of fashions now being publicised as inappropriate at a prom. Posters and power points are being put up and emailed to pupils to draw their attention to what is considered inappropriate. For example

• To short; so just below the bottom is not allowed
• Slit to high; much above the knee is not allowed
•  Cut out sides showing more than 3 inches
• To many cut-outs on sides and back
• Low arm holes
• Plunging back dresses

There are reports from some US prom dress companies of dresses being returned. Girls are realising they might be turned away from their prom and will not risk it, hence swapping their dress for something “less revealing” or  more compliant with the school rules.  Some schools have teams measuring dresses as girls arrive, checking they comply. And they’re also checking for panels that have been tacked on, later to be ripped off to reveal the real dress beneath!

It has to be said some prom “dresses” do leave little to the imagination, and wouldn’t in my book qualify as particularly flattering. Being aware of your body shape, what suits you and above all, what is flattering seems to be a sensible approach. Of course, what happens in the States often filters over her to the UK, and it would come as no surprise if we start to hear about such “fashion” rules coming into force at UK school prom’s. But I wonder if some other trends might also hit over here? Such as the boys who was banned for turning up in full Scottish kilt attire? Or an instance where a boy tried to turn up in a dress to win the prom queen title?

So just ensure, you get a prom dress that ISNT going to see you turned away at the door!

P.S Did you see the story about  Michele Obama’s prom dress picture big reveal? See the picture? She would have been prevented from entering quite a few Proms these days in a dress cut that high!

Courtesy of rubyprom.com

New M&S graphic tells the history of lingerie

An interactive graphic has been created by Marks & Spencer which is going to show the history of lingerie all the way from the 1920s up until the 1980s. This show is designed to demonstrate the technology that Marks & Spencer’s have developed over the years in order to improve their undergarments.

The graphic is very easy to navigate and it will show many items from the company’s archives, including vintage photography from the various eras. All of this can be viewed by the public very easily.

M&S has long been known as a solid destination for quality lingerie and leading technology – from control pants to push-up bras. In fact, the first M&S bra launched in 1926 and was designed for use under flapper style dresses to flatten the chest. M&S technologists even helped to shape the Clothing Civilian Act 1941, a government regulation imposed on clothing manufacturing during the war which limited use of certain fabrics.

Other interesting facts include the changing of materials, when advanced bra sizing became mainstream, and advertising slogans adopted by the brand such as “a perfect figure guaranteed” – a promise offered with the uplift bras launched in the 1930s.

To see ‘The History of Lingerie’ graphic and find out more, just visit: http://social.marksandspencer.com/fashion-2/ms-lingerie-through-the-decades/

To celebrate the Queens Jubilee year, the M&S lingerie design team have also taken inspiration from original 1950’s designs to transform them into more wearable pieces for a new collection launching at M&S.

Consisting of four looks, the beautifully constructed collection uses silk, lace, luxurious satin and mesh combinations to emulate the glamour of the 1950s, including designs based on the original conical bra, corsetry and the big knicker shape.

Retro-loving ladies can pick up the collection in store and online from May.

Fortunately, there is a wide range of appealing selection this season, whether you prefer to keep it simple, or liven things up with bold colours and daring designs. When looking at MaxStudio’s Spring 2012 collection we can see featuring flowing Grecian-style dresses in a large range of colours from pastel pinks to ivories, with asymmetrical lines, bands that wrap the bodice and a figure-flattering pattern. Very close designs are available in orange, turquoise, red or yellow; your guests won’t be sure what’s more beautiful – you or the budding flowers.

It seems over the shoulder and open-backed cocktail dresses are popular in trend this season, but if you prefer a more casual or streamlined look, you can still try a striped jersey dress, a puckered plaid long or short dress, or a short-sleeved dress in a springy sherbet-hued orange.

If you’re in search of a more conventional look, MaxStudio carries spring-inspired black cocktail dresses, with mixed lace and mesh creating a full-length floral pattern, or a crinkled silk chiffon watercolour dress that features a romantic hand-painted black and white floral design.

Article Courtesy MaxStudio

A version of the website which is in English was first launched in September last year and since that time the store has become increasingly well-known. The website which can be found in the UK at Nelly.com/uk, offers a great deal of clothing for both men and women. They also offer accessories and footwear for both genders and also host over 800 other brands that they don’t manufacture themselves. The company has 30 of their own labels which they sell through their websites.

The new website for the UK market allows customers to buy things in pounds and they can get items delivered locally. The marketing on the website is also significantly different for the UK and resources are being allocated on a very different basis.

The company was first founded in 2003 by Jarno Vanhatapio and since that time it has had a great deal of success in its home country as well as in the rest of Europe. The company are currently working on an even greater international expansion.