2014modetrends

Socialite turned designer Charlotte Ronson launches sunglasses line for tomboys

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On a wintery evening in Paris, Charlotte Ronson is hosting a decidedly summery party.

Her head crowned in a garland of fresh flowers, the American designer is wearing a pretty sundress and delicate jewellery as she holds court in a beautiful apartment above the historic Place des Vosges in the Marais.

The breathtakingly beautiful eyrie above one of the most romantic squares in Paris is an appropriate setting for the launch of the designer's new collection for Vogue Eyewear, a highly feminine range of sunglasses and opticals featuring pretty pastels, scalloping and lace details.

An eclectic mix of French It girls, American pals of Ronson's and guests in town for Paris Fashion Week mingle over champagne, meringues and teacakes as they admire the glasses inspired by the designer's spring summer collection.

“My girl for the season was a Parisienne girl in New York, who was a little bit bookworm and with a tomboy edge,” Ronson says.

“I had already come up with my colours, prints and patterns, so I was able to adapt the eyewear to work within the feel of that girl, but make sure it had a look and feel that was strong enough for it to also stand strong on its own.”

Ronson's cat's eye frames incorporating delicate floral prints tortoiseshell and pastel hues are part of the Vogue Eyewear Design Series, a partnership between eyewear giant Luxottica and the Council of Fashion Designers of America that is aimed at encouraging fashion designers to branch into eyewear.

Rebecca Minkoff, Nanette Lepore and Devi Kroell are among the designers who have participated in the annual initiative, which has expanded from America to include launch parties in Europe and sales in countries around the world including Australia, where Ronson's range is on sale in eyewear stores nationally.

“We are thrilled to see the program grow internationally,” CFDA chief executive Steven Kolb said.

“(We) set out on a journey to create a powerful platform to not only empower our members and offer them a unique design experience, but to also educate them on the importance of the eyewear category.”

The learning curve was a steep one for Ronson, who was more used to designing clothes for bodies rather than frames for faces.

“For me, prints are always very important, but they wouldn't all work for eyewear,” she says.

“With eyewear the colours have to work with different complexions and the shapes have to work with different faces. The challenge is to cater to as many face shapes as possible, but also to do something that is different enough that it really is your own take on it all.”

The reward for Ronson, whose frames are modelled by Eva Mendes in the accompanying campaign, is exposing her brand to a broader audience than fashion purists.

“Luxottica and Vogue Eyewear have such a huge customer base so it’s great to be able to work with that, but I also think the product will appeal to my customer so I'll bring a new customer to Vogue Eyewear too.”Read more here:white prom dresses uk

Virtuous Academy: Education, fashion combine for success

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Virtuous Academy recently presented “Fashioned By His Glory” at the Kelly Strayhorn Theatre. The family-oriented fundraiser brought together communities in support of Virtuous Academy’s educational endeavors.

The mission of Virtuous Academy is to motivate students to achieve academic excellence and positive citizenship through rigorous academics, virtuous values and a concentration in S.T.E.A.M. education.

The goal of the event was to raise funds to sponsor one or more student’s tuition for the year. Other than the fashion show featuring students and other children from surrounding communities as models, there was a special musical presentation by students under the direction of music teacher Victoria Reusch. Additional entertainment included performances by national recording artists Travis Malloy, Antoinette Manganas and Leslie Evans. WPXI Channel 11 reporter and news anchor Vince Sims and Michele Newell, of WTOV, served as the master and mistress of ceremony. Fashions were provided by TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Macy’s at Century III Mall.

Virtuous Academy is located in the Duquesne, Pa., community. It maintains a student teacher ratio of 15:1 and students receive personalized attention and participate in community service projects.

Concentrating on grade levels two to eight, board chair Vernon Tipton said, “Virtuous Academy serves as a viable option for students living in the Mon Valley area. Our philosophy of small class sizes, personalized attention and a challenging curriculum makes a difference in a child’s learning experience.”

The goals of the six-year-old faith-based institution are for students to score proficient on standardized tests, to maintain a minimum “B” average on report cards, and to apply virtuous values to real life social situations.

Virtuous Academy’s objectives are to form partnerships with local agencies to provide after school tutoring in reading and math for students and community children. Backstage is the after school program which provides academic support and celebrates the arts for participants. Students’ extra-curricular activities include: off-site visits to museums and businesses that engage students in the arts, sciences, engineering and technology fields which aligns with its S.T.E.A.M. initiative program objectives.Also read here:SheinDress backless prom dresses

The latest French fashion: Eating ugly fruits and veggies

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Few things are more unappealing than a lumpy, bruised potato covered in sprouts. But leave it to the French to make it look sexy.

