Archive for April, 2008

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

Taking a Look at Coach Financial

 

Today I will be talking about some financial news concerning the handbag company, Coach. My knowledge in the stock market is limited; however, I will try my best to provide our viewers current reliable financial news for Coach Inc. with the help of MSN Money.

Yesterday, the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) presented Coach Inc. having a loss of 2.66%. These past four days have been an extremely tough market for many retail companies such as Gap, American Eagle, JC Penney, and the list continues. Coach Inc. was one of the stocks that I have been watching; particularly because they had a rapid increase in popularity the past year. However, Coach Inc., these past four days had encountered a drop in retail sales and their stock plummeted several points in the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). After hearing this news, I was feeling a bit uneasy. How could such a great handbag company drop in sales? I started blaming the economy for this nonsense. But, to a great surprise, Coach Inc. has made its way back up the NYSE.

Quoting MSN Money: “Pocketbook purveyor Coach (COH - Cramer’s Take - Stockpickr) was raised to strong buy from neutral at Buckingham Research, lifting shares by 2.1% at $32.92.” Coach still continues to be a very popular and active stock in the market. I hope our viewers all learned something new today.

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Backpacks: Geek or Chic?

Everyone has one, but unless you are on the go a lot, not many people need one. Nonetheless, designers have figured out ways to make the dual (sometimes single) strap device that you wear on your back fashionable again. In short, people usually just call it a backpack. The once boring piece used primarily to shuttle school books and classroom accessories is now finding their way back to being excellent fashion accessories. Top designers like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Coach and who could forget Rioni have all made cute backpacks. They have a point, freeing up your arms and shoulders so you can do something else is advantageous over handbags and I am sure not everyone likes to look like a hitch hiker when they are on the go. But, handbags still win my vote; the ability to access all my things quickly is indispensible. So what do you think Geek or Chic?

Sunday, April 6th, 2008

Bow Ties!

 

The bow tie is like the icing on a cake.  Just like how icing makes a cake sweet, a bow tie makes people also look sweet (a trend for both men and women).   From tying our shoelaces to using bow ties as a decorative icon on a model’s outfit at a fashion runway, who would have thought that such a simple ribbon would become such a big hit.

Just recently while walking around shops and browsing through magazines, I have been noticing bow ties on everything.  For example, I have seen bow ties on hair bands, hair clips, necklaces, belts, men’s tuxedos, and of course, on shoes.  Even though bow ties have been around ever since we were toddlers tying that first shoelace, this simple decoration continues to be part of our modern fashion world.

Any sized bow tie will still give any item, a finishing touch of completion.  Take a look at women lingerie for example, it is already small as it is but adding bow ties as little details gives the lingerie an extra touch of cuteness and thus making the lingerie more sellable.  Most of the time it is used as decoration, but lately it is the main attraction of fashion.

Bow ties are a huge hit in our fashion world.  Just earlier today, I was at H&M and one of their handbags only consisted of a large print of a fancy bow tie.  You can wear a plain simple dress and just have a big bow tie belt and that outfit alone could make you look fashionable.  It really is as simple as that!

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Handbag Photography

Charles, the person in charge of the handbag photography department for X handbag brand, needed to shoot a new handbag collection. He started flipping through his rolodex and found Top Model Agency Inc. The agent emailed him portfolios of several different models. Charles looked over each model’s portfolio vigorously and finally chose model #3E42A. Charles then called his agent to confirm the photography shoot with the model on the following Tuesday.
Prepping for the Shoot

Before the model was ready for the handbag shoot, the agent needed to meet up with the model for a dress rehearsal. The agent researched Charles’ handbag brand and made sure he understood Charles’ handbag clients. With his professionalism in the field, he chose several outfits that he felt were suitable for Charles’ handbags. The model then tried out each of the chosen outfits to ensure that the fitment was correct.

The Day of the Shoot

Tuesday afternoon, the model arrived in her casual t-shirt and jeans. The agent clicked his stopwatch and the timer began; the reason being was that the model was getting paid by the minutes. The model first went to her dressing room where she got her hair done and was pampered with make-up. After, the model then changed into her first outfit. By the time this session was completed, the stopwatch read: “1hr 4min.” Time was not being wasted as the model was being prepped for the shoot, for the photographer briskly tested his camera and lighting setup.

