How I Finally Gave In and Became a Sneaker Person
For years I operated under the assumption that to dress well, I had to be uncomfortable. I love nipped-waist skirts, but I can't stand how they dig in when I sit down—same for sleek dresses that require a treacherous maneuver to get on and off and tight, black jeans that leave deep tracks when I peel them off. And the shoes: ballet flats that pinch, knee-high suede boots that make me limp…. Listen, I know comfortable shoes for women exist, but those weren't the ones I wanted to wear. In the words of Abba, pain was the name of the game to feel like who I wanted to be. Yet it’s so perverse that that's what was required to participate in style. A few weeks ago, though, it stopped being my decision.
Life comes with addendums, and mine is a condition called hyperhidrosis. Basically it means that when my feet aren’t housed in socks, they sweat nonstop—so slides, mules, and really any aesthetically pleasing shoes are off the table. In the ninth grade, I committed to boots. At the time I felt those were my fanciest closed-toe option, way more polished than sneakers. So I leaned into them, hard. That changed this year, when the medical establishment intervened once again: After eight months of chronic pain that felt like someone was always elbowing me in the lower back, my doctor limited my footwear options even further. Sneakers, we meet again.
I've followed street style; I've seen the Bella Hadid meme; I know sneakers have been a "fashion" thing for a bit. They're not only a huge part of culture but also a booming business. They just never felt natural to me, or the femme-pretty clothing I leaned toward. Alas, I had doctor's orders. It was basically like Jack and Rose, but me letting a pair of excruciating black velvet boots from Zara fall into the abyss.
What made matters worse was that my spinal doctor wasn't recommending just any sneakers—I was to wear ones with built-up arch support and thick rubber siding to keep my feet and ankle stable. Clunkers. I went to a running-shoe store in New York and left with a couple pairs that hurt to look at but fit the bill. As I stood in front of my closet the next day and looked miserably at the sneakers, though, I realized: There had to be some sort of happy medium between giving up my personal style and wearing shoes that legitimately fit my needs.
I found that middle ground somewhat unexpectedly. I wore big-ass New Balance sneakers with a slinky merlot dress from & Other Stories. At first, it didn't make sense to me—but as I sat there during my commute, looking down at my outfit, I came to the gradual realization that it wasn't all bad. I could run away at any moment (even though I wouldn't because: body crumbling), whether it was after a woman with fantastic hair or to collect voter signatures. It felt very Working Girl meets West Wing season one. More important, my feet weren't screaming in discomfort. Though my shoes and outfit felt at odds in the beginning, together they spelled out a message: I was refusing to put myself in pain to look presentable. I would embrace comfort, keep dressing entirely the same, and hold on to who I wanted to be.
I've come to love passing someone wearing a chic dress or a pair of well-cut pants with big, chunky sneakers—and it doesn't feel like they're going to swap them with heels as soon as they get to their destination. They're having it all, goddammit, and I am too.
Chinese e-commerce apps like Club Factory, Shein, Romwe value India markets
India is one of the main markets of focus for China's major cross-border e-commerce players due to high potential for economic growth, according to a report on Sunday.
Five of the top 10 best performing cross-border e-commerce Chinese apps in the first five months --- such as Club Factory, SHEIN, ROMWE and JollyChic - focussed on the Middle East and India markets, according to a report from app data provider App Annie.
According to the report, the Indian market enjoys a huge population and high potential for economic growth, thus attracting many e-commerce players to expand their presence, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
Smartphones are popular in Arab countries and local consumers have strong purchasing power. But the oil-rich countries lack textiles and other light sectors, offering cross-border e-commerce opportunities for products like apparel.
Alibaba's AliExpress tops the list, which mainly reviews the performances of third-party business-to-consumer e-commerce platforms targeting overseas consumers, it said.
The report also showed that South American markets pose rising growth potential while developed markets in Europe and the United States remain attractive to Chinese e-commerce players.
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I enjoy experimenting with style says Manishi Chillar
Miss World Manishi Chillar said she enjoys experimenting with her style.
Manushi was present at the Club Factory’s commercial launch on Thursday in Mumbai. The TVC features mManishaand Ranveer Singh who is currently busy shooting in Hyderabad.
When asked if Manushi was brand conscious as a student she said, “I was always interested in fashion and everyone likes fashion, like Ranveer said it is a way of expressing yourself. As a medical student if I would wear a white coat that was my fashion statement then. But I do enjoy wearing trendy clothes. When I was younger I didn’t have as much knowledge about brands so it was mostly influenced by parents but now there is a sea of brands out there that have their own interpretation of style and I enjoy experimenting.”
