Quality Assurance

Quality assurance is the process by which quality is kept standard to keep consistency throughout the production of a product. A quality assurance inspector uses a set of guidelines to make sure the product is kept up to standard. They can check every product, or random samples. It's important for a company to have these quality standards because it represents their brand, reduces the amount of items being returned, encourages repeat costumers, and increases sales. For a factory, it's important to have quality control so that they can be hired by more companies. A QA inspector in the fashion industry might look at seam allowances, length of stitches, pressing, and straight hems, for example. Below is an example of a checklist a quality inspector responsible for weatherization might use: 

source

a bunch of numbers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300

Levels of Quality

Quality garments can be spotted by looking at materials used and construction. A good quality garment will use stronger and more expensive materials, and have reinforced seams and matched patterns too. However, the actual price of a garment does not determine it's quality. For example, lots of mid-range brands are not better quality than their lower-end counterparts, but are more expensive because they're ethically produced and have original designs. Think Instagram boutiques, or American Apparel. Streetwear brands too will often sell a simple Gildan shirt with their brand on it for high prices. In this case, you're paying more for the status and less for the garment itself. On the flipside, at thrift stores, especially big box ones like Savers and Goodwill, you can buy high quality items for extremely low prices.

plaids being matched at seams is a sign of high quality
http://reallyhandmade.com/sewing-plaids/

Halloween Fashion

Halloween is one of the best holidays, hands down. It's a little ironic because everyone's favorite holiday is the one that is the least religious, but it makes sense because people of all religious beliefs or disbelief can celebrate it equally. Like most holidays, it's totally lost touch with it's origin of being the eve of All Saint's Day, but I honestly don't really have a problem with that. That's because now, it has become all about costumes! Halloween costumes started as a way for mischief-seeking teens to disguise themselves, but now, they've become part of American culture.
Whether you prefer store bought costumes, simple diy, or all-out cosplay, Halloween is the day to wear something you never would wear on any other day. Like Jenna Marbles said in her video Sluts on Halloween, it's an opportunity for a person who typically feels regular to put on an outfit they might not feel comfortable in on an ordinary day.

"Vulgar" Fashion

The art exhibition "The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined" in London has recently been announced, and it raises a number of questions. Firstly, what is vulgar? What does that even mean? The dictionary defines vulgar as "lacking sophistication or good taste; unrefined." This seems like a bad thing, and vulgar is usually used with a negative connotation, but this show plays with the idea of the importance of vulgarity in fashion. They ask the questions, "what is vulgar? Are different things vulgar to different people? Is Vulgarity in the eye of the beholder?" It's based around the idea that fashion rules were made to be broken, and must be to redefine it, and I agree.

Fashion Costumes

Halloween is coming up, and original costumes are hard to find. Here's some ideas for fashion related costumes guaranteed to make you stand out at any party and won't break the bank

• Anna Wintour- Instantly recognizable by those in the know
• Blonde bob wig with bangs
• Oversized black sunglasses
• Tweed suit

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• Suzy Menkes
• Short red wig, and a curler to make her signature hair flip
• brightly colored outfit

• Fashion Alien
• oversized bright glasses
• neon green puffer



link

• space buns

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• Sexy Guy Fieri
• this is what I'm doing for Halloween 
• https://twitter.com/itscamillevo/status/772576020658479104

• Twitter Baddie - this one will only work if you don't normally dress like this
• Matching cropped hoodie and leggings, or nude bodycon dress
• Contour, oversized lips, nude smoky eye, and sharp eyebrows
• Thigh high boots
• half topknot hairstyle

Have Rappers Influenced High End Fashion?

It's been said many times that high fashion is a dying art. The only reason that I know or care about luxury brand names is from listening to rappers boasting about the brands they can afford. My question is: In a time when clothes have gotten so cheap and Goodwill is the hip kids' favorite store, can rappers be credited for keeping high fashion cool? And do you think labels have altered their styles to appeal more to rap audiences, who are the ones lusting after that Gucci? I have no idea.

According to a study done by GQ, the number of times designers were mentioned has not gone up, to my surprise. Only Gucci and Versace have been significantly trending up, most likely due Gucci Mane's emergence in 2005 and the release of "Versace" by G Herbo in 2013.

High fashion attempts to limit itself to high society, whereas rappers typically boast about being rich but still street. Do you think luxury designers try to fight this association with street culture, or do they embrace it? Let me know your opinion!  

Teamwork

Pros:

• many hands make light work
• more ideas that you may not have thought of 
• each person can do what they're best at for an overall better project
• more fun
• practice communication skills 
• collaborate to get other's opinions on your ideas
• stop
• collaborate and listen
• ice is back with a brand new invention
• something
• grabs a hold of me tightly
• flow like a harpoon daily and nightly

Cons:

• relies on communication which is difficult for introverted people
• some team members might not pull their weight
• difficult to incorporate everyone's ideas
• team members may not get along
• power struggles may develop
• other members might not believe in your ideas 

image from Maple Ridge Blog

CoverGirl's First Male Ambassador

This is James Charles, an instafamous teen who has recently been announced as the first ever CoverBoy.

