Dressbarn Collects Clothes for Needy

If doing good suits you, head over to a Dressbarn store March 1 to 4 for their annual SOS (Send One Suit) clothing drive to benefit disadvantaged women in need of professional attire for job interviews."Last year we collected 51,000 items nationwide," said Laura Matunas, manager of the Dressbarn at Bergen Town Center. "This year our company goal is 60,000." Two Paramus locations are among 825 Dressbarn stores across the country that will serve as drop-off sites for new or gently used professional attire including suits, dress shirts, blazers, pants, skirts, dresses, shoes, and handbags. Any size or style is welcome, and the clothing does not have to be from Dressbarn.
Collected items will be given to the international non-profit organization, Dress for Success, which will then distribute the articles to women looking to gain a job or trying to re-enter the workforce. Donations generally go to charities and social services in the local area.
Donors receive a tax form and coupon for a 15 percent discount off a Dressbarn purchase.Andy Hilfiger clothing lines reflect his love of music.Adding a special touch, they also receive a hang tag that reads "From My Closet to Yours" with space for the donor to add a personal message before attaching to the donated item."This really makes it more meaningful," said Matunas, who managed another Dressbarn location for three years before coming to Paramus. "Our regular customers love this drive and many of them plan their spring closet cleaning around SOS," she said.
Customers also like knowing their donations will help women in the local area, said the manager. She explained Dress for Success coordinates with 250 agencies in Bergen County, including Family Success Center, Bergen One Stop and Catholic Charities.On a recent weekday afternoon, Matunas and sales associate Sha'quana Mack pulled out a garment rack already filling up with donated jackets, pants, and even designer suits. "Last year, one woman donated seven or eight bags of clothing, even pantyhose," said Mack, who has worked at the mall location for three years.
Matunas, who previously worked for a major worldwide charity, expressed unqualified enthusiasm for both the SOS drive and her employer. "I absolutely love it," she said of Send One Suit. "It shows we're not just out for business; we really care, and our customers see this. They feel like part of this community."Vivian Behrens, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Dressbarn, said, "Since the inception of the ‘Send One Suit' campaign 10 years ago, we have helped more than 125,000 women across the country gain a renewed sense of self, as well as economic stability."

Lingerie Football League a pathetic spectacle

There's a reason B.C. Lions quarterback Travis Lulay or receiver Geroy Simon don't play football clad only in jock straps, shoulder pads and helmets without faceguards.Football is a full-contact sport, rife with injuries from broken bones to concussions to serious abrasions from sliding on artificial turf.It's why, over the years, the equipment has evolved from leather helmets and knickers to helmets and body armour.From peewees to professionals, players don't want to get hurt and nor does anyone who cares about them or the game itself.
Except if they're women in the Lingerie Football League, which makes its B.C. debut this summer with the B.C. Angels playing in the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre.Football helmets are forbidden. They protect players, but hide their faces. The women wear hockey helmets with clear plastic shielding their eyes, but no face guards.Their uniforms are skimpy bikinis, garters and shoulder pads so unsuited for a contact sport that the standard contract includes a clause acknowledging that "accidental nudity" on the field is part of what the players sign on for."[The] player knowingly and voluntarily agrees to provide player's service hereunder and has no objection to providing services involving player's accidental nudity," it says.
Google the league and you'll find that accidental nudity is the most-reported feature of the eight-year-old league among the teams whose names ― Vegas Sin, Dallas Desire and LA Temptation ― sound surprisingly like soft-core porn titles.In mainstream media ― this newspaper included ― the most frequent references to the LFL poke fun at it with such knee-slappers as T.C. Chong writing that his season tickets are in "Section DD" and R.J. Currie calling it "football 36D."In the very few stories about the actual games, writers consistently note that the play is rough ― "no pillow fight" according to BusinessWeek in 2009 ― and the players are talented, high-level athletes.
Those stories also usually note that the players would prefer not to be so exposed, but they love the game and would do almost anything to play.And that's what they're doing: Wearing virtually nothing and playing for virtually nothing.LFL's founder Mitchell Mortaza brags about its popularity. Profits reportedly increased 260 per cent from 2009 to 2010. But no one has yet reported a 260-per-cent increase from what ― $1? $1,000?Recently, Mortaza mused about hiring Paris Jackson as a spokesperson. No, not the one who plays for the B.C. Lions; the 13-year-old daughter of deceased pop star Michael Jackson.If Mortaza is raking it in and has the cash to hire celebrity spokesmodels, he's not sharing with the players, who reportedly earn $1,000 or less per season.

