Surgical Masks: The Latest Fashion Craze from Mexico

FASHION/HEALTH - When it comes to fashion, its become a cliche to wear a gas mask on the runway. Especially when it comes to fetish or BDSM garb. Its been OVERDONE. Stop doing it already! (I swear people are so unimaginative at times.)

But... with the recent spread of the Swine Flu (H1N1 virus) from Mexico, a lot of people are taking the wise precaution and are wearing surgical masks to protect themselves from the deadly plague.

Before I get into this I think its really important that people wear protection, even if you're not sick. You could catch H1N1 from somebody else, just by shaking their hand, opening a door, handling money, someone coughing nearby (or in an elevator) or any number of ways since its an airborne bacteria. The best way to prevent it is to be very careful about what touches your hands, what touches your face or goes in your mouth, and be mindful of washing your hands regularly.

So buying food at the cafeteria or restaurant near your workplace... big no-no. Bring a bag lunch. No, you're not poor, but you are cautious. Who knows what people are coughing onto the food in the cafeteria's kitchen... its best not to take that chance.

Far too few people in epidemics even take these things seriously... and they're the ones who get sick first. It is better to err on the side of caution, even if you feel weird about wearing a mask in public.

However, there are two things that concerns me:

#1. How effective are surgical masks at preventing the spread of the H1N1 virus? Really we should all be wearing gloves, washing our hands and faces multiple times per day, and wearing masks which are much more effective.

#2. How fashion friendly are surgical masks? Well... not very. But you could wear lots of blue to match them... or maybe even buy nurse scrubs and wear those, which would be kinda kewl even if you're not a nurse.

My solution has been to skip the mask and opt for a bandanna, folding it in half diagonally and wearing it as per bank robbers in the Ol' West. I firmly believe the bandanna, which comes in many fashionable colours and designs, is more effective because it covers the sides of the mouth much more effectively than a surgical mask.

If I wanted to go all out I could get a gas mask, but they're pricey and apparently take a lot of practice to learn how to wear properly. If the H1N1 virus epidemic reaches that point... I think its time to just call in sick (even though I am not) and avoid going to work for several weeks until this whole plague thing is over.

But in the meantime I think the bandanna option makes a smart (and much more fashionable) way of keeping myself safe. A thick scarf could also work, but depending on the weather that may be unpractical.

See Also:
Swine flu spreading faster than expected
Worldwide Influenza Pandemic Warned
Swine flu hits Mexico and western United States

Some Interesting Quotes...

I´d like to share with you some interesting quotes about life, that I found very inspiring.

Here they are:

"Children will not remember you for the material things you provided but for the feeling that you cherished them."

Richard L. Evans

"You were not born a winner and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be."

Lou Holtz

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. "

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. "

John Burroughs

"Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well. "

Josh Billings

Thanks for reading!

Fashion News: El Delgado Spring-Summer 2009

This is latest fashion summer 2009 and in this fashion summer in present’s gorgeous variety of fashion product just like clothing, shoes and many more. Generally this the most AVANT GARDE fashion and trendy look for in British designers who are extra risky in this look upon and have a selection of fashion.

And I know here is available various fashion collection product and I think this fashion summer is representing different new fashion collection will be find that the store is called Porcelain and which presented at CIBELES Autumn-Winter 2009/10 are Furry Animals. So how will the inspiration and thematic PORCELANA see floral prints and colorful.

And I remember in some touches to the fashion designs of Stella McCartney and such was his influence that the typical fringed scarves that brought in last season and remain in this latest fashion collection and can be seen in stores like Zara and BERSHKA. And this fashion style is a mix of temporaries and I think we have much of the oversize of the eighties with the mixed utilize of light tones of the nineties.

So I can say this latest fashion collection is presenting luxury collection and much more reliable conceptual future from another similar fashion collection, I like this latest fashion collection. Via

Insomnia Ring: My Entry for the EST Weekly Challenge

This is my entry for he EST Weekly Challenge. This week the theme is "Insomnia" and the host is the lovely http://www.binkaminka.etsy.com/

The idea behind this design is that in the dark nights, when you can´t sleep, you look at the city and you can see the moon reflected everywhere.

You can see the rest of the entries on her blog, HERE.

Thanks for reading!

My Latests Designs

Here, I´d like to share some of my latests designs.
The first one is this ring called "A Piece of Chocolate". It looks very elegant on the hand and it´s made with Swarovski crystal and sterling silver.



These earrings are made with sterling silver and Swarovski crystal. They are very sparkling, as their name says: "Sparkling Breeze".

