Cotton's 24 Hour Runway Show 2014

Cotton's 24 Hour Runway Show is coming soon.

The mission at Cotton Incorporated is to promote the use of and desire for all things cotton, to get people like you to care about what's in the clothes, sheets and towels you buy. They know amazing things about cotton, and their job is to help you see why cotton is The Fabric of Our Lives®.  The 24 hour runway show is one way in which they try to highlight the importance of cotton in the world of fashion.

Mark your calendars for November 7, 2014 when fashion and your favorite fiber meet in South Beach for Cotton's 24 Hour Runway Show.

The Cotton's 24 Hour Runway Show also took place in 2013 and was a huge success.

City Chic Spring 2015

Apparel Search is very proud to present City Chic Spring 2015 collection.

Bold, Sexy, Glam & Chic is the mantra City Chic lives by.  A brand that redefines taking risks and pushing the boundaries to the fun, fashionable and fearless.  City Chic is positioned as the leading global plus size fashion retailer, empowering women across the globe to embrace who they are with bold sexy, glam, and chic style.

With City Chic, there's no abiding by the rules of "fashion" only the rules of "fit". It is in everything they do from their unique to chic fit, to their fabric and print mix.

Here are a few pieces from the City Chic Spring 2015 plus size fashion collection.

This is simply a portion of the fantastic collection.  Yes, their many more styles in the collection.

ShopFunder Shop with Social Awareness

If you are and are looking for gifts that give back, ShopFunder is a great website that does just that.

ShopFunder combines the fun of online shopping with the importance of raising social awareness. The e-commerce site carries an assortment of clothing and accessories from emerging designers from around the globe and donates 30% of all proceeds to charitable organizations who partner with the website.

When customers visit the website, they are offered a wide variety of categories to explore including men, women, children, beauty and home. Once they select what they want to buy, 30% of each purchase goes directly to a cause they choose.  If they don’t choose a specific charity, this 30% will go towards ShopFunder’s featured cause of the week. If they want to learn more about these causes, each one has a dedicated page with additional information, images and videos and its overall fundraising goal. ShopFunder wants to make the world a better place and the beauty of this website helps achieve that aspiration.

Exclusive Night Of Shopping At NINObrand

Join Philadelphia Magazine For An Exclusive Night Of Shopping At NINObrand

Shoppist After Hours is Philadelphia Magazine's series of semi-secret, super-exclusive shopping events, held sporadically at one of the best boutiques/showrooms/studios in the city. 

Learn more about this fashion shopping event at http://www.phillymag.com/shoppist/2014/10/24/join-us-exclusive-night-shopping-ninobrand/

Don't forget to RSVP ShoppistRSVP@phillymag.com

Learn more about NINObrand at their website at http://ninobrand.com/

Rachel Melvin wore TACORI on Red Carpet

Rachel Melvin wore TACORI to the premiere of Dumb and Dumber To yesterday in Los Angeles! The actress added a touch of sparkle to her glamorous red gown with TACORI 18K Pink Gold 1.66ct Diamond Promise Bracelet (style no. SB192P-M, $9,990) and 18K .80ct Pink Gold Round French Wire Earrings (style no. SE205P, $2,740; www.tacori.com).

Rachel Melvin is an American actress best known for her role as Chelsea Brady on Days of Our Lives (2005–2009).  She landed her first acting job in the 2005 independent film Boo. She later won the role of Georgia LaMarque, a French girl whom Bo and Billie had been falsely led to believe was their daughter on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives, but only appeared in five episodes. Months later she took over the role of Chelsea Brady (originally portrayed by Mandy Musgrave).

If you are fascinated about jewelry, you may want to continue reading about bracelets.  You are welcome to visit the bracelets blog post section for additional reading opportunities.

Zac Efron Wearing TOKYObay Bracelet

Zac Efron was photographed wearing a TOKYObay bracelet over the weekend in Los Angeles! The hunky actor sported a casual look complete with his Obi Bracelet in Red($35; www.tokyobayinc.com).

See more of Zac Efron here on the Apparel Search fashion blog.

If you enjoy reading about jewelry, you may want to continue reading about bracelets.  You are welcome to visit the bracelets blog post section for additional reading opportunities.

