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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Dress up and have some fun today!

Inspiration to Reality....

This is serious inspiration for Winter on the Runway! I just love love these photos. They perfectly communicate my thoughts!

We have added lots designers to the bunch and with the show only 2 weeks away-now is a great time to purchase your tickets! All the info is on our events page!

Pretty in Tulle

This dress is quite stunning. I have a new-found obsession with Tulle at the moment. I am quite happy with anything that will satisfy that craving for me! And this one definitely does it!

Check out her blog filled with pretty stuff just like this dress. Here is her etsy shop too. This dress is quite inexpensive if I do say so myself!

What's the fuss?

Cluster jewelry is pretty much my favorite. Which is why I LOVE the one below!

I love the simplicity of these pieces. They are just very pretty to look at. Fuss Jewelry has an Etsy shop full as great designs.

And the winner is....

Our little Facebook game is over, and I am here to reveal the winner!

First off, thanks to everyone who participated! Also, thanks to everyone who is coming to the runway show and/or supporting it! I definitely appreciate it!

The prize is two tickets to "Winter on the Runway"....

 

 

Drew Altizer

Congrats!

Last Chance!

Today is the last chance you have to win free tickets to Winter on the Runway!

All you have to do is Fan Me on Facebook or add your e-mail to our mailing list for a chance to win free tickets to Winter on the Runway!

The winner will be announced tomorrow morning-bright and early!!

Good luck.

PS: To win a $20 gift card for aspiringcouture.com-be sure to fill out our Reader Survey!

Add your opinion!

Yep-I need your help! In a nutshell, I am looking to massively improve all aspects of the Aspiring Couture website. But, I need to know what is it that you want improved, so I can go ahead and do THAT! Can you please just take a second to add your answers to the survey? I promise it will help and help you get exactly what you need from our site!

Take our quick Aspiring Couture survey to add your very important opinion!

PS: I will announce the winner of two free tickets to "Winter on the Runway" on Tuesday. Be sure to Fan Me on Facebook to be eligible!

Cute boys!

I mostly post cute girl clothes (as little girl dresses and shoes are the cutest thing ever!) so now I am taking a turn and showing some boy items!


I LOVE these little boy boots!! All of these are just quite adorable!






And because I just can't resist the girl section:

Source: Top 4
Source: The rest

Jimmy Choo???

When I first heard about Jimmy Choo and H&M, I thought I might stand fairly alone in the thought that it was tacky. I came to find that people definitely agreed with me. But, one person came up with a very good point. Designers have to appeal to the masses. Though I do agree with this statement, I feel like Jimmy Choo did it all wrong.

Designers tend to come out with a line for the "normal shopper" which ends up in Walmart or Target. A designer definitely has to appeal to all but without ruining the reputation they have created thus far. Buyers can become pretty upset when they find that the shoe they paid $500 for is now being sold for a mere hundred. Example: after owning several pairs of Chip and Pepper jeans ($150 retail) an announcement came out that they were now selling exclusively at Walmart. Well great! That money that was spent quickly turned me into someone who wear Walmart's clothing.

But, there is totally a right way to offer your line to all. And this is the good news for those of us that don't want to pay hundreds for every single item in our closet!

Marc Jacobs vs Marc by Marc Jacobs. Totally different price points and actually totally different designs but still from the same creative mind. The lines are distinct, individual, and both appeal to their own demographic, yet they still hold true to the essence of "Marc Jacobs".

Armani vs Armani Exchange. Here is an incredible example. The price-point difference is insane, yet creating these two distinct lines gives Armani a chance to reach out to everyone in his own way.

Simply Vera vs Vera Wang. Simply Vera will appear at Koels and Vera Wang will appear at boutiques in New York. This is an example I felt almost went wrong. You can tell the difference in quality of the two, but I guess that is to be expected.

Mary-Kate and Ashley. Nope, I am not comparing the two against eachother, instead their ideas together have made them fashion icons. First they came out with their Walmart line. Then they came out with Elizabeth and James. Finally, along came The Row. Now if you want to talk about appealing to the masses and not leaving a single person out, these lines prove to have it all. Low medium to full designer price points give everyone a chance to own part of the Mary-Kate and Ashley design collection. But depending on the price you pay, that's the quality you will get.

So when a brand like Jimmy Choo creates a shoe "just like the others" and sells it for a small fraction of the price, well doesn't that devalue what "the others" are worth?