Ranbir who was unable to attend the event made a cameo appearance through a pre recorded video at the event.
The actor then said he feels proud to be in association with the brand Club Factory. “I am super excited that we are finally launching. I have always said that style is an outward expression of self. It is an expression of who you are and what you feel so the more unfiltered and original it is, its better. I am really happy and proud to be part of Club Factory family, because now Club Factory will make style accessible to everyone. They get you the coolest gear at factory prices.”
When talking about Club Factory and Manushi’s association with the brand she said, ‘Somewhere I feel my philosophy matches with it because I was a student at times you don’t have the time or money to invest so much in shopping. With online shopping and ecommerce sites it becomes easier.”
I travel a lot and I do prefer online shopping myself. With a brand like Club Factory they are making style accessible to everyone. Its something that is very important today.” she added.
The Many Style Stages of Justin Bieber: See the Fashion Evolution
There once was a time where a certain teenage heartthrob snatched our souls with his "Baby Baby Baby" hit.
It's hard to believe the Justin Bieber we know is know today now dons shirtless ensembles on a regular. Over the years the star's style has changed like the seasons. The once baggy-jeans-and-cap-wearing kid can now be found hanging with the likes of Spencer Pratt rocking a more free-spirited bohemian look.
Throughout the years, Biebs went from serenading fans to immersing himself into street-style fashion. But this style transformation didn't happen overnight. We can all agree that when Bieber is in love, his style feels the butterflies, too. Whether it's the multiple fashion phases he owned alongside Selena Gomez, or his rebellious hip-hop looks, or his urban-dad style recently worn while cozying up to Hailey Baldwin, the "Sorry" singer is forever mixing up his style.
So how did Justin transform his look? Just ditch the fitted cap for a few new hair colors and cuts, trade the baggy jeans for joggers and dump the polo shirts for some killer ink. TADA! You've got yourself a brand-new Bieber.
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House of Fraser Renewing Product And Trade Strategy
House of Fraser is renewing its product and trade strategy, towards transformation. To ensure that House of Fraser is a destination for customers to shop the brands they love, it will provide the best selection of contemporary brands while becoming more agile in responding to trends and delivering exclusivity through partnerships with popular concessions.
As the business continues to respond to evolving consumer preferences, House of Fraser will make its core focus to offer the best selection of contemporary brands. It will become more agile in responding to trends and deliver exclusivity through partnerships with popular concessions. The company will invest in trend-spotting and product innovation capabilities alongside its recently launched globally responsive supply chain.
David Walker-Smith, chief product and trading officer, said: “Since joining House of Fraser, I have worked with the team to review our current product offering and what became crystal clear is our customers love brands. Customers now want more from their shopping experience and as a business, we need to make sure we are exceeding expectations. I’m really looking forward to embarking on this new chapter for the business and working with both our existing and new partners to bring an exciting proposition to stores and online”.
As part of wider cost-management efforts, House of Fraser is focusing on areas of growth within the business and wider sector. Kantar Worldpanel reports an increase of £208 million for on branded products in the last year while own label products are seeing a decrease year on year. In 2017, House of Fraser announced an initial step towards consolidating its own brands to focus on the most fashion forward products. To reflect the desires of consumers, House of Fraser will be investing in its partnerships to ensure it becomes the destination for customers who want to shop some of the most loved brands.
Check the follow questions when you shopping online:
Is Club Factory selling genuine products confused about its pricing? - Quora
Has anyone had any shopping experience with Club Factory? - Quora
This New Online Platform Is Giving a Voice to Young Fashion Designers in Arab Nations
People are inundated with myriad ways to read fashion content online. Outside of what we’re overstimulated by on our social media feeds every day, there are countless blogs dedicated to niche personalities and personal style, and hundreds of websites that tell us what to wear and what not to wear, who’s copying who on the runways, and which designers are the next big thing. Despite the fact that there seems to be a surplus of ways to digitally digest trends and model info and industry gossip, Tunisian journalist and onetime editor of Style.com/Arabia Sofia Guellaty always felt shortchanged. Frustrated by the fact that the Arab world was underrepresented within the online fashion space, she launched Mille World.
