A Guide to Sewing
Sewing is one of the popular hobbies across the world. As a matter of fact, it happens to be a practical skill to acquire. If you are good with sewing, you can easily style your own clothes and you can also make a business out of it. For an instance, you can venture into the fashion industry with this skill, make your own wedding gowns or baby dresses. Some people choose to sew their own curtains as well. We have formulated a comprehensive guide, which would help you get started with sewing.
First of all, you need to look for the right sewing machine. The first step towards learning how to sew begins from getting a good machine. There are different kinds of sewing machines in the market today; therefore you need to identify the one that best suits your needs. There are many people who learn to sew without a machine as well. Sewing by hand is also in rage today. Whether you sew with hand or choose to have a machine, you must know what materials to use.
You will need to acquaint yourself with different kinds of needles, textures and threads. As a start, you can start with altering your vintage dresses and then move on to sew a new dress. Sewing your first dress can be a difficult experience for many, since you will have to look into various measurements and patterns. Therefore, it would be suggestive to start off with small jobs such as mending your old dresses or sewing the missing buttons on your dresses.
Once you gain some mastery with these small sewing jobs, you can later move on to the complex things. If you were to use the sewing machine, you can practice some sewing skills with paper. There are various sewing guides available today. If you are serious about mastering the skill, you can buy one of these guides and follow the steps listed in there.
Handcrafted Clothing
Handcrafted clothing is getting exceedingly popular in the recent times. Apart from being cost effective, such a form of clothing is customized for extreme comfort. Besides, you would know the fabric being used in the clothing and hence can alter it in accordance to your preferences. Off late, people have identified the benefits of handcrafted clothing all across the world.
But just like all other handmade items, such a form of clothing needs care, so as to maintain the quality and extend its longevity. If handled properly, handmade items can turn into vintage items or heirlooms for a lot of families. We have formulated a few tips, so as to help you retain the color and the quality of handcrafted clothing.
If you wish to maintain your handcrafted clothes for a long time, then you must read the labels properly. For an instance, the clothes purchased from a departmental store will have proper instructions however if you have purchased them from a local artist, then you need to know the materials used in order to follow some maintenance tips. You must not wash these handmade clothes very frequently. For an instance, items such as quilts or bed linens must not be washed more than twice a year. If you need to wash these items more frequently, then you must ensure that you put your washing machine on a soft cycle and air dry is highly recommended. On some occasions, it would be best to wash these handmade items manually.
For the most part, handcrafted clothing should not be placed in the dryer. You must lay the item on the ground, or leave it flat until it dries. If you plan to store your clothing, wrap the item in an acid free tissue and then store it in tube containers. Avoid placing these containers in the basement or the attic, so as to avoid heat or humidity. If you plan on storing these items for a longer period of time, then you must check for mildew or bugs periodically.
How to Knit Your Own Clothing?
Knitting is one of the great hobbies, where you get to design and wear your own clothing. In case if you are new to knitting, our beginner’s guide will help you get started.
Things you need
Before you get started with knitting, you must know the things you need for knitting. The knitting needles and the yarn are the most important things you need. You will have to familiarize yourself with different kinds of yarn. On the other hand, you need to know about the different needle sizes. As a rule, as the number goes higher, the needles become thicker. The choice of your needle mostly depends on your knitting project.
Choosing a yarn is simpler since you can choose from a selection of colors. However, if you were just getting started with knitting, it would be suggestive to stick to the plain yarns and leave the textured ones for complex projects. Plain yarns would help you identify your knitting mistakes and you can correct them easily.
Getting started
You must always start off with some basic knits. At the beginning, you might want to create a lot of things with your knitting, however you must always take it one step at a time. The knit stitch and the purl stitch are the two of the most basic stitches. Once you learn these stitches, you would eventually learn that the majority of complex stitches are based on them. Thereafter, you can get started with some sort of pattern with your knits.
Patience is extremely important if you are new to knitting. It is important to stick to the hobby, even if you find it a little difficult in the beginning. Get a new guide for yourself and follow the steps listed in it. There are tons of knitting guides, online as well as offline and you would be able to find the right pick very easily.
