Right now, fashion is all about movies, or rather “brand films” which have taken over the age-old fashion “still”, perhaps even the catwalk show format.

Brand films are the new pop video. You can watch them on YouTube – even if fashion isn’t really your thing.

The aim of a brand film is to trigger endless Twitter talking points and thousands of YouTube hits. Ultimately, this can prove the greatest advertising, as H&M found with their collaboration with the slightly left-field designer brand, Marni.

By getting Marc Jacobs’s muse and cool director Sofia Coppola on-board to create a short film showcasing Marni, aimed at the young, digitally-led generation, the world’s second largest retailer created a social networking buzz which subsequently triggered a global stampede for their product.

Missoni’s seasonal offering for spring/summer 2012 takes on the format of a children’s pop-up book. It wins style points for featuring a grinning Mariacarla Boscono, a catwalk muse not normally known for her smile.

Is she smiling because (if rumours are true) the supermodel is pregnant? Or is it because, like several of her peers – Jourdan Dunn and Raquel Zimmerman, for instance – she is at last moving from modelling to acting? In future, all models will have to be adept at reading scripts as cat walking.

A career in fashion films, rather than fashion design, is now considered the trendiest option for stylish teenagers. For the first time ever at the London College of Fashion last year, courses for creative direction for fashion specialising in styling, brand image and style communication, and fashion media production and fashion film specialising in digital media, were more oversubscribed than fashion design.

You are now more likely to overhear shoppers discuss the merits of a brand movie than an “it” bag.

Newer and fresher than a catwalk show, which online does not always translate and can appear elitist or simply out of touch, a brand movie can hone in on key accessories, make-up and in-house designers, who normally only come out fleetingly at the end of a show.

The new genre owes much to Karl Lagerfeld, who tweaked the format from a behind-the-scenes-of-a-shoot to an artsy short film with a beginning, middle and end often featuring women or men of various generations, great music and a dollop of humour.

Lagerfeld’s 2010 Chanel offering, Remember Now, featured the beautiful model/actress Elisa Sednaoui opposite the beguiling French actor Pascal Greggory. He has also used his favourite muses Kristen McMenamy and Lady Amanda Harlech in brand movies.

Lagerfeld pulls his films away from what you might expect, a pseudo artsy vein, into a more fitting populist niche perfectly suited to the modern designer superleague with its legions of fans in emerging nations like China.

Christian Dior, the famous French fashion house, recently aired the fifth instalment of its series of Lady Dior films.

The decision to relaunch the Seventies brand Halston in 2009 with an online fashion movie, directed by Nez Khammal, a director more famous for pop videos, also proved an important notch in the bedpost for the new film format.

Putting the model Dree Hemingway (the great-granddaughter of Ernest) in the same long maxi dress that contained the quintessential DNA of the Halston brand in every shot of the movie, while adding more commercial “best bits” of the collection around her, achieved potentially far more than a run-of-the-mill catwalk could.

So did the silly but feel-good film that showcased the one-shouldered Lanvin/H&M party frocks last November, directed by Mike Figgis.

Earlier this month, after 27 years showing international fashion shows globally, the Canadian institution Fashion TV, which famously brought the catwalk into many living rooms, closed down. Perhaps the end was imminent, given you can now see the latest Prada brand movie shot by Steven Meisel at your local supermarket.

Glamour, sophistication and style are not often associated with fashion for the over 60s – but an up and coming designer from Middlesex University, London is aiming to change this with a new collection shown for the first time this week, modelled by star 83 year old catwalker Daphne Selfe.

Olivia Ann May, 22, is so passionate about how older people look and concerned by the ageism which exists in fashion, she has created a collection for women over 60. Her hope is to bring a new sense of style to the wardrobes of Britain’s older people.

The final-year fashion textiles student from the small north Devon village of Umberleigh said: “How the elderly dress is being forgotten about in the fashion industry and the outfits you find on the high street for this age group are boring. I am passionate about how older people look – glamour, sophistication and style are all things I want to bring to their every day dress.

“We are working later, and women still need a working wardrobe into their 60s and 70s. Generally there is nothing around which can make an older women feel fabulous and this needs to change.”