The website officially opened for business in January 2018 as a platform offering fashion, beauty, and lifestyle commentary based on Arab youth culture. Through original reporting, videos, and photo shoots, Guellaty and her team feature subjects ranging from underground movements and skater crews in Dubai to up-and-coming designers who have trained abroad and started businesses in places like Beirut and Amman. Mille editors also pay much attention to what it means to be self-expressive in nations with social and religious constructs that can make doing so seem nearly impossible. Currently on Mille, there is one article titled “The Egyptian Photographer Discovered by Jonathan Anderson” and another called “5 Body-Positive Lingerie Brands You Must Know.” Others include “The Rise of the Token Hijabi?” and “A Look Inside Saudi’s First Female Focused Street Style Book.” Guellaty and her staff, which includes advisers like model Elisa Sednaoui Dellal and European president of Next Models Saif Mahdhi, are aiming to capture the attention of the next generation of Arabs, and just as important, to present them to the rest of the world in a new light.
As Guellaty explains, “We really wanted to create the best content we could ever create for an Arab audience but also from Arabs.” She adds, “Who better than me or my female colleagues to explain to you what being a woman in fashion, an Arab woman in fashion, means today? It’s a somewhat controversial identity for someone looking in, but being Arab has never truly been explored on a large scale within the digital space.”
Guellaty acknowledges that for the vast majority of Europeans and Americans looking to westernized cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the perception of Arab style can often be limited to giant, shiny super-malls and luxury label megastores like Hermès, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton. This is in part because, in those places in particular, there has never been a strong push to create a separate sartorial identity from Europe and the U.S. Drive through Dubai and you won’t see many individual boutiques with a focus on local designers. This outlook doesn’t just apply to retail either. “We have a Miss Lily’s in Dubai,” Guellaty notes, referring to the trendy New York hot spot that serves Caribbean food and juice. “Why would we ever have a Miss Lily’s in Dubai when you could have a Miss Fatimah’s, and it could be so funky and cool?” She adds, “We could do well to not emulate something else.”
Identity is the crux of Mille World. Everyone who works for Guellaty resides in the Middle East or northern Africa and is Arab born and raised. No one in the Mille office is afraid to talk about the female body, nor are they reluctant to promote politically outspoken streetwear labels like the Lebanese brand Prince Politique and Kuwait’s first streetwear brand RS.
Guellaty is particularly excited about a sister-owned, Amman-based label called Nafsika Skourti. “Their last collection was titled the Lowest Place on Earth,” she says. “This is how the Dead Sea is promoted to tourists, and it has a negative connotation, so they wanted to reclaim that narrative.”
Guellaty makes a point of showcasing the region’s independents. “What I find interesting is that when I ask for integrated content, both global and local labels are asking me to work with these little groups of rappers or skaters in Dubai. That’s who they want representing their brands.” She adds, “Generally speaking, what I see, in terms of fashion, is that we are breaking away from the clichés more and more. I think we are still very brand loyal, there are a lot of fans here of Balenciaga and Vetements and Off-White, for example, but on the other hand, we’re very proud of our local designers. Arab pride is very big right now.”
More from social:
https://twitter.com/clubfactoryapp
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG24jZuScHvUuwiP6uzcwJg
Cornell students paint a fashion runway green
Colorful and creative couture that’s friendly to the environment can be haute, haute, haute.
At the Ecouture 2018 environmental fashion show April 14 at Duffield Hall – organized by Martha Williams ’20 and the Cornell Environmental Cooperative – dozens of student models and designers unveiled the latest verdant vogue.
Dakotah Tanczuk ’19 wore a Samantha Kirsch ’18 original, a top and skirt made from bags of Dirty Sriracha & Honey kettle-style potato chip bags. Emma Birch ‘20 wore a Kirsch-made jumper made from woven newspaper and Alicia O’Neal ’18 donned a dress made from chip bags and woven newspaper.
“I came up with the designs based on my models’ personalities,” said Kirsch, a fiber science and apparel design management major. “I enjoy reimagining how things that would typically just be thrown away could be used, so designing this collection was tons of fun and really allowed my creative juices to flow.”
Tasha Lewis, assistant professor of fiber science and apparel design, and Claudine DeSola and Tabitha St. Bernard-Jacobs, co-founders of LIVARI, zero-waste womenswear made ethically in New York, provided encouragement and remarks.
Other designers in the fashion show also bid adieu to polyester and rayon. Margot Shumaker ’19 designed a delicious Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream container dress worn by Emma Ramsden ’19. Annie Fu and Kate Wang created a dress from broken compact discs worn by Sosonia Ma ’21. And Jessica Biggott ’20 devised a dress from plastic bags, worn by Rachel Stein '18.