The advantages of the best quality wool clothing for women
The geographical diversity creates different types of climates and weather conditions all over the globe and that is why people living in different parts of the world have different life styles. Whenever we talk about the life style, according to which people live their life, comprises of various things. The important things that constitute the life style include clothes and food habits. As far as clothing items are concerned, people make use of various types of clothes and most of these types of clothes are extremely useful for the specific types of climates and weather conditions for which they are made. The woolen clothes are extremely necessary for the people who live in the extremely cold regions and also in the extreme and moderate climatic regions.
The dresses that are chiefly used by the women are made with special care as these clothes are made more sophisticated for the women have tender skins and softer body organs. That is why the best quality wool is used to make the clothing for women as these woolen garments are softer and that is why they are better in quality. Geographically, the countries where people are mostly engaged in animal rearing as their profession produce the best quality wool for making the best quality woolen garments for the women. These quality wool clothing for women are certainly softer and tender by nature, but at the same time, they are warmer than the ordinary woolen clothes. These woolen garments for the women are slightly costly as they are made with the best wool materials. That is why the demand of these best quality woolen garments for women is increasing quite faster all over the world.
The best tips on sewing with knits
Sewing of clothes clearly means stitching of clothes with sewing machines or even by hand using needles and threads. It is important to note that stitching can be done only with the help of the needles and threads as these two are the unavoidable implements of stitching or sewing. At present, people are making increasing use of sewing knits which are nothing but modern threads that are made with very special types of fibers and these knits are extremely durable. The fibers of these sewing knits are unique as they run in only one direction. It is worth mentioning that the fibers or the threads of the clothes have a certain type of pattern. Due to this many people often fail to manage the best ways of sewing with sewing knits. As a matter of fact the cloths cannot get the best stitches unless and until they can manage the stitches well.
The sewing tips mentioned here can be extremely helpful for you whenever you try to sew with sewing knits:
Zig zag stitches are the most common stitches that you should try whenever you start sewing with sewing knits. This type of a stitch is believed to be the best among all the other stitches that you can ever try while stitching. You can even go for this type of a stitch with your sewing machines as well. Most of the modern sewing machines allow this type of stitching in them.
The option of Straight stitches is also available with most of the sewing machines. You can find these straight stitches most convenient while doing everything by yourself. However, you are very much needed to control te movement of the paddle or the moving device of your sewing machine as the movement of the cloth on the machine always plays a very significant role.
The Many Styles Of Men’s knitted Fashion Apparel
The clothing styles for men do not change as much as they do for women, but designers do create new looks every season. The styles of apparel for men’s clothing will usually revolve around the types of fabrics used to create them with. In the category of mens fashion there will be garments from www.tessuti.co.uk created as formal attire and items designed for casual wear.
Formal Attire for Men
In recent years, designers have been creating formal apparel for men in more elegant and flowing styles. The classic men’s suit is now available in materials such as silk and linen. The silk suit has become a fashion statement for many well known men who take pride in their appearance. This fabric has a flowing style accented by its natural sheen.
The way a garment is cut will also enhance its appearance. Many suit jackets today are created with thin lapels and tailored waists. This creates an elongated or slimming appearance for the man which also enhances the formal or professional appearance of the garment. The silk and linen fabrics also work to enhance the elegant appeal of these tailored suits.
Casual Wear for Men
In the line of casual clothing for men, there are some lightweight linen pants designed for summer wear. Cotton is a popular fabric to use when creating summer apparel for men. The items available for casual wear can include many of the new street looks popular among younger men.
Street apparel usually includes a variety of jeans made with denim. These jeans can come in distressed styles where the fabric has been worn or torn on purpose to create the current trend in fashion. Street wear also includes a variety of cargo pants, which can be made of one hundred percent cotton or a blend of cotton and polyester. Cargo pants have the large pockets placed at the sides and front of each leg.
