NZ fashion designer Yvonne Bennetti at iD Dunedin.

New Zealand fashion designer Yvonne Bennetti to show at iD Dunedin Fashion Week 2013

Much-loved luxury women’s fashion designer – Yvonne Bennetti – will show a stunning collection at this year’s iD Dunedin Fashion Week.The New Zealand fashion designer – who has dressed Kiwi stars such as Rachel Hunter and Lorraine Downes – will join celebrity UK milliner Stephen Jones as a guest designer at the iD Fashion Shows at Dunedin’s Railway Station on March 15 and 16.

The renowned guest joins iD’s tradition of showcasing high profile New Zealand fashion designers, which in the past has included Zambesi, Liz Mitchell, Francis Hooper of WORLD, Adrian Hailwood and Cybèle.

Over her 25-year career in the fashion industry, Bennetti has established herself at the forefront of New Zealand luxury womenswear through her textile design, eveningwear and bridal collections. iD crowds will be treated to a 15-strong collection, including three of her much sought after bridal gowns, five glamorous eveningwear pieces, four day pieces, and three vintage/retrospective outfits. After graduating from Auckland Polytechnic in 1989, Bennetti worked for two years as an assistant designer to Trelise Cooper, before embarking on a career in textile design in Hong Kong. During her 12 years in Hong Kong, Bennetti created fabrics for high-end fashion labels, including Roberto Cavalli, Donna Karan, former iD guest Akira Isogawa, Collette Dinnigan, Easton Pearson, Tanya Carlson, NOM*d, Trelise Cooper and Zambesi. In 2003, she opened her own store in Auckland, returning permanently in 2007.

Bennetti is “excited and honoured” to be part of iD.
“We don’t wholesale in Dunedin, so I’m inspired to show people in the south my work (especially our bridal and vintage collections) and hope they’ll find it interesting.“Dunedin has an eclectic and distinctive fashion style and because my work is very embellished and feminine and bright, it will be quite different to what Dunedin audiences are used to seeing on the runway. It’s such a wonderful opportunity to show my collection.”
iD Dunedin Fashion Week committee chair Susie Staley says audiences are guaranteed to see an exquisite collection from Bennetti.
“We’re really excited to have her here and, as a big fan of her designs, I personally can’t wait to see her gorgeous creations on the iD catwalk.”

Fashion: Don’t drop the Sunday-best!

A few weeks ago, ushers turned away a scantily- dressed parishioner from a Catholic cathedral in Kampala.
The tiny red dress made her look like she was headed to a discotheque on Sunday morning and the TV cameras caught her tugging on its hem to make it miraculously longer. Well, she may have been in church, but even there, such a miracle is unfathomable! It is a free world, but dress appropriately. Age-appropriate. Size-appropriate.
This is the era of dressing up for work and dressing down on Sundays.

T-shirts, shorts, sandals, micro-minis, jeans, name it, are now all reserved for Sundays. It gets worse in Pentecostal churches. One corporate guy working in Kampala explained that his job requires him to wear a tie and suit five days a week, so Sundays and Saturdays are his to use the rest of his wardrobe!

Whatever the excuse, choose your Sunday wardrobe carefully. Not just out of reverence for your God, but also in respect for the rest of the congregation. You can be quite the distraction, you know!

You can be casual without looking like you stopped over on your way to the garden. You can wear your little black dress to church without losing the class. Leave the cleavage at home. For the men who may not understand ‘cleavage’, it is those breasts that threaten to spill out of the top of the blouse with every step.

Go on; lose the tie for Sunday, but do it with style: wear nice short-sleeve shirts not tucked in, or your long-sleeve shirt worn with a jacket but no tie. Jeans worn with class (a nice shirt, good shoes and jacket) can pass for Sunday service on men; but on women? Not so much.So, next time you go for mass, don’t be the unfortunate, impromptu inspiration for the day’s sermon.

Online fashion upstart heads for Fast Starters list.

It’s only been eight months since 26-year-old fashion entrepreneur Jane Lu moved her online clothing business out of her parents’ Sydney garage. But despite starting a little more than two years ago, her website, Show Pony, is turning over as much as $300,000 a month and she says it no longer needs a bricks-and-mortar retail outlet.

Lu, a former business analyst at Ernst & Young, used nothing more than her credit card for the funds she needed. Most of her company’s popularity has come from clever Facebook campaigns and digital advertising.

Lu has a shopfront at Westfield in the Sydney CBD, which she has held since August on a flexible lease but plans to close it. “When we stop paying rent, if we put that into digital advertising the effect is much better.”

She is planning to set up a base in China and has her sights set on the US market.

“I don’t have a passion for fashion at all,” Lu says. “But I thought at the time: ‘I have already met the right people and have a good idea’.”