Not saying that designers can't "appeal to the masses" but in doing so, give it some individuality.

What do think about Jimmy Choo and H&M???

A night out in New York!

Jealous of those of you that can make it to an event held by one of my fave blogs, Dream Sequins

You are cordially invited to join me at the Tribeca apartment/studio of Boyy bag designer, Jesse Dorsey, to view the label's luscious Fall 2009 collection and meet the designer on Wednesday November 18th (6-7 pm). This is a rare opportunity to view the bags in person, as they are mostly sold online for US customers. Think of the event as a casual meet-up/trunk show with a sweet twist: Jesse has graciously offered a discount of 15% for purchases and orders that day.

After we view the bags, we will head over to Tribeca Grand for a glass or two of pre-birthday bubbly (my real birthday is Thursday)! I hope you can make this event as it would be fun to meet up before the holiday crush. Please feel free to forward this invitation to bag-loving friends who might be interested.

Have fun to those who can make it. Also, you will be seeing a post from me on this bag designer pretty soon. I am definitely in love!

Happy early Birthday to Deanne!

Enve Designs, Sneak Peak!

This has been quite the week! Without getting into extreme details it is safe to say I have a lot going on. At the same time I am really trying to work through all my ideas and figure out exactly what I want to do with Aspiring Couture in terms of expansion. I am hoping that after this runway show, I will know a bit better what I want as well as what buyers want. At that point maybe I will be able to make some decisions!

Here is a sneak peak at the collection of Enve Designs that she is putting on the runway from her blog.

PS: I put the ticket purchase link on my blog, or you can go to my website to purchase!

Buy your tickets now!

Here is our new list of Sponsors and Designers!

Make a Statement

Here is a little sneak peak of what you will see at "Winter on the Runway"

December 12th

Palo Alto, CA

Buy your tickets now

Fab Freebies! Let's start giving them all away!

As you probably know by now, I love doing giveaways whenever I have exciting things occurring with Aspiring Couture! With "Winter on the Runway" just around the corner, I figure it's about time to start up those giveaways!

Don't worry, even those of you who can't make it to the show still have a chance to win!

Prize number one:
Free Tickets to the Show!
We will be giving away 3 pairs of tickets and 1 pair of VIP tickets to the show!

Prize number two:
Fab freebies from our sponsors!
Yep, you can win our VIP gift bags full of freebies, gift cards, products, and a $400 gift certificate!

All you have to do is either:

Fan Aspiring Couture on Facebook.
Sign up to receive e-mail updates from Aspiring Couture (at bottom of homepage or at the top right of this blog!)
OR BOTH!

GOOD LUCK!

PS - Let me know what you think about the new header of my blog! Be honest, Like or Dislike??

Aspiring Couture is partnering with......

Rebecca Minkoff

Yes it is true, Rebecca Minkoff, one of the biggest names in fashion at the moment, is partnering with Aspiring Couture for our "Winter on the Runway" fashion event!

If you haven't noticed, the Rebecca Minkoff name has been popping up more and more and her bags are basically everywhere! Her collections are incredibly popular with celebrities but are also in stores like Bloomingdale's, Sax Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus!

With all of this it is no surprise that Aspiring Couture is BEYOND excited that she is partnering up with us to host "Winter on the Runway".

Rebecca wrote this on her blog, "When I started sewing as a small child, I could only dream of the success that I’ve achieved today. This weekend, I was reminded of the days before Rebecca Minkoff was a worldwide brand, and I was just another aspiring designer." How fitting is that! As the whole purpose of Aspiring Couture is to turn aspiring designers into world-wide brands!

So, let's welcome Rebecca Minkoff as a partner to our "Winter on the Runway" fashion show!

Thanks Rebecca!

Sweet Proposal

Sometimes you come across a blog post or some story that is just BEYOND amazing. One's where you get goosebumps reading them, and you pretty much want to start tearing up yourself. And though these people are complete strangers, you feel like you really know them after this.

I am a major fan of Bakerella and when I saw this I just died!

I love her cake pops and these are adorable. She basically went on showing how to make them, and THEN.....

You really have to see the entire post on the blog as this does it almost zero justice!

Then check out the "She Said....." post to find out what happens next! And to get the back story behind this.

And she has this cute blog of her own which everyone obviously went to to wish her congrats.

Rich (the proposer) is amazing