Who do I hang with?

My friend Aphrodite had these $25 off $100 purchase coupons for Bloomingdale's. So I joined her on her little shopping's spree. I just can't pass up a good deal.

I must say we did very well. We ran around the store finding things we liked that matched up to the $100 total so we can maximize the discount. It helps that Aphrodite is a super mathematician, I would have given up a long time ago.

I did have an opportunity to shop the store before while waiting for her to show up. First I circled around the dress department. This is where they have all the cocktail/evening dresses with labels like Vera Wang, Badgely Mischka, Tadashi, BCBG, Nicole Miller, Carmen Marc Valvo, etc.

Bloomies was having a great sale, so there were a lot of items for around $100 after discounts and coupons. But the retail prices of the section were around $200 to $500 for cocktail dress and $400 to $1000+ for long evening gowns.

I noticed that while some dresses were cute, overall I did not find them stylish or fashion forward. I was quit disappointed because I have respect for all of the above mentioned designers.

Then I went to the designer collection floor. Each designer had their own section whether it was a section of a wall with names Stella McCartney, Alberta Ferretti, Petere Som, etc. or a separate "boutique" like Chanel, Armani, etc.

I concentrated more on the dresses from each label. I found them to be inspirational, fashionable, and very well constructed. All were made with high quality fabrics with superior finishings and foundation construction. I was quite impressed until I saw the prices. Nothing was below $2,000, even for the simplest shift dress.

So this whole time I was having an identify crisis. I kept asking myself, "who do I hang with?" and could not come up with an answer.

Even by the time I left I couldn't come up with an answer. I didn't want to hang with the dress department, 'cause I felt that the quality and style were sub par. I didn't want to hang with the designers, 'cause I was afraid it would be too expensive for my target customers.

Then I read a blog entry on fashion-incubators.com .... and I figured it out ... I just don't hang in Bloomingdale's.

To Perm or Not To Perm?

So remember how I said I was thinking of perming my hair after reading through the Japanese magazine, Vivi? Well, after I wrote the entry, I kinda got that thought out of my system. Then, my DS called and said that she's been thinking of getting a perm also. So we agreed that she'll drive up to the city on 4th of July and we'll both get our hair permed together.

This is a picture of I want to happen.

I know my hair dresser is going to tell me that look is done with a curling iron, but I figure if I can get some sort of large, loose curls put in, it'll have the same effect, no?

Maybe my good friend CC, the ex-hair dresser can weigh in on this debate?

Tax Return Time

I filed my first business sales tax return today! Since my sales is $0.00 for this quarter, it was easy.

It is a bit of a reality check. It's been 3 months since I started this line, and I don't even have my business plan done.

Magazines from ..... Italy!

So thanks to my friend KO, I've been flipping through the latest batch of magazines from around the world .... well, Italy this time. Love the Vogue.

Here is an inside spread ... what's with the floral print dress ...

.... maybe an inspiration from my flower garden is in order ....

Mags from Japan

The second batch of fashion magazines came from my old high school friend SH who was actually visiting from Japan. He didn't know what to get me at first, so figuring he was a guy and would need help in deciding what fashion mags to get, I gave him a whole list.

He did a really good job in picking up Vivi 'cause it's a very local magazine. I love the different layouts and colors. I especially appreciate all the Asian models 'cause I can better relate to their look. After going through the magazines, it did make want me to perm my hair. All the girls had these gorgeous long wavy hair.

Fashion wise, it was more street fashion, which Japan is so famous for. The other magazine I asked for was Fruits which concentrates purely on street fashion.

Fashion Mags from Around the World

Recently a lot of my friends have been traveling overseas on vacations. And I totally took advantage of this opportunity to ask them to bring back some fashion mags.

The pink one is from Japan, which I'll talk about later.

The first batch was from my friend, Aphrodite who want to Spain. Not only did she bring back Vogue Spain, she also found all these industry mags such as Hola and Moda that are just super expensive here.

They are just wonderful. So inspirational. I love them so much, that I may just spend my money at the incredibly over priced fashion book stores here for future copies ..... unless someone else is going to Spain ....

MODA Manhattan

I attended my first apparel trade show on Monday, many thanks to a friend, who is in the industry. She has been so incredibly helpful.

The show is Moda Manhattan. It's a juried trade show with companies in the apparel, accessory, and footwear industry.

My main purpose was just to check out the show and check out the types of people that showed there. There was one whole section on evening wear, which is where I would like to be grouped if I ever showed there.

I thought I would be intimidated by the whole experience, but I wasn't. Once I have a few accounts, I'll definitely be looking to show in some sort of a trade show.

Where Have I Been?

I know I've been MIA for the past few weeks ... my DH and I along with friends, decided to take a last minute vacation to the beautiful blue waters of South Caribbean.

That's my DH's swim trunks in the lower right hand corner.

Our cruise ship, Royal Caribbean, Adventure of the Seas. Highly Recommended.

This Green Monkey may look cute, but I think it was pissed at all the tourists snapping pictures of it. Or, it could be that the only thing he had to eat was that rock in its hands.

Now that I am back, it's back to business.

Logo Round 2

Natalie read my blog and saw that I needed help creating a logo and offered to help. It's amazing to receive help like this from the cyber world from total strangers. Above are the logos she created. Aren't they great?

I am going to play around with them and see how they fit in with my brand image. But it's great to get a fresh point of view. So many thanks to my new cyber friend, Natalie!

Working my Left Brain

I didn't think it would be this hard. What, with my 4 years of business school and 4 years of corporate America experience, one would think that I can whip up a business plan in a matter of weeks.

I had started one in the beginning, but gave it up to work on sketches. Which I definitely enjoy more. Now that I have a good number of sketches and a clear brand direction, I have no other excuses. I must put together a business plan, even if it is a one pager.

I have been consulting this book that I've had forever, The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies by Rhonda Abrams. It has all the basic outline and advice, but it can't write the plan for me.


In a desperate attempt at finding business plan writing inspiration, I spent yesterday at the NY Science, Industry, & Business library. Wasted time. All the books were either taken out or lost. And there is absolutely no books on business plans writing for clothing manufactures. Seeing how there are so many people starting new clothing manufacturing business, I am surprised there are not more resources out there.

So now I am left to my own devices, have to dust off the left side of my brain, and put together a business plan.