Andy Hilfiger clothing lines reflect his love of music

Andy Hilfiger brought his two rock 'n' roll-themed clothing lines to the Southern Tier for the first time Saturday.Hilfiger, the younger brother of famed fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, said he is offering the clothes from his Andrew Charles and Riff lines of clothing for sale at bargain prices at Tag's in Big Flats because they're not yet available locally."I'm giving my hometown a little taste of my new line, at a cost price," Andy Hilfiger said. "I'm not profiting on the merchandise."Jeans that are marked at $20 at the sale have a price of $98 retail, Hilfiger said. Prices Saturday ranged from $5 to $25.Hilfiger said about 3,000 of his friends on Facebook are from the Southern Tier, so he's seen a lot of local interest in his brands.
That led Hilfiger to have the sale at Tag's, a place he's familiar with as a lifelong musician.His band, the X Brothers, was scheduled to perform Saturday evening after the sale. Hilfiger also played with ZZ Top there last year.Hilfiger's love of music shows in both of the clothing lines he brought to Big Flats.The Andrew Charles logo features a guitar pick and wings.Busy Philipps Talks 'Cougar Town,' 'Freaks and Geeks' Movie & the Cash Bar At the Oscars.The Riff line of T-shirts uses licensed images from popular musicians.Locals were responding well to the sale, Hilfiger said, estimating that he'd sold about $5,000 worth of clothes by early Saturday afternoon.
Patty Maguire, 41, of Elmira, shopped with Jay Cacala, 46, of Elmira. Jay's brother, Jimmy, plays drums in the X Brothers.Both said they came to support their friend, Hilfiger."Andy's done good deeds," Jay Cacala said, as he held two men's coats he wanted to buy. "It's the least we can do."The sale continues from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Tag's on state Route 352 in Big Flats.Hilfiger says Macy's at Arnot Mall in Big Flats may sell the brands this spring."You want to have enough coverage so if you get up in the wheelchair or you're taken to the washroom, as a dignity thing, you'd like to be covered and feel good about yourself," explains Oliver. She says she heard from people in facilities who complained about clothing that didn't fully cover them in the back.
"It's really about looking and feeling good while maintaining dignity and enjoyment of your appearance," says Oliver of her designs. "A lot of people don't know what the clothing is until their family member gets in that situation."Lifting, turning and moving clients can be difficult for caregivers, and can be frustrating for patients with dementia or Alzheimer's disease who may not know what is happening to them, notes Oliver. Being able to dress and undress with minimal intrusion can be very important.Another important improvement Oliver incorporated into her designs was lengthening and widening clothing flaps to offer better back coverage. This is particularly important for people who are incontinent and wear adult diapers.

Busy Philipps Talks 'Cougar Town,' 'Freaks and Geeks' Movie & the Cash Bar At the Oscars

