Monday, January 9, 2012

Fashion Industry: Los Angeles

            Las Angeles is a city of bright lights and fashion! This very spread out city holds many superstars and fashion designers from all over the world.  It is easy to find your niche in LA because there is a section for everybody.  Whether you want the laid back Santa Monica scene or the ritzy Beverly Hills there is something for everyone.

           There are many wonderful shopping areas in Las Angeles.  Rodeo drive is a very fancy area with all of the high end designers and shops.  This spot is located in Beverly Hills and is a place where the rich and famous are spotted.  The area is decorated very nicely and is a wonderful place to find new lines from the top designers.  Located sort of near Beverly Hills is the Grove.  This shopping center houses more of the usual store such as Nordstrom and Jcrew.  This is a very fun place to go during the day and at night because there is Movie Theater as well as many restaurants.  The Grove is a place for anyone and is quite popular among the locals. 

            There would not be LA without Hollywood.  Along this street one can see many of the “Stars” that are so famous.  You must go to see actors and actresses hand prints and spend some time with Madame Tussaunds.  Hollywood is very touristy and has lots of gift shops where you can buy many souvenirs and gifts for others.  Down the street from Hollywood, on Sunset one will discover the only Chick-fi-la west of Tennessee! 


    Driving down to the coast of Santa Monica is a must! The beach is beautiful and the boardwalk has something for all ages! Santa Monica has wonderful shops and attractions such as a ferris wheel and roller coaster.  Palm trees and sand are present in this fantastic and trendy part of California.

Fashion Industry: Australia

               Australia, the land down under, is a wonderful place to visit!  This beautiful continent is filled with gorgeous animals, beaches, and most importantly people.  Very vintage clothing mixed with classic black makes Australians very fashionable. It could take many years to truly discover all Australia has to offer but any time spent there is truly time well spent. 

             About an hour outside of Melbourne one will fine one of the world’s most popular surfing beaches. Bell’s beach is known to host many very popular surfing competitions because of its huge waves and beautiful atmosphere.  Near Bell’s Beach the Australian Quicksilver headquarters can be found.  Here a team of designers and business people work hard to create, advertise, and sell quicksilver.  They work on special lines with famous surfers, such as Kelly Slater, as well as the classic quicksilver styles.  Quicksilver is not the only line they run but they also have Roxy, Quicksilver Women’s, and DC.  This brand specializes in outdoor sports such as surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding.
            Within the city of Melbourne there are many places to go shopping. GPO is an old post office that has now been turned into a shopping center.  Here local designers have stores set up to sell their lines.  This is a very neat center and has a large array of stores and restaurants.  The mall itself is three stories high.  Lots of the stores have very a very vintage appeal with a very pricy tag.  This is a very neat way for new designers to preview their lines.
 
            Brunswick Street is a very “chill” street that houses many vintage stores and restaurants.  This area is very trendy and low key.  Brunswick is home to many young adults and is a very fun way to spend the weekends at pubs and bars.  The shops along this street house new and old items, all with a vintage look.  This is definitely the place to go in Melbourne in order to find great vintage treasures.

            The Australian Academy of Design is a wonderful school found in Melbourne.  There it is possible to study all sorts of art weather it may be fashion, photography, graphic, or interior.  The students of this school are very good at what they do and proudly show off their work to anyone who wants to see. 

            Sydney is filled with many different fashion areas.  There are many places to go in order to find the usual department stores or you can find yourself wondering down Paddington or Oxford in order to find vintage stores.  Like the GPO of Melbourne, the Strand Arcade also houses many local Australian designers.  This building has very nice and interesting stores. Where ever you find yourself in Sydney, you are bound to have a wonderful time because of the laid back atmosphere and the beautiful scenery. You can stroll through Hyde park or hang out by the rocks and see the beautiful water.
            The Sydney Opera house is a very spectacular sight to see. Many different types of performing arts are held in this building.  It is named one of the twenty most distinctive buildings in the world and is on the most northern tip of Sydney.  The design of the opera house is said to represent shells from the beaches of Australia.  It is constructed of concrete and glass with a wooden structure.  

            The Sydney Harbor Bridge is one of the world’s most famous bridges.  It is made of steel and is the fifth largest steel bridges today.  If you are feeling adventurous it is possible to climb this 134 metered arch for a price.  While driving past over the Harbor bridge one can see the Opera house as well as the beautiful waters of Sydney.  This bridge takes people from the city to the many beaches found outside of Sydney.  

            Manly Beach can be reached by car or by a thirty minute ferry ride from Sydney.  This quant beach town is very small and holds true to local traditions.  There one can enjoy a lovely day at the beach swimming, surfing, or just sunbathing.  There are lots of very good seafood restaurants along Manly as well as many good sushi bars.  So sit back, relax, and enjoy a wonderful day at the beach!