Fashion retailers had mixed results over Christmas, with Noni B reporting a large slump in profits while Specialty Fashion Group says it expects half-year profit to rise threefold on the same time last year. Analysts are not expecting glowing results from Myer and David Jones when they report their half-year results in the coming weeks.

Against this backdrop, online fashion retailer The Iconic has secured $50 million in overseas investment since September, although reports say the business may not yet be cash-flow positive. And fashion website group brandsExclusive has recorded revenue growth of 1300 per cent for the past three years.

Business people such as Lu are shining examples of how online retailers are disrupting their traditional counterparts by setting up large-volume businesses with relatively low overheads.

Lu puts her success largely down to Show Pony’s 124,000 Facebook fans. A modelling competition in early 2011, where people competed to model for the fledgling site, lifted Show Pony’s fans from 3000 to 20,000, and other campaigns have followed.

Lu bought out her business partner who was averse to borrowing, then maxed out her credit card and invested in online advertising.

She moved out of her parents’ garage in inner-west Balmain in May last year. She now rents a 140-square-metre space at Wynyard in the CBD and employs six staff. In November, she had 200,000 visitors to her website, 3200 orders and $300,000 in revenue.

That could put Lu on track for BRW’s 2013 Fast Starters list, which is currently taking nominations.

She says only 20 per cent of the stock in her website are “fashion-forward” items that set new trends. The remaining 80 per cent is basic bread-and-butter clothing.

“Because I don’t have a fashion background, I’m buying things I think will sell,” Lu says. “We have 20 per cent fashion-forward, which is ahead of fashion so you look cool and when the trends hit we’re there and we’ve got it. Customers see you are spotting the trends early, so they trust your opinion and it brings people to your website. So we advertise with the cool stuff but people mostly buy the basic stuff.”

Katy Perry and Jenna Elfman: Fashion Twinsies in Rodarte Striped Coat.

When you visit D.C. in the winter, the coat you wear is just as important as the clothes you sport underneath it. Remember how all eyes were on Michelle Obama’s Thom Browne topper and Sasha and Malia’s pretty purple coats during the chilly inauguration?

So, when Katy Perry and Jenna Elfman hit the nation’s capital to schmooze with President Barack Obama, the two chose their outerwear very carefully—and both reached for Rodarte’s colorful fall 2012 coat with a cozy shearling collar.Perry stood out at Obama’s inauguration in the black-and-orange striped coat, pairing it with a trendy black fedora and stylish sunnies. And in a classic Perry move, she accessorized with a quirky accessory: a tiny version of Aretha Franklin’s 2009 hat.

Michelle Obama’s Thom Browne coat: 5 things to know about the designer .Elfman went for a more classic look, matching a white Victoria Beckham zipper clutch and sleek Jimmy Choo pumps with the coat’s luxe collar for a 1600 Penn photo shoot outside the White House, followed by a meet-and-greet with the president.

We think both looked perfectly poised for their political engagements in Rodarte’s eye-catching coat, especially since they each styled the stunning striped piece to fit their personal styles.
But we want to know what you think. Which D.C. darling gets your vote for best dressed in the designer topper?

Fashion winner finally receives prize.

An Otago fashion designer has finally received the $12,500 prize money she won in an Australasian fashion competition, more than two months after being crowned the winner.

Last week it was revealed that Otago Polytechnic student Emily Scott had not received any of the promised prizes – including A$10,000 cash – NZ$12,492 according to today’s exchange rate – a A$5000 website, a spread in CIELO magazine and cosmetics and an accessories gift pack from the Australian Graduates Fashion Week contest in Sydney last November.

After inquiries from APNZ, event organiser Elmedin Kumalic got in touch with Otago Polytechnic to say the money would be in Ms Scott’s bank account between Monday and Wednesday this week.
Ms Scott today said the money had turned up in her account.The cash had initially been promised before Christmas.

Bobbi Kristina dating Nick Gordon?

Bobbi Kristina Brown is reportedly dating Nick Gordon.

The 19-year-old only child of the late Whitney Houston and her ex-husband Bobby Brown was seen kissing and holding hands with 22-year-old Nick – who lived with Whitney since he was 12 years old and was raised as her son, although was never officially adopted – at a supermarket on Friday (09.03.12), and he has now confirmed they are “closer” than ever.

Writing on twitter, he said: “Good morning everyone. Their lots of fake people pretending to be MY Krissi. The real one is @REALbkBrown. Fakes need to get un followed (sic)”

Later, after a number of tweets from fans, he confirmed their relationship status, adding: “Yeah we got a little closer and what!!!(sic)”

Nick even posted a picture of the two sitting next to each other the same day they were spotted kissing in Johns Creek, Georgia.