When the model stepped out of her dressing room, the cameras began to roll (I mean flash). After a few different poses with Charles’ handbags, the photographer requested a change of backdrop and outfit. Hour after hour passed by and after 6 long tedious hours, the photo shoot was completed. The model went back to her dressing room to change back to her original clothes and before she left the studio, she signed a waiver provided by the photographer. The photographer then began uploading the pictures for his team of editors.

Upon completion of editing the 800 different shots, the photographer delivered the proofs to Charles for his approval. All was well and Charles was content with the photographer’s work, so the photographer gave him an invoice for his photography services; however, twenty percent of that payment went to Top Model Agency Inc.as a referral fee.

Well, I hope you guys liked my little story (the process of handbag photography). Thanks for reading, folks!

Friday, April 4th, 2008

The Olympics in Beijing is coming! What should I bring?

First I would like to say that I am jealous of everyone that is going to the Olympics 2008 in Beijing! But for those who never been there before I have some advice to share. The last time I have been there was about three years ago and my first time was eight years ago. Granted that three years ago China maybe significantly different from what it is now. It’s almost like comparing dog years to human years. The first time I went to China it was bicycles on dirt roads, few places had running water, and they never even heard of a credit card, the last time I went it blew my mind countless Mercedes and BMWs on eight lane highways, five star hotels and restaurants everywhere you look, and yes American Express don’t leave home without it. Anyway back to the topic, here some things you can bring to be prepared:

1.       A handbag with zipper closure, even though China is no longer the third world country we once thought it was, poverty and theft is still very much at large. Recommended: Rioni is rather meticulous at making all their handbags with zipper closures.

2.       English to Chinese (Simplified) electronic translator, in case you need something you can type it in English and show them the Chinese if they do not understand. Recommended: ECTACO iTRAVL

3.       An unlocked, quad band, GSM mobile phone, whew that was a mouthful. These are sometimes called a world phone; make sure you purchase a SIM card immediately when you get to China. Recommended: Motorola Razor this is fairly inexpensive phone with all the listed hardware.

4.       Travel sized tissues and toilet paper. Most places in China are not accustomed to using as much tissues napkins as we are. Recommended: Kleenex Pocket Packs

5.       Feminine Hygene products, this is important because during my stay I had a very hard time finding a store that carried tampons. Recommended: Tampax Pearl

6.       Your passport and ID along with a color copy of your passport and ID; put it separate from you real passport. Recommended: Rioni’s Air Travel Organizer.

7.       An extra duffel bag for souvenirs, memorabilia, and gifts. Recommended: A duffel bag, if you want to go fancy, Rioni’s Duffel Bag.

Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

Do You REALLY Need More Than One?

                       

I noticed while driving to work the other day, a lady walking from the bank to her car carrying two handbags. I kid you not. I was wondering is it really necessary to be carrying more than one handbag? I mean it looked rather strange and kind of extreme. I looked back in my rearview mirror, maybe she slept over somewhere…and it’s just her clothes. But she just came out of a bank…can’t be with her overnight clothes! So, I started thinking…

…Well I do see a lot of students who like to carry a backpack and a handbag at the same time. It’s actually fairly common. I then think to myself…but still do you really need to carry that many bags? I mean what could be in your purse that you couldn’t stick in your backpack- like your wallet. And if you really need your purse later on to go out…couldn’t you leave it in the car and take keys and money with you? Is it a style thing? …But it doesn’t look good! The more I think about it the more I got annoyed with it.

There are of course women who need to carry handbags and diaper bags and such things, but that’s different especially since you’re not really trying to sport the product…you really need to carry those diapers with you! Then there are those who try the fanny pack and the handbag combo. I mean what the heck!? I’ll let the people who like to carry the fanny pack and the backpack together slide..cuz you know…traveling, you need compact necessities… Even the backpack and handbag thing I can justify…well kind of, but TWO handbags? On the same shoulder, on each shoulder, whatever…you cannot make that look remotely trendy in my opinion. Is it to show off status and wealth? Come on now, that’s a little overdoing it don’t you think? We’ve got to be humble sometime in our life.

So what is this NEED to carry so many handbags at ONCE? I don’t know, you tell me.