A campaign by the French supermarket chain Intermarché is on a mission to make shoppers see the inner beauty in scarred, disfigured, or otherwise odd-shaped fruits and vegetables. The message: Why throw away perfectly good produce just because it doesn’t meet arbitrary cosmetic criteria — especially when so many families can’t afford to eat the five daily portions of fruits and vegetables recommended by nutritionists?

“Now, you can eat five ‘inglorious’ fruits and vegetables a day. As good, but 30 percent cheaper,” says an Intermarché promotional video, trumpeting the virtues of the “the grotesque apple, the ridiculous potato, the hideous orange, the failed lemon, the disfigured eggplant, the ugly carrot, and the unfortunate clementine.”

The French are eating it up like chocolat. After Intermarché launched the campaign in March, it sold out of its ugly fruits and vegetables within the first two days, and saw a 24 percent increase in traffic in participating stores. Now it’s looking to expand the program to its 1,474 supermarkets all over France.

Unnecessary waste

We sure could eat more ugly veggies over on this side of the pond. Areport by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that Americans toss a whopping 52 percent of the country’s fruits and vegetables — more than any other food group. A significant part of that loss occurs before the produce ever leaves the field.

Part of the problem is the structure of our industrialized food system. It’s made up of a few large buyers and many suppliers, leading to a situation where the largest purchasers have the power to dictate the terms of a sale. Marketing orders issued by trade associations specify the exact size, diameter, consistency, and color required for a certain product to be considered “grade A,” and if a fruit or vegetable doesn’t make the cut, its retail price drops dramatically.

When prices are too low, it costs a farmer more to harvest his or her field than he or she would make by the sale of the produce. If a field turns up “sub-standard” produce — which sometimes just means carrots half an inch too small — the farmer may be forced not to harvest it, leaving entire crops of perfectly edible, nutritious food to go to waste.

Standards are a necessary trade tool for retailers, for them to know what they’re getting when they buy in bulk quantities, explained Dana Gunders, a food waste expert at the NRDC. The problem, she says, is that today’s standards are ridiculously high.

As California organic farmer David Mas Masumoto put it in The Sacramento Bee, “If we picked our friends the way we selectively picked and culled our produce, we’d be very lonely.”

(Believe it or not, ripeness and taste aren’t part of marketing order standards — which explains why supermarket aisles are chock-full of great-looking, uniform peaches that taste like cardboard. Just sayin’.)

All about marketing

Gunders believes American consumers are far more open to odd-shaped produce than supermarket managers give them credit for. Sure, if given the choice between a great-looking tomato and a lumpy one, most might initially reach for the beauty queen. But enticed with a discount and presented with a light-hearted yet relevant social message, as Intermarché customers were, many will think twice.

“There are and always will be bargain shoppers out there,” Gunders said. “It’s all about marketing, right? Marketing got us into this corner where we’re wasting nearly half of our food, so marketing could get us back out of it.” She added that she’s been sent the Intermarché video by at least 15 different people since the English version first surfaced online, a sign that there is significant public interest in this kind of initiative.

Colorado resident Anna Bundick King, 41, who posted the “Inglorious” video on her Facebook feed, agrees that initiatives like this would find a receptive audience in the U.S. “Being a teacher, I would love to see this idea introduced in schools,” she wrote in an email. “It would be a fun way to teach responsible use of our resources.”

“If I were a U.S. retailer, I’d be jumping all over this,” said Gunders.

American supermarkets may be ready to listen. Lindsay Robinson, a spokesperson for Whole Foods, said the chain’s management had “seen the campaign and they love it.”

“We’re always looking for new ways to bring high quality, delicious produce to our customers,” she wrote in an email.

Omar Jorge Peña, a partner and general counsel at the small, independent East Coast supermarket chain Compare Foods, said his company was “aware of the ‘Inglorious’ fruits and vegetables concept” and would be “further studying its viability” in the company’s markets.

Ugly produce, yummy soups

To seal the deal, the masterminds behind Intermarché’s marketing initiative developed a line of soups and juices made exclusively with “ugly” fruits and vegetables — proof that a crooked carrot or lopsided orange can taste just as good, if not better, than her smooth, spotless neighbor.Also read here:SheinDress green prom dresses

Causes and cures of hair loss

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Hair loss can be very scary and stressful. You need to know the causes and the cures of hair loss to fight against it.

