Becoming a Fashion Designer – Part II

Before you venture into the fashion biz, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with industry terms and fashion seasons.

Here are some fashion terms you may find useful in planning your fashion career:

Haute Couture: This fashion term is French for “high sewing” or “high dressmaking” and refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted fashions. While the term is very loosely used, it’s actually a “protected name” in France, so it can only be officially used by designers that meet certain well-defined standards.

Lookbook: A lookbook is used by designers and retailers to show the range of a collection. You can use these to send to buyers, editors, journalists or on your website for the viewing public.

Off-the-rack: This refers to apparel made in standard sizes and available from in-stock merchandise. Also referred to as “ready-made” and “ready-to-wear”.

Fashion Seasons

Just as the weather changes, so do fashion seasons. We’ve all walked into a store in early March and seen summer tops and wondered what they hey? The reason is that the fashion seasons change before the grass turns green or the first snow falls. Knowing the fashion seasons is critical if you’re going to become a fashion designer. You’ll also want to work with a fashion forecaster to predict the trends, so that when you present your collections to buyers-or to the public directly-they’ll buy it!

Trend forecasts are based on the fashion seasons, taking into account color and fabric variations for different times of year. For example, earth tones are generally more popular in the fall, jeweled colors for the holidays, pastels and floral prints for spring and white and bright colors for summer. Of course, there are always surprises! But for the most part, designers and manufacturers include some of these standard colors in there collection planning.

If you’re working on your first line, plan to work six months before any given selling season. Successful designers produce four or five seasonal lines a year. Targeting delivery a month ahead gives consumers a continual supply of fresh merchandise each season.

Fall markets take place between February and April. The fall selling season is the biggest season of the year, so it lasts longer than the other seasons, which usually only last two months with some overlapping. “Fall II” starts in mid-April and goes through mid-June.

Holiday is June-July; with the occasional show in August.

Resort/Cruise is August through early September. Spring fashion is from October to November, with some shows in early December. Summer is shown in December-January with a late show in February.

Since the buying shows happen in well in advance of upcoming seasons, you better have good insight into what buyers are looking for. For example, if you wait until February to show your spring collection, many buyers will already have placed their orders in the fall. They’ll be looking for some summer, but mostly fall and winter samples for the following year. Even if they like what you’re showing, they may have already exhausted the budget. Also, you will need to have your product ready in time for the promised ship dates.

Stay tuned for more on How to Become a Fashion Designer

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Use These Lazy Gardening Techniques To Make Gardening More Fun And Less Work

Lazy Gardening Techniques are great gardening methods for those who don’t have a lot of time or money, but still want a beautiful, healthy landscape. This method of gardening is also excellent for those with health considerations or mobility differences that make traditional gardening methodology difficult or even impossible. Also, for those who live in areas with less than ideal soil (clay is common), this method takes the digging and amending of heavy clay and makes it a thing of the past.

You’ll love the Lazy Gardening Technique because it makes creating new raised garden beds of all kinds a cinch, and for gardeners this is an inescapable gateway to more space, which means more planting, and more fun. So what is the Lazy Gardening Technique?

Originally designed for easy and quick vegetable planting, the Lazy Technique is pretty simple. It’s a way to prepare garden space without tilling or digging of the soil. It also means the blocking and eradication of weeds and difficult to remove grass turf, again, without digging or a lot of hard work. This technique is perfect for more than just vegetable gardens too- it works flawlessly for ornamental landscape beds.

Another great part about this method of gardening is, there’s no real one right way to do it. This method can be adapted to suit materials and climate, so that it works for everyone, anywhere. So how does it work?

Oh so simple. Let’s stick to creating raised garden beds techniques using the Lazy Gardening method, because there are many, many methods that the Lazy Man uses for other applications.

What you need:

  • A lot of a biodegradable paper product, like newspaper, paper bags, or cardboard boxes flattened.
  • A bed edging material (if you desire) such as landscaping block, wood, etc.
  • Compost or garden soil.
  • Plants and seeds ready to plant.
  • Mulch (grass clipping, shredded leaves, or bark mulch product, whatever you like)
  • Water

How to make a Lazy Garden:

  • First mark out where you want your new landscape garden bed to be, and mark the lines of the bed with a spray paint, chalk, an old hose, stakes, or string. Whatever you have will work. Garden beds with waving lines usually look more interesting than garden beds with straight lines, but the design is totally up to you. Remember, this method works on existing weeds or turf, so mark away where ever you want!
  • Second, lay down your paper. If you’re using a thick material like cardboard, you need your cardboard to be one layer thick. For thinner paper products, you will have to layer them thicker. Wet down your material with a hose to keep it from blowing away, and soften it so it can adhere to the ground and begin composting while the paper smothers the grass and weeds. Aim for about a centimeter of paper material thick (if you’re not using cardboard) or more after you’ve wet it down.
  • Third, install your chosen landscape edging if you’re using one. Make sure the edging is on top of your paper material. Cut away any material that pokes out of the edging border.
  • Fourth, add your soil on top of the paper. You can use prepared compost or garden soil available in bags purchased from a garden center. You will need to fill your garden bed to about 4 inches or more on top of your paper. Once you’ve added your soil, wet it well.
  • Next, layer more paper product over the top of the garden, not as thick as the bottom. Wet it well so that it stays down on the earth and doesn’t blow away.
  • And now you can plant! With a sharp knife, cut holes in the paper on top of the soil and plant in the holes. Plants that will do very well right away in a rich soil like this are numerous. For fast color and ease of care, try planting a mix of beautiful daylilies to keep it simple. You really are not limited to what to plant in your lazy garden. Why not try perennial plants, ornamental grasses, strawberry plants, perennial vegetables or herbs.
  • Finally, water your new plants, and mulch the top of the paper. Keep the garden area well watered to encourage the breakdown of the paper. Each year after, simply refresh your mulch to keep the plants healthy and the weeds from sprouting.

This easy, cost effective, and universally accessible gardening method is a perfect way for anyone to landscape their home on a budget and with minimal work. Enjoy the rewards of gardening at the same time without breaking too much of a sweat!

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