higher sales requires discounted merchandise.

The recession has affected the economy in different areas. One of those specific areas consist of home and fashion retail. A survey was conducted over the internet to determine how the economic crisis is affecting the retail business. According to this survey 54% said they would not be making any discretionary purchases through this recession and 63% said they would not make any purchases unless there was some type of deal or bargain attached. The results of the survey suggest that consumers will cut budgets and will only spend when there is some type of deal. Since coupons are a household staple-86% of Americans have used coupons are discount deals while shopping. 37% said they will increase the use of coupons while shopping. During the recession, the survey concluded that people are less likely to look at catalogs, television commercials, etc. It has left retailers with the conclusion of keeping there loyal employees by giving discounted merchandise and this is said to help boost sales.

potential career.

i have a few prospective careers in mind. however, one of my major prospects is fashion forecasting. according to our book, a fashion forecasting service is a company that predicts consumers' future style preferences and trends in textiles and apparel. most of the time the predictions are based on research conducted by its staff and other associations.

as a forecaster you must be able to prodive your own knowledge of design and history with consumer business information. fashion forecasting services has been operating since 1991. they are the leading resource for international reports for color, trend and home furnishing.

the reason why this is one of my biggest prospectives because i have always like the fact of sitting in fashion shows or associated events just to watch what designers have put to their mind. i personally am a big magazine collector. i collect magazines just to look through them to find whats in style and whats the newest trends. i also like looking online at blogs and reading articles. i was always told to find a career that i could work w/o pay and since this is already something i do as a student then i think i will enjoy this career.

this career requires you to do alot with reporting, writing, and have public speaking skills and sales skills. if you acquire seven to ten years of experience you have a chance of making 100,000 to 200,000 working for a big retailer or clothing manufacturer. however, the average salary for a trend analyst is 60, 000. this career requires a degree in fashion. im pretty excited about this career regardless of the salary. fashionsnoops.com ; is where i attend to apply for a career at.

Sweatshops and its current Existence

A sweatshop is a working environment that consists of very dangerous working conditions. When you work at a sweatshop you are usually offered few or no rights. When working in a sweatshop you are forced to work long hours for little or no pay. The laws of overtime or minimum wage serves no justice when working in a sweatshop. Statistics say that 90% of sweatshop workers are usually women.

Poor working environments at sweatshops include the exposure to harmful materials, hazardous situations, very extremes temperatures and possible abuse of employees. Most sweatshops consists of the production of shoes, toys, apparel and furniture. There is said to still be sweatshops today. Sweatshops still exist in South and Central America, Eastern Europe, China, India, and other Asian Countries. There are still some sweatshops that exist in America such as California, New York, Dallas, Miami and Atlanta.

In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards act passes prohibiting sweatshops. President Clinton did create a Apparel Industry Task Force to address the issues of sweatshops existance. I do not belive in sweatshops, personally. I dont believe it in being a punishment neither. I believe that everybody should be treated fair to working conditions at all times.

art or usability?

In my opinion fashion is a form of both art and usability. i often hear the quote "you are what your wear." so i often define myself as an aspect of creativity. when i think of creativity i think of a divine form of art. how i chose to express my form of art is usability. i use fashion as away to express myself as well as artists. so yes i do believe fashion is a form of both.

Issues in the Fashion Industry

the fashion industry is experiencing recession also. alot of retail stores are going out of business. the financial crising in our economy has caused alot of retail businesses to file bankruptcies. places such as ann taylor, lane bryant, fashion bug, catherines are shutting down over 100 stores nationwide. if our economy is experiencing problems with employment how can we afford to keep our favorite retail businesses going?

New developments w/ Franchises.

Even though we are currently in a recession down economies is the best time to find opportunities. In the retail world, franchisors are still trying to keep unit sales up, and one way to do this is to recruit more franchisees. It is said that if your community is looking for more retailers, particularly in the fast service and casual dining areas, you should find out who owns and operates franchise outlets in these areaa. These franchisees may find new franchise concepts they currently do not own as a opportunity to grow their business. And now may be the right time for them to pursue adding additional franchise concepts since franchisors may be offering special incentives to find qualified franchisees.

FASHION WEEK TRENDS

the fashion trends of 2009 fashion week are very different from last year once again. Some designers are supporting new looks. Some designers are exhibiting sheer pants, bondage dresses and stomach-baring crop tops, are better left to red-carpet daredevils. I seen alot of new designs exhibiting flirty zippers, relaxed fit pants, the never ending trench coat. Hot pink and or neon might be one of the colors of the season and big jewelry as in necklaces and bangles. Out of everything i seen My favorite look i seen was the mix and match patterns.

Ethnic influences on Apparel Design.

Ethinicity definitely influences Apparel Design. The reason being is that alot of Ethnic groups are very well accustomed and entitled to the way their culture and or ancestors present themselves. Fashion changes within a broad cultural context. Culture is the primary influence that depicts what type of clothing is worn besides the media. These influences aren't always seen directly but are also expressed through material and behavior. Today western dress have become very influential on how we dress. Ethnic dress is designed to make an identity for a person while being able to distinguish them from other groups. This includes borrowed items from other cultures. Creativity, individuality and variety is observed. With this being said, designers are observing what people are wearing and are designing it so all cultures can wear this.

Organic Clothing

In textiles class is where I was first introduced to organic clothing. Before she recently introduced our class to this concept I had never heard anything about it or known of. When I first heard the term ; first thought popped in my head was clothing made for elderly people, to be honest. However learning about it and doing this recent research about it I don’t see the harm in wearing it for attire.
The benefits of organic clothing are actually beneficial when it comes to a lot health issues that cotton does have. Organic clothing is very helpful when it comes to saving our environment. Organic clothing does not feature toxins or synthetic fertilizers. Organic clothing is used to create a variety of clothing—everyday clothing. I think we should support organic clothing by wearing it more.

my favorite designer.

my upmost favorite designer is coco chanel. this would be my favorite designer because i am inspired by her story. when coco was eighteen ; she started working at a local tailor. she had no intentions of this being her starting point of an legacy. while working at the tailor she introduced the town to her outstanding skills. after that she beginning designing her own hats ; and later opened her very own shop.
chanel's business went out of business ; and this never discouraged her. her not giving up ; was a bit of inspiration. her collection for women today features true elegance as it still exists. in my own opinion i think this collection stands out from other designers. even as she is gone her business still stands as successful.