Gap's New Chain Store Aims at the Fashionably Mature Woman

Forth & Towne stores have four sections, all aimed at those over 35.

For the millions of American women over 35 who face the conundrum each morning of a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear, there is little solace to be found at the vast Palisades Center mall here. With nearly 300 stores and more than half of them aimed at teenage consumers, this temple of consumerism in Rockland County, about 25 miles north of Manhattan, is full of clothes, but for women of a certain age, many find little to buy.

"These stores are for skinny little girls," said Irene Giachetti, of New City, N.Y., as she was tugged at by her teenage son on a back-to-school shopping mission. "It's very difficult to find anything for me."

So it is with considerable interest in the retail industry that Gap Inc., the nation's largest chain of clothing stores, chose the Palisades Center to introduce a new chain yesterday aimed at that unwieldy and indefinable category known as grown-ups. These are customers who are past any longing for shrunken polo shirts and low-slung denim styles ubiquitous at youth-oriented stores like Abercrombie & Fitch, yet consider themselves too hip for conservative stores like Ann Taylor or Talbots, and too frugal to pursue the elitist designs that make up that minuscule slice of apparel known as high fashion.

The new chain, Forth & Towne - poetically sandwiched at the mall between branches of Forever 21 and Justice: Just for Girls - is aimed at a market that might be called the new forgotten woman. Even though women of the baby boom, now age 41 to 59, accounted for 39 percent of women's apparel purchases last year, shoppers who are much younger, 11 to 30, enjoy nearly five times the retail options, according to industry figures.

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Makeup Trends: What's In, What's Out

When it comes to beauty this fall, think simple and refined. Even though the season's fashion trends include plenty of glamour, beauty trends are simple: Hair is soft and natural rather than ultra-styled. Makeup is pared down - less fussy. And super-glossy lips have lost their luster. In a nutshell, too cute is out, and grown-up is in. Here, the trends to embrace and let go of this season.

In: Naturally shaped brows. Makeup artist Deborah Grayson loves brows that aren't overly tweezed or severely shaped. They're in keeping with this season's more natural and subdued looks, whether your style is bohemian or classic.
Out: Outrageously arched brows. Brows that are exaggeratedly shaped or overly filled in can appear pretentious.

In: A more matte visage. This season, the idea is to moderate the shine enough to give yourself a refined rather than a childlike look.
Out: A dewy visage. A super-dewy face is so summer.

In: Lighter lashes. Gently enhance what Ma Nature gave you by going easy on the lashes. One good sheer coat of black or brown mascara is all you'll need. It's just not about excess this season.
Out: Tons of mascara. It'll be back, but for now, keep it simple and elegant.

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Want Whiter Teeth? Some things that make them yellow may surprise you!

These days it seems that everyone wants whiter teeth. With all of the bleaching products available from your dentist, drug store, and TV infomercials, it's getting easier all the time to have teeth like the movie stars.

But one thing most people don't realize is that it takes more than just a good whitening product to get those pearly whites to dazzle. First, you must have enough tooth enamel!

Huh? That's right, tooth enamel. As a dentist, I often had to explain this to my patients who had worn their enamel thin. The enamel is the hard, protective outer layer of your teeth. If you're genetically blessed, it's natural color is a very light ivory which we perceive as "white". If nature didn't give you the whitest enamel, or if you've smoked too many cigarettes, drank too many glasses of red wine or black coffee, or indulged in too many helpings of cherry pie in your lifetime, your teeth may not look as white as they once did. There are many more foods that can stain your teeth, but the point is, we're talking about stain here -- pigments in the enamel that can be chemically "bleached".

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You've seen Dove's 'real' women. Here's the reaction

Dove's ad campaign featuring women sizes 6 to 14 serves as a source of ridicule and inspiration for people in media and counselors who deal with body-image issues.