Bobbi has not been on twitter since late December 2011, but recently confirmed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey she still speaks to her mother – who was found lifeless in a bath at the Beverly Hilton Hotel last month.

She said: “I feel her [spirit] pass through me all the time. Lights turn on and off and I’m like, ‘Mom, what are you doing?’ I can still laugh with her and still talk to her.

“I can hear her voice telling me to keep moving, baby, I gotcha. She’s always with me. I can always feel her with me. She used to always say, ‘Do you need me?’ And I said, ‘I always need you’.”

Dating Advice: How Important Is Physical Attraction In A Relationship?

Imagine you meet the guy or girl of your dreams. This person is funny, smart, likes the same things as you and is the biggest sweetheart ever. Only catch? They’re kind of lacking in the looks department. Do you let your lack of physical attraction ruin the relationship… Or does it not matter to you?

Basically, we’re asking: are looks important? Is physical attraction a huge part of a relationship, or is that just superficial? We saw this topic in the gURL.com message boards, and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. Read what these girls had to say about looks in a relationship, and then let us know what you think.

silver44 said:
How important would you girls say physical attraction is in a relationship? I know a guy who wants to date me, and he’s perfect other than the fact that I’m just not physically attracted to him.

(L)iveYourLife replied and said:
I couldn’t date somebody who I wasn’t physically attracted to. Looks matter, and sex is an important part of a healthy relationship. Keep looking and don’t settle for someone who doesn’t meet your standards!

luckybiatch replied and said:
It’s important and I do agree with the above gURLS, however when I first met my boyfriend, I wasn’t necessarily physically attracted to him. I believe girls, including me at the time, have standards higher held than girls in the past would, because of how media is portraying beauty. The more I got to know my boyfriend, the more physically attractive he became in my eyes. Not even a short while after beginning to date, I found him sexy and handsome (and his attractiveness just increases even to this day). So I believe even though you’re not physically attracted to this guy, I bet if you give it time, you might actually become more attracted. In my opinion, the personality of an individual makes them better looking. Looks can only last so long (we all age), but personality lasts a lifetime.

So what do we think? The fact is, no matter how shallow it sounds, physical attraction is important in a relationship. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t date someone unless they’re a male model… All it means is that you have to be a little attracted to the person in order for there to be sexual chemistry.

That being said, luckybiatch is exactly right when she said that the personality of a person makes them better looking. If a guy doesn’t look exactly how you want him to but his personality is amazing, you’re going to find him attractive no matter what. In the end, a relationship is about a strong emotional and physical attraction – with an emphasis on the emotional.

Sisters ‘Safe Dating’ Class Sparks Questions.

A member of the Sisters school board has questioned a grant-funded program that teaches eighth-grade students about safe dating. Board member Cheryl Stewart says she’s worried the program focuses too much on dating online, and says health and safety courses should focus on something other than dates. The Bend Bulletin reports health teacher Julie Patton says the course is preparing the students for situations they may face in high school. Educators and backers of the program say it’s intended to prepare students to make wise choices and avoid violence and abuse when they start dating online in high school – not to encourage them to date sooner. The four-lesson program offers a mix of exercises and lessons about dating and relationships.

Is Katy Perry dating a sexy male model?

Has Katy Perry moved on to a new man? After reports that estranged husband Russell Brand was caught in what appeared to be compromising situations with a few lovely ladies, the “Firework” singer has been romantically linked to the world’s most highly paid male model. (Is anyone else picturing Derek Zoolander right now?)

According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, the pop star met French hunk Baptiste Giabiconi at the Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week; the two were photographed together with Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld.

“He was sitting next to her at the show. Then we all had dinner the other night; they were holding hands and looking cozy, and now they are inseparable,” a source relayed.

Yeah, whatever. We’re going to reserve judgment until it’s clear  these two have actually been together in the same room without a bunch of other people around them.

Mama Kim?

We’re starting to think the editorial staff at OK! gets story ideas by throwing darts at a wall covered with names of celebrities and words such as “wedding,” “pregnant” and “adoption.” Hot on the heels of the supposed revelation that Angelina Jolie — last seen weighing about 70 pounds — is expecting comes the equally dubious “news” that Kim Kardashian is secretly in the process of adopting a baby.

“Kim has always been very maternal,” a supposed insider supposedly told the tabloid. “Of the three sisters, she’s the one who’s been saying that she’s ready for kids the longest.”

Well, it’s easy to imagine Kim opting to adopt so she could become a mom without stretch marks or baby weight. But something tells us this story is bogus anyway.

Costly Custody Battle

Usher’s ex-wife reportedly wants him to pony up $50,000 so she can fight him in court for custody of their kids. Wait, how does that work?

