Deadly Trends

A popular trend is style of dress, ornament, or behaviour.

My mind is always thinking fashion. I love the history of style and style makers. To see how the economical situations and recent current affairs directly influence and even, yes, dictate what people wear. What people wear...the popular trend? That is what the fashion conscious craves, so much so that it has become a profession. There are experts paid to research follow and report upon trends.

As I heard the horrible news out of the United States today again my mind focused on fashion. A popular trend. We usually think clothing and accessories when we visualize "fashion ". But fashion does not solely and simply embody clothes ornaments and all things beautiful. Fashion can be ugly. Trends may become deadly senseless and beyond what any professional trend researcher can predict, we must become aware that fashion is also a popular trend in behaviour. This fashion of senseless massacre of innocents has become a trend. A trend that has destroyed lives. Ripped apart families and disgusted the entire world. School shootings have sadly become a trend. I love fashion- the sexy styles from the red carpet worthy trends. The trend of killing innocent people continues its ugliness and unfortunately is popular with troubled people accessorized with easily obtained firearms. Fashion- a popular trend in behavior- I hope this one can be stopped.

By, Lauralee Talbot

Christmas Gifts For The Tech Savvy Special Someone

By: Angela Cole

Christmas Day is just around the corner! Do you have all your shopping done? Me neither.

Here are some stylish (and reasonably priced) tech gifts to help out if you’re stuck for what to get the digitally advanced friend or family member.

Photo Source: www.casetagram.com

A custom smartphone or tablet case: Sites such as Casetagram, Skinit, Gelaskins, and Case Mate all provide the option to have a case made up of photos or designs of your choice. This is a gift that’s practical as well as sentimental. ($25-$40)

Photo Source: http://www.bitemyapple.co

Une Bobine: Office desks can get pretty cluttered from time to time, so why not lessen the mess with a gravity-defying desk stand for your Smartphone. Une Bobine is available in 12 or 24 inches and also works as a USB connector. ($30)

Photo Source: http://www.joeybra.com

The JoeyBra: For the girls, we all know what it’s like to not want to carry items, such as a cell phone or money, to a bar or party. So where do they end up? In our bras. Well, The JoeyBra has taken this idea to a whole new level.  The bra features a kangaroo-like pouch on the left side (underneath the armpit that can easily hold a Smartphone and other small items such as money or ID. ($20-$30)

Photo Source: http://mashable.com/2012/11/07/headphones-built-in-hoodies

INSOUND’s Showcave Sleeveless Hoodie: This innovative sweatshirt by INSOUND is not only stylish, but it comes with built-in headphones. Whether you’re working out or just relaxing, this hoodie keeps your music at an arm’s length. ($40)

Chanel Pre-Fall 2013 review

by Cintia Lopez de Freitas

Chanel's "Metier D'Arts" collection showed last week in Scotland was stunning. It all happened in a majestic place called Linlithgow Palace, where Mary, Queen of Scots, was born almost 700 years ago. Her life of tragedy and romance was inspiration to Karl Lagerfeld who, as stated here, has a very personal connection with Mary herself and Scotland. According to the website, as an example of this connection, the first French poem he ever learned (at the age of six) was all about Mary. If that is not explanation enough to understand where Karl's inspiration came from, we can also go back to History and remember that the pairing between France and Scotland is part of it, which leaves us with no doubt that translating the "Grand Alliance" concept into fashion was a fantastic idea. 

And since we're talking History, why not point out that the venue picked to show this new collection was actually completely destroyed by a fire in 1424? The castle was rebuilt between the years of 1618 and 1622 under the reign of King James.

And on to the collection now, shall we? 