Casual shirts for men can range from the classic polo styles to the trendy printed t-shirts and sweatshirts. The men’s casual styles of apparel offer more variety than the styles available as formal wear. The line of designer garments available as mens fashion apparel will also include pieces made as outerwear, sleepwear and swimwear. When it comes to designer apparel, every designer has his or her own style. Some garments are created to be trendy and hip, while others are designed to be classic and distinctive.
Three Geeky Christmas Knits
Three Geeky Christmas Knits
There’s nothing worse than being alone at Christmas, but there are a few people out there who are determined to keep it that way. Not because they know what they are doing, but because they have become so geek-ish that they have lost touch with reality.
Be prepared – this isn’t exactly designer knitwear – visit dunhill for that! The people I’m going to showcase are not only young knitters – sigh – but they have gone to great lengths to recreate their favourite sci-fi and games culture icons and then knitted them into clothes at great effort, which they then wear… in the world… for people to look at.
R2D2 knitted sweatshirt.
Well unless you are a tall lanky posh British guy with a penchant for gold amour then I think walking around with this R2D2 fan might look a little odd. Not only is this jumper incredibly accurate it even looks like it has faux connections between R2’s electrical parts. I don’t know when you could wear this, or explain how you got it and god forbid if some asked you if you made it.
Mega Man Beanie
Well maybe this person might get away with people thinking that this is just a unique, kitsch beanie but then there will be that secret subsection of geeks that are well aware that it is really a homage to Mega Man. I love Mega Man by the way, but if I saw this in the real world I think I’d be tempted to throw eggs.
Spock Beanie
Is there anything less attractive than a female Spock – obviously T’Pol aside – but I fear this one has more of the original Vulcan to her than that buxom beauty. And I’m not sure Spock would ever go to the lengths of knitting himself a beanie that would accommodated for his ears. Let’s hope this one was for a fancy dress party.
So maybe I’m being a little bit cruel. Maybe these people are just wearing their geek badge out and proud whilst I hideaway miserably being labels and suits. I don’t get many eggs thrown at me though. So who knows who’s better off.
Why Your Baby Should Be Dressed in Organic Knitwear
Individuals that would like to purchase eco-friendly clothing for their baby will find that bamboo clothing is one option. Bamboo clothing is made from natural materials and has been manufactured in such a way that it soft and comfortable.
As an increasing number of people begin to understand the value of using all natural materials, the demand for it continues to grow. With all of the demand, shoppers need to be sure that those brands which claim to offer eco-friendly products really do.
New parents are especially concerned about the health and care of their baby and rightfully so. They will not to put their child in the midst of anything that will cause them harm, this includes their clothing. The use of organic materials, such as is found in organic knitwear, allow parents to rest assured that the clothes their baby wears is completely safe and won’t contain materials that may cause them harm.
Organic clothing comes in all types of styles and colors. It is possible to purchase a super-cute baby knitted bodysuit, made entirely from organic materials. It is important for parents to understand that it is not necessary to skimp on style in order to buy organic clothing. It is possible to have both.
The Little Fancy Dress That No One Can Ignore
No matter what your clothing style, everyone woman should own one little fancy dress that makes a big impact. There are times when you may wish to simply blend in, and there are times when you want to be noticed. Getting noticed is as easy as wearing a dress that will really wow them. Be as sexy as you want to be, as this will be your time to shine.
Black is a classic color choice that offers quite a slimming effect. Be sure to accessorize if you choose to wear black, as you will want to make the dress pop. Be careful not to over accessorize, as the dress should remain the main focal point. When all eyes are on you, you will be glad that you choose black.
Colors are another choice, with the benefit of color being that it demands attention. Red, in particular, grabs the eyes of those around you. This is a hot color that will work to show off your sexier side. Red can be worn with or without accessories, as this color will hold it’s own. In addition to basic red, do consider other shades such as burgundy.
Be sure to order the right size little fancy dress. This dress should be extremely form fitting, and should work to accentuate your curves. Form fitting or straight cut are both fine options.
Optimizing the website for shopping cart abandonment
Shopping cart abandonment is by far the biggest problem that they online shopping industry is facing. Some websites have literally closed down their operation because of the fact that they are not able to improve their shopping cart abandonment and they ran out of business. In simple English, shopping cart abandonment is nothing but users who come to a website, and try to add product and then leave the page without making a purchase. This is in fact acceptable fact that people try to research product. But what if the number of abandonments is very much great that you are not able to see any good reason for it.