The R&B singer’s former spouse, Tameka, is asking a judge for that sum, according to documents obtained by TMZ — but he’s not having it, having already paid her $25,000. His attorneys say her actions “directly harm the best interests of the minor children.”

Bummer about the court costs and drama, Usher. Maybe next time your own mother can’t stand the woman you’re with, you should take that as a sign?

Tulisa ‘dating Skins’ bad boy Jack O’Connell’ just two months after splitting with Fazer.

She announced last week that she was ’seeing someone’… but it wasn’t Mark Wright.

And it has now been revealed that Tulisa Contostavlos is dating Skins bad boy Jack O’Connell, just two months after splitting with her N-Dubz bandmate Fazer.

The actor, 21 played drug-addicted James Cook in the cult E4 drama.

The couple reportedly partied together over the weekend in Jack’s home city of Derby.

A source told The Sun: ‘Tulisa likes him because he is — to use her words — a ‘bit of rough’.’

Singer Tulisa, 23, and the actor apparently had their first date at Aura nightclub in London’s Mayfair last week.

They were snapped leaving together, with Jack looking a little worse-for-wear, but Tulisa looking happy and relaxed with her new beau.

And at one point, he looked like he was trying to shield Tulisa from the cameras, but with little success.

Tulisa returned to the UK last week after spending a month in Los Angeles and Miami, recording her debut album.

Rumours started flying she had had a fling with former The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright after he posted a picture of the pair partying in Miami on his Twitter page.

But X Factor star Tulisa was quick to take to her Twitter page to dispel any speculation, revealing she is seeing someone – but not the Essex lad.

She wrote: ‘GUESS WHAT… I am seeing some1!!cus Im a b**ody human being!& it gets better!..he is not mark wright!& 4 the record mark is not my type & nor me his..

‘In fact he thinks Im a chick with a d**k. & like my men a bit ruff around the edges!write that!middle finger is up..twit rant is over,thanks.’

Tulisa may find herself fighting for attention from her new man – he is reportedly due to jet off to the U.S. for a new film role.#

Jack also played skinhead Pukey Nicholls in Shane Meadows’ This Is England.

Tulisa split from her boyfriend of 18 months, Fazer, in January this year amid rumours he wanted to start a family but she wasn’t ready.

Bobbi Kristina Brown: Dating “Adopted Brother” Nick Gordon.

Just one month after Whitney Houston’s death, her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown is looking to her family for comfort, but in a different way than you might expect.

The singing icon’s only child and her adopted “big brudder”, Nick Gordon, announced their relationship via Twitter last weekend (March 9) and there are a lot of mixed emotions flying on both of their social media pages from fans and followers.

One of the first questions I heard this week at the BNP Paribas Open was, “Do you think Rory and Caroline will ever walk down the aisle?”

The reference was to Rory McIlroy, the No. 1-ranked male golfer in the world, and Caroline Wozniacki, the former No. 1-ranked women’s tennis player in the world. The two are dating, taking trips to each other’s events and enjoying the life of young, talented, rich and good-looking stars.

McIlroy even showed up at a Wozniacki exhibition match with Maria Sharapova earlier this week in New York and played a point against Sharapova for the crowd.

But the McIlroy-Wozniacki pairing is hardly the first time golf and tennis have crossed paths, or the first time players from the two sports have dated. In fact, in this year’s BNP Paribas field is Ana Ivanovic, who has been dating Australian golfer Adam Scott for some time.

And of course there is the most famous of pairings in recent years between two of the legends of their respective sports. Greg Norman and Chris Evert began dating and eventually married. The marriage, unfortunately, didn’t last, but for a while Norman and Evert were among the all-time sports power couples. Whether McIlroy and Wozniacki ever will reach the level of the Norman-Evert marriage is anyone’s guess.

But dating and marriage is just part of the crossover appeal of golf and tennis. It’s well known that Jack Nicklaus, perhaps the greatest golfer of all time, has always been a tennis enthusiast.

But it is tennis players who seem to enjoy getting away to the golf course more than the other way around. That may not be any truer than it is at the BNP Paribas Open.

Before the Indian Wells Tennis Garden opened, the tournament was held at a very good tennis facility surrounded by the Indian Wells Golf Resort. It certainly was no secret that some players such as Boris Becker spent more time on the two golf courses at the resort than he did on the practice courts.

Heck, even the guy who owns the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and tournament, billionaire Larry Ellison, bought a home in the desert that features an ultra-private 18-hole golf course at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains in Rancho Mirage.

The comparisons between the two games are obvious. For a left-handed tennis player, the right-handed golf swing almost perfectly mimics the left-handed backhand stroke. Both games require a high degree of hand-eye coordination. Both games are very difficult to master, even for the top professionals.