Olivia’s designs headed down the catwalk at the Middlesex University fashion degree show this evening (Thursday 26 April) and unlike her fellow students whose collections will be sported by more conventional professional models, Olivia sourced three senior models for the show; 83 year old Daphne Selfe, 68 year old Jan de Villeneuve and 62 year old Pam Lucas.

Commenting on Olivia’s work, 83 year old model Daphne Selfe, said: “It’s fantastic! The pieces are suitable for my age, and yet they’re colourful and unusual. The colour is lovely, in London we always have so much black, black is a kind of uniform for London, so it’s nice to wear some colour for a change. I very much like working amongst young people – I’m looking forward to seeing what the other students have on show today.”

Alongside Olivia’s collection were some 70 other fashion and fashion textile students all using the show to compete for a place at a Middlesex University event at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, later this year. Top UK fashion designers including Louise Gray and Carolyn Massey were at the show, deciding who to put forward to the Old Truman Brewery.

Currently living in north London, Olivia said: “I moved to London because this is the home of fashion. I would love to open my own boutique here with fashion for elderly women.”

In “The Hunger Games,”actress Leven Rambin plays a teenage girl who has trained since childhood to fight to the death in a post-apocalyptic arena. To embody the role, Rambin, 21, had to look the part of the young warrior and also be able to wield weapons convincingly — her character, Glimmer, is versed in sword fighting and archery.

Rambin talked with us about going beyond her physical comfort zone to prepare for the part, learning to fight in the wilderness and discovering what she’s really capable of.

You had to get in excellent physical shape for “The Hunger Games.” How long did you train, and what did you do?

I had about two months to prepare for the fight sequences and physically train. I did lots of spinning, probably an hour and a half a day. I also did boot-camp-style exercises — rolling kettle bells and balls that weighed 30 pounds across the room, using ropes, and rolling tires around, military style.

Every other day, on the days that we weren’t training, I would go hiking or running around Los Angeles, by myself or with my friends. I also did some sprinting — I was pushing myself. Dieting was also a big part of it, so no dairy and no carbohydrates whatsoever.

How did you learn the specific fighting skills, like sword fighting and archery?

I trained different muscles of my body, like my shoulder muscles and back muscles, for long periods of time. I had to thrash the weapons around like I knew what I was doing, and it was pretty difficult to get my muscles to memorize and acclimate to the different maneuvers. It hurt in places I never knew I had.

I trained in fight choreography and on camera with swords and weapons for about two hours a day, tossing them around like I was a skilled fighter. I was doing that whenever I was not doing the other training, whenever I could.

At the end, did you feel like you knew what you were doing?

I did, actually. The trainers were very thorough, and I’m pretty athletic. I enjoyed archery especially.

It was different to be on grass and not to be comforted by padding. During filming, we also didn’t have padding under our outfits, which were pretty flimsy, so it was a little bit difficult getting used to that. It was also really hot out there, and it would rain and stuff, so we had to deal with the elements. But it was more natural and organic.

What was your pre-”Hunger Games” fitness routine like, and do you think you’ll incorporate your new training techniques into it?

I was sort of just a casual exerciser. I would exercise all the time, but I would never push myself outside of my comfort zone. This showed me how far my body could go if I was willing to push it.

I also definitely learned what works for me, what results I can see and what I like to do, so now that I’m doing another film I want to get back into that shape. I’ve already gotten back into the mind set of, “It’s not the question of whether I’m going to work out, but how long I’m going to work out today.” It’s about disciplining myself and remembering how much I can handle, and not giving up.

“Annie Hall”inspired women to learn how to tie a tie. “Flashdance” set off a craze for ripped sweat shirts. And “Pulp Fiction” made the classic white shirt a hot fashion item.

But how many people know the names of the costume designers who inspired these film-to-fashion moments? (For the record, they are Ruth Morley, Michael Kaplan and Betsy Heimann, respectively.)

When it comes to inspiring others, costume designers rarely gain fame or fortune, even when films and TV shows spin off commercial cosmetics and clothing lines based on their work.

But that is starting to change. On May 30, HSN will debut the Atwood by Colleen Atwood collection, pegged to the release of the film”Snow White and the Huntsman” on June 1.

