Glamour, Glitz and Gifts

Glamour, Glitz and Gifts
Hot Trends, Deals & Fashion Foward Ideas to Ring in the New Year

The place to start the holiday hunt for glamour, glitz and gifts was the Shecky’s Girls Night Out experience which landed in the Los Angeles area just before Christmas. Set up at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, it was a three-day shopping event that had everything for fashionistas and glam gals looking for bargains.

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Shecky’s Girls Night Out is an event that travels across America, setting up in major cities with a marketing platform that caters to women who want to shop for fashions and beauty products at huge discounts. And if shopping isn’t enough, complimentary cocktails, food pairings and a DJ add to the fun atmosphere for all the “girlfriend groups” that gather.

It’s an incredible idea that was evolved by Shecky’s president Claudia Chan, a gal with a knack for entrepreneurship who knows that today’s economy needs more Shecky’s shows.

Claudia says, “The luxury market is very difficult right now. But we’re fortunate that we feature emerging designers, companies and brands that are in demand, yet affordable. We’re very value driven, so we’ve done well this year.”

Looking around the Civic Center turned into a shopping mall, Claudia noticed women from all backgrounds and age groups looking for the latest must-haves.

Among the trends in accessories, the glitzy collar necklaces seemed to be among the hot items. Also Vintage is popular now, and a lot of layered chains.

Dresses are hot in fashion. Claudia reports, “A dress you can wear daytime to night is good in this economy. It’s one piece instead of buying four or five different pieces for an outfit. But you can get four or five different looks out of it with the right inexpensive accessories.”

To see when and where the next Shecky’s Girls Night Out is coming, go to www.sheckys.com.

HBO Shopping

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There’s no doubt that winter has hit New York, so the HBO Shop has tuned its display window into a giant interactive snow globe, designed to engage people passing on the sidewalk in NYC.

The display showcases merchandise from popular HBO shows, including a chandelier made of recycled Tru Blood drink bottles and Sex and the City after party foldable ballet flats and colorful tees.

That’s one way to get the attention of shoppers, but if you’re not in the Big Apple you’ll have to go online to look for stocking stuffers, such as the edgy The Wire tees that make a statement, and the “Peace, Love, Vampires” tees and jewelry from the True Blood line. Check them out at www.HBO.com/store

 

Trend-setting clothes

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When Bloomingdale’s wanted to highlight the best in holiday gifting to their fashion-savvy customers, they added the Boy Meets Girl line in the Bloomingdale’s Holiday Catalog. They have tees that bring the sparkle of the season to glam gals, and some celebrities who love the new Alice Tee include Ali Larter, Ashley Tisdale, Eva Mendes and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Actually a hot new vampire has been bitten by the Boy Meets Girl fashion bug, with Vampire Diaries’ Kayla Ewell becoming a big fan of the line. She’s been spotted on the set and out on the town in the perfect little black dress called Infatuation from the Boy Meets Girl.

Melissa Mycroft (The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars) has the trendy hoodie. Rachel Bilson’s loves the sporty Loco B Tote, and Gabrielle Union goes for the Believe Charm Tote from the line of cute bags that displays the Boy Meets Girl logo. Go to www.boymeetsgirlusa.com.

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Another designer who is being embraced by celebrities such as Mya, Denise Richards and Kelly Osbourne is Carmelita Couture. It’s a sexy mix of emphasizing the beauty of the female form, classic glamour and fun, plus bold prints and colors.

The Carmelita Couture is inspired by the jet set lifestyle and beautiful architecture, says the sassy-Latina founder Carmelita, who presented a fabulous trunk show to show off her latest styles at the BOND Nineteen Boutique in Beverly Hills. It’s a lovely new high end designer shop which caters to the young Hollywood crowd, and celebrities came to shop, sip and socialize. Go to www.CarmelitaCouture.com

 

Wearing a smile!

Alison Sweeney is the sweetest host of the inspiring life-changing reality show The Biggest Loser on NBC. She’s also a busy mom juggling a career and family, and Alison says “a positive outlook and a healthy, confident smile can get me through even the toughest challenges.”

So Alison was the perfect host for a different kind of contest, the first Glide Tight Spaces obstacle course, sponsored by Crest Glide and partnering with Feeding America. At the event, visitors were competing for prizes as they practiced their sliding and gliding skills through hanging teeth that created a huge obstacle along the race course set up in the heart of Hollywood at the Hollywood and Highland Complex. Alison’s cutie-pie son Ben also enjoyed running the course with his mom.

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The objective of the Crest Glide event was to demonstrate the importance of flossing teeth while getting through tight spaces to achieve a healthy and confident smile. It also helped a good cause.

For every participant Crest donated a dollar to Feeding America. The event raised $20,000 to help families across America to have food on their table for the holidays. That deserves a big smile.


Margie Barron has written for a wide variety of outlets including Gannett newspapers, Nickelodeon, Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine, Fresh!, Senior Life, Production Update, airline magazines, etc. Margie is also proud to have been half of the husband & wife writing team Frank & Margie Barron, who had written together for various entertainment and travel publications for more than 38 years.

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