FOR men searching for that perfect shirt and accessories to finish off their race-day outfit, Paddington boutique 7camicie (located at 446 Oxford St) is definitely worth a good look.
The label hails from Rome and has 300 stores around Europe.
The shirts are made from top quality Italian fabrics, featuring double and triple colours and all finished with distinct trims like polka dots and paisley, all for a wallet friendly price of under $160.
More than 30 years ago, the development of fleece, made from polyethylene terephthalate, revolutionised outdoor clothing, offering a lightweight, warm and quick-drying material ideal for active enthusiasts on the hills and mountains of the world.
Could it be that, ironically, wool – the product of real sheep’s fleece – provides a better alternative to the ubiquitous synthetic fleece, used by so many as part of a layering system to keep warm in everything the British climate throws at the walker and outdoor enthusiast?
Smartwool, the American brand which is part of the Timberland group, has combined merino wool with a nylon shell in this garment, with claimed advantages including the lack of odour for which synthetic materials are notorious; better temperature regulation with a more even body temperature maintained; and moisture management, with sweat absorbed and evaporated more efficiently.
The Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) is up in arms against local government officials who have allowed the ukay-ukay industry to thrive and prosper in their own cities or municipalities, and rightly so, may I add. For it is indeed now one big industry on its own, profitable and proliferating.
This started in Baguio where small shops sold export overruns alongside some used clothing, mostly heavy sweaters, and several pieces of second hand branded ladies’ handbags. I remember reading about a well-known fashion icon writing about a trip to Baguio with some of her fashionista amigas to scour these shops for authentic second-hand signature bags and coming home with “good finds”. Back then, people really went up to Baguio for those treasure hunts, until the quality of ukay-ukay goods deteriorated to what they are now, cheap used clothing that have nothing going for them except for their price.
Ukay-ukay stores have sprouted everywhere else, and soon every corner had a version of it, with varying store sizes. These stores all proudly proclaim their wares, even proudly displaying banners of “new arrivals”. FPI is naturally aghast at their boldness and audacity, flaunting a business that is clearly illegal. And many of these stores now have “branches” in other parts of their city or province!
The organization cites a Philippine law which “prohibits anyone to introduce used clothing in any part of the Philippines”. This is as clear as day, so why are second-hand apparel selling openly like hot cakes in many places? Apparently, some sort of crack-down on the ukay-ukay trade has threatened the importers of these used garments, so they have taken refuge in the special economic zones, labeling the used apparel as industrial rags, the importation of which is allowed under our laws. But as FPI president Jesus Arranza said, “How can you claim denims as industrial rags?” So why are our special economic zones tolerating this brazen act of circumventing the law and coddling these smugglers?
The problem, we were apprised starts with the Bureau of Customs where the contraband goes through initially. There is no mistaking the nature of these shipments, and a cursory check into the piles of denims, towels, jackets, etc. will tell you that these are not rags. If the Bureau has been duly advised about the law specifically prohibiting the entry of used clothing into any part of the country, how could these container vans slip through a dozen checkpoints and choke points in this Bureau where everything is suspect even before your cargo is checked? What duties were paid, if ever, and what is the basis for the duties levied? As industrial rags?
The profitability of this trade has risen so high that it has spawned yet another industry – surplus goods.
You must have seen a shop or two in your neighborhood with simple professional signages that advertise used television sets, personal computers, airconditioners, refrigerators, cabinets, dining and living room sets, mostly from Korea and Japan. They usually line up a few of these TV sets and refrigerators outside their establishment to entice buyers and show off their wares. And what wares! They do not even bother to recondition them to make them a tad more pleasant to the eye. A simple paint job would hide those nicks and rusted corners, but this would entail costs for the importers. These dilapidated refs, TV sets and airconditioners passed on as “surplus” were obviously dumped by their owners as junk and retrieved for sale in a developing country absolutely free, with those retrieving them even getting paid for the job. Obviously, the only effort and expense spared for these items are repairs to make them functional. For how long, it’s anybody’s guess.
A woman living in the Cayman Islands is making a huge impact on the world around her by empowering others with the simple act of providing shoes for them.
Renata Kecskes’ journey started after leaving her home country of Hungary to travel the world, while working and focusing on humanitarian and environmental issues. As fate would have it, in September 2009, she signed up for a volunteer programme in North East Kenya. It was on that trip that her life would change profoundly and a commitment to help others in her own way would end up changing the lives of many.
She kept a journal while on her journey.
In this excerpt from July 8, “a little bit after 12pm” she penned:
“I’ve been awake since 2am. I was too excited to sleep; however, knowing it was going to be a long day instead of reading or doing something useful I remained in bed to play the ‘twist and turn game’ hoping that would help. It did not! Finally at 5am the super chilly morning city air – spiced up with a great amount of smoke – welcomed my unrested mind and body to the day I was preparing for the last month. By 6am sandwiches for the road were in the cooler, the tank of the bus was filled and 1,000 pairs of little shoes were uploaded. Thomas – my driver – and I were ready to leave crowded Nairobi behind to head up to the North to join to the UN convoy headed up to Dadaab.