It is the first time the costume designer, a three-time Oscar winner whose credits include “Alice in Wonderland,” “Chicago” and”Ed Wood,”has designed a fashion collection.

“It’s often said that costume designers are a faceless group of people,” Atwood said. “But we can contribute to fashion in a way that might be new and different.

“I’ve always wondered about doing something like this,” added Atwood, whose early experience included working in retail, in the Yves Saint Laurent boutique in a Seattle department store. “When I was doing ‘Snow White,’ I was thinking about it more, because there are so many different kinds of designs in the film that would be fun to spin off. Someone mentioned HSN as an opportunity.”

The 12-piece collection launches as part of a 24-hour “Snow White and the Huntsman” shopping event to be held May 30 across all HSN platforms — TV, HSN.com and HSN mobile. The programming will include product offerings inspired by the film from HSN’s stable of beauty, jewelry and fashion designers, including Deborah Lippmann, Loree Rodkin and Hutton Wilkinson, along with behind-the-scenes interviews taped on the film’s set.

The HSN styles, $39 to $169, are much-simplified sportswear versions of the film’s resplendent medieval costumes. For example, a bisque-colored smocked gown worn by Evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) inspired a smocked blouse with angel sleeves and lace trim for HSN, and a long blue dress with puffed sleeves worn by Kristen Stewart (Snow White) was adapted into a hip-length tunic. Atwood will appear live on HSN on May 30 to discuss the collection.

Asked if she sees a time coming when costume designers will have their own fashion labels, Atwood said, “It’s possible. There are some legal issues that would have to be sorted out with the film studios and costume designers receiving remuneration.”

During the golden age of Hollywood, there was a lot of cultural exchange between costume and fashion design. Back then, movie magazines were the voice of fashion, and retailers copied film costumes so women could dress like their favorite stars.

Howard Greer, Travis Banton and Irene Gibbons were all dress designers before they were studio costume designers, and Gilbert Adrian established a fashion salon after he left Paramount in 1942.

Why do costume designers want to work as fashion designers?

“To do something completely different,” said Deborah Nadoolman Landis, David C. Copley chair for the Study of Costume Design at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. She points out that the role of a costume designer is to serve the script, and the role of a fashion designer is to serve the customer. “The extra income is fantastic, because the last day on the set is the last day a costume designer gets paid. And the pride of ownership is too, because costume designers don’t get residuals or a piece of the merchandising of a film.”

“Mad Men’s” Bryant, who studied fashion before becoming a costume designer, and recently completed a 90th anniversary capsule collection of vintage-inspired shapewear for Maidenform, feels the recognition and the opportunities are overdue.

“Think about the influence of ‘Bonnie and Clyde,’” she said. “Everyone on the streets wanted to dress like Faye Dunaway. That’s the power of a costume designer. People are inspired by what they see.”

For years, L.A.-based author Lizzie Garrett Mettler thought “tomboy” was a dirty word.

“I was a definite tomboy when I was a kid,” she says. “It was a nightmare for my parents to get me into a dress for a stretch of years.”

As she became a teenager and young adult, she pushed that side of herself away. That changed when she started reading street fashion blogs like the Sartorialist and A Cup of Jo, and saw comments from readers who couldn’t get enough of Alexa Chung and Lou Doillon’s “tomboy style.”

Maybe, Mettler thought, there was something to her lifelong fascination with Belgian loafers, tattered Lacoste polos and Barbour jackets.

Indeed, in recent years, men’s wear-inspired fashion for women has gone mainstream. It’s seen at J. Crew, where you can find a “schoolboy blazer”; on the streets, where the Breton sailor stripe shirt trend won’t go away; and on the runways, in Scott Sternberg’s neo-preppy Boy by Band of Outsiders collection and in the 1970s-inspired trouser and oversized button-down shirt looks by Phoebe Philo at Celine.

“Something clicked in my head,” Mettler says. “So I started a blog to answer my own question about what makes a tomboy stylish.”

That blog, launched in May 2010, inspired the book “Tomboy Style: Beyond the Boundaries of Fashion,” which was published this month by Rizzoli. The book is a visual history, documenting 80 years of women who blur the gender lines.