Telogen effluvium

Telogen effluvium is a condition in which you lose lots of hair while brushing or washing. It happens mostly after some specific conditions such as pregnancy, severe weight loss, major surgery, and extreme stress. Side effects of medications like anti-inflammatory medicines, antidepressants may also result in this condition.

Cure

In case of pregnancy and major surgery, he will need to wait till the hair loss slows down. In case of medicines, you can stop using them after talking to your doctor. In case of stress, you will have to find a way to reduce your stress.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which your body produces very little thyroid hormone which is crucial for heart rate and metabolism. Millions of people suffer from this condition and most of them are women. Thyroid hormone is also crucial for growth of hair and its absence hair loss will happen.

Cure

The doctor will advise a blood test to find out if you have hypothyroidism. If you have it, the doctor will prescribe thyroid hormone medications to get the levels of thyroid hormone to a balanced level.

Condition of the scalp

If the scalp is unhealthy, it will cause inflammation which will result in prevention of hair growth. Skin problems like psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff), ringworm (fungal infections) also result in excessive hair loss.

Cure

A physical examination of the scalp by the doctor will help to determine the condition of the scalp. You may also need a fungal culture and a biopsy to find out the actual cause of hair loss. Your doctor will prescribe amedication shampoo in case of seborrheic dermatitis. In case of psoriasis, medicines or light therapy will be required. For the ringworm problem, you will need to go for oral antifungals.

Hereditary hair loss

Sometimes hair loss can be genetic and it is known as androgenetic alopecia. It is known as the most common causes of hair loss in people. You may inherit the problem any one of your parents. However, according to the doctors, you’re more likely to suffer from the problem if both the parents suffered from hair loss problem.

Cure

You may need to go for a blood test or a biopsy of your scalp done to find the presence of miniaturised follicles in your scalp. Your doctor may prescribe use of minoxidil (Rogaine) twice daily on your scalp. You may also be prescribed the oral medicine finasteride (Propecia).

Lupus

It’s a chronic autoimmune disease. In this condition, the immune system attacks the healthy tissues. Millions of people are affected by this condition. It is specially seen in case of women in their childbearing years. Painful swollen joints, headaches, fatigue, oral ulcers are some of the common symptoms of Lupus. Hair loss happens while brushing and shampooing of the hair.

Cure

You will need to go to a rheumatologist, who will check your joints and other tissues to find out pain, heat, redness and swelling. The doctor will also prescribe a blood test to find out the anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) levels in the blood. A biopsy may be also necessary in this condition.

Common hair loss medicines

Finasteride (Propecia), Minoxidil (Rogaine), Dutasteride (Avodart) and prostaglandin analogs are some of the common medicines used for treatment of hair loss in men. Minoxidil (Rogaine), and Propecia are two important medicines used for treatment of hair loss in women. Since the causes of hair loss may be different in men and women so the treatment needs of them may also be different.Also read here:sexy prom dresses

Dior To Sponsor 2014 Guggenheim International Gala

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For the second year in a row, Dior will sponsor the Guggenheim International Gala.

The annual benefit is a two-night event that is scheduled to take place on Nov. 5 and 6 in New York City. This year, the event, which is often referred to as GIG, will honorCarrie Mae Weems, whose retrospective was on view at the Guggenheim last spring, as well as Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker of the German artist group Zero and Beijing-based contemporary artist Wang Jianwei, WWD reported. Zero's work will be featured in "Zero: Countdown to Tomorrow, 1950s-60s" from Oct. 10 to Jan. 7, and Jianwei will be the focus of the exhibition "Wang Jianwei: Time Temple," which will be on view from Oct. 31 to Feb. 16.

Dior creative director Raf Simons is a well-known collector of art, and he often references artists and their work in his designs, so it makes sense for the fashion house to sponsor an event of this nature.

"There's been a long relationship between art and [Dior]. It was one of the first things we discussed with Raf [Simons] when we met to talk about the Dior contract," Dior chief executive Sidney Toledano told Business of Fashion in 2013 when it was announced Dior would sponsor that year's GIG.

"We have 3,000 people journey to our atelier every year, and I see that these young women and men are so excited to see the workshops and the magic behind the clothes. Raf and the new collection are really successful in the States and a lot of great things are happening in New York. I hope that this is the start of a long relationship with the Guggenheim," Toledano said.

This year's GIG will kick off with a pre-party featuring a performance by The xx.

What do you think of Dior's decision to sponsor this event for the second year in a row? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.Also read here:black prom dresses