Costumes and More

Posted by Mirage on May 8, 2012 in Costumes | 0 comments

Them being silly.

Playing pretend is one of the things kids enjoy. To be their most watched superhero; Superman, Batman or Spiderman at one point in their childhood is a sure thing. I remember my now 8-year-old boy once went through a phase where he would always wear a cape…those cloth diapers that we actually use as facial towels of sort. Not a day won’t pass by without him donning on a cape – even in his sleep. ^_^

Vienna, as most European cities celebrate Faschingsfest every second month of the year and Halloween just before All Saint’s day. This is when most of the shops sell pirate costumes, superhero attires, princess dresses plus those wigs in different colors and whatever silly things you could think of. Though we don’t participate in the celebrations, we have those wigs at home too for our photobooth business. Above is a photo of them playing with two; a blue Katy Perry inspired wig and a red afro.

Kids Halloween costumes from Fancydressball

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 As I said, playing pretend is fun for kids, I think for adults too…there’s cosplaying to prove that. I am quite impressed at those who can make their own outfit inspired by characters in an anime or their favorite movies and video games. It’s like bringing them to life, both characterized and well-dressed too.

But not all are gifted in sewing or coming up with a decent costume…that’s when online shops come helpful. There are more Halloween ideas for your family available at http://www.fancydressball.co.uk/halloween-costumes.htm. You can always get them earlier or buy one for events that require your little one to get dressed and be a princess, a pirate or a bear — in a play for example. Which reminds me that I need to look for a cat costume that my daughter need for a dance performance of Cats. ^_^

Fashion Institutions – Our Top Picks for the US

Posted by Mirage on May 1, 2012 in Fashion Institutions | 5 comments

If you’ve been on the lookout for a quality, prestigious fashion schools that teach the likes of fashion business, textiles, fashion-accessory design or anywhere in between, then you’ll know that deciding where to go and who to believe about where’s best is a minefield. So, we’ve picked our favourite three, based on nothing more than reputation and what we’ve gleaned from comments about them from ex-students around the web. All food for thought if nothing else!

School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL): Fashion Design

Tuition Costs = $18,000; no. fashion students = 120.

General info/ethos

The dept. of fashion design is internationally renowned due to its unique interdisciplinary program within a fine arts foundation. The undergrad fashion course prides itself on being very non-traditional, offering a 3-year curriculum within a 4-year degree program, and focuses heavily on teaching students to have an awareness of the social, political, and technological influences shaping contemporary art and design.

Famous alumni: Cynthia Rowley, Maria Pinto, Halston, and Matthew Ames.

PARSONS (New York, NY): Fashion Design, Fashion Marketing, Fashion Studies

Tuition Costs= $36,800; no. fashion students = 1,400.

General info/ethos

Parsons is very much of the belief that design has a close interrelationship with world and society, taking cues from the past while supporting the challenges that the future brings – namely sustainability. The school drives students to think about ground breaking concepts to solve mind bending problems, producing a high calibre of graduate who is ready to take on the world of fashion head on.

Famous alumni : Claire McCardell, Donna Karan, Doo Ri Chung (Doo Ri), Flora Gill and Alexa Adams (Ohne Titel), Marc Jacobs, Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock (Vena Cava), Steven Meisel, Thakoon Panichgul, Tom Ford.

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD – Providence, RI): Jewelry & metalsmithing,  apparel design, textiles

Tuition Costs= $39,000; no. fashion students = 220.

General info/ethos

Located in Providence, Rhode Island, and commonly referred to as “RIZ-dee”, this institution was founded in 1877, and as such has stood the test of time to become one of the oldest and most renowned colleges of art and design here in the U.S.

RISD welcomes 2,300 students every year from all over the globe to pursue an academic career in its studio-based education programs, each of which offer rigorous BA and MA degree programs across 19 disciplines.

Famous alumni: Madeline Davy (formerly of Octopi), Nicole Miller, Philip Crangi, Robert Geller, Sarah Welsh, and Sari Gueron.

So – a really quick overview there, but hopefully it’s a bit more info to help you in your search for the best US fashion institution, and, more importantly, the right one for you and your career.

Fi is a guest writer for unique jewelry site Boticca – supporting independent designers