In her research, Mettler realized she discovered her own tomboy style while at boarding school, trading clothes with her frilly best friend Kingsley Woolworth, who favored bubble-gum pink bed linens and diamond stud earrings. By borrowing some of Kingsley’s things and mixing them with her old favorites, many of them borrowed from her older brother, Mettler found her own style vocabulary, epitomized by a shirtdress cinched with a men’s ribbon belt.

“A tomboy is a girl,” Mettler explains. “Tomboy style is about a woman who channels her tomboy childhood, and mixes masculine and feminine elements in her wardrobe. It’s not just wearing men’s clothes.”

And it’s not just wardrobe; it’s substance too.

“I was looking at everything from 1980s movies like ‘Some Kind of Wonderful,’ in which the drummer Watts is a huge tomboy, to photos of women skiing from the 1950s. I noticed a broad range of women, but a neat thread that bound them together was a rebellious, adventurous confidence,” Mettler says.

She consulted out-of-print fashion books and the Life magazine archives. “There are the obvious icons you’d expect, but there’s also Ginger Rogers,” she says. “I always thought of her as Fred Astaire’s dance partner, this super-feminine, glitzy woman. But she also had a ranch in Oregon where she fly-fished and canned her own vegetables. I have a photo of her in her waders sitting outside on the ground.”

A 1940 photo of Osa Johnson dressed in safari gear, riding a zebra in Africa, exemplifies the “adventuress” archetype. The “jocks” push their bodies, along with the bounds of society. There’s Chris Evert, pictured mid-game in 1972, wearing a butterfly-appliqued tennis dress and ruffled panties, and Eartha Kitt, swinging a bat while playing ball with the boys in Central Park in 1952. In the “prep” category, there’sMonaco’s Princess Caroline, having a smoke outside her family’s French villa in 1982, bundled up in an Irish fisherman sweater and rain boots and snuggling her German shepherd.

Attitudes about tomboys have certainly changed over the years, Mettler says. And tomboy style doesn’t seem to be going away.

To that end, she plans to continue her blog, spotlighting tomboy style icons such as Françoise Sagan and tomboy style resources such as New York-based label Thom Dolan. “There’s always something new to find,” Mettler says, “whether it’s a music video or a family photo someone emails

me of their mother scaling the Alps.”

Arms and heads covered; tight trousers and skirts above the ankle a no-no. For many, this may not sound like a typical fashion glossy, and Ala – a new Turkish monthly for Muslim women who wear a veil – is not typical, but it is extremely successful.

­The first issue of this so-called Vogue of the veiled hit the newsstands last summer, AFP reports. And it seems to have a market – after just a few months, it started selling just as many copies as Turkish Elle.

The mag was launched by two Turkish businessmen, both Muslims. Meaning “the most beautiful of the beautiful”, the name Ala is meant to show that the veil and Islamic traditions are “perfectly compatible with style and femininity,” AFP reports.

“We realized that there was a gap to be filled for conservative Muslim women in Turkey who have a different worldview,” one of the founders, Ibrahim Burak Birer said.

Targeting working Muslim women, Ala offers a much-in-demand mix of Islamic values and high fashion. These ladies respect the Islamic tradition, yet don’t mind sporting a Burberry trench or Chanel purse with 10-centimeter heels.

“Until now, most fashion magazines have offered a lifestyle centered on being sexy, being skinny and eating sushi. But not all women dress like those girls from Sex and the City,” Birer said.

Ala has already drawn around 30,000 subscribers since its launch.

Don’t be fooled by the old “my girlfriend bought me this” line.

Fashion insiders say men are taking a keen interest in how they dress — and that means developing their own shopping habits. The biggest difference in how they shop for clothes? Probably research — and purpose.

A Saturday at the shopping mall is not a highlight on most men’s calendars, says Tyler Thoreson, head of Gilt Groupe’s menswear editorial and creative divisions. Even when they’re shopping online, they’re not surfing many websites or coming back to them day after day, he says, but when they find something they like, they are passionate and potentially more loyal than women.

Call shopping “entertainment” and they’re not buying it, but describing it as a “hobby” is something else, he says.

