How has the housing crisis affected home fashion retail?

So everyone knows that we are going through a recession right now, and the effects are obvious seen through the buying habits of Americans. They are buying less now since money is tighter, and so fashion companies have to be more innovative in order for consumers to buy their products. Home fashion is a good example of this, and there are so many aspects in this department. From furniture to home accessories, there are endless possibilities of choices for things to decorate and furnish your home.





Since Americans have less money to spend on everything now days, consumers are buying cheaper pieces of furniture and in lesser quantities. Home accessories are becoming more popular for the average buyer since they are smaller and more affordable. Everything from vases to mirrors, and rugs to picture frames are available for consumers to purchase. The accessories are fun and are easy to use in order to change the look and feel of a room.

The colors are playful and change with the seasons and trends. Even if someone is tight on money, they can afford to buy something small for their home. The image on the right, taken from http://mocoloco.com/upload/2007/06/interior_lifest_4/interior_lifestyle_accessor.jpg, is a good example of the way home accessories are used in everyday life.

challenges of apparel retail

There are many problems and challenges that retailers face in the fashion industry today. These can range from trying to figure out retailing strategies and distributors, to deciding initially what type of retailing that company want to have. A few of the types of retailers include department stores, specialty stores, warehouse retailers, supermarkets, or discount retailers. As you can imagine, a lot of challenges have to be overcome for the retailer to be successful!

According to the textbook The Business of Fashion: Designing, Manifacturing, and Marketing, retailing can be defined as "a business activity of selling goods or services to the final consumer". This means that retail has a lot of components to it since it has to appeal to the consumer, and there are many different types of potential buyers. The retailer has to target certain groups of people and every season needs to be up to the consumer's standards if they want the items to be bought.

The distribution process is also important for retailers, and plays a key role in the process of selling to the consumer. Quick Response, supply chain management strategies, and product lifecycle management are a few of these components. They tie the company and the retailers together, and provide the success that they each require. If any part of this process goes wrong, then the outcome with be problematic and the results could be disastrous.

sweating about sweatshops

One topic that many people think about is that of sweatshops,and whether or not they should be used when producing something. Personally, I think that there are both good and bad points to using a sweatshop. Say you owned a company that wanted to sell a pair of jeans for $45.00, but still be able to bring in a large profit. The best way, economically speaking, would be to use the workers in a sweatshop and have them manufacture the product. This would be very cost efficient in the sense that they get payed very little for what the make, which also means that you pay very little for what is made. If it only costs you 5 or 10 dollars to have a pair of jeans manufactured, then your profit will be a lot more lucrative than if you payed more to have it put together.

Of course, sweatshops are very sad places of employment, and most times have harsh working conditions. These places provide very little pay to it's workers, and there are often times only one or two breaks offered throughout the entire working day. According to coopamerica.org, a Honduran worker got paid 43 cents an hour to make clothing for Wal-Mart. These wages are incredibly low, and for many people that are forced to work under such conditions, it isn't enough to live on. Some people are working to support families of large numbers, and more often than not, children are also forced to work in the same conditions just so their families can afford food and shelter.

Sweatshops are an ever-present issue all over the world, and companies and economies are caught up in the circle. "Since multinational corporations are constantly pressuring suppliers for cost-cutting measures, workers most often find conditions getting worse instead of better"(coopamerica.org). This is very sad, but it is something the company and the buyer have to decide upon. You can either choose to pay a little bit more for clothing not mad in a sweatshop, or you can buy cheaper things that have been made by people in harsh conditions. Whether most people will admit it or not, sweatshops are good economically speaking but bad socially and humanely.

fashion: art or usablility? ...plus Milan fashion show

So, one topic that many people discuss is that on the topic of whether or not fashion is art or usability. I think that the answer to this question is a mix of the two. Fashion can be, and is, interpreted in many different ways. There are those designers and buyers who consider fashion something that is a necessity, and is something that should showcase the wearer. In this case, fashion would be a form of usability, something that is practical. Then of course there are those who, when fashion is brought to mind, think of wild and crazy ideas! Fashion can be adventurous and creative, which is why I love it.



Whenever something has a pattern, or good craftmanship and details, I think of art. Art does not have to be something that is hanging on the wall or in a museum, it can be wearable too. Fashion obviously has a lot of thought and planning put into it, and that creativity and effort should be viewed as an art form.



I watched the Milan fashion shows, and there were a few basic trends throughout them. There seemed to be a focus on technology and transparency, as well as many outfits being top-heavy: or having a soft bottom and a stiffer top. Marni took a nice spin of some of the "classics", such as the pencil skirt, the twin set, and the suit. This shows the fashion world as both usable and artsy.