There are other comparisons. For instance, you can be a top golfer like Luke Donald and still have your career measured by the fact you haven’t won a major championship. Andy Murray is one of the Big Four in men’s tennis these days, but he is the one of the Big Four without a Grand Slam title, and people remind him of it all the time.

Even this week, there have been reports of tennis stars taking their day off and getting in a quick 18 holes at a local course, often the Indian Wells Golf Resort.

So golf, tennis and the desert go hand-in-hand this week just like the desert and warm temperatures and blue skies. Or maybe like Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki.

Paris Fashion Week: McQueen, Chanel, Lanvin ruled exciting week

With so many style options, it’s not easy to see the forest for the trees, especially in the thick of a fashion week in a city as intoxicating as Paris.

I’ve spent the past seven days at Paris Fashion Week, devouring the delicious eye candy, trying to decipher the messages that the various fashion houses are telegraphing. It’s a challenge to make sense of a scene whose only constant is change.

There are as many layers to the tale of this week as there are in a mille feuille pastry.

Consumers want our existing esthetic to be satisfied, yet we yearn for it to be challenged. Meanwhile, design houses are obsessed with branding; it’s how they make sure they’re remembered in a cacaphony of options. Then, there’s the reality check of retail: Will women actually buy these ideas, wear these clothes? Will we resist being seduced by marketing strategies and just choose the pieces that best work for us?

But perhaps it’s most important that fall shows in Paris showed we’re living in exhilarating times.

Designers are working hard to bring us goods that will excite and inspire, and there were some exceptionally beautiful collections.

The Belgian-trained Haider Ackermann, one of fashion’s most revered designers, suggested a sophisticated, pared-down approach in warm autumn shades. His did the peplum waist — one of the season’s hottest trends — better than anybody.

Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci riffed on peplums too, but went the equestrian route, another big direction for fall, with arresting silhouettes and stellar garments that were both refined and edgy.

Some of Tisci’s garments were encrusted with mega jewels. Others featured short, wide sleeves, an interesting new silhouette. Sheer, black, pleated chiffon was draped over red satin to dramatic effect, while pants were draped and quilted.

Tisci’s muse, the performance artist Marina Abramovic, was joined by musicians Kanye West, P. Diddy and Alicia Keys at the show. “We were all transfixed,” Abramovic said. “That’s the power and the brilliance of what he does.”

Speaking of edge, who would imagine that a veteran like the iconic Karl Lagerfeld would still be injecting such hard-core sizzle into a classically chic house like Chanel?

His crystal-inspired collection was forward, whimsical, and one of the season’s most imaginative.

Dark, smoky tones prevailed. Some looks were boldly embroidered with beads and crystals. Multicoloured diamond shapes appliquéd to one top gave the impression of a breastplate.

It was a brave collection that gives women a lot to play dress up with.

Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz has a love for women so strong it erupted into a celebration of disparate feel-good looks as wearable as they were desirable.

Elbaz couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he presented a love story of simple neoprene dresses in bright colours, dramatic full skirts, dresses in metallic lames and brocades and whimsical furs in every colour of the rainbow.

It was a greatest hits package for Elbaz, who has spent a decade at the house.

Sarah Burton, who heads up design at Alexander McQueen, is becoming as daring and dreamy as her legendary predecessor. Her creative play with volume, yet another huge trend, was nothing short of magical.

It’s amazing that only two years ago, fashion editors wondered whether the house of could continue to exist after McQueen’s suicide in 2010.

Burton has quieted any doubts. Her fall collection of embroidered, cinched-waist coats, minis made of fur pompoms and bright fuchsia, feather-trimmed dresses brings some much-needed fairy-tale to fashion world.

Romance was in the air for Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, who took us on a glamourous Orient Express style train adventure, and Dutch design duo Viktor and Rolf, who toyed with the notion of mystery with dramatic pieces that had a couture feel.

Then there was the much-loved Stella McCartney, always in tune with the modern woman’s wants and needs. McCartney went the real-life, sporty route and gave us tweeds and knits and masculine tailoring to keep our fall closets full.

The pieces de resistance were flirty, colour-blocked dresses, with little fluttering skirts. “She sure knows how to make women look beautiful!” said Stella’s father, Sir Paul McCartney, after the show.

At Hermès, Christophe Lemaire advocated comfort and ease as the highest form of luxury, showing us capes, blanket coats and pants that ballooned from slouchy boots could be regal.

And leave it to the designers at Valentino for keeping ladylike dressing relevant by making it modern enough to woo a new generation of young women.

Judging from what was shown at Paris fashion week, there’ll be a multitude of possibilities for women of every age and shape this fall: peplums and cinched waits, edgy romance, equestrian chic, oversized masculine tailoring, a palette of warm colours and new takes on green to charm us.