First of all to understand this in detail we will need to dig around and understand why is shopping cart abandonment happens. We have to know that all customers who add products to cart are not interested in shopping a product. Most of the customers are doing online research a process of understanding product, cost and competition. Customers want things better and cheaper all the time and they undergo complicated research process before they select a product and before they select a place to buy.
Now we have to know that when a typical customer browses and does a research on what he needs to purchase he will at least do the same in 5 or 6 websites. This is where he compares the product, services, and cost and support details. After this process he selects one vendor and rejects close to 5 or 6 vendors thereby incurring the shopping cart abandonment. There are multiple ways one can improve this rate. Optimizing the shopping cart page is the crucial step for this especially for products like black snoods for men.
Optimizing is very much generic, but to say in detail – Every element of the shopping cart page has to speak for itself with the customer and has to be engaging and appealing to him. Especially there should be some appealing thing for the customer to stick around. Why would a customer be interested in a site that is so common with other websites? Today’s technology has allowed us to be in touch with customers like anything before. We can have instant chat feature where an associate can chat with customer after being in a shopping cart for a while.
This can increase shopping abandonment to a great level. One has to understand and implement such features to make customers feel better and optimize the shopping cart as such.
The Crazy Quilt – Free and Wild Stitchery
All quilts have batting except one. It is known as the crazy quilt. This is a party quilt; free and wild stitchery fun. It follows no rules and it hears a different drummer. It has a passionate rhythm seeking the artist within you. Have you made a crazy quilt?
The crazy quilt historically seemed to reveal financial status success and leisure. The fabrics used were silks, velvets, and favorite clothing fabrics of the times. The crazy quilt was used primarily as decorative art as furniture throw, a table top, a piano cover or a wall hanging.
This quilt was not considered practical or useful because of the silks and velvets. You had to be financially well off to afford those fabrics. And if your husband or family were wealthy you had leisure time to do needlework. Leisure and silks were the luxury items.
Today we can continue the traditions of the past if we wish.
Our fabrics are more affordable and leisure time seems to be plentiful, but that can be debated. It is our love of quilting whereby we make the time to sew these projects between employment, family, and personal responsibilities.
The crazy quilt can also serve as a family album or scrapbook. By tradition this quilt used fabric and clothing scraps used by family members. Embroidery stitchery was used to insert special occasions with dates, initials or names of loved ones and to decorate exposed seams and errors. Much embroidery is the mark of a crazy quilt. You can use free and wild stitchery or traditional embroidery stitches.
The women of earlier years took months to hand stitch; we can make the same quilting project in a matter of hours. We can machine stitch or hand stitch a copy of a pattern from the eighteenth century or we can create our own design.
Imagine what it would be like sewing a crazy quilt into a great family wall hanging of important moments.
Combine scraps of fabric from first baby, birthdays, weddings, school events, sport events, dance events, and many other occasions. Photos can be inserted. Special buttons, pendants, military medals, and pieces of jewelry or ribbons or chains, etc.
Use your imagination to make clothing accessories of neck collars, hats, belts, scarves, jewelry, and vests. Use all the colors you enjoy; subdued or loud and bold. Use all types of fabrics to create an assortment of textures and interests.
Start piece construction of the crazy quilt to a foundation fabric of muslin or cotton. There is no batting on completion. The foundation piece can be one large square or a combination of squares that have been sewn together to form one large foundation square. The completed foundation is utilized as front and back.
You are painting a canvas. Do as you please. Place the different cuts of fabric where you wish, then embroider your seams and cover errors or rough edges with applique and more fancy stitching of choice. Then go crazy with embellishing.
Make a quilt today. Visit the hobby page of Tricia Deed at http://www.Infotrish.vpweb.com/ Review Quilting Gems. Do not forget to download a free quilting pattern.