Another artist that caught my attention was Fendi. The designer had a cool idea of taking the transparency theme and bringing it to another level. There were some dresses that were see-through, but had a sheath or something under it in order to make it wearable. This can be seen in the picture attached, as provided by style.com.

What inspires me as a designer

As an inspiring fashion merchandiser and wannabe dress designer, there are many things that intrigue and inspire me. There are often times when I look around and think to myself, "Wow that pattern would look great on a mini dress", or "Hmm, that color is gorgeous! I wonder what other colors or patterns would look good with it". As ridiculous as it sounds, I find myself looking at objects or environments with a different approach than some around me. Sometimes I will try to take in the patterns that a surrounding tree has on its bark, or the way a sunset looks. Then later, I'll think about what type of material would best translate those images and how they would look on a dress.

So many things inspire me, and once i start looking, it gets hard to stop! The picture of a dress I drew and uploaded (to the right) has quite a few inspirations. Pink and yellow are actually two of my favorite colors, and my bed sheets just happen to be those colors. When I was drawing this I was sitting on my bed and coloring, and I suppose that the sheets influenced and inspired my color palette! The silhouette is one of my favorites, and I see it all the time on actresses and other famous women. It's an elegant, long flowing dress, with feminine details (such as a low-cut front, tapered waist, and thin straps). To be honest, however, the pattern on this dress was not really inspired by much. I love drawing little polka dots, and i thought putting white triangles on the fabric would be an interesting addition. Once I did so, I decided that I liked it and so that's the way the dress is now!

If I were going to make this dress, the fabric would be some sort of flowing, chiffon material. I would want whoever was wearing it to be able to move about gracefully and freely. The fabric would need to flow and I would love it if when the wearer walked, it would make that nice swishy sound (you know the one. when you're wearing a longer dress that you almost have to hold up to walk in, and the fabric rubs against itself on the bottom...it almost whispers). The bottom would have a many thin layer, so as to create that billowing look. I think I would want the black dots to be dyed on the fabric, but the white triangle pieces to be hand-sewn on. Perhaps I would even like them to be made out of lace or a different material.

As I'm sure you can tell, inspiration comes to people in many different ways. From films to food, and skies to sheets, you never know when your next inspiration will hit you!

Ethnic influences on apparel design

So there are many, many influences on the fashions of the world today. People draw their inspiration from anything: nature, movies, people on the streets, etc. The fashions in the U.S. have increasingly been influenced by ethnic aspects. This is due to a number of reasons, and can be seen in many designer's recent collections.

One of my favorite ethnic influences on fashion is that of the Chinese. It can be seen everywhere, sometimes even in the unlikeliest of spots. First off, silk is one of these influences from China, as it a fabric that originates there, that most people love. The fabric is beautiful and feels nice when worn, and also has a great way of flowing away from the body. Many designers use this fabric in their collections, such as Donna Karan, Versace, and Gucci to name a few. The picture to the left shows a photo of a look from the Donna Karan Spring 2009 RTW Collection. (http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/S2009RTW-DKARAN)

Of course, silk is but one way in which China has influenced the fashion world in America. Colors such as the reds and golds that are traditional in Chinese ceremonies are often seen in clothing lines. There are many other ways it's influences can be seen, and according to Michele Coppin from http://colorbuzz.valsparblog.com/2008/09/chinese-influen.html, "Trendy Chinese labels are appearing in Western markets, not just copying existing styles, but employing their own Eastern flare. Indeed, the Chinese have, over their long history, inherited a fantastic feel and love for fine materials and gorgeous colors."

Another designer that shows a heavily ethnic-based Collection this year is Ralph Lauren. In his Spring 2009 RTW Collection, the obvious source of inspiration is from North Africa. Khaki took on a huge role in his color palate as well as gold. The image on the bottom left shows a model wearing one of the North African designs (image from http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2009RTW-RLAUREN/).

According to Nicole Phelps from Style.com, "The show opened with a khaki camp shirt that looked like it had just come back from safari".

Overall I really like the fact that ethnic cultures are influencing the way Americans dress. The world is becoming globalized, and so the fashions need to show that. It also opens up many new ways of dressing one's self each day!

New York Fashion Week main trends

So this year's New York Fashion Week had the critics talking up a storm! Normally, compared to other shows, New York is often the "safe city" and generally keeps things relatively moderate. This year, however, many designers branched out of their normal dimensions and tried out new ideas. My two favorite shows are the Donna Karan and Zac Posen RTW Spring 09 shows.