BeBop Wearable Smart Fabric Sensor

BeBop Sensors, Inc., a wearable sensor technology company created by musical instrument inventor  Keith McMillen and  KMI, announced their first product, the BeBop Wearable Smart Fabric Sensor, the first and only ultrathin wearable smart fabric sensor that measures all aspects of physicality, including bend, location, motion, rotation, angle, and torque.  Employing BeBop’s patented proprietary Monolithic Fabric Sensor Technology, BeBop fabric sensors continuously provide real-time reporting on force, x/y location, bend, twist, size, stretch and motion for markets, including clothing and protective wear, shoes, healthcare devices, athletic equipment, automotive, robotics, aerospace, gaming, biometrics, prosthetics, recycling monitors and appliance markets.

Created for the rapidly-growing wearable technology market, BeBop sensor technology was created after six years of developing smart fabric sensors for more expressive musical instruments, such as KMI’s popular QuNexus and QuNeo keyboards.  After being approached by numerous companies requesting KMI’s fabric sensor technology, KMI launched spin-off company BeBop Sensors to fulfill the demand.

Unlike other wearable sensors on the market today that only measure physiology (EKG, EMG), electrical conductivity or breathing, BeBop measures actual physicality to sense and display 3D maps of data.  Fundamental, tested, and extensible with over a million sensors already in daily use through KMI’s musical instrument products, BeBop’s Monolithic Fabric Sensors integrate sensors, traces, and electronics into a single piece of fabric to provide greater  sensitivity, resolution, range of deployment, and robustness; all with a tiny size.

As per our understanding, the company is currently only planning to provide the basic technology, not finished products.  Therefore, it may be a while before we see this smart cloth in apparel we can purchase.  At this time we are not sure when the first garments, footwear, or accessories will be available for sale. 

Here are a few possibilities for this fabric in wearables:

·         Wearable Controllers:  for sleeves of jackets or shirts to connect to smartphones to answer calls, adjust volume or select songs, all while the smartphone remains in the user’s pocket.

·         1mm Thin Shoe Insoles:  measures gait, pressure, contact style, fit, and flexure of toes and feet.

·         Planar, spherical or cylindrical geometries:  used as pressure maps, head sensors or handles of athletic equipment.

·         Weight Lifting Gloves:  indicate weight and even load.

·         Cycling Shoe Inserts:  power meters.

BeBop Wearable Sensor Markets include fashion, shoes, accessories and more.       

BeBop is now offering custom turnkey sensor solutions for OEMs to incorporate into their products, ranging from basic sensors to complete wireless solutions with advanced power management.  Visualization programs for any design with an easily-modified SDK (Software Developer’s Kit) allows manufacturers to create custom apps by choosing from a variety of 2D and 3D representations and colors or by driving the BeBop data into whole new applications.  

What do you think of this fabric sensor potential of this product?  Please add your comments below.

 

By the way, you can learn more about textiles, fabric and technology relevant to the fashion industry here on Apparel Search.  Visit the main section of our site to gain access to our tech area etc.

Microsoft Band Wearable Technology

Tech, health, and fashion news.

Microsoft Band has stepped into the wearable technology market and is the first device powered by Microsoft Health.  This stylish new piece of wearable tech helps you achieve your wellness goals by tracking your heart rate, steps, calorie burn, and sleep quality.  In addition to health relevant benefits, the device also helps members of the apparel industry be more productive with email previews and calendar alerts directly on your wrist.  This nifty little wearable tech alerts the wearer to incoming calls, texts, social updates, weather, finance, and much more.  No more reaching into your pocket or handbag to dig around for your mobile device.  You can now see notification all on your wrist, discreetly and without needing to pull out your phone.

In regard to helping fashionistas meet their fitness goals, you may want to learn more about Microsoft Health.  In summary, Microsoft Health is a new service that helps you live healthier by providing actionable insights based on data gathered from the fitness devices and apps that you use every day.  It's designed to work for you, no matter what phone you have, device you wear, or services you use.  Microsoft Health makes tracking personal fitness easier, more insightful, and more holistic.   Microsoft Band makes it easier to reach your fitness goals. You can track your daily physical activity and review your stats with a glance at your wrist. Just like a personal trainer, Microsoft Band guides you to improved wellness by constantly learning about you and your current fitness level.  Microsoft invested in cutting-edge technology like built-in GPS and 24-hour heart rate monitoring to help you reach your fitness goals. By combining the power of each of their sensors, Microsoft Band is able to give you real-time insights into your performance today as well as your milestones into the future.