Quilting As Symbol Of Community And Remembrance
Quilting is such a vast tradition in America that more than 15% of U.S. households represent the homes of quilters and many Americans have at least one room filled with quilts as bed coverings, clothing and table mats.
A quilt is more like a sandwich, as it consists of three layers: a decorative top, a filling and a backing. The filling is also known as batting and provides warmth to the quilt. At the beginning of this art craft, people used whatever they could in order to fill the quilt: dry leaves, corn husks, old letters. Nowadays in the modern quilt you will find natural or synthetic fibers. To make dyes to color their fabrics, old quilters used flowers, vegetables, barks, roots, nuts or dried insects.
The quilt tops are constructed in very different ways, although there is a traditional pattern. The traditional patchwork consists of “blocks” made by stitching together geometric shapes or curved pieces.
The designs that are the end result of the decoative top are made by the way the blocks and the pieces of blocks are arranged.
The same is with the patterns of the quilts. These patterns come in an endless variety and they cannot even be classified. This is because the names of the patterns differ from region to region, from city to city around America. What is known as the Duck’s Foot in New York it is known as The Hand of Friendship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Some distinctive quilt designs are also assigned to some ethnic groups. African American quilts, for example, feature bold, asymmetrical patterns and large shapes inspired by African textiles. The women also produce story quilts as records of family events, traditions or as depictings of Bible stories.
And so quilts became a symbol of community and remembrance.
They were used to strengthen family ties, to preserve memories of old friends, to mark notable events. In the mid 1800s mothers would make “freedom quilts” to mark the sons’ passing to maturity at the age of 21. Album quilts, on which signitures of those who contributed to blocks were stitched, were given to brides, to mourning families or to those who moved away. At the end of the 1890s, quilts were used as fund raisers. Whoever wanted to have their names stitched on a quilt had to pay a quarter or a dime and the money would go to those in need.They are also used to publicize certain diseases and raise money for those who suffer of these diseases or to fund the research for cures.
As seen, this long tradition of quilting is a long tradition of helping, remembering, of creating. And quilters create bridges between people and events, between present, past and future, between people and society. They are bridgers of hapiness and humanity.
Celebrate Father-In-Law Day on July 30Th
Celebrate Father-in-Law Day on July 30th
Similar to Father’s Day, Father-in-Law Day annually falls on July 30th. Like its counterpart, Mother-in-Law Day, it was most likely started by card or flower companies, but no one really knows for sure. If you forgot him on Father’s Day in June, you can make it up to him on this special day.
While there are special gifts you can buy for your special man of honor, please don’t let your budget determine whether or not you can revere your special man in your life. There are ways to make him feel special that won’t break your bank account, but will pay tribute to him to last a lifetime. You will need to start some of these ideas ahead of time, meaning, don’t wait until the last minute to get around to it.
WRITE A SONG OR POEM ABOUT HIM: Go to a quiet place and let your creative juices flow. Jot down special words at first that describe him. Start putting them with words that rhyme and add the lines. You’ll be surprised what you may come up with. If you can’t sing, ask someone to sing it that can. If you can’t write words to sing, just play a special tune on your guitar or on the piano or other instrument that honors him. He will be so flattered no matter what you created, because it is about him and him alone! If you can’t think of anything, there are plenty on the internet. Handwrite it nicely or have it calligraphied.
READ HIM A SPECIAL POEM ALOUD: If you can’t write one of your own, find one in a book at your local library or bookstore or online that describes him to a “T.”
BUY BOOKS: If he’s reading a series, buy the next one for him or a gift card to do so when it comes out. Buy a book about Father’s-in-Law that will make him laugh with jokes and stories for a time of relaxation on rainy days.
BUY MUSIC: Find out what artist or genre of music he likes and buy him a CD he doesn’t own yet.
WRITE AND FRAME A BIBLE VERSE HE LOVES: Handwrite or hire a calligrapher to write a favorite bible verse he loves and frame it. Include a special engraved plate on the matte or frame to commemorate him on this special Father’s Day.
HANDWRITE AND FRAME A QUOTE: Look for quotes in books at your library or bookstore or online that is close to what he means in your life and have it written in calligraphy and framed.
