Trend Report: Denim & Dip-Dye!
We’re singing the blues, baby! See, denim is incredibly popular right now. The iconic uniform channeling images of Steven Tyler (from Aerosmith!) in pencil-thin skinny jeans, as well as Lada Gaga in vintage-washed frayed denim with platform cowboy boots are great… But, you can also wear denim as comfy jeans with a t-shirt or as a classic jean jacket – like our Payton. Either way, denim looks fabulous on everyone!
A perfect complement to the denim look this fall is a sweet long-sleeve tee. Choose from different textures & colors so you can you truly set a trend. Add accessories, like a multi-chained necklace or a trendy hat and you’ll be ready for any occasion. New-for-fall at FashionPlaytes is our Parker cotton waffle thermal baseball tee in groovy shades of color fades. It’s cool, comfy & totally perfect with any pair of jeans!
Overall, these staples have been fashionable for decades. Will denim or sweet tees ever go out of style? We don’t think so. They keep comin’ back again & again – we absolutely love it!– Mary Beth & The Apparel Team
Finally! It’s Fashion Week!
So what is Fashion Week & why does it matter?
This year, New York Fashion Week is September 8-15. It started in the 1940’s & finally moved to the famous Bryant Park in the mid 1990’s when the modern version of fashion week was born. Around that time, celebs & digital media started influencing fashion as an American obsession!
To know fashion week, is to know fashion: Haute Couture, Ready to Wear & Mass Market.
- Haute Couture fashion is designed for an individual for a specific occasion. Usually, it comes with a high price tag since it’s typically handmade.
- Ready To Wear is apparel made for more than one person. It’s designed by a brand name designer & produced in limited amounts to be sold in specialty stores. (When we go to Fashion Week, we are mostly seeing these RTW fashions for the upcoming season.)
- Mass Market apparel is clothing suited to a wide range of consumers and what we mostly wear from day to day. Generally, it’s less expensive because it is being produced in higher quantities, but is always effected by couture and ready to wear.
Credit: fashionmarmalade.wordpress.com
When we follow Fashion Week, we are peeking into the future. What are the emerging trends for Spring 2012? Are hemlines short, long or both? What colors will set the themes for the up-coming season? How will these trends affect my wardrobe & fashion choices?
From the vantage point of a fashion designer, I like to validate my fashion direction by comparing my upcoming designs to the work of the famous fashion houses and consider how I might bring these trends to my consumer in an accessible affordable way. As a consumer, I am excited with the ever-changing landscape and personalities involved in fashion! I’m also delighted to see how modern media has intensified the role of fashion in our lives. Happy Fashion Week!
Thanks for reading!
- Mary Beth, Lead Designer at FashionPlaytes
Trend Report: Dresses!
It’s Tuesday, which means its Trend Report Time! Read below for the latest from the FP The Apparel Team!
When I was a kid everyone wore dresses to school almost every day. Yah yah yah, I’m dating myself — but back in the day girls only wore pants on “gym” days! Of course that special outfit for the first day of school was a decision that was as carefully planned as “D” Day. As the youngest of four sisters, I spent a good deal of time wearing hand-me-downs but my mother always came through and allowed me a few new things each fall — including the all-important back-to-school dress!
This weekend I experienced the deja-vu of this ritual with my own eight year old daughter. She had wavered all weekend between three stylish ensembles and came to rest last night on a be-dazzled tank dress that she designed herself on FashionPlaytes.com (it’s true, she loves our clothes with no influence from me!), along with her new pink clogs and a favorite necklace that she made at camp this summer. As I was tucking her in, I asked her if she was positive she was going with the the tank dress for the big day. I had to laugh when she told me, “Mom, tomorrow is an important day and I need to look fabulous!”… Nuff said.
FYI: To stay trendy this fall with fabulous dresses no matter your personal style, layer them over leggings, wear with boots or ballet flats & accessorize them with eye-catching accessories. Don’t be afraid to mix different colors & textures! A dress is the easiest item to rock, so show off your fashion knowledge today!
–The FashionPlaytes Team!
Trend Report: Hoodies!
It’s Trend Report time! This week, it’s all about HOODIES! Read on to learn more!
Casual, comfortably versatile & totally functional. The modern hoodie is likely the fashionable descendant of the “monk” cowl or hood. It was thrown into mainstream fashion in the 1970′s with the iconic image of Rocky Balboa pumping his fist to the skies in the famous movie Rocky! He wore a cool athletic fleece hoodie & shortly afterward, fashion designers started to incorporate it into to their repertoire as a statement piece! The term “hoodie” became popular in the 1990′s, especially in California, when this comfy basic mixed fashion & easy style together.
At FashionPlaytes.com, we carry this fashion
staple in the form of a cotton-spandex hoodies & cozy cotton fleece sweatshirt available in sweet tie-dyes & vintage distressed colorways (including geranium, navy, heather grey). Whether you choose to design a “varsity” look with sport-inspired appliqués or if you decide to glam it up with rhinestones & sequins letters/numbers, you are sure to be on the fashion fast-track (pun intended)!
– Mary Beth & The Apparel Team!
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End-of-Summer Mermaid Magic!
Is The Little Mermaid your child’s most beloved movie? Can she not get enough of singing “Part of This World”? Before the summer officially ends, get even more mermaid magic with the stylish mermaid and beach graphics available on FashionPlaytes.com! OR wear your own handmade sea glass jewelry! Just follow the directions below!
SEAGLASS JEWELRY!
- Head to your local beach & find some great sea glass! Make sure the edges aren’t sharp!
- Purchase some thin wire (20 gauge) to wrap around your piece of sea glass to make a necklace!