Fall 2012 promises to be about listening to your inner voice, addressing your outer body dictates and making the choices that will best tell the world who you really are. Fashion is a powerful tool. It’s time to study and embrace its refined possibilities, and stride confidently through that big style forest ahead.

Regina women’s event features more fun, shopping and learning than ever before

Shop. Indulge. Discover. Learn. For three days next week, What Women Want will provide women in Regina — and men — with over 2,000 square feet (185 square metres) of answers.

It’s more than a trade show according to Michelle Strawford, the event’s organizer.

“We really want to be an event, a day out for women, for their friends, for them and their spouse,” she said.

To bring that about, the popular women’s event is making some changes in its fourth year, Strawford explained.“It was time to evolve.”

This year, What Women Want, which runs March 16 to 18 at the Conexus Arts Centre, will showcase a new mix of vendors.

“And we have refocused our efforts on a true experience, with more fun, shopping and learning than ever before,” Strawford said.

The revamped experience will include everything from sipping and sampling local spirits and cuisine, to learning about the latest in home, health and spa trends. There will be opportunities to shop for a vast array of products — including fashions, eye wear, beauty products, even a luxury vehicle. This year’s event will also include stage entertainment and education.

“We wanted a reason for people to stay,” Strawford said. “We really want it to be a day out.

“We put such a tremendous amount of energy into the atmosphere and shopping experience this year. It’s always been a great show. No doubt about it. We’ve always had a huge number of women that come to the show. But this year, we wanted to bring a new mix of vendors. We wanted to bring some entertainment — another reason for people to stay.”

The event will feature over 100 booths. (Another 70 businesses are on the waiting list, Strawford said.)

“We wanted it to feel like a new mall in Regina,” Strawford explained, comparing the atmosphere to walking into a Vegas casino, where “you don’t know what time of day it is; you just know that it’s fun and that you want to stay.”

Regina boutiques, including Stella & Sway, will be setting up shop at What Women Want. Out-of-town participants will include Obviously Chic Boutique from Estevan, “which will literally be moving their store here,” Strawford said. Even its chandelier is coming to the Queen City.

In addition to the event’s main stage, mini stages in some booths will showcase everything from the latest fashions for 2012 to the newest hairstyles.

Shows will be presented every 30 minutes on the main stage, including: style makeovers, mini fashion shows, dance demonstrations, wine education; cosmetics demos, and spray tanning demos.

“We knew that people are interested in all these things, but we don’t always get an opportunity to see it in an unthreatening manner,” Strawford said. “It’s a really nice environment to sip a glass of wine, have a snack and watch a stage show.”

VIP bags are another new addition to What Women Want. The first 200 attendees daily will receive a bag featuring cosmetic products, jewelry, gift certificates and food samples.

The VIP experience will also include complimentary awards-show-style entrance photos, as well as a sip and sample lounge with entertainment.

To date, What Women Want has raised over $20,000 for local charities. This year, the event will once again support the Leader-Post Christmas Cheer Fund, focused on enabling local shelters to enhance the programs and services available to women and children fleeing domestic abuse.

Free limo and party bus shuttle service will be provided to the Dewdney strip of pubs and clubs after What Women Want closes Friday and Saturday nights.

“It’s just a little add-on for women who have come out for the ladies’ night out, and they want to continue their night. This is a great way to do that,” Strawford said.

On Sunday, the Posh & Pink Dress Sale, produced by Eye Inspire Events, will be featured at What Women Want. The one-day, cash-only sale will feature about 500 “previously loved” formal dresses for graduations and special events. No dress will cost more than $80. Proceeds will go to the Leader-Post Christmas Cheer Fund.

Raffle tickets will be sold throughout the three-day event, for a chance to win over $10,000 in prizes, including two tickets anywhere WestJet flies. Proceeds will go to the Leader-Post Christmas Cheer Fund.

“It really is an event for every age … We are not just catering to the business woman, or the girls’ night out crowd. We’ve got stuff for mothers, too. … And every price bracket,” Strawford said.

What Women Want runs from 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10, available only at the door.

FAMU women, men look to reload teams.

The mission isn’t much different for Clemon Johnson and LeDawn Gibson when it comes to the future of their Florida A&M basketball teams.

While Johnson has the most significant reloading to do with the men’s team, Gibson is about fine-tuning the women. Both said they want to find top-notch talent to fill the scholarship spots created by seniors who played their final season of eligibility.

The end of the season came in surprising fashion for both teams Friday in the MEAC Tournament. The men, who started with an 8-22 record, pulled off two stunning upsets to reach the semifinal where they lost 58-46 to eventual champion Norfolk State. In the women’s bracket, the Rattlers were uncharacteristically flat in a 51-43 loss to Howard University.