The Donna Karan Collection was one that I found particularly interesting and feminine. She really played around with the draping of materials, usually her signature jersey, and the effect turned out rather nice. The picture I included on the top right is from the show and features one of the looks offered by Donna Karan. (http://www.wwd.com/fashion-season-microsite/spring-ready-to-wear-2009/review/donna-karan-rtw-spring-2009-1777640#/slideshow/article/1777640/1777762)

The other designer's show that I really liked was Zac Posen's Collection. It was also super-feminine with great curvy and short looks. I also liked his color palette that he chose to work with this season: mostly pinks and pale greens, with a few subtle patterns thrown into the mix. According to WWD Staff from the WWD.com website, "the approach had a charming siren-meets-schoolgirl vibe", which i completely agree with. The collection is feminine and soft, yet still sexy and strong.

The image to the left is from www.style.com and actually is a picture of my favorite dress from his collection. I am a huge fan of animal print, and I like how Zac Posen chose subtle colors to make the dress out of. I also love the draping of the fabric and the overall shape of the dress!

Below I also included two links to both of the deigner's shows, which are found through the wwd.com website.

Donna Karan: http://www.wwd.com/video/?vid=1795748956

Zac Posen: http://www.wwd.com/video/?vid=1785312445

organic/environmental friendly clothing

Hey, so here's a topic that has been circulating the fashion industry for a relatively short while: environmentally friendly clothing. These "responsible" clothes and products were once only associated with the younger and environmentally conscious consumers, but are now mainstream.


What exactly does it mean to be environmentally conscious? Well, according to the textbook The Business of Fashion: Designing, Manufacturing, and Marketing, many companies are working to improve environmental conditions in order to show that they are conscious of industrial effects on the world. Some ways in which these companies decrease pollution and waste are by using recycled, organic, and less toxic materials in their products. Also, cutting down on the amount of water and energy used in production contributes greatly to the new techniques carried out today.

One of the most well-known environmentally friendly productions is that of cotton. On page 130 of the textbook mentioned above, the organic cotton movement is greatly discussed. Organic cotton fibers are used in everyday items, such as cotton swabs, upholstery, and apparel. This wide-spread use of cotton is great for it's manufacturers and consumers alike because everyone seems to want to get a piece of it. In fact, " the sales of organic cotton have been steadily rising over the past five years, with estimates that it will continue to grow 15 percent per year over the next few years" (Organic Trade Association). This "trend" of wearing all-natural fibers, such as cotton, can also be seen in advertisements, much like the cotton ones that are constantly playing on my TV. I attached a photo of a cotton advertisement, showing women embracing their organic cotton clothing.(above right, from http://thegoodlifelookbook.wordpress.com/2008/06/15/green-cotton/)

I for one think that it shows a certain level of responsibility when these companies use environmentally friendly techniques while manufacturing their products. The world that we live in is becoming so polluted with waste and who knows what, that the efforts of these forward-thinking companies are much appreciated. Of course, it does cost more money to create environmentally responsible machinery and systems. However, many consumers would rather spend a few more dollars on an item if they know that the process with which it was manufactured was an organic one.

My favorite fashion designer! (and why) <3

Well, I have always been a huge fan of the well-known designers such as Chanel and Prada, but have just recently fallen in love with Badgley Mischka. The designs from this line first caught my eye when I was watching the Golden Globe awards, and one of my favorite celebrities was wearing a stunning red gown. The designers behind the fashion name are Mark Badgley and James Mischka, and are most known for their signature evening gowns,like the one I saw on television, and are usually beaded or embellished. They met at Parsons and later created the fashion line in 1988, which was acquired by Escada USA in 1992 (answers.com).

Badgley Mischka dresses create a nice elongated form when worn, which I like because there are many dresses created today that add extra unwanted bulk to the body, or are simply unflattering. I attached a picture of one of these signature gowns (see above right), which I absolutely love! I also love when designers pay attention to the details that comprise the garment. Although there are the many ways that Badgley Mischka adds detail to their clothing, some of my favorites are the extra jewels, bows, embroidering, and other odds and ends that are attached to the finished products. It creates a feeling of uniqueness and femininity that I find very attractive.

I am also a huge fan of the over-all "look" of Badgley Mischka: it screams Hollywood and "red carpet occasion". Their eveningwear embodies the glamorous lifestyles all of us wish we had, displaying everything from low-cut styles to sweeping trains to bedazzled fabrics. I mean, who wouldn't want to wear such dresses? I for one would wear any of their designs any day, anytime, anywhere. :)