Men can “geek out” when it comes to construction and even minutia of a garment. “I’m not just talking about a ‘fashion guy.’ For many men, your wardrobe is part of your program of discernment. They’ll learn about it like a car or a wine or a watch,” Thoreson says. “Guys can be busting each other’s chops in one breath and talking about soft construction on the shoulder of a suit in the next. They love construction, specs. It’s about what’s under the hood.”

You now see men dressing for the life they want to lead and image they want to project, agrees Eric Jennings, vice president and fashion director of menswear for Saks Fifth Avenue. Shopping and, even worse, trying things on are necessary evils to get there.

Paul Grangaard, CEO of shoe brand Allen Edmonds, says when it comes to fashion, men are hunters and women are gatherers. Different methods, different mentalities, but both can end up with full closets, he says.

“Shopping is not a man’s favourite when it’s about waiting for women. It’s not a leisure activity. Shopping for their own clothing isn’t their favourite place, either, but there is a renaissance — it’s small but steady — as men are interested in an upgrade,” Jennings says. “Coming out of the recession, they know they have to take appearance more seriously. It can be that thing for a new job or a promotion.”

And, he adds, if they’re dressing well during the week, it’s likely to become a habit on weekends.

“Men travel in herds, and when it’s OK in your friendship group to care about how you look on the weekends, it spreads pretty quickly,” observes Grangaard. “Since the recession of 2008, you’re always networking. Men dress better for midweek coffees and lunches and on weekends because you never know who you’ll run into where. You always want to look secure, stable and reliable.”

It’s hard to do that in beat-up jeans and running shoes.

Other booming items are pocket squares, Converse sneakers, tie bars and rope bracelets.

Suiting was the overall best-seller on Gilt for men in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, Thoreson says, and 85 percent of its customers were doing their own shopping. (They’ll still leave cuff links and sweaters to the women in their lives to buy. They’re just not as exciting, he says.)

Suits are selling better with unexpected customers, from DJs to hoteliers, notes Saks’ Jennings, but they’re not necessarily wearing them every day. It might be a suit one or two days a week, a sportcoat another and dressed-up denim the other days at the office, he describes. “Men just have more options. It used to be that you were a suit guy or a business casual guy in khakis and a polo, or jeans and a T-shirt. Those days are over.”

Back to that pack mentality, Jennings says he notices groups of friends and colleagues often dress in similar styles. Many men don’t want to ask for style advice from wives, friends or salespeople — the way they don’t like to ask for directions — and even compliments are few and far between, but, he says, they more easily ask peers, “Who makes that suit?” or “Where did you get that?”

Fashion might even start to appeal to a man’s sense of friendly competition, Thoreson says with a laugh. “You want to know more than the guy next to you. The guys who were obsessing over types of denim a few years ago are now obsessing over Neapolitan tailoring. … Now you hear guys talk about this stuff. There’s no fear and all enthusiasm, and there can be some one-upmanship of dropping the lingo and that’s part of the fun.”

Tziporah Salamon typically starts with a hat to create the “painting” of herself that she presents to the world.

On this particular Thursday night, she’s dressing for dinner with a new friend she met at the Japan Society art deco exhibit opening in New York. As she looks over her meticulously curated vintage collection, she decides it has to be the “pierrot” clown motif. It’s one of her favorites, and it has the kind of whimsy that makes an impression.

She picks a hat — no, a different one — and pulls on a black Comme de Garcons pom-pom sweater over black silk pants (bought on second markdown from Saks). Next, a cropped, red wool sweater with billowy sleeves, a chunky bracelet and red clip-on earrings from her vanity — home to a colorful array of bracelets and clip-on earrings near a framed black-and-white headshot of a younger Warren Beatty. Now pointy black patent-leather flats, red and black gloves, a black Victorian ribbon collar wrapped several times around her neck. Finally, a splash of bright red lipstick followed by the piece de resistance: a tiered, black felt hat with accordion pleats with two red tassels hanging from the top.

“I love playing dress up. For me, it’s play and pleasure and my life is so blessed because of it,” she says. “I get a lot of attention and people love me for it.”