Gibson led the Rattlers to their first 20-plus win season in 15 years coming into the tournament. Their remarkable season included a run of 14 straight victories and a stay at the top of the conference standing to the final week.

The league named Gibson coach of the year and Antonia Bennett was player of the year. Qiana Donald also was named the best defensive player in the conference. Both players along with Regina Smiley and Tameka McKelton played their last season.

But they came up short of the prize they wanted the most.

“They didn’t get what they wanted and that hurts so badly,” Gibson said. “I think they achieved a lot for themselves but they wanted the MEAC championship.”

Work has already gotten under way to attain that goal next season, said Gibson. She’s on the recruiting trail searching for shooting guards and post players, hinting that college transfers are high on her list.

“We are looking for some scorers and players that can step in and play,” Gibson said. “Not necessarily high school players that are going to take some growing.”

Johnson seems to be taking the same approach to reloading his team, which will lose seven seniors. He was optimistic that the Rattlers’ 2-1 postseason performance would help recruiting.

“Of course, we have to make sure we get the quality of individuals that fit into my system,” he said. “I’ve got to get some guys who are able to play this system right off the bat so we won’t have such a long time to get a unified team to the through the tournament.”

Sagittarius: Russian singles girls- Sagittarius love adventure and adventure, they have inexhaustible vitality and strength. They are not impressed with life for the sake of money and profit. They do not make husbands from morning to night to earn money. For them the main thing – individual self-expression. They cannot defy fate. While the homework of their tires, they love the purity, beauty and comfort. This is a hospitable, cheerful hostess. Even a feeling of inner restlessness, Sagittarians prefer the expectation of good deeds boring everyday monotony.
Capricorn: These women believe that the success – the result of hard work and sacrifice. They do not grumble at their husbands for the slow movement of the service. They do not just like success, but working on it, frugal and thrifty, extraordinarily hardworking.
Aquarius: As a rule, for Russian singles girls Aquarius money means little. For most of them happy – the spiritual life, not its material side. In her husband appreciate the sublime ideals. Their motto is “not by bread alone.” They encouraged their husbands to a creative search to achieve a high position. Aquarians are women – the ideal partners of men employed on public work and public service. Their virtue – the lack of suspicion and jealousy. They never checked their husbands.
Pisces: Husbands may say about the wives of Pisces, because they always call them for help, thus providing an opportunity to feel their (male) the importance and need for, and showing that all rely on their (male) opinion. Fish not commanded by their husbands and not stand up to them. They appreciate the life they support, trust; never “hew”, even if their career develops poorly. For them – above all peace and happiness to her husband. This Russian singles girls is true.

3 good reasons to learn on dating online chat: 1.Regular meetings with new people. For us, with you, get acquainted with the new person can be very difficult. Especially if that person stands out, because not everyone dares to come to a pretty long-legged beauty or handsome man. Free dating online chat provides us with new horizons for communication. You can get acquainted with all men and women regardless of their appearance, social status and other things. Here we can friends and can find absolutely everything, even the representatives of various sexual minorities. It is up to you, it’s time to move and make new friends with one click. 2. Even people overlooked can find happiness here. And this is wonderful! People with disabilities can find a right person or to brighten up your leisure time in the category “dating service for adults” or dating online chat. No one will look at you askance. Here you’re just like everyone else! Internet dating – is a great field for shy people; the Internet makes it possible to reveal their abilities in communicating with the opposite sex. 3. Special sections dating online chat. If you think that everything has already been taken and all the beautiful girls and men have already discussed – you are grossly mistaken! Every day, the Internet connects thousands of people who also want to socialize and meet new people, so that will be enough for everyone! Millions of people around the world have already made their choice in favor of internet dating online chat sites. Only one thing they are sorry – this is why they have not done this before? It’s time you make your choice, to discover a new space for communication! Stop postpone all on then, start right now!

Mankind loves to play; this is one of the main components of our nature on our free dating chat. Special distribution of different games has over the past few decades, when a man appeared with enough free time to do what he liked. And most people are spending their free time, obtaining their daily bread is in the game. Nowadays, particularly popular variety of role-playing games with free dating chat for hot girls. Role-playing game is entertaining game action, during which the player chooses one of these roles and act in accordance with a pre-specified rules of the game. Each role imposes on the player’s specific obligations and restrictions, but they are in most cases are very general in nature . So the player there is greater freedom for improvisation. Of far greater importance are the rules of so-called “peace games”, i.e. that the game space, in which the player interacts with other players, playing, respectively, the other roles on free dating chat. On the whole “game world” can be created with the installation or to achieve some goal (in this case, increasing the element of competition between individual players or teams), or provides the basic plot lines, which, depending on the actions of the players, could lead to different, in some extent unpredictable results. Thus, with varying degrees of detail modeled a situation in which the player is given freedom of action. Role playing, initially emerged first as board games, and then widespread due to historical staging proved to be very exciting occupation. The emotional impact of their members and the efficiency of efficiency “were so high that from 1970-80-ies role-playing games have been actively used in psychological training and teaching business strategy and tactics. There are many classifications of role-playing games, because of the large number of criteria for all sorts of divisions.