- This is where you can get creative! Depending on your style, wrap the top or the entire piece in cool patterns so that it is securely fastened & won’t fall out. Make a little loop out of the wire on the top of the glass & string a piece of string or rope through it! Voilà! Nautical jewelry!
Credit: OdysseySeaGlass.com
PS: If that craft seems too complicated or you want even more beach fun, painting seashells is a fun activity! Collect a variety of clam shells at the beach & use acrylic paint to decorate the inside and outside of the shells with a design of your choice! They make great little holders for jewelry, stamps, or decorations around the house! Have fun!
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Design Your Own Avatar & Collection Room!
Today for the first time, you can design more than just clothes & accessories on FashionPlaytes.com! Now you can…
Create your own Avatar to model your fashion designs
& decorate our new customizable Collection Rooms!
Design Your Own Avatar & Collection Room!
Creating your own avatar is easy! Choose from different skin colors, facial features and fabulous hair styles! Then head over to your Collection Room to dress up your avatar in your very own fashion designs. While you’re there, show off your decorating skills & design a fantastic room to match your new look. Choose between cool floors, wall patterns, couches, chairs, lamps, pictures, accessories & many other fun items!
FashionPlaytes is proud to offer these new design activities to our active and constantly growing community of assertive, empowered & stylish girls to give you more ways to be YOU! We hope you enjoy the latest & greatest additions to our site. Feel free to leave comments because we’d love to hear what you think of the experience!
Three cheers for the new, wonderful & stylish world of FashionPlaytes!
PSST! — SNEAK PEEK: We are currently working on future features to expand our social offerings so you can share your designs & outfits with your friends, rate each other’s designs, earn virtual currency and buy virtual goods! Woot, woot!
Don’t forget to enter our “WHATCHACALLIT Contest” at FashionPlaytes.com & name our virtual avatar! Simply fill out the form, send it back, vote for your favorite near the end of the contest & you could win up to $250! Good luck, be creative & happy naming!
– The FashionPlaytes Team
Trend Report: Varsity Classic!
The Apparel Team is back at it again! This time with one of fall’s coolest new trends: Varsity Classic!
April with Varsity Letters
Hey Moms & FP Girls!
Back-to-school time brings images of cooler days, sunny weekends, football on the field, soccer games and falling leaves!
It also brings Fall’s varsity-themed clothes that are built for comfort & are all the rage! This fun fashion trend is a staple of any style-conscious wardrobe & the perfect weekend comfy compliment to a lazy or busy weekend. Headed off to dance rehearsal or basketball practice? No problem: throw on a cool jacket, sweatshirt or sweatpants & perform your best – in style!
See, “varsity” feels like your much-loved t-shirt or sweatshirt that’s been washed a thousand times and faded to perfection. It’s the cozy sweats that you pull on after a busy day at school. Varsity at FashionPlaytes.com include our sweet heather grey Jane t-shirts, long-sleeved Hannah hoodies, and our fleece capri Whitney sweatpants that transition easily from school to the practice field to the ice-cream parlor to home! Add sequined varsity letters and numbers, or stick to sporty graphics that show off your favorite sport or activity!
Just remember: You can be stylish while being comfy! We encourage you to find your own unique ways to show off classically varsity looks! Good luck!
-Mary Beth, The Apparel Team
Kiki’s Corner: Starting a Blog!
BLOGGING has taken the internet world by storm! No matter your passion in life, whether it’s fashion, nature, sports, shopping, family or food, blogging is an excellent way to write about it! Not only that, but it’s also a great way to get others who are interested in the same thing to read your ideas. Being a positive influence in your community has never been easier.
For those who do love to write, encourage your kids to do the same. It’s an important skill to have throughout life, whether studying at school or later in life at a specific profession. Check out the PDF below, then print & share it with your kids. They can easily start their own blog (online or offline) to get those creative juices running! Huge thanks to Kiki Magazine for the awesome idea.
Trend Report: Accessories!
FashionPlaytes Backpack & Lunch Boxes!
Here’s your weekly TREND REPORT brought to you by our awesome Apparel Team! This week’s trend? Accessorizing! This time, with backpacks! See, because one of the best things about going back to school is starting a blank slate! This means getting rid of that grubby old backpack & starting the year off right with a trendy, new one! Try pristine, fun & functional backpacks that hold all your gear and can help prepare you for any adventure!
Tips for a GOOD backpack:
- Roomy with a compartment for all your books
- Has a separate compartment for gym clothes or a change of clothes
- Has a padded back and ergo-fit straps
- Very Durable
- Water resistant for rainy days waiting at the bus-stop
- Media compartments for your i-pod or i-touch
- Has a handle so can be hung on a hook, etc.
- Has an organizer for pens, pencils and other “stuff”
- Has lots of extra pockets for money, lunch tickets, notes from your BFF
A GREAT backpack does all of above plus:
- Looks cool!
- Customizable with a graphic or your initial
- Totally affordable
Ready for your trendy new pack? FashionPlaytes is offering GREAT backpacks this Fall in 3 different color-ways, including 2 of our signature prints (black onyx & blue flower/peace-print) & black/pink/purple. We also offer a new lunch cooler bag & matching key-chain change purse. Mix & match, add personal embellishments, then get ready to be in fashion all school-year long!
- Mary Beth & the Apparel Team
FashionPlaytes on the Today Show!
In case you missed it, FashionPlaytes was recently featured on the Today Show in NYC! We’re thrilled that this critically acclaimed national TV show decided to include us, but even happier with the positive feedback we’ve heard from all of the new fans of our company! Too cool.