Gina Crisanti was taking out the trash at work one day when a stranger approached her with an odd request. It was a talent scout who wanted her to try out for an ad campaign to sell Dove beauty products -- wearing nothing but her underwear.

The offer was puzzling to say the least. Crisanti, a 24-year-old cafe worker, has never thought of herself as anywhere near supermodel stature -- curvy and closer to five feet than six.

But that, it turns out, is the point. Crisanti and five other "real" women -- ranging from size 6 to 14 -- are the stars of a Dove ad campaign that shows them wearing only bras, panties and big smiles on billboards, bus stops and trains in Chicago, New York, and other big cities.

"It is our belief that beauty comes in different shapes, sizes and ages," said Philippe Harousseau, Dove's marketing director on the "Campaign for Real Beauty." "Our mission is to make more women feel beautiful every day by broadening the definition of beauty."

The ads, the second phase of a campaign launched last September for Unilever's Dove, have served as a source of both inspiration and ridicule.

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Fashion meets function in MP3 sunglasses

SAN FRANCISCO (Billboard) - MP3 player manufacturers almost always try to make their devices look cool in this fashion-conscious industry, but Global American Technologies takes style to a new level with the introduction of its Fio MP3 player sunglasses. The shades feature built-in, 3-D stereo sound earbuds in each arm, so users must wear the sunglasses to hear the music.

The Fio comes in 128MB, 256MB, 512MB and 1GB versions. It supports MP3 and WMA audio files and has a battery life of 8 1/2 hours. All player buttons, volume adjustments and other controls are located atop the arms. It is PC and Mac compatible and uses a USB 2.0 port for transferring music.

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Summer fashion, fitness faux pas

With the summer at mid-point, if you listen carefully you can hear the sound of voices crying out with displeasure, "I can't believe they're wearing that," about some fashion/fitness faux pas. Most of us have heard the ads on the radio with two women shopping and discussing how men should not wear Speedos, tank tops, short shorts and absolutely nothing mesh. I have to agree with those words of fashion wisdom, but in defence I will only say two words: Daisy Duke.

With that out of the way, let's talk about cellulite and some of the best exercises to get your derriere looking more like Jessica Simpson's and less like Bart Simpson's.

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Color-Coding

Choosing a product based on color is perfectly reasonable. The choice may be subjective, but it's also rational: the color you like best is the color you like best. So fans of, for example, a certain $25 shade of blush offered by a cosmetics company called Nars simply like that shade, and that's why it has attracted a strong rating and by far the most reviews among blush shoppers who post on MakeupAlley.com. The fact that the shade happens to be called Orgasm doesn't affect the consumer's reaction to the actual color, which would be the same no matter what it was called.

Actually, we all know that isn't quite true, and buyers of cosmetics probably know it better than most. Paula Begoun, who has written several consumer-oriented books about makeup and skin-care products, says that exotic or even baffling names have been part of the category at least since the 1950's. With a lot of makeup, there isn't really much to pay attention to besides color and texture, so a name that stands out means a product that stands out.

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Intimate Outerwear You Can Wear Everywhere

Slip into something more comfortable? That won't be necessary ‑- especially when you start the night off looking this hot. Perfect for dinner, drinks and all the fun that'll ensue after you get home, this heart-print camisole from Scoop is a must-have for a night out (or in) with your man. And when you buy the cami, Gold Hawk and Scoop will donate a portion of the proceeds to Love Heals, the Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education. What better way to - literally - put your money where your heart is?

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It's a Bird! It's a Plane! No, it's a Fashion Model!

Target turned the runway upside down during an electrifying Vertical Fall Fashion Show in the city that shares its love of style: New York. This event took place at Rockefeller Center, Wednesday, July 27, 2005 which featured a troupe of world-class athletes who leapt off the roof of a 9-story tower on the Plaza, then strutted down the building's side modeling the Target Fall 2005 women's and men's collections by Isaac Mizrahi, Mossimo, Liz Lange, Xhilaration, Merona, among others.

