Classic Clothing Styles That are Always in Fashion

Founding Father of Italian Fashion: Nino Cerruti

Nino Cerruti was still in his 20s when he started designing accessories and products for the fashion market, before he was hailed as the founding father of the Italian fashion. Nino Cerruti was born in Biella in Italy where he took over the management of his family’s textile mills. He made it into something so much more by making tailoring designs applied to their finest fabrics. Nino Cerruti became known as a fashion designed when he designed his own line of men’s wear called the “Hitman”. After that, it was overtaken by his latest addition which was the 1967 unisex clothing. He, then, decided to create a boutique in Paris which gave him a chance to showcase his latest fashion designs to the world.

The most famous of his designs in his men’s designs are the usage of three button singe-breasted look, like the designs that Giorgio Armani used. The only difference is that Cerruti’s works show a very luxurious textural fabric.Nino Cerruti stated designing outfits for famous movie actors and even used them as his own models. Later, he expanded his work by producing his own advertising and promotions campaigns for his business.

Nino Cerruti’s name also became famous for his fragrance lines. However, they are not manufactured by Cerruti, but by Coty. Included are Cerruti Image for men and women, Nino Cerruti for men, and Nino Cerruti pour femme for women.All of his products are being sold all over the world, and these prices highly vary so you better know your budget first before you buy any.

Fashion is Seeing Green

Perhaps it was due to Al Gore’s ground-breaking documentary, and from these humble beginnings, the green movement gained unstoppable acceleration. From food, to fashion, even to banks that promise to plant a tree in exchange for opening an account, the quest to save the environment affected industry to industry, and it’s only getting warmer.

The fashion industry has been known to have consumers that dramatize causes in their own way. Consumers boycotted companies that have been accused of employing workers that labored in deplorable factories. As a result, the fashion industry has been keeping up to speed with the green movement in an effort to meet the demands of even the most picky and cause-oriented consumer.

The youth has been most outspoken, so to speak, about the green movement. Organic foods and organic clothes have been figuring widely in their homes. In an effort to keep up with this powerful consumer base, high-end designers such as Stella McCartney, large companies such as Nike and Levi’s, and even retailers like Wal-Mart have been introducing environment-friendly clothing by the bulk. Wal-Mart, in particular, has been noted to have begun a line of clothing made from recycled soda-pop bottles.

The government estimates that Americans dispose of around 68 pounds of fabrics (as in old clothes, curtains, and other textiles) annually. It is a known fact that the principle of fashion lies in how trends can become obsolete, creating a need for consumers to buy clothes even if they have perfectly good ones left. However, in recent times, consumers began demanding the accountability from fashion houses, in the same degree as in food companies.Consumers are demanding that the needs of their causes be met, and the cause that rings the most bells nowadays is earth conservation. Garment companies are well-advised to follow what consumers want, or else it will prove to be perilous for their business. The Green movement has just begun, and it has yet to produce noticeable results.

Beading in High Fashion and Everyday Wear

Beads hold ancient roots, and their cultural significance can be traced to their early use in bartering. Beads served as a primitive currency, and they still retain their value today. In modern times they are found in the form of decoration as jewelry, rather than money.In earlier times, beads were made from a variety of materials from fishbone right through to teeth and as cultures become more sophisticated, so did the materials that beads were made from.In ancient days, people fashioned beads from a variety of materials. Early materials ranged from fish bones to teeth. As cultures grew increasingly sophisticated, so did the beads, techniques and materials with which they were created.Today, beads are mostly used in jewelry making, textile embellishment and in the fashion industry. To yield a more "designer look," crafters often choose glass lamp-work beads over plastic buttons in garments. Costume jewelers and makers of "fine jewelry" utilize a diversity of beads, which vary in intricacy of design. This adds a look of quality and uniqueness to their work.Fine jewelry houses predominantly use precious and semi-precious gemstone beads; the costume jewelry industry more often uses beads made of plastic, acrylic, wood and glass. Skilled artists can use the inherent versatility and wide range of designs, manipulating beads in many ways to create their pieces. Endless stringing combinations, and a plethora of cuts and finishes ensures that beaded jewelry needs never look dull, boring or dated.Recently, the home crafts market has seen an explosion in the use and sale of beads. For example, they used to serve exclusively as small, detailed embellishments for needle work projects. The last decade, however, has seen a surge of interest in beads. Accordingly, craft project hobbies (a.k.a. making classic jewelry, beaded candle holders, curtains, and wind charms) have also enjoyed increased popularity.In fashion, there has been a resurgence of the "hippie Bohemian" look; people have consequently returned to using beads in the art of jewelry making. Beads have come to signify uniqueness in style and individual expression. They provide a new, modern look in fashion. In the 1970s, the public saw home made jewelry as a symbol of the "hippie" culture. Long strands of love beads were as interesting as things got. As the internet blazed into the forefront of popular culture in society, the jewelry making market saw direct impact. Now crafters may easily communicate with each other, sharing techniques and setting trends.Ultimately, the bead charm bracelet is an example of how a classic, Bohemian theme can be applied to create a contemporary look. The charm bracelet made its first appearance in jewelry during the 1950s. It has remained popular ever since, but has been largely limited to classic jewelry lines in the form of precious metals.The 1970s, for instance, witnessed a resurgence in popularity of Bohemian culture in fashion. It empowered home jewelry makers to use their love of beads to update the classic" look. Suddenly, charm bracelets with colorful glass beads were everywhere. One could see them on catwalks in high fashion, as well as on the streets. The home crafter could select from a large variety of beads to create his or her own style and unique fashion statement.Styles come and go, but beads will always be in vogue. Whether you prefer an elegant, long string of pearls or a plastic stretchy bead bracelet, the bead is here to stay.