Another addition to my stores is these sets, in blue and green.

This necklace is called "Velvet Grapes" and it´s made with silver plated chain and Czech crystals.

And last, but not least, this was my entry for the EST weekly challenge last week. It was made with Swarovski crystals in two colors, golden plated chain and a golden plated flower.
This necklace sold out.

Thanks for reading!

The Purpose of High Fashion

FASHION - What is the point of high fashion?

Last year supermodel Carla Bruni (now the First Lady of France) wanted to bring herself down when standing beside the Queen Elizabeth II... She also chose a sombre grey dress-coat so to not upstage the Queen and for her shoes she wore a pair of plain black flats, while the Queen wore black heels.

Had she worn something exquisitely beautiful it would have been wildly out-of-place... plus with Carla Bruni it doesn't really matter. She'd look good wearing a burlap sack.

Most of us however are so ashamed of our bodies we wouldn't get caught dead wearing a burlap sack smock (or anything like it). We know we don't have the figure and we try to wear things that make us look better than we really do.

That's the purpose of high fashion. Its like make-up in a way. Or high heels. Or corsets. Its to make us look better. We aren't naturally stunning to look at, so we need high fashion as a prop.

If we all looked like supermodels there would be no need to go to such lengths.

Are we doing this for men? Not necessarily. Sometimes we just want to stand out or blend in. Depends entirely on the circumstances.

"We look at a beautiful person and think they are lucky," says Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum. "But if we look at a particularly fashionable person who is not possessed of raw beauty but rather a socially constructed beauty, then we're impressed. Real style is considered a magical skill."

High heels are now inextricably linked to pornographic imagery. Six-inch heels have elevated women's sexual allure to the point that flat shoes are now derisively described as "sensible."

Although frankly if I see a woman on the street wearing 6-inch heels, chances are likely she's a prostitute. She knows exactly what she's doing, especially if she has a fur boa, a short skirt and is showing a lot of cleavage.

Its always possible she's just a clubbing chick, but with those clothes she's still selling sex, except her payment is liquor and a guy good-looking enough to pass her drunken standards.

This is the POWER OF FASHION. It transforms a person from whore to madonna and back to whore again.

For women who are plain, or downright ugly, fashion is the way to even the playing field.

Lets take for example Susan Boyle, the bushy browed, wild-haired Scot who recently became world-famous as a contestant on Britain's Got Talent. The 47-year-old ugly duckling with the angelic voice has become a pop culture icon since her April 11 performance on the show partly because of the enormous disconnect between her appearance and her voice.

She's since had a makeover. Her grey hair has been coloured and styled. Her famous caterpillar eyebrows have been tamed. And she's traded in the unflattering mother-of-the-bride beige dress she wore on TV for a pair of fashionable, wide-leg trousers and a cool leather jacket. Though her supporters worry the makeover could diminish her chances of winning the competition, it's undeniable that she looks a lot better.

"This is why stylists are so popular," says Barbara Atkin, vice-president of fashion direction for Holt Renfrew. Women presume they can't learn these tricks themselves, so they hire a professional.

"Fashion offers women an alternative route to the spotlight, some sense of pride and dignity that they might not have if they don't approximate conventional standards of beauty," says Holly Brubach, former style editor of The New York Times Magazine.

Brubach is convinced the recent evolution of feminist culture has allowed women who aren't beautiful to participate in fashion. Feminism's first wave in the early 20th century liberated women from corsets and constructed silhouettes, she says. But in the 1960s, fashion was denounced as a male conspiracy.

"It was the hemlines issue, when the miniskirt was popularized and then seemingly one season later the maxi-skirt was in. Fashion was revealed as a commercial endeavour intended only to make women spend money."

In this era of post-feminism we have softened our dogma and now everyone can be stylish (or sexy).

It the dual faces of fashion – the model as front person and her plainer sister as participant. (Except behind the scenes the fashion models are hiding in plain sight wearing skinny jeans and t-shirts, because they're comfortable and they know they look hot wearing whatever.)

On TV's Ugly Betty the show's frizzy-haired protagonist stands alone as the unattractive employee of a fashion magazine staffed by beautiful people... except in real fashion magazines, the opposite is true... If you think the front row of an international runway is lined with lithesome Paris Hilton types, you'd be dead wrong. We're usually pretty butt ugly and our obsession with fashion is really about wanting to look better because we physically are below our own standards.

(We also work in an industry with an unusually high number of suicides, but thats another topic for another day...)