On the streets of New York, in fashion blogs from around the country and even in ad campaigns, women like Salamon are finding a new audience for their sartorial choices, and their belief that youth is not necessarily beauty: This is about personal style, not fashion or trends, and these are not the years to fade into sweatpants and muumuus. It’s the time to be noticed, and not for looking young.

Whether Salamon is substitute-teaching public school kids, treasure-hunting in a thrift store or performing her one-woman show, “The Fabric of my Life,” she dresses to be seen. She bikes to most appointments on her busy calendar and boasts that she can walk into any bathroom or hotel in the world, no questions asked, because of the way she looks. People routinely snap her photo on the street; she keeps a scrapbook of her appearances in New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham’s “On the Street” feature.

People like Salamon are challenging the notion that they have nothing more to offer the world in their advanced age by dressing in a way that brings them joy and elicits positive reaction from others. It’s a way for them to defy stereotypes about aging while coming to terms with their own mortality.

“Women at a certain age become invisible and by dressing this way I’m not invisible,” says Salamon, whose parents worked as a tailor and dressmaker. “If anything, my style just got more pronounced as I grew to know myself better and better. I make fewer mistakes now that I am at this age and know myself and what looks good on me and what I like.”

Jumada Al-Thani/28 April (IINA)-Interweaving their faith with modern fashion, Australia Muslims are creating a new, flourished brand of modest clothes that apply to the needs of Islamic faith and everyday life.

“Modest fashion is one of the fashion industry’s largest potential growth areas,” says Glynis Jones, curator of Faith, Fashion, Fusion: Muslim Women’s Style in Australia, a ground-breaking exhibition opening at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney next week.

“Many Muslims born here are forging their identity without some of the cultural background that impacted on their parents’ generation,” she says.

Living in Australia for decades, a new generation of young Muslim women was tapping into a new industry of modest Muslim clothes.

Fashion designer Howayda “Helena” Moussa, 35, was one of the young Australian women who took the challenge of creating a Muslim fashion after donning hijab for the first time.

“It was the most amazing feeling I had in my life,” she says. “I suddenly felt protected and safe.”

“If I was speaking to a man, he would look into my eyes, not at my chest,” she says. “He would talk to me.”

The moment Moussa decided to replace her backless summer dresses with long sleeves and hijab is still remarkable for the young Muslim who loves fashion, “but traditional Muslim outlets have mostly very basic things”, she says. “Very dark things.”

At such time, the young Muslims decided to offer with her sister Hanadi “Hannah” Chehab, 41, more fashion-friendly options in Sydney’s Muslim heartland, Bankstown.

“We even took the [long-sleeved full-length traditional Muslim tunic] abaya and made it funky,” Chehab says, giggling.

Although she chooses not to adopt the hijab herself, Chehab is sympathetic to her sister’s choice and is engrossed in designing for her.

“We both love designer clothes, we love up-to-date, feminine colourful fashion and accessories so that’s what we sell.”

Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, make up 1.7 percent of its 20-million population.

Islam is the country’s second largest religion after Christianity.

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one’s affiliations.

“I started to wonder why I believed what I did,” Susan Carland, 32, Melbourne sociologist and consultant for Faith, Fashion, Fusion, said.

“I was raised in a Christian family but I started looking for answers to life, the universe and everything.”

She converted to Islam and assumed hijab at 19.

“I liked the idea of a religion that encouraged questioning,” she says.

At the regular event My Dress, My Image, My Choice, Carlend has answered thousands of questions about the religious, political and individual significance of her clothes.

“People are fascinated, horrified and curious because there is just so much baggage associated with our clothes,” Carland says.

“They’re either a symbol of repression, or they’re a personal [liberating] choice, or they’re something else … We need to see Muslim women as more than this piece of fabric.”

The combination of religious tradition with modern Western culture was producing a fascinating Islamic fashion, Jones said.

“They’re renegotiating their faith and their place in Australian society. And they’re interpreting the word ‘modesty’ in many different ways … It’s a very big choice to express your faith so visibly,” she said.

“It’s inevitable you’ll become a kind of ambassador for your faith.”

