Posted: February 3, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Paul Poiret, has often been called the first designer, the creator of bohemian chic and even crowned himself the ‘King of Fashion’. His height of popularity was in the early 1900′s before the first world war.
Born in Paris in 1879, it was evident, from a young age, that Poiret showed ingenuity and a flare for artistic design. His creativity was encouraged by his mother and 3 sisters but not so much from his father and in the late 1890′s he was forced to become an assistant to an umbrella maker. The plan backfired however as he used the left over silk remnants of fabric to design couture creations that he had sketched, onto a 15 inch wooden doll given to him by his sisters.
Poiret’s first acceptance into the world of fashion came via Madeleine Cheruit, a well known parisian designer, who purchased several of his sketches. He would later go on to work as an apprentice stitcher for Jacqes Doucet and another huge fashion name of the time Charles Fredrick Worth. He eventually opened his own fashion house, with financial aid from his mother, in 1903.
After the very structured, corseted, S-shaped look of the late 1800′s, Poiret’s move into very loose, draped silhouette dresses, was a welcome change for women. He pioneered in elegant drapings, although this might have largely been down to the fact that he had no real technical training. One of his first dresses was called La Vague as it swirled around the body like a gentle wave. It is because of these designs, that he is the designer credited with freeing women from corsets. He was the first designer to use turbans and harem pants and had some very startling inventions, such as the ‘lampshade tunic’ and the ‘hobble skirt’, a skirt made so narrow at the ankles it made you hobble. He was also the first to brand other items including perfumes, cosmetics and home furnishings.
Poiret was highly influenced by the art of the day, such as classicism, orientalism and symbolism and it was the Ballet Russes in 1910 (based on the Arabian Nights folk tales) that gave him the idea for his legendary fancy dress ball ‘The Thousand and Second Night) if you weren’t in fancy dress or in one of his own creations you were asked to leave. Calling himself a fashion tyrant, he loved to throw parties and and surrounded himself with all the top designers, painters and illustrators of the day. It was this kind of extravagance that would see him broke and bankrupt by the early 1920′s. With the arrival of Coco Chanel’s elegant tailoring and neutral colors, his fashions were soon out of favor. He famously called Chanel ‘the inventor of luxurious wretchedness’ and upon meeting her Poiret asked “Who is the lady mourning, madame? “To which the spirited Chanel replied,’ For you, monsieur. ‘
In 1911, a photographer by the name of Edward Steichen used gowns by Poiret to promote fashion as a fine art by the use of photography. These photographs were published in the April 1911 issue of the magazine Art et Décoration, this is now considered to be the first ever modern fashion photography shoot.By Jessica Inveninato
Posted: January 26, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Do you wonder how tall the popular superstar is? Have various photographs with other celebrities made you curious about his height? This article will explain how tall Usher Raymond really is.
Usher Raymond’s artist name is Usher. He was brought up in Texas and he was born October 14, 1978. Usher has sold millions of tracks and is one of he most famous R&B artists of all time – he has over seven albums and started his music career in 1992. He also helped bring up Justin Bieber and is a businessman with his own record label. One one of his best albums was called confessions and had the highest first week sales for an R&B artist in history.
Many people have seen Usher next to many celebrities, especially tall ones such as Barack Obama and made people want to find out how tall he is – he seems tiny compared to Obama who is 6’1″. Usher only looks slightly taller than fellow musician Justin Bieber who is around 5 foot 4. The celebrity has never given away his actual height, so experts have tried to predict his height with help from pictures taken with celebrities with known heights. The conclusion is for Usher to be around the range of 5″7.5 (five foot, seven and a half inches – 8 foot. This is a few inches smaller than the average 5 foot 9/5 foot 10 of most Americans.
Many people say he doesn’t seem as short as this in his music videos and other ceremonies, but compared to other people of different heights he looks shorter.
By Fern Moore
Posted: January 12, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Why do you like some bars and hate others? Everyone has had those nights where everything was just perfect, the bartenders were hot, the bar had a great unique atmosphere, drinks were cheap and you met plenty of fun new people! These are our top eight things that contribute to a lovable bar! And where do we start? With the bathrooms of course!
Clean bathrooms
A survey sponsored by Kimberly-Clark found that 77% of consumers consider a dirty restroom indicative of the overall level of cleanliness in an establishment. 63 percent of the polled women avoided using the restroom, simply because it is not up to their standards of cleanliness. Signage is vital, too. Asking where the toilet is at the bar is not something women want to do, and nor should they have to.
People will have plenty of time to review your bar while they are in the bathroom, so hang a stylish mirror, choose design lighting that works, choose elegant fixtures, and buy a quality toilet. There are even people who’ll return to your bar just because they love your soap so much.
No loud music
We go out to talk to friends, and to meet new people. We don’t like to shout over the music just because the DJ thinks he should crank up the volume all the way. I’ve been in places where everybody was just standing in corners, not talking, not having fun. There have been studies that observed the effects of structural components of music (volume, tempo and tonality) with consumer behavior. It turns out that people drink more when loud or fast music is played.
However, a returning customer is much more valuable. Ask your guests if loud music is a problem if you don’t know. I’ve been to bars where they don’t play music at all, and I’ve never had so many fun quick conversations with people I didn’t know!
Cheap drinks
Going out has become a lot more expensive in the last years, and in the more classy establishments I keep seeing those aluminum 25 cl Heineken bottles, that costs as much as a regular bottle used to cost. Of course we don’t expect to have a great night out for free, but spending 80 bucks on drinks and entrance isn’t much fun, and fun is exactly why we go out. This is one of the reasons bars in Eastern Bloc are so great, you’ll have a great night out and you’ll spend almost nothing!
Atmosphere
It is a commonly-held industry belief that changing the lighting and sound creates a better atmosphere for drinking. Music and dancing is part of the fun in a bar. I’ve had many nights out ruined because of music choice. Find out what music fits for your bar, and choose not to play the standard Alcatech shuffle playlist, but choose a genre you like. Play smooth jazz, almost everyone likes this, even if some people won’t admit this.
Entertainment
Good entertainment choices will fill a bar. Especially when it’s still early in the evening, we like playing on pinball machines or slot machines. We also love playing pool with our friends, or a competitive game of darts. Karaoke will always draw a crowd from those who want to be stars and others who love to watch and laugh at the mistakes.
Themed bars
It is great to have a completely new and fun experience when going out, and that’s why we love to go out in the most unusual bars and nightclubs in the world. There are amazing bars such as Big Baobab Bar in South Africa, which is inside the hollow 155 ft circumference trunk of a 72 ft tall Baobab tree. In Espit Chupitos in Barcelona, Spain, the bartenders love to set the bar on fire and breathe flames!
Who doesn’t know the famous ice bars in London, Paris, Sweden and Dubai? Bars like these create the opportunity to tell some cool and unique stories to your friends when you return home.
We feel at home
When we go to our favorite places, we should feel at home. The staff should be really friendly, and know its regular guests. A coffee bar or lounge should have a laidback atmosphere where you feel safe and where you can enjoy yourself. You should be able to dress pretty much however you want and fit right in any age range. In a brown café in Amsterdam you’ll meet people much older or younger than you, and it doesn’t feel like it matters. One of the fun things of going out is meeting people you didn’t know you like!
Happy hour!
A bar that feels empty will most likely stay empty. When there’s at least a few people inside, and people see them having fun through the windows, it makes it much more attractive to go inside. So how to get people inside in the less busy hours? Organize a happy hour! Happy hours promotions reach far and wide. We love finding great drink specials and sharing them with others!