“According to the media Dadaab (only 50 miles away from the Somali boarder) is one of the most dangerous places these days because of the possible attacks from the members of Al-Shabaab, which is a group of militants fighting to overthrow the internationally recognised but feeble government of Somalia. Much of southern Somalia is under their control. AS members, alleging ulterior motives on the part of foreign organisations, have also reportedly intimidated, kidnapped and killed aid workers, leading to a suspension of humanitarian operations and an exodus of relief agents. The group has banned food aid in most of southern Somalia since 2009, branding Western aid agencies anti-muslim. The World Food Program, the biggest provider of food aid, has had 14 staff killed there since 2008.
Because of safety issues most of the agencies, such as Thousand pairs of Little Shoes, delivers goods for the Somali refugees in need across Kenya to the refugee camp instead of delivering aid in the southern provinces of Somalia where malnutrition rates exceed 50 per cent.
“My contact from the UN has forwarded our names and the license plate of our bus ahead of time so by the time we reached the first military check point, which was also the official but unpublicised meeting point for trucks carrying aid to the displaced,we were expected. Our little ‘matatu’ was not designed for these kinds of adventures at all but still provided a good service without the 4WD. We were one of the first to arrive, which is good firstly because it means we were right behind the UN trucks escorted by armed police secondly because we had to swallow the dust after only three cars but not the whole convoy. It is a little bit after 12am and we just reached the fifth and final military checkpoint in Garissa where we are stopping for a ‘Kenyan hour’ (who knows how long it is going to take?) before we shoot out for the last 80 kms towards Dadaab.
“This stop is a must! All the poles and the holes on my face are covered by dust! The sun in alliance with the dry air has burnt the top layer of my skin off! I want to wash my face and I WANT a white wine spritzer! Ahhh it is just not going to happen … WHAT AM I DOING HERE?
“As I lifted up my water bottle hoping the water in it will taste like a nice vintage from Argentina I saw a dirty little boy! He was so tiny but his eyes were the biggest I have ever seen! Big, deep and curious … As he was taking unsure steps towards me I noticed the cuts on his feet and I didn’t want that white wine spritzer anymore. Right there I remembered the reason again why was I there and realised I didn’t want to be anywhere else…
“I have given the first pair of shoes to Amin in Garissa.
Shortly after we left for Dadaab not exactly knowing what was waiting for us but suspecting something unreal, unfair and unacceptable that would change our view to life forever.”
Eraldi’s Shoes & Men’s Wear, third-generation business that has been a cornerstone of the Sonoma Plaza shopping district for nearly 90 years, has been named the 2011 Sonoma Valley Business of the Year.
The annual Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce award will be presented to Don Eraldi and his son Dan at an October 14 luncheon.
The award, said Chamber Executive Director Jennifer Yankovich, recognizes the Eraldi family’s continued tradition of industry excellence and community contributions.
Carrying on the tradition of customer service excellence started by patriarch David Eraldi in 1922, the store continues to provide old fashioned and personalized customer service and an exceptional inventory of high-quality men’s wear.
From generations of Sonoma ranching families to week-end residents and occasional visitors, Eraldi’s is known for stocking everything from hunting and sports clothes, wine country fashion, basic jeans and work boots and even tuxedo rentals.
Eraldi’s has also been a business that supports community and particularly local sports leagues for more than 60 years. The family played a lead role in raising the funds needed to purchase the land and build Arnold Field, Sonoma’s first central playing field.
“Most of us growing up in Sonoma remember the in-store tuxedo fittings of family members or dates for big events like proms and weddings,” Yankovich said. “From the familiar scent of leather, the greeting of long-time employee, Cora Dunham, Eraldi’s exemplifies the high quality of life that we enjoy in Sonoma.”
Break out the cash, buy a new shirt—and feel loved.
On Sep. 21, students of California State University, Stanislaus (CSUS) will play host to an event promoting the LUVD clothing brand. The event will be held in the quad and will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
According to LUVD.com, the clothing brand, which was founded the summer of 2011, is on a mission to send a message of peace. It also aims to encourage people to love themselves and to give love to others through any way possible.
LUVD donates a portion of every purchase to a charity of the customer’s choice. LUVD is currently partnered with four charities—Falling Whistles, a charity reaching out to those affected by war; Discover the Journey, a team working to aid children in crisis; Preemptive Love Coalition, an organization that trains local doctors and nurses to carry out difficult heart surgeries and save thousands of children born with congenital heart defects; and Lifewater International, a non-profit organization providing communities with adequate resources such as water, food, and sanitation.
LUVD is conveying their message mostly through shirts, tank tops, hoodies, and other accessories available in both men’s and women’s sizes. The overall style of the clothing brand is simplistic. The colors for each design include the basic black, brown, grey, and occasional splash of pink or yellow.
Students running the LUVD event at CSUS hope to familiarize other students with the brand, give information on the brand’s message of peace and love, and bring light as to how people can practice giving love in their community.
In addition to promoting the brand, students hosting the function will also be selling a collection of shirts.
Think of imported TV shows as addictive drugs, and it’s easier to understand what’s happening to television programming in the internet era.