The CWJC’s annual fundraiser, a fashion show/brunch, will be held May 5 at Classic on Noble in downtown Anniston. It is the CWJC’s fourth fundraiser, although they have been helping women for about seven years.
During the fashion show, guests may purchase the clothing that the models — area professional women — wear on the runway. Guests may either keep the outfits or donate them back to the program for needy women to wear on job searches.
For those who wish to donate clothing to the CWJC’s professional-style clothes closet, call 256-237-5171.
There will also be a silent auction and a temporary boutique where guests can shop for discounted fashion accessories.

“The face-to-face theme this year means women in need have someone to be their friend, help them find a job, refer them to special agencies, help them find a doctor or offer them transportation,” said volunteer Becky Nelson.

One volunteer who has been especially helpful to the program this year is Mary Stinson, a retired professor of social work from Jacksonville State University. Stinson has worked to develop curriculum and train volunteers. “Also, she gives the women the face-to-face assistance they often need. Some of these women who are assisted by the program start out with nothing,” said Nelson.

Even though the Calhoun Baptist Association is the sponsoring agency for the CWJC, churches from all denominations take part in helping needy women through the program. Several women who are now self-sufficient because of assistance through the program will be in attendance at the fundraiser.

Decreton, who himself sports very short hair, said: “I think women should try new fashionable styles and experiment with hairdos. Hairstyles in India are very formal. It should not be that formal. I feel it`s only young girls who are playing with hair in India.”
The celebrity stylist, known for his modern-day cuts and styling, has a wide range of experience – be it working on top models and celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Carla Bruni, Emmanuelle Beart and footballer Robert Pires or collaborating with fashion shows by Chanel, Yves Saint-Laurent and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Decreton, who has been frequently travelling to India in the past 12 years, said: “It`s not necessary to have a clean hairdo. I think people here (India) don`t try the messy or classic look, especially mature females.

“I`ve been observing Indian faces and their hairstyle for a very long time. One thing that is really missing is that Indian women don`t focus on the sides of the head while making hairstyles.

“The front will look nice if you tighten the sides, which most Indians don`t do. Also, they should be careful for the side hair for finishing and to make it classic,” he added.
Decreton is the creative brand ambassador of L`Oreal Professionnel and a member of the Haute Coiffure Francaise creative team. He was here to unveil seven bridal looks (hairstyles) under the theme – Royal Wedding Collection of L`Oreal Professionnel.
The brand has come out with its fresh fashionable hairdos to cater to the demands of modern Indian brides. It collaborated with some of the best Indian hairstylists like Dhruv Abhichandani, Sachin Dakoji, Sumit Israni, Raman Bhardwaj and Vipul Chudasama, and Decreton to create the looks.

He started his career at a young age of 19 and has 30 years of experience in hairstyling. Decreton never had a mentor and his creations are the outcome of his imagination.

“It`s been more than 30 years that I`m into this profession. I started my career at the age of 19 and learned hairdressing from a local master in France,” he said.

“I participated in many competitions like Opera, theatres and luxury fashion shows from the beginning of my career which gave me opportunities to learn things while working on these kinds of projects. Most of my ideas and themes come from my dreams,” added the 49-year-old, who is currently working on his portfolio in Mumbai.

Though Indian women are not so adventurous in trying new hairdos, Decreton says the salon business has boomed here.

“In the last 12 years, I`ve seen a rapid and massive growth in the Indian hairstyle business. I think the growth in real estate and change in the lifestyle of people are making it big here,” he said.

Asked about some of the spring hair trends and hair colour for Indians, he suggested: “Hair colours like honey, chocolate and red would look stunning on the Indian skin tone. But, yes, it should be balanced, not very light. I think it`s nice to play with the roots and the end should be left lighter with colour.”

French authorities have urged 30,000 women to remove potentially life-threatening, rupturing breast implants, reports say.

The concerns are that implants supplied by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) used a non-authorized silicone gel in their implants, which are prone to splitting with a series of negative consequences. Dr. Laurent Lantieri, chairman of the plastic surgery service at the Henry-Mondor University Hospital in Creteil, a suburb of Paris, stressed serious concern by saying, “We have to remove all these implants … we’re facing a health crisis linked to fraud,” Liberation reports.