Try doing a Google image search for:

Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune.
Isabella Blow, the late stylist and fashion muse.
Ingrid Sischy (who looks like a man), formerly of Interview magazine.
Anna Piaggi of Italian Vogue.
Kim Hastreiter of Paper magazine.
Lynn Jaeger, formerly of The Village Voice.
Glenda Bailey of Harper's Bazaar.

They are some of fashion's most powerful players, always a breath away from the runway but never on it... and they're all pretty plain or ugly looking.

So we ask again, what is the purpose of high fashion? Its not to make beautiful people look better, its to help the rest of us raise ourselves a bit up on the beauty scale... without having to exercise.

Fashion World Turns Eco-Friendly

The fashion world of gorgeous models looking glamorous on runways in the latest designs and inspired by everything from plastics to greens is certainly not free from the change in people attitudes. The recent interest in Eco-friendliness has crept into the fashion ensembles. Inspiration from nature has gone a notch higher with designers opting to materialize their creative ideas in Eco-friendly textiles.

As if the organic cotton was not enough for the fashion industry to declare its interest in nature decline and there has been much interest in finding new fabrics and technological methods better than organic cotton. Hybrids of natural and synthetic fibers have become the new craze and check out models sporting cotton combined with metallic to create the wet look on the Diesel runway and models in soy skirt and cotton denim jacket by Anna Cohen dresses for their fall/winter collection. Via

Tween Fashion and the Girl-Next-Door

FASHION/ENTERTAINMENT - Young teens (aka Tweens) are all abuzz about the new Hannah Montana Movie, starring Miley Cyrus... but their adoration has also sparked an unusual fashion trend...

Modesty.

In an era when teenagers and young girls seem to be showing a lot more skin, this trend is a welcome change for parents concerned about their kids' promiscuity.

So instead we have the wholesome girl-next-door.

As opposed to the skanky Britney Spears look or the slutty Paris Hilton look. Or punkish Avril Lavigne or heroin-chic Amy Winehouse.

Adapted from the hit TV series from Disney, Hannah Montana is covered-up, ladylike and wholesome.

But what do the fans say?

"I saw the movie and really liked the clothes – I really liked the looser jeans and I want to get a flannel shirt. I liked that it was sort of peasant-y and plain," says Ruby, age 14. Ruby admits "I'm too old to have this admiration for her," and admits she had to pick her way past throngs of 8, 9 and 10-year-olds for a seat to watch the movie.

"I've always worn skinny jeans, but I liked that sort of casual, farmy look," says Ruby, who says she will be going shopping for baggier jeans, flannel shirts and peasant skirts.

Wow. Maybe clogs will become fashionable too? (That was sarcasm BTW.)

The Hannah Montana franchise is important fashion for tweens and young teens.

"Hannah Montana dominates the tween market," says Nadia Casarcia of La Senza Girl. "I saw the movie myself and we're definitely seeing a softer side of Miley. Even though there were two very different looks, she was more subdued. Maybe that's a reaction to some of the pressure she's faced in real life."

Miley Cyrus, who plays Hannah Montana, wore a very grown-up couture gown on the Oscars' red carpet this year, and has been criticized for appearing in Vanity Fair swathed only in a sheet, sparking controversy about her age and the amount of skin she was showing.

Fashion tends to go in cycles (hence why Madonna keeps changing her look). I think this new modest-look is simply a reaction to the overtly-sluttiness of the previous look being pushed on young teens.

So will this stick around? Maybe awhile, another year or two, but after that tweens will be older and moved on to something new.

Besides... aren't we forgetting something?

Miley Cyrus and her character Hannah Montana don't always dress the same... and Miley Cyrus is hardly the only female rolemodel out there that young women are emulating.

And then there's also feminists and their chance every summer to go topless and upset the religious wackos who think nudity is a sin. Or the opposite... there's young women going topless during Spring Break, etc...

So is America's young women becoming more modest? I think not. This is a quaint idea, but there's so much other stuff in the mass media and the internet now that young women really have a lot to choose from when it comes to deciding to dress like a madonna or a whore.

SOIA and KYO Double Breasted Fashion Jacket for Your Lifestyle

Are you going to purchase jackets? If yes then here is SOIA and KYO double breasted fashion Jacket the most excellent jacket best for your outgoings. In market you find a great variety of new fashion trends jackets but this Nordstrom collection of latest fashion design jacket and this fashion jacket gives you a great comfort in winter season also it is fashionable stylish.

The color of this fashion jacket is trendy also it is modern-fit coat among an oval-buckle strap to accent the waist, an wrapper collar begins a modish, Polyester lining, about length of this fashion jacket it includes approx. length from shoulder: 27″ I mean it is best fashion jacket for your lifestyle.