Ethical Fashion:

What is Ethical Fashion?Ethical fashion is that which is produced using: fairly-paid and fairly-treated adult workers; sustainable fabrics and materials like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, and reclaimed or recycled materials; low-impact fiber-reactive dyes or vegetable dyes; respect for a healthy environment and/or product for the farmer, the assembler, and the wearer of the clothing. Why Ethical Fashion?We are all responsible for how our own lifestyles affect the environment. Simple measures can be taken to achieve big changes by simply switching our buying patterns to include products made of low impact materials. Positive pressure on businesses who have yet to volutarily clean up their acts is very easily applied by simply choosing not to spend money on their products, and helping – little by little – to grow the businesses who have made an explicit commitment to responsible business practice.Why Now?The wonderful thing about the booming ethical fashion industry is the huge variety of designs, colours, cuts, fabrics and sizes now available. Long stigmatized as cousin to the burlap sack, the ethical offerings today are design-oriented. Designers with heart are creating beautiful, sexy, edgy, classic, current, imaginative, and, yes, flattering pieces – ethics will simply not be compromised and thankfully neither will the look and feel of their work. Reducing our footprint can be done without making any sacrifices. One of the main driving forces of the ethical fashion boom is public awareness. Thanks to exposés on large manufacturers, the fact that sweatshop labour is used for the overwhelming majority of production can no longer be ignored. The power of boycotting has been demonstrated, as has the power of voting with our dollars to support good practice. Thanks to accessible work like “An Inconvenient Truth”, the lay person is no longer free to assuage their environmental guilt with the denial of the existence of climate change. Thanks to alternative medical practitioners, who deal with cause instead of just symptom, we're learning that we can build health by surrounding ourselves with and consuming healthy things. Consumers are growing weary of the quantity without quality mentality. Most designers with an ethical bent to their art, work in small batches, producing high quality goods with exceptional fabrics. Consumers are, in growing numbers, appreciating the right to vote with their dollars; and are exercising it to support expansion of the sustainable textile industry, small farmers and farm co-operatives. We're all looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact, increase our social contribution, ease our consciences, hold on to some creature comforts, and continue celebrating art in all its forms.

Ethical Fashion: What, Why and Why Now?

What is ethical fashion, why is it important, and why are we just hearing about it now? Well, to answer these questions we start with what is wrong with clothing production today. Most clothing available in stores today is produced in an unethical manner using sweatshop and/or child labour to ensure a larger profit margin. Manufacturers use unsustainable fabrics like non-organic cotton (dubbed as natural, it accounts for almost 25% of all pesticide use) and polyester (which is a petroleum by-product). They use conventional dying practices which release chlorine, chromium, and other pollutants into the environment posing a health risk to the farmers, assemblers and wearers (7 of the top 15 pesticides used on conventional US cotton crops are “possible” to “known” human carcinogens). The shift to ethical production practices in the clothing industry has been undeniably important for a long time making the market ripe for a positive change. Consumers are starting to demand better.

Denim in the Perspective of a Fashion Garment

Evolution of Jeans:Jeans has been, and is an important item of clothing for many decades. Denim garments came into existence during the 18th century, a time when there was abundant production of cotton. During that period, it gained importance due to its aspects of durability, and not easily torn which benefited physical laborers much. During the 19th century the garment was popularized by Levi Strauss, a well known name in the jean world. Denim clothing was manufactured by them for miners. 20th century brought jeans as a fad of pop culture. Western cowboy movies portrayed people wearing blue jeans. The 50s witnessed the cloth becoming a craze of the teen age population. Manufacturers utilized the situation by coming up with innovative designs like new colors, embroidery and patch works. During 60s and 70s bell bottoms and hip hugger patterns became popular.

It was during the 80s denims started drawing attention of the fashion designers. New and glamorous patterns were created and were brought to lime light by popular models in commercials. Puffy pants, puffy shoulder pads, and puffy hair became a style. In the 90s; it became one of the most sought after garment. To skim the cream of the denim market, manufacturers then, came up with various innovative ideas of using the denim fabric like poodle skirts, caps, handbags etc. It was during that time the denim sales skyrocketed. Currently the new millennium finds denim in each and every home; worldwide. Denim as a Fashion Icon:From the place of normal clothing, denim has risen to be a fashion icon and is being adorned by fashion models. It has now become a symbol of modeling and modern culture. The metamorphosis of jeans from a commodity to a fashion item happened during the 90s; when jeans evaluated into a number of various other items such as jackets, shorts, skirts etc apart from the normal pants. Earlier different models like hippie bellbottoms, and tapered legs, were popular. Current trend is all about variety and views denim as an item with bold styles to keep pace with the fast track life style.Read more on Denim in the perspective of a Fashion Garment