Pitch Letter

Dear Ms. Dohack:

How can Moms-to-be feel confident and comfortable while having fun in the sun? Motherhood Maternity and A Pea in the Pod have created the perfect swimsuits for beautiful pregnant women. These stylish suits are perfect for feeling confident while fully covered, and come in many styles and prints. A Pea in the Pod and Motherhood Maternity have created a new alternative to unfashionable and uncomfortable maternity swimwear which will allows pregnant women everywhere to enjoy the beautiful weather that summer will bring.

Writing a story about these swimwear pieces will be a great way to cover a fashion subject that is a little different than normal. These pieces have a more specific target market (pregnant women), and will definitely catch the eye of moms-to-be across Columbia.

Your section of the Columbia Daily Tribune will be the perfect place to have an article about Motherhood Maternity and A Pea in the Pod’s new swimwear line. This article is exclusive to you, and you are the only person I have contacted about this subject. This new swimwear line is sure to become a huge success because of the comfort and style of the pieces.

These beautiful swimsuits are available at both www.apeainthepod.com and www.motherhood.com. I will call you sometime in the near future to schedule an appointment with the public relations director of Motherhood Maternity. Let me know if you would like some hi-res images.

Thank you so much,

Nicole Forte

Blog 2: Blake Mycoskie

Blog 2

Blake Mycoskie is the Chief Shoe Giver and founder of TOMS Shoes Inc. Mycoskie, who has started five businesses since college, currently lives in Los Angeles on a sailboat while successfully managing his thriving business. Blake is a man with a big heart who fell in love with children while spending time in Argentina. The children inspired him to dedicate his work to helping those in need.

Blake developed a business structure for TOMS Inc. which is called the One for One program. For every pair of TOMS shoes sold, a pair will be given to a child in need. Although, the shoes given to children around the world are not the shoes that millions are people are purchasing. The shoes are similar, but the donated pairs are developed to fit in with the culture and the lifestyle of the children in need.

TOMS Inc. strives on three principles for success: 1. Enhancing impact through partnerships, 2. Long term commitment to children, and 3. Do no harm. These principles have obviously proven the world successful, considering the huge following that TOMS has. By the end of 2009, TOMS had successfully given over 140,000 pairs of shoes to children all over the world.

If I were to actually interview Blake Mycoskie, these are ten questions I would ask him:

1. How much research and development does it take to create shoes for the different cultures around the world?
2. How did you come up with the three principles that TOMS Inc. lives by?
3. How has that plan aided the company?
4. What does TOMS actually stand for?
5. Why did you feel this was the most appropriate name for the company?
6. Have you ever found negative effects of giving your shoes to those in need?
7. How did you come up with the style for the original TOMS shoe?
8. Which came first: the One for One business structure or the TOMS shoe?
9. What keeps you motivated?
10. What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who want to model their businesses after the One for One business structure?

Links

http://www.toms.com/blakes-bio

http://www.toms.com/how-we-give

http://www.myspace.com/blakemycoskie

Article Rewrite

The article I chose is entitled “GlobalTex Marks First Anniversary As Buyers Seek Stretch.” It was featured on WWD and is intended for an audience of people who read WWD, who are familiar with the fashion industry, and who may be interested in what the trends are in textiles. The organizational model is in the journalism pattern with a detached tone not having a specifically strong feeling about anything in the article. The purpose of this article is to discover something. The writer has gathered ideas about what is going on in the textile industry, what types of fabrics are being bought and who is buying them. The writer is simply conveying this info to the readers. Here is a link to the article.

For those of you who love fashion and would like to someday become a designer yourself, here is a look into the trends of textiles. GlobalTex is fairly new textile fair that displays and sells the hottest new textiles for upcoming trends. It is important for new and old designers alike to research into what kind of textiles customers will be wanting and GlobalTex is a great place to start.

Many foreign mills who want to expand their companies display at GlobalTex in hopes of having created the hot textiles of the season. Many of the objectives for the textile companies to cater to designers is to be able to capture the tastes of many designers with the collections the mills bring to the show.

From the looks of the second annual GlobalTex fair, stretch is a very important attribute for designers for the upcoming seasons. Very tailored and strategic texture, as opposed to being distressed, are the types of textiles that are selling like crazy, according to one of the vendors.

Since designers are trying to keep stable grounds underneath their businesses despite the economy, they are looking for only the best textiles at GlobalTex. Luckily, a lot of vendors know how to provide great quality to the buyers. The more innovative a vendor is, the more appealing it will be to the designer. The designers and buyers just need to know what they are looking for.

