Blog Update: Thanksgiving Blog Break

I'll be returning to the motherland for a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend filled with family, food, and no Internet access. Seriously. I can't even attempt to steal a wireless connection from my parent's remote house, so I'll be blog breakin' for a few days.

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving and I'll be interested to hear about your Nashville Black Friday shopping excursions!

East Nashville Vintage Boutique Crawl: December 4, 2010

Get ready for the East Nashville Vintage Boutique Crawl which will take place December 4, 2010 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Here is a description of the event as listed on Yelp's website:

Music City's best vintage shopping is in East Nashville, where from 6-9 pm on December 4 over a dozen of Music City's finest purveyors of secondhand style are taking part in a holiday-themed boutique crawl. Shoppers will enjoy event-specific discounts on gifts and party clothes at seven neighborhood stores: Humankind Thrift, The Green Wagon, Wonders on Woodland, Hip Zipper Vintage Clothiers, The Goodbuy Girls, Made and Fanny's House of Music, where permanent in-store dealers Diamond Star Halo Vintage and T&P will be joined by visiting vendors Brooklyn Y'all, Closet Case Vintage, Mom & Pop Culture Shop, myfavoriteplum vintage, Pink Star Vintage and Sabrosa Vintage. Many stores are featuring entertainment, including a live band: Those Darlins will play a free show at 8 pm on the porch at Fanny's.

This is sure to be a fantastic event, filled with hidden treasures and gems. Grab your 1950's clutches, and head out for a shopping adventure with the East Nashville Vintage Boutique Crawl.

RSVP to Facebook here.

photo credits

1. http://www.propervintageclothing.com/images/(2).jpg

2. http://www.buttons-and-bows.co.uk/images/50%27s%20reproduction%20vintage%20clothing%20fashions.jpg

3. http://blog.globalyp.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Blu-Vintage-Boutique.jpg

Now Hiring: Blush Boutique

I've previously blogged about the adorable Blush Boutique (see New Items and Event Review), and now you have a chance to work there! Blush Boutique is hiring both full and part-time sales associates. As listed on their Craigslist ad,

Qualified applicants must:

• MUST be able to work 15-40 hours per week, including nights, weekends, and holidays (and post-holiday season)
• Have the ability to prioritize tasks and multi-task to meet store sales objectives in a fast-paced environment
• Must have a proven track record of delivering outstanding customer service
• Must have a proven track record of meeting/exceeding organizational sales goals

If you feel that you meet these criteria, please submit your resume via email to allie@blushboutiques.com.

Nashville Designers and Retailers Featured in Latest Nylon Mag Issue

Pick up your copy of Nylon Mag today to read all about the Nashville designers and retailers featured over a 6-page spread.

photo 1 from http://www.nashvillefashiongroup.org/

photo 2 from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMq_yxM5ImUsJ4Xhwcx16R5g2MmgNMN7re8ZZn5sM9muU1L0O1CZr6RxcVCMFYlGawUXWhO-6PXu15NlxvPJ4EegxkL1A4bb895dmee_wx_Bdq_RxVtl8aBDVvMjgnGhTdMM8f2qI6Fb8/s1600/write+up+1.jpeg

fashionABLE: Scarves for a Cause

While catching up on my Sunday morning blog reading, I visited the fashionable blog of Nashville’s most famous stylist, Amber Lehman. In her most recent entries, Lehman promotes fashionABLE, a non-profit organization that creates a sustainable business for women in Africa through the creation of hand-made scarves. As detailed on the fashionABLE website, the company “works with women who have been exploited due to the effects of poverty.  So, when you purchase a scarf you are providing jobs, and then we send the profits back to holistically rehabilitate more women.”

Here is the business model of fashionABLE:

The organization was conceived by Nashville-based Barrett Ward only a few months ago, but this charitable activist has been giving back to Africa since 2005 after founding Mocha Club- “a new generation of activists giving up the cost of two mochas, or $7 a month, to fund relief and development projects in Africa.” While living in Africa, Ward stumbled upon Women at Risk, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of women exploited in the sex industry. Following the missions of other African fashion businesses like Keza, Ward saw fashionABLE as an opportunity to fight poverty and oppression through gainful employment.

As detailed on the livefashionABLE blog, there are three major steps to creating one of these original scarves:

First, Ethiopian cotton is dyed to chosen colors.

Second, the scarf is hand-woven on a traditional Ethiopian loom.  

Last, a garment tag is hand-stitched onto each scarf.

Currently, there are three different scarves to choose from, which will only set you back $22 each. Each scarf is named after the designer and accompanied by a story of triumph and success:

The Bezuayhu – “I am ABLE to look forward to my future.”

The Meselu – “ I am ABLE to send my son Eyob to school.”

The Mulu – “I am ABLE to feel confident.”

In the company’s short existence, they have already garnered some major followers. Styleblueprint is the official sponsor of fashionABLE, actress and Esquire Magazine’s Sexiest Woman Alive Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) lent her voice to the launch of fashionABLE, and the Bezuayhu scarf has recently been seen around the neck of Lady Antebellum musician, Hillary Scott.

Here fashionABLE stylist Amber Lehman is joined by musician Sissy Harrington to introduce the line of scarves and give you a few pointers on how to wear these fashionable pieces.

fashionABLE scarves can be purchased online here, or at Nashville retailers Nashville Clothing Company in the Gulch and Cool Springs, and at Posh in Hill Center. fashionABLE scarves are also currently sold in Knoxville at Elle Boutique and Obligato.