3 good reasons to learn on free dating online chat:

1. It is convenient to meet new people on free dating online chat! Dating through the internet on free dating online chat – it is very convenient, at any time of day and night at a convenient time for you! On the street or in a club you can lose you’re interested person from the field of view at any moment, but here he is always there.

2. Dating on free dating online chat in internet dating service is safe! Free dating online chat gives an opportunity to fully examine the person well before the meeting. You have the opportunity to get a complete picture of your companion. You can talk to him about work, school, his hobbies and interests, talk on the phone, you see interesting photos. All this can be done while maintaining completes anonymity, leaving no real name, no telephone. Now is imagine what might turn out for you pickup on the street or in the club? You all know about his companion? Good thinking? Please read paragraph 2 again.

3. Dating on free dating online chat – accessible to all. There is a widespread view that the introduction of the internet – this is only for losers, which in everyday life simply cannot anyone start a relationship – is a complete lie. Net true – singles are available to all! Whether you are young or old! In the Internet there is everything for every taste! Here you can find absolutely any contingent of students from simple and cute housewives to celebrities and tycoons!

Free dating online chat can help almost everyone. But for some people – those dating just yet ideal to find new friends and possibly a new love. What is convenient for everyone? The Internet allows people to meet, which most likely would never have met just as in reality. This is very useful and interesting, especially if you are just looking for communication. Communicating on the Internet allows you to remain onymous.First, it allows you to relax. In real life you are bound by certain social roles, all the friends you used to perceive it that way. Communicating on the Internet, where, perhaps, no one will ever know who is hiding under your user name, you can try for themselves a new image. What may help you to change and in reality.Secondly anonymity is good for those looking for unusual sexual partners, wants to try something new. If someone from your friends in real life and see your ad, you will never guess what it is you place it. Thus, you will not be compromised.Many people easier to be relaxed and candid, when there is no need at this particular moment to monitor their facial expressions, appearance, etc. When you sit at home in front of the monitor, in a familiar,comfortable atmosphere in comfortable clothes for you, much easier to find the right words and to build relationships, or simply to communicate. If you just do not get to invent a decent answer to this tricky question – always have time to think, and you can answer later.Free dating online chat can help you learn how to more clearly express their feelings and emotions through words. Nobody will see your gestures, your facial expressions – everything seems to be obtained only from your words. When virtual communication you first learn the inner world, human personality. Speaking to the Internet – you can not be distracted from work and other daily affairs, from time to time talking to any topics that interest you with your new acquaintances. You do not spend time on the road, makeup. Free dating online chat service – this is a very promising way of communication. But never forget about real life, no matter how appealing virtual world.

Some complain about the callousness of communication on the online dating personals. Yes, indeed, when we say, only 10% of the information transmitted along with the sense of speech. The remaining 90 percent transferred timbre of voice, facial expressions and gestures. It turns out that, when communicating over the Internet with online dating personals, we can tell each other much less. Perhaps this is the truth. But, on the other hand, because the words have more than a thousand ways to convey emotions and moods. Recall, smiles! And is gay picture of your interlocutor does not cheer you when your working day? Index – a creative approach to dating and communication. Then the limitations of the Internet in the transfer of emotions does not prevent you from enjoying themselves in the network. In addition, it must be remembered that Dating in Internet is primarily a choice. Huge selection. When you go in the subway car, how many brides you can choose? Given the limitations of age and the fact that the girl should be without the young man – a maximum of 10. In a night club selection much more – tens and even hundreds of girls. At any popular online dating personals thousands of them. This dating services are convenient not only a great choice, but the search tools that help make this choice. You can choose smoking or non-smokers, students or older girls, girls from your area or from another city. Nowhere else but the Internet is no such opportunities. Dating in runet, in the end, interest-employed people who do not have the opportunity and time to get acquainted with something else. And where? It gives the car much less chance for a successful dating than Subway. If, moreover, the work consumes all my free time, then go to the dating site at lunchtime – ideal for the man with the rhythm of life. I think that everyone in the Russian acquaintance through the Internet can find their advantages and disadvantages. Some people like it, some do not. We are not agitating for communication on the Internet as the only means of communication between people. But sitting at home in the evening, try an evening viewing soap operas or reading a glossy magazine to go to dating, because this method of time is no worse than described above. And in the sense of communion with the opposite sex he had any of them would give odds! Good luck with acquaintances in real life and on the sites!