Here are a few of the key features to assist with activity tracking and goal setting:

Heart rate monitor: 24-hour heart rate monitor: Gives you a better understanding of your calorie burn, sleep patterns, and peak and resting heart rate so you can perform at your best.

Run: Whether you’re on the treadmill at the gym or outdoors in the rain or sun, you can view your run summary on your band with personalized metrics in the phone app including pace splits and heart rate.

Steps tracker: Set a goal and track your progress. Microsoft Band calculates the calories you’ve burned and the distance you’ve traveled each day.

Calorie tracking: Count the calories you burn each day. View daily or weekly stats, set goals, and receive a virtual "high-five" when you reach them.

Sleep tracking: When activated, Microsoft Band tracks the length and quality of your sleep. Analyze the sleep charts in your app to gain insights about your slumber.

Guided Workouts: Fun and challenging workouts from fitness partners like Gold's Gym, Shape, and Men's Fitness with exercise prompts on the band and much more in the app.

Built-in GPS: Measures the distance you’ve run and tracks your pace and route. Save your favorites to retrace your steps and challenge yourself later.

Goal setting: Challenge yourself by setting daily step and calorie goals. Microsoft Band notifies you when you meet them so that you can stay motivated.

UV monitor: Get a quick read of the UV Index while you’re out and about.  Keep in mind that the sun provides benefits, but be careful to not get too much UV.

The beauty of this wearable technology is that it has been developed to work with the phone you already own.  Do you own an iPhone, Android, or Windows Phone? Microsoft Band is designed to be awesome on multiple platforms.  Well, currently it works with Windows Phone 8.1 update, iOS 7.1, 8 and Android 4.3-4.4 phones, with Bluetooth.  Note that instant quick response does not currently work with iPhone.

The fashion industry can use the Microsoft Band right on our wrist so we know what we have to do and where we have to be even on the go.  It probably will help us navigate the busy schedule of fashion week.  And with help from Cortana, our productivity will soar.  If you don’t currently use Microsoft phones, Cortana is your personal assistant on the Windows Phone.  Similar concept as Siri on the iPhone.  She's there to help make things easier for you and keep you up to date on the things that matter to you.

Apparel Search Tip: don't wear your band swimming and put a scratch protector on the glass.

Image Source: Microsoft

If you would like to do more reading, please take a moment to review our accessories blog posts page for additional resources of possible interest.

Fashion Fifteen

Are you clairvoyant?  Yes, we are asking if you are a person who claims to have a supernatural ability to perceive events in the future.  The reason that we are asking is because Apparel Search is curious if you have any predictions in regard to fashion trends for 2015.  As always, we are extremely anxious to gain information about what will become the hot trends for the next calendar year.

We already know that you are stylish (you read this blog so you must be smart & trendy), now we need to know if you are good at predicting future fashion trends.

It is most definitely time for fashionistas to begin planning their Spring 2015 wardrobe. 

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below about what you think will be trendy for 2015. 

You are welcome to discuss fabrics, colors, silhouettes, accessories, etc.

We hope that cozy fashion trends to be an important part of next spring.  We really like wearing comfy & cozy clothing.

If you want to see forecasts from others, you can check the fashion trend guide here on Apparel Search or check the Pinterest fashion section to see trend board photographs.

Will 2015 be an exciting year in fashion?  Let us know your opinions below.

Kellan Lutz’s Spring/Summer 2015 Abbot + Main

Kellan Lutz’s new Spring/Summer 2015 Abbot + Main collection.

From vintage jersey hoodies to featherweight gauze tees, the line combines the laid-back spirit of the Los Angeles beach scene with elevated, delightfully soft-handed fabrications and thoughtful design elements. Whether beachside or in Beverly Hills, Abbot + Main represents ‘the perfect closet’: a truly covetable knit collection offering a versatile take on casual luxury. 

Check out these essential summer pieces below.

For those of you that enjoy casual trends as much as we do, you may want to visit the casual style blog section for additional reading opportunities.