I adore staying fashion stylish so I found this SOIA and KYO double breasted fashion Jacket so elegant and different from other designer’s fashion collection. You can wear it with fashion jeans and other fashion dress perfect with all fashion dresses. I think it is finest fashion jacket for those who love to wear some unique fashion design clothes and you just have to spend $330.00 for buying this fashion jacket.

Legend Essence Medieval Medallion Tee

In life we are leaving with modern sense and spending our life but we are trying to catch legends because legends give us power to generate our self and we feel we are bereave and creative all time because in the ascent time life filled with more fun and adventure every thing was going with traditions and rules and peoples was leaving their life.


as a mission or doing that all that they want in their life and spending their life’s fore others and for their nation for that we give more respect to our ancestors because they was part of that life and we are their children .


but in modern age we haven’t time for others and we are leaving fore our self and some peoples are working for the nation and administration and a common mans haven’t any relation with them but our that wish to be like our ancestors we are inspiring fore them and trying to find some thing that so we are using their assent in the fashion and feeling that that all thing are still with our self as it is I found in that t-shirt that shows our that quality that t inspired with Medieval Medallion that are being one of that that we are trying to do if you think as so that can be a good choice fore you. Via

A Romantic Wedding...

A couple of weeks ago I went to a beautiful wedding, very well done and organized. Full of very romantic and unique details.

The delicate selection of every piece is what makes any event charming, different and special. Here I bring you today some "one of a kind " inspirations for a wonderful and very romantic wedding.

The headbands have always been a very good option for the bride or for the bridesmaids, giving them a soft and stylish look. These ones shown here come from helisengezer.

Another way to create a big impression between the wedding guests is wearing some of these gorgeous hair adornments. Classy, pretty and very romantic. The first one comes from jurgitahandmade, and the second one comes from StarOfTheEast.

Some other accessories are very essential too, like this lovely linen pouch from karuski or these earrings from LeelaBijou (my shop).

A shawl can give a very elegant and romantic essence, gently wrapping the bride or the bridesmaids. A very classic piece in every event. The wonderful ones shown here are from ingermaaike (first one) and vitalakim (second one).

And what about some sweet details? Like this amazing miniature of a delicious wedding cake, handmade by PetitPlat. Or this beautiful and inspiring card, designed by kohlcass.

There are some moments in our life we want to tresure forever and remember them in every detail. As Robert Updegraff said: "To get all there is out of living, we must employ our time wisely, never being in too much of a hurry to stop and sip life, but never losing our sense of the enormous value of a minute."

Thank you to all the extraordinary artists and artisans featured on this article.

Great Beach Party with Latest Fashion Collection of Swimwear

Get ready for your great beach party .Girls of today are modernized so these great designs Are designed truly for their fashionable looks. Girls need options, so we are designing suits that can be worn from the beach to a music festival, paired with your favorite jeans. These designs of latest swim wear are the hottest collection of this season. In balmier climes, swimsuits have become a totally acceptable form of day wear.

If this fashion development leaves you, well, cold, Seventh Wonderland may warm up you up to the idea. The fan-and-chevron prints are all created by hand and transferred onto Italian fabrics that are then cut into silhouettes. This latest fashion collection is glamorous and stylish. Now you can hit the beach party with this new bikini collection. When you wear this beautiful beach party dresses then you look really glamorous and its designing style makes your body in shape with a romantic outlook. Really this fashion product is very cool and latest fashion collection and this fashion product is very luxury I mean very comfort from another similar fashion product.

Stylish Fashion able Wild Rose Knee-High Boots

In a day how many times you think about your foot wears yes I want to say that your foot wears take importance in your life and if you are giving importance to your foot fashion wears so that is good because your foot wears make your image in your way and you always want to get look special among your peoples and that happened with right and unique choice of foot wears fashion. Watch that pair of boots that pair for ladies fashion for their looks and beauty that is very stylish and ideal for a lady for party and other period if you desire to show your fashion so that can be a good quality option for you that is accessible in brown color and many more fashion design with Imitation leather with fabric lining and all man fashion made materials that give real attraction all time and you feel perfect all time among the peoples that is good with all fabrics as you wish and that you imagine for you that pair of foot wears Manufactured by Wild Rose so don’t waste your time and save your set of boots for your style and comfort. Via

Pure

A selection of items from the European Street Team, with the inclusion of one of my own rings :)

This post has been published using byhand.me´s spotlight. You can see the original spotlight HERE.