Rather than clandestine factories run by shady chemists somewhere in China, there are huge international media companies which pay the best and the brightest to produce mind-candy so addictive, viewers keep coming back for more.
There are cheap, speedy shows that give instant gratification but leave you grinding your teeth (think American Idol or Survivor), and there are more mellow, trippy hits that leave you stroking your goatee and boring friends about what a profound experience it was (think The Wire or Mad Men and their US cable-TV ilk).
And the advent of the internet means New Zealand junkies who used to settle for old stock and weak formulations now know exactly what they’re missing. Facebook tells them who’s won XFactor or bled out in True Blood seconds after it happens on American airwaves. YouTube carries fragments of a new HBO series whose first episode alone cost $US18 million ($21m) and was directed by Martin Scorsese. This is Class A shit, they want it bad, and their regular supplier can’t provide it fast enough.
Day 2 of Van Heusen Indian Mens Week 2011 was a mixed bag for the audience. The day started on an upbeat note as designer Rajvi Mohan exhibited the Indian flavours amidst band-baja, totally desi style. Her “Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani” collection was about breezy cotton kurtas, structured achkans paired with cigarette pants, silk sherwanis accentuated with minimal embroidery and crisp linen shirts.
The designer highlighted the collars and cuffs with velvet detailing and endorsed the Indian men. Talking about the collection, she said, “Modern Indian men are not afraid to experiment. To amalgamate the Indian zest with contemporary silhouette was the idea behind designing this collection.”
After Rajvi’s tongue-in-cheek clothing line, next in the row was Kashmiri designer Zubair Kirmani’s menswear collection. The idea was to fuse classic clothing with modern tailoring, and the designer meticulously used shibori in his outfits to bring out the “clean-cut archetype” look alive on the ramp.
Designer Krishna Mehta’s Pants For Men collection was a reminder of the bold retro era in a modern avatar. She designed crinkled kurtas, jackets and shirts and paired them with cropped pants and completed the look with interesting accessories like hats, scarves and bags. About her clothes, she said, “My collection is entirely targeted at the youth, who are not scared of experimenting. I love to make Indian clothes and I think they can be worn in different styles. I used only natural fabrics like cotton, linen and silk to design this collection.”
Designers Ankita and Anjana Bhargav’s “Nowthen” collection explored the intertwined fabrics with a fancier presentation. The mother-daughter duo brought out a refined collection using silk, shibori, suede and pashmina in their bespoke collection. The special highlight was the clever usage of geometrical horn rim glasses and checkered socks that were tied with shoe laces.
The colour palate varied from black, white, grey, off-white and shades of brown. On the other hand, designer Sanchita Ajjampur used an array of colours in her menswear collection and experimented with various combinations. She used bright greens and yellows in her menswear and balanced them with other subtle shades.
That is a very loose use of the word ‘need,’ ” my Papa used to tell me when I was a teenager and I told him I needed Candies shoes or the car that night. It seems in the 30 years since his pointing it out, I have not learned the meaning of the word.
Or only just.
I have spent too much time in my brief years as a mother focused on what I thought my kids needed and not nearly enough on what they truly did need. I wanted them to have everything, every thing. New shoes? Of course. New shirts. How many? Don’t little boys need Star Wars guys?
I was prompted to think again about this flaw of mine when I heard the story on KSL that the average tally for back to school shopping per child this year is $603. That includes everything: clothes, pencils, notebooks, electronics, backpacks, the works. But still — $603! Down $3 from last year’s $606 per child.
What are you wearing? A red Anne Klein dress with a black patent leather belt from Ross Dress for Less; black patent leather Nine West shoes from the Nine West outlet in Foley; a brooch from a co-worker; a gold bracelet and rings that were gifts from her husband; and a ring on her left pointer finger that was her mother’s class ring. Valerie Watts at VRW Hair Salon near the Titusville community does her hair.
Describe your style. “It’s professional with a little personality. When I say that, it’s a suit, a skirt and a top, but I like to add a fun pin or a brightly colored blouse. I wear heels every day.”
If you wear heels every day, how high do you go? “The highest I’ll go is 5 inches. I don’t usually wear anything under 3 inches.”
Who makes a good comfortable high heel? “Jessica Simpson, Carlos Santana and BCBG Generations. Nine West makes some comfortable shoes, but I haven’t bought a platform in them yet. I just started wearing the platform. They are more comfortable on your feet because you are not standing on the balls (of your feet.) To look at them, they don’t look comfortable. But once you put them on, you are like, ‘Whoa!’”
Do you have a fashion mantra? “You never can go wrong with black… You can easily dress black up.”
If black is your favorite color, why are you wearing red? “I tried to wear black for the picture, but my husband said, ‘Wear some color. I think the picture looks better with color.’ When I pulled out the red dress, he said, ‘That’s it.’ He said, ‘You look good in red. Do the red dress.’”
If you were on a deserted island and could have only one thing connected to fashion, what would it be? “My Dooney & Bourke purse because it’s roomy. I feel like if I had it with me I’d have everything I needed. It’s a big purse.”
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