Karl Lagerfeld has a undeniable talent of impressing us with new takes on traditional pieces. This time was not different, except it wasn't only the traditional "Chanel" look he was thinking about - the designer transformed the classic Scottish clothing into beautiful fashionable garments. Wool, cashmere, traditional Scottish plaid and, of course, the masculine Renaissance looks were all featured in the show. Again, as stated in the review by Tim Blanks at Style.com, the tweeds, the knits, the cardigans and the man-styled essence of Chanel all came from Scotland and the time that Coco spent there with her lover the Duke of Westminster. Best of both worlds? Check out these beauties:

I'm not sure if one can get any more Scottish than this:

Oh, and you know the kilt, right?

The evening wear was a show of its own. The white wool gowns were so perfectly done I can only hope to see something at least similar on a red carpet sometime soon.

Simply gorgeous. How do you like it? 

What 'Ugly' Christmas Sweater?

Written by: Nicole Grisell 

 

Everybody knows about the 'ugly' Christmas sweater. Maybe you received one as a gift back in 1997? Maybe you've seen one hiding in your grandmas closet? Or maybe, you attended everybody's favorite 'ugly' Christmas sweater themed party once wearing one. Well we've got news for you - 'ugly' Christmas sweaters aren't just for your themed parties anymore. High end fashion designers are taking 'ugly' Christmas sweaters and creating a new fabulous turn on the sweater you dread wearing just to make grandma happy. 

Let's take a look!

 

Here is our first ugly sweater by 3.1 Phillip Lim. The cute reindeer on the front of this sweater adds a cute touch most Christmas sweaters fail to do. The softer beige adds a more comfortable feel to the garment, opposed to harsh red and greens we are so used to during the holiday season.

Available at Net-a-Porter.com:

Was $385 Now $269.50 

 

For our next ugly Christmas sweater, we have a Marc Jacobs red cardigan with a bit of silver embellishment. Marc Jacobs has taken a plain red cardigan and turned it into a Christmas staple. Shiny silver embellishments on the cardigan really add that Christmas sparkle to this look, and can really glam up a plain outfit into something more.

Available at Net-a-Porter.com:
Was $1,100 Now $330

 

 

 Our next ugly sweater is a little more on the pricey side, but also plays more on the Christmas tradition front. This Meadham Kirchhoff design screams Christmas decorations all over it. You will definitely be lighting up the party in this number. Paired with a black skirt, stockings and heels, this ugly sweater will no longer be embarrassing, but classy.

 

Available at Net-a-Porter.com 

s, m, lrg  

£945 

 

 

 

 

This Stella McCartney sweater has a more playful take on our favorite Christmas animal, the reindeer. Having vibrant pinks and yellows incorporated into the design, a fun and girly feel is created. You might just out shine your tree lights this year, wearing this sweater out for the holidays!

 

Available at Net-a-porter.com

xs, s, m, lrg 

£416

For our last ugly Christmas sweater, we have another favorite by 3.1 Phillip Lim. The snowflake embellishments around the neck, bring out all the character, to what could have been a plain white sweater. The icy blue tones added also create a winter wonderland feel most ugly Christmas sweaters are not capable of doing.

Available at Net-a-Porter.com

xs, s, m, lrg
£416

 

 

Here are a few more designer ugly Christmas sweaters I couldn't resist showcasing:

To shop these looks, visit Net-a-Porter.com

What To Expect From RIM's BlackBerry 10

Over the years, it feels like it's been a constant battle between BlackBerry and iPhone. Some would say that BlackBerry is for business and iPhone is for play. Regardless, both brands have their own awesome features. While iPhone offers customers a full touch screen device and thousands of incredible, exclusive apps (i.e. Instagram – one of the largest photo sharing platforms), BlackBerry has always offered their clients a physical keyboard and a Personal Identification Number (PIN). With this, you can directly message another BB phone through PIN messages or BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) – in other words, you don’t need to use a phone number.

Although both mobile phone brands have had their glitches with software and device speediness, iPhone has always seemed to come out on top over BlackBerry. Many have been “converting” from BlackBerry to iPhone (my BBM contact list has dropped over 30 contacts in the past year due to this). While being extremely tempted to make the switch, I’m holding off for the release of RIM’s newest software – BlackBerry 10.