Fashion Industry: Singapore

Singapore is a beautiful mix of all of Asia.  With its modern take of Asian culture it is hard not to enjoy your time there.  During the day one can explore the wonders this clean country has to offer, and at night it is a wonder to spend your time seeing the lights around the marina.  There is many interesting places in Singapore including the only floating soccer field.  Singapore definitely is a place everyone will enjoy.

            The Singapore Flyer is the tallest ferris wheel in the world.  It stands at 165 meters high and allows viewers to see all of Singapore.  The ride around the flyer lasts about thirty minutes where you will be in an air conditioned and heated room.  There are special carts where people can enjoy a romantic dinner or toast with champagne.  These luxury carts are very reasonably priced and offer an array of options.  Flyer tickets can be bought at the flyer itself or through the many different bus tours.

            A wonderful place to visit in Singapore is the Marina Bay Sands.  Inside the Sands there are many different things to do.  There is a casino and hotel where you can enjoy the slots and have a wonderful time with friends. One can go shopping in the three story shopping mall.  There one can explore through designer stores and regular “mall” stores.  Inside the mall is an ice skating rink and a movie theater.  Singapore is known for its wonderful and delicious food courts.  The Marina Bay Sands has a wonderful array of Asian cuisine.  There you will be able to eat wontons, dumplings, and even buy a duck with its head intact.

The China town in Singapore is not like the one found in New York City.  This area is very traditional and not a place to go find fake purses.  There people can shop for Chinese items such as chop sticks and fans.  Since Singapore is known for having really good pearls this is a good place to find genuine pearls for descent prices.  There are many different types of restaurants and stands where it is easy to find good Chinese cuisine for very cheap.  Standing in the middle of China town is a Hindu temple.  The temple is very beautiful and interesting with all of the statues and colors.  The inside is sure to be just as pretty; however you must take off your shoes before entering. 

Fashion Industry: India





            India is a loud and vibrant country located in Asia.  The cultures found in both Agra and Dehli are very different.  In Agra, it is easy to experience a culture shock for it still resembles a third world country.  Poverty is still present all around the city, while in Delhi there is a world of both riches and poor.  Indians strive to hold on to their own culture by taking old traditions and modernizing them.  There is definitely an essence of color, spices, smells, and sounds throughout the entire country.
            The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra.  The building was built by the Mugal Emperor Shah Jahan for his third wife.  Today both his wife and he are buried in the beautiful mausoleum.  The Building is made of white marble and many different precious stones.  On the other side of the river one can see where the emperor was planning to build a mirrored image of the Taj for himself in black marble.  The plan fell through because his son putting him on house arrest in the Fort.

            The agra fort was once a walled city ruled by many of the royals from Agra.  The Mugal Empire is one of the most famous families to have claim on the fort.  Today the fort is used for many different reasons.  There is a place where visitors can come and see the many twist and turns of about forty percent of the fort.  This location shows where the emperor was held on house arrest and the secret palace where royal women would stay.  The other sixty percent of the fort is used by the Indian military. 
            The Lotus temple is a place for anyone to come and worship, not discriminating on religion.  This beautiful white temple takes the shape of a lotus flower.  It is placed in a very peaceful area with nothing but grass and weeds around it.  This is truly a remarkable place to see and experience. 


       
                The Dilli Haat market is a place where craftsmen and women can come and sell their handmade goods.  Here one can truly capture the essence of Indian culture.  There are shoes, scarves, purses, jewelry, and many other wonderful things to buy there.  Also there are many places to pick up some authentic Indian food.  This market is very inexpensive to visit and is open until very late.
            The Cottage Emporium is home to many different shops and street vendors.  There one can find jewelry, marble pieces, and many other fun things.  It is easy to find very inexpensive fines stones in beautiful settings or just the stone itself.   The sellers are very eager to work with you to find just what you are looking for.  Outside of the stores one can find food venders as well as costume jewelry stands with bangles and necklaces. 
            Mix Nouveu is a show room located outside of Dehli.  There business men and women work to sell clothing to stores such as Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Neiman Marcus.  They design, manufacture, and sell their own products.  Close to the showroom is a factory producing fashion apparel.  This factory is very different from the stereotypical factory talked about in everyday life.  There are strict laws against child labor, and harsh work conditions.  They produce goods for Old Navy, Target, and many other stores in the United States and all over the world.  The factory takes great measures in keeping their employees happy by providing child care facilities, cafeteria’s, and a temple.  With all of these great attributes that the factory provides they have and keep over 65000 employees happy.