PLANT FLOWERS TREES, BUSHES, OR VEGGIES: It is the perfect time to buy his favorite flowers or other plants and trees he likes and plant them around the yard or garden for him. When they bloom, he’ll think of the ones he loves that planted them. If he has a big vegetable garden, buy him a composter with instructions on how to compost and go green. His garden will love the extra nutrition. This may be a good time to put in veggies to come up in the fall.
BE ARTISITC: If you can draw or paint, create a portrait or scenery special to him and frame it or have it framed. Don’t forget to sign it!! Include a special engraved plate on the matte or frame to commemorate him on this special Father’s Day.
MAKE A CARD: Use your drawing skills or rubberstamping skills, etc. to make dad a special card. Don’t just fly through the process. Give it some thought and take your time.
BE CRAFTY: Make a quilt out of special fabrics or clothing belonging to his kids. Crochet a quilt. Make a quilt out of fleece with appropriate design on it. Make him a scrap book of what he means to you.
ADD TO HIS COLLECTION: Find out if he collects anything and go shopping for a special item to add to his collection that he will always remember it was from you. Hallmark Ornaments (find them online) are great for special people and days like this! You could even buy a new tool for his tool box or the usual new neck tie!
SEND HIM ON A TREASURE HUNT: Use clever notes placed around in special spots to lead him to a special surprise…it could be a gift, a party, or dinner. Let your imagination run wild!!
GO FISH: He will love spending time with you on the water if he loves to fish. Bring up memories and stories while you catch the big one.
GOLF: If he’s not an avid golfer, go to a miniature golf course and have fun that way. If he is a golfer, go to a course for 18 holes of fun.
PAMPER HIS CAR: Get it washed, detailed inside and out, waxed and looking new. Get any repair work done on it. Take it in for a tune-up. He’ll love it.
BREAKFAST IN BED:Show him your culinary skills and prepare his favorite breakfast with the morning newspaper in bed with some of his favorite music.
SIGN HIM UP FOR A NEW HOBBY CLASS: If he has been talking about taking up a new hobby, find out where he can join a group or class to do just that.
MAKE A DONATION: If your father-in-law is not alive you can make donations in his name. You can donate money, clothes, toys, food etc. If he is alive, you can still do so and give him a card saying what organization or charity he loves that you donated to in his name.
DVD’s: Rent or buy some of his favorite sitcom or movies from yesteryear, prepare snacks and watch them together.
TAKE HIM TO DINNER: Take him out to dinner to his favorite restaurant and have some nice time together. He will love not having to grill or cook on this day if henormally does the cooking. Find out what his favorite restaurant is and call ahead and make reservations if they take them. Your thoughtfulness ahead of time will be noticed and appreciated.
PLAN A SURPRISE PARTY: Invite people close to him to come and honor him on this special day. Try to bring his kids and family in town if at all possible.
DO HIS FAMILY TREE: Do some genealogy research and make a family tree for him to hang or place prominently in his home. This could be made on a T-shirt or quilt too, not just a framed picture, poster, or a computer print out. See my detailed ehow article on “How to Do Family Tree Genealogy Ancestry History Research” to help you with this. He will love it.
BUY A FAMILY BIBLE: You’ll need to do some research ahead of time. Fill out the information in the Family Births/Deaths/Marriages section of the Family Bible. Hire a calligrapher to fill it out for you or have someone with pretty handwriting do it. This will be a special heirloom for his coffee table to hand down through the generations.
BAKE A CAKE: Bake and decorate a cake in honor of him. Of course there’s always bakery’s to buy from or the wonderful Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cakes. You can’t go wrong with those! You can even choose the design on them and order one.
PAINT A T-SHIRT OR BBQ GRILLING APRON: Go to a craft store like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby or JoAnn Fabrics and buy fabric paints and a new T-shirt or BBQ apron and get creative. Let it dry for 24 hours before you give it to him all wrapped up in tissue paper and a masculine bag or box.
