Tory Burch Pre-Fall Collection 2009

Tory Burch Pre-Fall Collection 2009

“An American in Venice in the 60s”. That was the description of the socialite-turned fashion designer Tory Burch for her 16-piece collection.

For her pre-fall collection, Burch was channeling Peggy Guggenheim when she went to Venice in the 60s. She did this by using paisley prints inspired by Murano glass on her Lamé jacquard shift dresses, blouses with gondola patterns (the stripes) and footwear of either embossed stingray sandals or python flats. She featured basic wardrobes like sheer-linen cotton knits and graphic-printed cardigans, accessorized with bags or purses.

Tory Burch’s aesthetic point of view is something every fashionista can relate to. It’s girly, it’s colorful but not Heatherette-colorful, it’s chic in a relatable way and it’s something the teen girls in Gossip Girl would wear. Using cardigans to add that relatable-factor in her collection is actually amusing. The prints she used for her shift dresses are very cheerful and somewhat sophisticated, though a little too cute.

My favorite look would be this printed shift dress with ruffled stripes on the neck (PICTURED-LEFT) because it has to be the most chic look out of all the looks in the collection. Another standout look was the aqua blue cardigan on top of a printed dress (PICTURED-RIGHT). I’d say this collection is probably too bright for pre-fall, nevertheless, its cheerfulness offsets the austerity of the other label’s pre-fall collection.

For the entire 16-piece collection, click this link:
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/2009PF-TBURCH

Network Marketing Business With Nutricentials/NSE Philippines

So here I am writing a blog for one of my 3 blogs that I maintain, 2 of course coming from blogger.com and the other one is in multiply. I just have to blog, otherwise, I’ll implode from hiding those things that have to be said.

Anyways, I’m doing a network marketing type of business. I know that a lot of people have this ugly preconceived notion about the business. I personally, at first have the same misconception but it changed. It all started when my former boss from that consulting firm asked me to make a research about Multilevel Marketing. So I did the task, tried to make an outline of the topic, got articles and made a report out of it. As usual, my boss found it average, personally I do agree with it. I just felt that it wasn’t as deep as it should be but he still ok-ed it, so that works. He just asked me to research some more of those. Fast track to 3rd week of November, I got invited to attend this appointment to see the business and then everything started from there. There’s only one thing going on in my head during the talk, it was how much would I shell out cash. It turns out I have to shell out Php12,600.

They have a good way to alleviating the shock of the money: Think of it as a franchise/business investment. If you do, that amount becomes unbelievably small. Of course, it does. I mean, franchises are very expensive, they range for about Php21K to Php5 million, there are stipulations on down payment and other financial matters that just escapes me to the point of utter confusion. If it was a business venture of some sort; that money would have been very little, considering you have to start from scratch, from the infrastructure to the complex system of the business and everything in between, not to mention that it takes five (5) years to recoup your investment.

Anyways, I decided to give the business a shot and risked the money I saved for masters, as much as I hated it, but you know…no risk, no return. I know venturing a business, regardless whether it’s a conventional franchise or network marketing, entails risks of some sorts. I mean, I risk my money for this, not knowing whether it will come back or not. There’s a good assumption I’m kind of following in almost all investment-type of endeavors, assume that the investment is lost. It makes me want to prove that mantra wrong, almost.

3 weeks later, I am still doing the business, I earned a less-than-a-thousand profit and I’m looking for both long-lasting customers and dedicated business people (downlines). I’ve had my heart broken a bit in the business because I had to trade-off important appointments for this, but I guess that’s the compromise. Writing about my accomplishments, as minimal as Francisco Costa’s designs for Calvin Klein is, make me somehow a little bit proud that I’m on my way recouping my investment of Php12,600. I guess Php929 is better than none at all. Meaningless to say, I have to earn Php11,671 more, to recoup my original investment.

To be honest, I don’t have any idea as to why I did it in the first place, apart from combating boredom at home. My previous misconception about the business is no longer here although I am very skeptical about the business, as promising as it sounds…and how it was presented. But I have to say, I have no intentions of abandoning this business…at least not until I have:

1.) recoup-ed my initial investment
2.) bought some things that I want to buy, and
3.) saved more money for my masters

Just because I did this business doesn’t mean I’ll forgo my masters. I still want to pursue may masters, although I’m not very vocal about it, but I really want to pursue it. I plan to teach, it’s what I love to do AND better yet, there’s a demand for it. I can still do masters and at the same time do my business, I don’t think I could be faulted with that right? I can do empirical research stuffs, hold international finance classes and at the same time, sell skin care lines like pancakes to those who desire to be perpetually beautiful.

Anyways…I’m doing the business part-time because I love time for myself, but it doesn’t mean I just limit myself to the usual tasks part-timers do. I’ll try to attain the goals of full-timers while I’m still doing part-time. I love making people look bad don’t I? Just kidding. Besides, right now, I can’t really do those full-time tasks because I’m doing a mall tour with Chamber, I already missed the Robinson’s Galleria leg and will be missing the Century Park Hotel one tomorrow. It sucks but my business has to thrive otherwise I won’t have anything left by next year.

I have to go now, I’ve to meet customers tomorrow so bye!

Zac Posen Pre-Fall Fashion Show 2009

Zac Posen Pre-Fall Fashion Show 2009

Fashion is about fantasy manifested through fabrics, abstract concepts concretized via high quality sewing. Zac Posen aimed to inspire everyone by showcasing this collection heavily inspired by the 40s.

Zac sent out a collection of mostly dresses, cocktail frocks embellished with swingy fringe and body-hugging knits. For daywear, there were trumpet-skirted suits in sober wools, and also came in eel-skin trench and leopard dress. For evening, the gowns were simplistic, as opposed to previous seasons of theatrical influences.

The world, by now everyone knows, is in a serious recession that surpassed even the Great Depression according to the analysts. The latter’s problem was solved around the 1940s, and in relation to that, Zac Posen thought of inspiring these economic times by showcasing a collection inspired by the era that saw the end of the Great Depression. I personally think that it’s awfully nice of the designer to bring sunshine during these bleak times. This collection was kind of retrospective but in a good way just because the 40s era epitomized a classic glamour that became iconic through the years. One thing noticeable in this collection was that the theatrics was restrained, especially in the evening gowns. That could have been a strategy to make the looks viable for red carpet occasions but at the same time, it made it a little bit less Zac Posen.

This mint green dress with a black hat (PICTURED) is one of those ultra classy looks that is very 40s, though not as theatrical. In a way, it reminiscent of Giorgio Armani SS07, probably because of the hat and the elegance it exudes.

For the entire 22 looks, click this link:
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/2009PF-ZPOSEN