Trend Spotlight: Eat Pray Love and Win!

UPDATE: Congrats to winner @jaclynisis! Her style is “UltraMusicFest meets everyday life with a touch of girlyness and professionalism.”

Thanks to everyone who entered! Your personal style will be featured in an exclusive post next week!

UIn honor of the upcoming film Eat Pray Love, opening Aug. 13, starring Julia Roberts, Cost Plus World Market stores nationwide will feature a fashionable line of Eat Pray Love merchandise that evokes the warm and inspirational themes of the film.

Here’s what Cost Plus World Market has to say about their bohemian attire and jewelry that mirrors Julia’s look and style in Eat Pray Love:

·         Block Print Paisley Tunic – Whether worn with jeans, over a yoga suit or simply as a beach cover-up, our Block Print Paisley Tunic adds just the right touch of understated elegance to any outfit.  100 percent cotton and made in India.

·         Bucket Hat with Grosgrain– Our Eat Pray Love™ Bucket Hat provides comfort, shade and style for sunny days, just as Elizabeth Gilbert’s did during her journeys. The chic paper bucket hat is adorned with beautiful striped grosgrain ribbon trim, allowing it to be sported with any attire for every outing.

·         Beaded Stretch Bracelets – When you need that extra splash of color to complete an outfit, grab some of our Eat Pray Love™ Beaded Stretch Bracelets. These multi-colored bracelets are created in India and offer a fashion forward vibe yet are affordable for every wearer.

Exclusive to Consuming PR, I am giving away a Cost Plus World Market Eat Pray Love journal and pen to my readers! Post a comment or tweet me (@ConsumingPR) by sharing your personal style (e.g. bohemian chic, punk rock or however you describe your style). I’ll pick a winner at random next Friday, Aug. 13, and feature your personal styles in an exclusive post!

Here’s an example: @ConsumingPR My style is hipster-chic meets Winnie from the Wonder Years!

So, what’s your personal style?

Product Spotlight: Fruitz Watches

Fruitz Watches recently approached me with information on their 24 summer colors featuring delicious flavors like raspberry, lychee, golden pear and melon.

Not only are these watches fun and fresh for a bold summer statement, they have natural frequency technology allowing wearers to sleep better at night, maintain increased focus during the day and reduce overall stress levels. Pretty remarkable!

This added value seemed to good to be true, so I asked the company’s rep to explain further:

“The natural frequency technology is delivered to wearers through a metal disk inside the watch that has been infused with key frequencies in a proprietary process.  When worn on the wrist, the watch exposes frequencies and information to the bio-field of the person wearing it. The bio-field, which is the Master energy field that regulates the body’s functions, informs the body to relax, and in doing so, the person becomes more resistant and resilient to stress. When wearing a Fruitz frequency watch you are more in harmony with natural earth, centered and grounded.”

If you’re looking to de-stress your life through fashion, you can find Fruitz at fruitzwatches.com, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom for $225.

Spring ’10 Fashion Trend Report

We’re in the midst of Spring 2010 Fashion Week around the world and we’ve been blessed with New York, London, Milan and Paris thus far. Check out the current trends to look forward to during the chilly months ahead.

With powdery pastels and tailored jackets, spring brings a more conservative look to consumers giving yet another break in this tired economy. The styles are more tame and reminiscent of the 1940’s when people were also trying to climb out of a recession. Find complete collections from fashion week at Coutorture.

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Blazers

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White on White

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Muted Pastels

Designer Spotlight: Thinking Outside the Handbag

(From left to right: Madra, Nirvana, Moksha)

A few weeks ago, I was approached by Meukz with some of the hottest handbags that will take you from summer to fall and day to night. The line caught my eye for their innovative design and use of materials. In this economy, it is important to set your product apart from the competition and invest in quality materials, which Meukz has perfectly captured.

The Meukz collection is based on a concept of thin wooden sculptures stitched on leather and other textures. The wooden sculptures are hand sculpted by artisans in Chennai, South India. Meukz designer, Mukund, spotted their ability to carve on wooden sheets and thought it would be an interesting concept to apply to accessories. He explains “the process is quite cumbersome and hence makes only 300 pieces in each design.”

Prior to founding Meukz, Mukund, spent six years working for Lesage Paris, a unit of Chanel, involved in product development and manufacture of high end textiles and embroideries for luxury brands including Bill Blass, Chanel, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana. Earlier, he spent five years in India in the design, product development and manufacture of textiles and garments for various mass market brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, Ralph Lauren. Mukund also attended L’école de la chambre syndicale, Paris and NIFT, Chennai where he studied Fashion design. He also studied graphic design and Mathematics in Chennai and had a short stint of graduate work in Marketing at ESCP-EAP School of management, Paris.

For up-to-date information on Meukz, follow the line on Twitter @Meukz.

Twitter Increases Speed of Fashion Trends

Twitter is the fastest and most concise way to exchange information. Bloggers use it to promote themselves, track up-to-date trends and immerse themselves in their industry. Twitter can also be used to promote companies, labels, celebrities and those who want to be connected and consume information at light speed.

Fashion bloggers, designers and apparel companies utilize twitter in a way that may change the face of fashion. Nordstrom (@Nordstrom), Saurette (@Saurette), Solessence (@Solessence), and Hayden-Harnett (@hayden_harnett) are all companies tweeting frequently about trends and their own products. With the exception of WWD, fashion trends are mostly reported by print magazine on a monthly basis. Now, with the use of Twitter, fashionistas everywhere can consume fashion 24/7. This enables consumers to become inspired by trends, designers and celebrities at any moment.

Twitter paves the way for fashion trends to come and go in a matter of seconds. The astronomical number of exchanges between people on twitter ignites this type of behavior.

As fashionistas exchange trends on twitter, consumers will be overloaded with trends and fashion news. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that there is an overload of fashion news accessible at my fingertips, but this might mean that trends will have shorter life spans.

Consumer brands and fashion labels thrive on trends. Department stores pick up on these trends in order to drive business. With the use of buyers, department stores seek out labels that are consistent with current trends. As trends start to have shorter life spans department stores may not have the capacity to keep up. Boutiques, on the other hand, have the capacity to thrive with the changing trends because they have a smaller inventory.

Can businesses keep afloat if trends have shorter life spans? And will boutiques thrive while department stores go by the wayside?

Photo: Jack & Bill PR post on twitter during Fashion Week