BUY A SPECIAL GIFT: Many opt for this idea too, but you can ask around and find out what has favorite after shave or cologne is or favorite store is for a gift card. If he likes to golf, go miniature golfing with him as a family. He’ll love showing you how to do it. If he loves music, buy him a special CD he’s been wanting. Gather items for a special Father-in-Law Day basket that he would like. Don’t forget the grill stuff, tools, necktie, pictures, or a nice pen set and paperweight!!
MAKE HELPING HAND COUPONS: Get on your computer and type out some coupons to staple into a booklet that have all kinds of tasks on them that you will do for him. He’ll love this! Coupons can include: Cleaning the garage/work area, organizing the shed, Doing dishes, laundry, cleaning, childcare, quiet time away from kids, raking, shoveling, planting, weeding, washing his car inside and out, vacuuming, manicure, pedicure, salon day, night of quiet reading, movie night—whatever he wants to watch, King for a day, picnic out, etc. The ideas are endless!
FIND OUT IF HE NEEDS SOMETHING FINISHED: Does he have an unfinished project that haunts him to get done? Do some legwork or calling around and have it completed…even if it is a room. Make sure it is finished the way he would want it or better. Maybe it is an unfinished wood craft or other project he wouldn’t mind if someone else finished, hire it done. Give it to him when you’re eating your special meal.
TAKE A SPECIAL DRIVE: Drive him someplace he loves like a National Park or other scenic/memorable place that he rarely gets to see. An “extra” would be to see if the radio station you listen to will play a song dedicated to him by you while you are in the car driving. Play music he loves.
PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES: There are so many possibilities to use photos new or old to make a special memory for Dad-in-Law. Use your imagination.
Best fashion trends of 2009
Fashion has always been fascinating. Looking back through history, fashion has always followed the statements of each season, leading men and women with boldness into a dynamic expression of oneself. Although for some people fashion is playful, it actually reflects society at any particular time. And what makes fashion even more interesting in 2009 is that, in spite of the current financial and credit crisis, people seize the fashion essence.
For 2009, women’s fashion has selected dynamic garments and high quality accessories. One shoulder asymmetric dresses and futuristic enhancements, vibrant color block mixing and geometric lines were some of the most impressive and characteristic fashion trends of 2009. Designers were given the space to enhance the one shoulder with braids, bows, ruffles and fringes in lemon yellow or deep-rose tones giving a fresh momentum to fashion styles and trends.
Some prime designers like Richard Nicoll, Narciso Rodriguez and Ella Moss have introduced a cool blend of fondant tones and vibrant bright colors or bold shades that have perfectly matched with opaque tights and ornate jackets. Hot pinks, tangerine, mango, lime, orange, aqua jade, and Santorini blue were the most popular colors used in color blocking, promoting wonderful garments and adding gusto and a brand savor to existing wardrobes.
Black and white was also a popular color scheme for 2009 featuring monochrome zebra and giraffe stripes and spots. Top-notch designers like Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld have preferred black and white ensembles honoring the all-time classic elegance of monochrome scheme that has translated perfectly to maritime schemes as well. Besides, black and white scheme is quite affordable and can be easily adapted to existing wardrobe.
For men, fashion trends in 2009 were kept quite simpler. Two-button suits, jeans, pinstripes and traditional blazers dominated in the fashion scene flattering larger men and making men with a more tapered silhouette looking even better. In regards to colors choices, soft pastels and vibrant neon colors were featured for men’s fashion, mostly for younger men and people who have an active profile.
However, one of the latest trends introduced to the men’s market was quilted clothing. High street brands such as Dolce and Gabbana, Junya Watanabe and Gareth Pugh featured quilted jackets for men and have really altered the way men dress. Being way too advanced, quilted jackets came in black, brown and navy colors and have created a fashion edge for young, modern men. Particularly, black jackets look edgier with a casual outfit and are easily matched with nice jeans, a thin cotton v-neck and a pair of fancy workboots.
Overall, fashion in 2009 inspired new trends and sought after the essence featuring geometric designs and floral motifs aiming to capture any taste, feeling and cultural heritage with beige, midnight blue, and caramel colors in a journey to classical innovation.