Photo Source: http://bgr.com/2012/10/31/blackberry-10-release-q1/

The new software will provide plenty of innovative features that BlackBerry owners have never seen before, the following are just a few of many to mention. The first phone (Dev Alpha) is designed to have a full touch screen; the second will have a physical keyboard. There will be no more ‘home’ button, all menus are accessible from just one swipe. The ‘flow’ feature will allow movement from one application to another without having to lift a finger, and the time-shift camera is incredible. See for yourself here.

But, what we really want to know is, will BlackBerry 10 offer the amazing apps that iPhone and Android users all have access to? The answer is yes. Nick Dawson, Director of enterprise sales at RIM, stated that over 100 thousand apps are expected to be available by the time of BlackBerry 10’s release date (Q1 of 2013).
 
Even Instagram? According to sources of Kevin Michaluk, founder of CrackBerry.com, RIM continues to have a strong relationship with Facebook (now owner of Instagram) and customers can expect to see Instagram on the new BlackBerry 10 software. Now that’s more like it.
 
Here’s to hoping that BlackBerry 10 doesn’t disappoint. For me, this is RIM's last chance.


Written By: Angela Cole

Demi Lovato's eyebrows: a timeline of what went wrong

by Cintia Lopez de Freitas

Ok, questions have been asked but the mystery remains - what the hell are they doing with Demi Lovato's eyebrows? 

It's safe to assume that the X-Factor's makeup artists have a sense of humor (maybe a Britney Spears' timeline is in order to prove that point), but when you find yourself turning the TV on specifically to watch what is going to happen with someone's eyebrows, you start to wonder if maybe they are messing up with her face on purpose. 

Let's take a look at how things went:

Audition stage (aka "normal")

"Judges' homes" and live shows stage (aka WHY?!):

Looking back at pictures and videos, it quite obvious that this change in the eyebrows was paired with a drastic change in makeup (and hair color, eventually), which definitely makes the brows look even more pronounced. She went from a tanned kind of look (which I think suits her very nicely) to a pale, Twilight-vampire-powder style that I simply cannot understand. I mean, this new look is not actually pretty, is it?

Let me know what you think!

BAGGIN' BITCHES!

BAGS + BITCHES = BAGGIN' BITCHES!


WHAT'S IN YOUR BAG?

Just because you have a designer bag doesn't make you a bagging' bitch; It's whats inside that counts... almost like the human soul. A bagging' bitch is someone who rocks their handbag from the inside-out. It's not the style of bag that counts, it's how trendy the objects inside of it are. Some seem to think the apocalypse may happen at any given moment, so they carry their entire life's needs with them, and others, travel light. We can tell a lot about a personality through the random findings inside people's handbags:


"That's expensive!" 
"Hoarding, much?!"
"Designer-overload?" 
"Rich bitch!"
"Pads vs Tampons."
"I want that.. No no, I need that!"
"Ummm... somebody is insecure."
"TOOTHBRUSH?! Did she even go home last night???"
"TMI. Too much information."
"You needs Jesus!"


I'm no psychologist, but what I can tell you is that each of us is designed with distinct personality traits which render the process of our every decision. Every thought, attraction or emotion leads to a choice. So, what I want from you is to tell me, who's 'soul' is the trendiest, baggin' bitch of them all? And which baggin' bitch are you most likely to befriend?

BAGGIN' BITCH #1

Angela Cole

BAGGIN' BITCH #2

Lauralee Talbot

BAGGIN' BITCH #3

Billy Vasilios

BAGGIN' BITCH #4

Nicole Grisell

BAGGIN' BITCH #5

Francesca Bata-Blyth

BAGGIN' BITCH #6

Lily Dai

BAGGIN' BITCH #7

Karolina Swietoniowska

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the baggin' bitch of them all?

Billy

xx