source: The Independent

Although he's only been doing makeup for a couple years, he's insanely good at it. For him, makeup is a form of art- a way for him to express himself- instead of a way to cover one's insecurities. He says in this article the difficulty he had convincing his parents that he is not transgender, just likes makeup. It's interesting to think about how makeup has been traditionally limited to women, as if it was not allowed for boys, or if they wore makeup it meant they wanted to be a girl. Beauty boys like James are making a huge impact by questioning these gender norms that we take so much for granted. Because really, makeup does not have a gender. Makeup is not a boy or a girl. There is absolutely no reason why boys shouldn't wear makeup and why girls should wear makeup.
I've been thrilled at the emergence of Instagram's "beauty boys" over the past year, and I think James has made a huge breakthrough by branching from social media to advertising for a major beauty company, now in the public eye even outside of the makeup community.
In middle school, I remember girls would always complain and say "Being a girl is so hard, we have to wear makeup and boys don't have to." I always silently disagreed because I thought, it was unfair for boys because they couldn't wear makeup! Now that is changing, and I'm glad. I believe that by neutralizing gendered activities and expectations, we come closer to defeating the damaging pressure for boys to be masculine.

Common Jobs in the Fashion Industry

Fashion Merchandising

• puts designs out into the market
• monitor fashion and consumer trends
• business side of fashion
• requires a degree in fashion merchandising or special in-house training 

Fashion Journalist

• requires skill and passion for writing
• write about fashion for magazines, websites, PR firms, etc.
• must be up-to-date on latest fashions
• bachelor's degree in journalism is highly recommended 

Production Management

• work with suppliers and retailers to get raw materials to the factory, and finished products to the stores or to the runway 
• must travel frequently 
• may also plan events like fashion shows
• must have communication and organization skills, but not necessarily a degree

Fashion Designer

• is the basis of the fashion industry
• comes up with the design of the clothes that will be made
• requires artistic and creative skills, as well as basic production knowledge
• most designers have a bachelor's degree in a fashion-related field 

a designer might sketch looks before creating them

Chanel SS17

Okay, to start off, let's look at this dress:

from http://assets.vogue.com/

For the life of me, I could not imagine anything else besides the dress from 13 going on 30 crossed with a windows XP screensaver.

it's called "mystify"

The Iconic Dress

However, the rest of the show I adored. The first third or so was all variations of the classic Chanel suit. This time around, they were updated with oversized jackets and sexy zippers. Texture was the standout element throughout the show.

There were shoulder pads, side ponytails, big frizzy hair, and tilted caps, and solitary huge earrings. As if we didn't already realize it was 80's, the walls of the show were decorated as a data storage center. I think this show was meant to seem nostalgic to viewers. I disagree that it is trying to attract a younger audience by including a computer theme. Most teens right now are still obsessed with the 90's look, and remember the 2000's a little to vividly to be ready to go back.

Alexander McQueen SS17

Alexander McQueen and Chanel both confirmed our worst fears this season- the 2000's are back. There were mini skirts, lots of studs, and blazers throughout the show. However, it felt refreshed with more current silhouettes and an overall theme of leather and lace, which is seeming to become a new classic. I was also definitely thinking about pirates the whole time.

from telegraph.co.uk

This show stood out to me because while most deisgners are focused on minimalism and bold brights for spring, McQueen went totally against the trend and kept all colors within deep red, cream, black, and white. He did an excellent job of making his avant-garde style wearable by going all out with jewelry and metallic elements. Statement earrings, necklaces, zippers, and studs were seen on almost every look. To keep his clothes wearable, he kept a few common trends, such as slicked-back hair, ankle boots, cropped trousers, crop tops, chokers, figure-hugging dresses, sheer fabrics, super long sleeves, and caged looks.

from scmp.com

You can watch the show here!

What is avant-garde fashion? Why do you think many celebrities dress in avant-garde fashions" What celebrity behaviors support your thinking?

The Oxford dictionary defines avant-garde as "new and unusual or experimental ideas, especially in the arts." This type of fashion is not really meant to be worn just out and about. Rather, this clothing is created with the purpose of being expressive, rather than practical. To wearers and designers, it's a form of art. Many celebrities choose avant-garde looks to stand out and to appear more separated from the general public. However, this is typically seen in younger celebrities, who switch to more standard sophisticated looks as they become older and more established, ie. Nicki Minaj & Lady Gaga.

examples of avant-garde fashion from nickverrreos.blogspot.com

Lady Gaga from capitalfm.com

What are hems? How can they affect a garment's appearance?

Hems, although small, are super important. The biggest reason for them is that they make a garment look finished by hiding the raw edges. Sometimes, garments are left unhemmed for the exact purpose of not looking finished to match a distressed vibe. However, they are other reasons for hems besides aesthetic. Hems keep a woven material from fraying, and a knit material from rolling. Hems can also help a garment keep its shape because they keep the edges from stretching out of place. Typically, hems are sewn with a special machine, but in haute couture, they are hand sewn. Three common hand sewing stitches used for hems are the invisible slip stitch, herringbone, and whip stitch, which are all used because they are hidden on the right side of the garment. In the case of the whip and herringbone, which is called "Catch Stitch" in the diagram, they are decorative on one side which adds nice detail to a finished garment.
Images from blog.megannielson.com