With the Holiday season just around the corner, this is a great gift to keep your friends and family looking stylish while promoting the lives of women in Africa.  

all photos from fashionABLE blog and website.

Billy Reid Named CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Winner

photo from http://free-pianosheetmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Billy-Reid.jpg

Congratulations to Nashville-based designer Billy Reid for his $300,000 award! Marc Karimzadeh of WWD wrote a wonderful piece, highlighting Reid, and can be found below.

NEW YORK — A new crop of American design talent has been crowned.

Billy Reid is this year’s winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, taking home an award of $300,000 and a trophy of a bronze swan by Rachel Feinstein.

Eddie Borgo and Prabal Gurung were named runners-up, each collecting $100,000 and trophies in the shape of bronze eggs by the New York artist. The winner and runners-up were selected from a group of 10 finalists and unveiled at a dinner gala at Skylight SoHo here on Monday evening, which featured Karl Lagerfeld as the keynote speaker. The other finalists were Joseph Altuzarra of Altuzarra, Christian Cota, Robert Geller, Oliver Helden and Paul Marlow of Loden Dager, Pamela Love of Pamela Love Jewelry, Moss Lipow and Gregory Parkinson.

The fashion fund, now in its seventh year, was created by the CFDA and Vogue magazine to help cultivate emerging talents with a combination of a cash prize and a mentorship program by industry leaders. This year, cash prizes increased for the fund, which is in a partnership with J. Crew and underwritten by L’Oréal Paris, Nordstrom, Theory, American Express, Barneys New York, Coach, Juicy Couture, Appleman Foundation, Liz Claiborne Inc., Lord & Taylor, and Vogue.

The 2010 Awards gala was underwritten by eBay.

Reid joins a group of past winners that includes Sophie Theallet, Alexander Wang, Rogan Gregory of Rogan, Doo-Ri Chung, Trovata and Proenza Schouler’s Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough.

Story from WWD.com.

Billy Reid

photo from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRB8mZmKx1M3p0Bk1OPSolgRzZi5DPf2Y2naqs0niH31GKBCnfhiKd4nAXRW5s5RdJKeHCXaM4FYSeBh86KzuwcAJOoozdvWQgL9Q4kzQqmVGBOql7NWof6uN8doRfcl_WQtj_PCLkT8/s1600/cfda1.jpg

Karl Lagerfeld, Billy Reid with the other winners

photo from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSQ8wXUfM6gXvsIXvZIrePHZ8KDMt18lmeafb-eTPgVA-wPwkghhC1_EwDoFqoYkOyv2i-87xz8QcqrIizK6ypwyioymfM64FVYYX8p17GkAZusStmqCNDiE7xs1ZTni3VYnj70YI-Qw/s1600/cfda.jpg

Now Hiring: The Art Institute of Tennessee-Nashville

Here is the job advertisement as listed on the company's website:

Fashion Retail Management Instructor - Full Time 

The Art Institute of Tennessee - Nashville is actively seeking a full time instructor to join our Fashion Retail Management team. The ideal candidate should have industry and teaching experience.

Job Summary

The instructor facilitates meaningful learning of the course competencies in the curriculum and proactively supports all facets of the learning environment. S/He provides education through learning-centered instruction that will enable graduates to fulfill the evolving needs of the marketplace. S/He encourages a culture of learning that values mutual responsibility and respect, life-long learning and ethics as well as personal and professional development. Incumbent must assure that the EDMC philosophy: quality services to clients; development, growth, involvement, and recognition of employees; sound economic principles; and environment which is conducive to innovation, positive thinking and expansion - is considered in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of this position.
Key Job Elements

• Provides competency-based education which aligns with the EDMC model of curricula as well as supports the EDMC style of system delivery.
• Designs and delivers class instruction through the development of instructional plans to meet course competencies, the development of activities which support lesson objectives, and (in the case of online instructors ONLY) delivers the instruction as approved.
• Enables the achievement of pre-described exit competencies for student achievement and evaluation of learning by providing instruction which fosters competencies and establish student performance criteria and evaluation.
• Delivers learning-centered instruction by establishing a classroom environment conducive to learning and student involvement as well as effectively planning and preparing for classes and student success.
• Promotes student success by showing flexibility in style and work schedule as well as exhibiting a passion for teaching and students and engaging students in the learning process.
• Manages the learning environment through keeping accurate records, submitting grades and other reports on time, and enforcing school/campus academic and attendance policies.
• Contributes to a learning culture by participating on curriculum and system task forces, supporting local campus events such as orientation and graduation, and participating in various other workshops and meetings.
• Relates professional/life/industry experience to learning by the continuation of professional/technical skills development, the introduction of industry perspective into courses, and the active awareness of professional/industry trends and opportunities.

Job Requirements

Knowledge:

• Master's degree in fashion merchandising, textiles, and/or apparel required.
• Zero to two years experience in instruction or formalized education process, preferably in a post-secondary or college institution.
• Membership in a professional association tied to area of instruction preferred.

Skills:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills including the ability to build successful relationships with student populations.
• Outstanding conflict resolution skills.
• Demonstrated time management and detail-oriented skills
• Computer based skills (i.e., software, analytical, and report writing skills)

Abilities:

• Ability to work effectively under pressure and to meet frequently occurring deadlines.
• Ability to develop a professional rapport with diverse school/campus constituents.
• Ability to develop and complete projects without continued direct supervision
• Ability to learn from students' participation, demonstrates fair and consistent behavior in all matters, and shows compassion without being ineffectual

Apply here.