From floral, black and white, and animal printed knits, to stretchy, Lycra blend, three dimensional knitted fabric, GlobalTex proved to be yet again a reliable source for the hottest upcoming textile trends. The vendors are great at keeping their prices reasonable, while keeping designers and buyers happy. If you are an aspiring designer, GlobalTex is the place for you.

Blog Entry 4: Image Gathering

This is an example of a Jessica Simpson Shoe. It represents the brand that my partner and I will be making an ad for.

This is obviously the Macy's logo, which is the store that carries Jessica Simpson shoes.

This is a picture of Poppy flowers that are an inspiration for our advertisement. It has a sweetness factor to the image, but also it contains a red color which is a little more spicy. This was found on iStockPhoto.com

Blog Entry 3: Selected Brand and Research

My partner, Amanda Wuest and I have chosen to emphasize Jessica Simpson footwear this semester. Jessica Simpson’s footwear line includes women’s and kid’s shoes. We will be focusing on women’s shoes only. Pop/reality star Jessica Simpson is obviously the notable person behind this brand. Her line includes not only shoes but an array of handbags, dresses, accessories, and just about anything else you need to express your style. Throughout the research I have done, I have noticed that Jessica Simpson shoes are often included in fashion magazines as suggestions for the readers to buy, as opposed to an actual ad for Jessica Simpson shoes. On www.JessicaSimpsonCollection.com (the website for her clothing and shoe lines) there is a section dedicated to “press” which exemplifies this trend by having pictures of the magazine pages that Jessica Simpson items are depicted in.

I am familiar with Jessica Simpson shoes mostly from seeing them at Macy’s. Macy’s has a shoe department with many different brands, and Jessica Simpson is fortunately one of them. Although I see many of Jessica Simpson’s shoes throughout magazines, I do not see specifically a Macy’s advertisement promoting Jessica Simpson Shoes. I may just be looking in the wrong magazines. Every year Macy’s puts up their progress from the year before. I researched and found some past information on their marketing tactics and progress from 2008 as you can see through this link http://www.macysinc.com/AboutUs/highlights/08highlights.aspx These statistics show that their marketing and campaign ads in

2008 were very successful with the public. Hopefully they will continue to do just as well as past years.

Blog Entry 2: Formal Runway Show

Although there are many ways a fashion designer or brand can promote their products, a formal runway fashion show is by far the most exciting. Mostly everyone is familiar with what a fashion show is, but not a lot of people know what actually goes into creating the show and why they are so important.

A formal runway show presents the merchandise on models walking down the runway with the guests seated around the perimeter of the runway for maximum viewing experience. A fashion show is such an important element to a designer or a brand because it is a form of advertising. resulting in selling the items. Showing the garments and accessories worn on a person can make a statement to the audience and inspire them to buy the items themselves, which is the main goal for the designer. Not to mention all of the staging, music and theatrical elements that can be put into the show can create an entire unforgettable experience for the guests.

All of the steps in the planning of a fashion show are important, but one of the most crucial elements in having a successful runway show is choosing the right guest list. The idea is to sell items, so the correct audience needs to be potential consumers of the products.

Not only is a fashion show great for selling the products, but it is also a great way to heighten the fashionable public image of the designer or brand. Many steps and months of preparation go into bringing a fashionable vision to life. In a documentary about Valentino, the stress and hard work behind the scenes of a fashion show are revealed. It gives real insight into how important every single detail of the show and the garments are. As shown in the movie, an idea to leave out two sequined ruffles on a ruffled gown may look genius to the designer, but it may not be perceived the same way by the audience. A formal runway show needs to capture the audience’s attention and leave them in awe from the beautiful creations parading down the runway.

I have never personally been to a formal runway show, but I have been exposed to them through the internet. Although people who are not at the top of the fashion industry pyramid are not the ones attending the show, the designers still reach out to anyone interested by replaying their shows on the internet and television. There are so many amazing and creative ideas that are portrayed through models stomping down the runway. The lights, music, background, and color schemes all add to the overall production. The idea of the formal runway show is a very strong element to designers and fashionistas. I feel like there will never be anything that could ever replace the impact a runway show has on the fashion world.

Biography

Hi! I'm Nicole Forte. I am a freshman Fashion Major at Stephens College, and I love it here. My hometown is Lee's Summit, Missouri which is right outside of Kansas City. I have an older sister who is a student and MU, and a younger brother who is in first grade. I love anything that has to do with fashion, especially magazines! I am interested in every area of the Fashion Industry and cannot wait to learn more about it.