Relying on high-tech rappelling rope and form-fitting body harnesses, the fashion models/athletes descended down the building and incorporated a mix of acrobatics and dance, while they maintained their best high-fashion steely gaze. Upon landing at street level, the athletes were joined by more than 60 female and male models that walked the runway on the Plaza, keeping their feet firmly on the ground.

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Having a Zen Hair Day

"The shampoo sink is where you let go of your hatred and your pain," says Michael Koler, a salt-and-pepper braid trailing down the back of his Indian tunic. At Michael's Motorcycle, his sunny, cheerfully ramshackle salon in the ritzy Dallas neighborhood of Highland Park, we're about to walk over to that cathartic spot so that Koler and I can take the first step in my feng shui haircut.

Applying what's now known as "the art of living in harmony with land and physical structures" to a shag or a bob would make about as much sense to Fu Hsi, who compiled feng shui's founding principles, as the Swarovski crystal-heart chi balancer on sale at Shop.com. About 5,000 years ago, Fu created the bagua to chart the relationships among the universe's five elements (fire, earth, metal, water, wood) and harness the flow of chi, or life force. Feng shui, which translates as "wind and water," would eventually be used to determine propitious grave sites as well as living spaces that enhance good fortune. Now, of course, it's the money machine powering sales of zillions of instructional books ("The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui"), tabletop fountains, room spray and, yes, haircuts.

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Elle Macpherson’s New Collection

Australian topmodel Elle Macpherson continues working in the field of fashion designing. The new brainchild of the stunning beauty is The Body Collection, - a range of bath and body, consisting from 14 pieces.


The 40-year-old Macpherson joined forces with U.K.-based Meller Beauty, part of Meller Holdings, in order to produce the new range.

"I'd had the idea for a long time, but was waiting for the right people to do it with," Macpherson told WWD in a telephone interview. Then she added that the bath and body range was a natural evolution from her lingerie line Intimates.

"Both [lingerie and body products] are about women feeling good about themselves, and empowering them in their femininity," she said.

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Vanity Fare : Beauty is in the eyes

SURE, they take up even less than a third of your face, but your eyes definitely say a lot about your beauty habits.

Those ojos are more than just the windows to your soul; they also give the world a glimpse of your life by reflecting stress, fatigue, and aging in ways the rest of your face can't. Those tiny lines, discoloration and eye bags should clue you in on how your eye area requires plenty of care and pampering - and on how you should pick only the best products to touch this delicate area.

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SEACREST UNVEILS FASHION LINE

Lindsay Lohan and Will Smith have given American TV personality Ryan Seacrest's fashion label a boost, by wearing his designs before they are released to the public.

The 30-year-old American Idol host is set to unveil a line of men's and women's T-shirts, tank tops, polo shirts and sweaters.

Seacrest credits the look of his R Line shirts to his publicist sister Meredith, ex-girlfriend Shana Wall and his mother, Connie.

But the celebrity touch for the line - whose items have also been worn by Ryan Cabrera and first American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson - has added to the label's cool factor.

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Fashion: Sneak a peek of fall

When the weather begins to cool -- it's hard to imagine that now, but trust me, it will -- women can expect anything but a winter of discontent in matters of fashion.

A sneak peek at women's fashion for autumn and winter reveals abundant luxury, with luscious fabrics cut into silhouettes that flatter the female form. Looks are dressed up and sophisticated, pulled together in sumptuous layers with glamorous but not heavy-handed accessories.

Ultra-feminine pieces continue to influence the style scene, glamming up belted boy sweaters and military-inspired jackets.

And bohemian looks continue strong but take on a new twist.

"It's not about converting spring and summer pieces into fall wear," said Lazarus spokeswoman Heather Hannan. "It's more about fashion favorites making an encore. Tunics, tiered skirts, shrugs and stacked bangles that comprise the bohemian chic look continue into fall in darker colors and heavier fabrications."

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