After a very long hiatus, Cougar Town finally returns to the small screen tonight for what is sure to be another season of big laughs and memorable moments.In preparation for the show’s season 3 premiere (8:30PM ET on ABC), Busy Philipps chatted with Celebuzz about what we can expect from her character, Laurie, this year.We also talked about what it’s like to be on the awards scene with her real-life best friend and former Dawson’s Creek costar, Michelle Williams, who is nominated for an Oscar this year for My Week With Marilyn. Has Busy picked out her Oscar dress yet? What does her daughter, Birdie, think of her awards show fashions? And more importantly, what’s the deal with the cash bar at the Oscars?
Read our exclusive interview below!Cougar Town didn’t get an official premiere date until last month. Were you all worried that it might not come back at all?We weren’t worried, because we were always assured by ABC that they loved the show, that they’re supportive of the show and that they were just trying to figure out where it made sense [on their schedule]. Personally, I was a little bummed when it didn’t come back in the fall. Then, we were just waiting, and waiting and waiting and it just felt like our premiere date was never coming. But now I think this February 14th [premiere date] is the best time for the show to relaunch, or premiere. The first episode of the season is so sweet and romantic and it just seems kind of appropriate.
Has there been any talk of a fourth season yet?I think [ABC] wants to see how the ratings do for us this year. That’s why [series creator] Bill Lawrence has been so proactive about all of these different viewing parties, and reaching out to our fanbase and doing sort of his own guerilla publicity for the show. We got an email from him when we got the airdate, just saying, “Guys, any and all press, I want you to do it! Let’s go for it. Let’s really make this happen.” We all took it to heart, and we want the show to last, too. Our fans are so invested in the show. We want it to stay on the air for them!
Bill recently released a highlight reel of season 3, during which we find out that Laurie and Ellie are both Jules’ (Courteney Cox) maid of honor. What happens there?It’s interesting. It doesn’t seem like Jules really wants Laurie to be her maid of honor [Laughs]. But she also doesn’t want to hurt Laurie’s feelings, so she just sort of does it. It’s a good arc to the season. The whole wedding stuff is fun, and it doesn’t take over [the show]; it’s not the whole year. It’s not like you’re going to be watching a show about a wedding … It’s basically [at] the beginning and the end of the season, and then all the stuff in between is regular Cougar Town hijinks.

About That Naeem Khan Leather Corset on Display at Lincoln Center

Each season, Mercedes-Benz taps a designer to collaborate with for New York Fashion Week. This year's pick is Naeem Khan, who designed a leather corset dress to be displayed prominently at Lincoln Center all week (right next to a gleaming white ML63 AMG parked in the tents ― lest any of us forget who's paying for all this). But if leather corsets bring to mind whips and Madonna, Khan ― best known for his flowy evening gowns worn by the likes of Michelle Obama ― will have you know that respectable ladies can wear them these days, too.
Your aesthetic doesn't seem very "bondage" ― do you worry that incorporating leather might give that vibe?Leather can come out looking hard, because it gives that whole impression, like you said, of bondage. But I don’t want my clothes to signify bondage, because my clients are sophisticated, and that’s certainly been a challenge. But with today’s technology, it’s unbelievable what you can do with leather. When it’s processed in a certain way, it can look like alligator, or it can look like sequins, or lace.Eurotique Corsets To Debut Their New Collection at MAGIC Show.It can be laser cut, and it molds. Leather is an amazing material.
Can you explain how your partnership with Mercedes-Benz brought about this leather corset dress?I wanted to make something fashionable out of leather that would reflect the way that Mercedes makes their cars. Every piece of the corset was assembled by hand, like how Mercedes AMG engines are assembled by hand. It’s a very sexy corset with alligator pattern and each of the scales are hand cut.
Is it made from the same leather that’s used in the Mercedes cars?Similar. The car’s leather is very, very heavy, so I needed something more malleable.So do you get a Mercedes car out of this deal?I already have one! Since 1984, I’ve only had Mercedes cars. Right now I have the SLS, in silver, and I have a G-Wagon, which is also a handmade Mercedes. I keep all these cars in Miami, because in New York, I don’t need to have a car.
Will we see pieces like this corset in your show?Not that same corset. But it is keeping in tone with the collection. I will be showing a lot of leather.It’s been a big year for you, with Michelle Obama wearing your dress, and lots of red carpet moments. What’s on your agenda for this year?