Government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse, a member of a special committee formed to investigate the issue, highly recommended that “all women who have PIP implants should return to see their surgeons urgently.”

Since the defects were discovered, 523 implants have been removed and eight cases of cancer had been reported in patients with PIP implants. Although there has not been any evidential proof of a direct link between the silicone used in PIP implants and cancer, investigations by the French Society of Plastic Surgeons came to the conclusion the silicone used was not suitable for medical use. One PIP implant patient died of cancer in 2010.

The attraction of PIP implants was their low cost; they were the cheapest available. However now it seems the ultimate cost proves that slightly more expensive and much more medically friendly implants might be worth saving for. Jean-Yves Grall, France’s director general of health, assures that all costs in conjunction with the corrective surgery and complications will be reimbursed.

A recent report finds the percentage of adult women in California who did not have health insurance coverage rose considerably from 2007 to 2009.

While 21 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 64 lacked healthcare coverage for part or all of 2007, that ratio jumped to 24 percent in 2009 – representing roughly 2.8 million women, according to the nonprofit Public Health Institute.

The study added that younger women – those between 18 and 34 – were the least likely to have health insurance, as 34 percent of that group was without coverage in 2009. Just 37 percent had employer-based coverage. Lower-income women were also far less likely to have health insurance.

“Clearly, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act is coming at a crucial time for California women,” said Dr. Roberta Wyn, the report’s lead author. “These are challenging times, and it is important to move forward in expanding coverage and access.”

Fewer Americans as a whole currently have employer-based health plans. A recent report from Gallup and Healthways found that ratio has dropped from 48 percent in 2008 to just 45 percent last year.

“Look for Russian ladies to create a family” – are full of ads on dating sites. Many men are looking for dating, but how easy is it to get acquainted with Russian ladies today? “I’ll get married, get married! What could be the toys! “- He sang the famous movie character and he was right. Subject relationships between man and Russian ladies intertwined with the problem of loneliness, issues of health and life expectancy. People, who are married, have a clear advantage. According to statistics, about one-seventh of all the inhabitants of our country of marriageable age are not married. Among them, almost half – are men who want to get acquainted with Russian ladies for marriage and family formation. There is a stereotype that for the modern man, confident and sociable, to get acquainted with a Russian ladies for a family is easy. However, the growth of large cities leads to the fact that the male circle of friends is shrinking. At the same time, the part of Russian ladies to men increased demand; the range of qualities for a partner in marriage has increased considerably. Psychologists note that in a big city, get acquainted with a Russian ladies for sex and flirtation are not a problem, difficulties arise precisely when searching for a Russian ladies for serious relationship and family formation.

Laughter and sex are incompatible – knows that any a senior! What can we say about the Russian woman on  free dating, which stepped the line of pre-conscription age? Oh I’m sure you do not need to explain that 30% of men after they ridicule become temporary impotent, 25% drop to drink, smoke, and there at the same time, 15% recorded at the rates of drivers of trolley buses, 10% are beginning to call the lead of “Sex” with erotic threats and the remaining change  hot  Russian brides (rough estimates). But surely – all these knights immediately interrupt the process or the same (and) lost. Psychologists, when his request to explain this phenomenon, flow into the verbiage. People in white coats claim that the stronger sex to a Russian woman laughter in general regarding specific. When a  Russian girls and Russian woman just giggled and poked his finger just into the distance – it is please. But God forbid poke your finger directly in figure dupe courageous knight and giggle over it. Since these men are unable to accept: they instantly breaks inferiority complex. Because of normal, you know, do not laugh. What can we say about the situation when a young lady filled with laughter in his bed. Imagine what your favorite might think about his own men’s solvency? WHAT IF I’d like. In what situation is a laugh in bed, still not as catastrophic? 1. If the partners are trusting relationship. But the degree of confidence must be very high. Thoughts that over someone laugh and make fun of in a bad sense of the word should not be any one partner. 2. When everything is behind – and you can laugh. But once again – very carefully, and preferably over some abstract objects. 3. If all the relations of partners built on the principles banter. Pretend – watching you. How to disguise a laugh in bed, so as not to injure the soul of a nearby men? Read furthermore free dating online…

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