If The Shoe Fits...

When it comes to wearing fashionable, chic shoes, many women are hesitant to strap on a pair of three-inch heels because of the POTENTIAL foot pain and discomfort stylish shoes can produce. A new survey released by KIWI® Shoe Care, part of Sara Lee Food & Beverage, has found that almost half of American women (48%) would categorize themselves as "prudent chic" – trying hard to find a balance between style and comfort.

But it’s not as easy as it sounds. There are time when you find a pair of comfortable shoes that also look great, but the fit is't quite right. Most of us usually purchase the pair of shoes, and figure that the size doesn't really matter. Buying any shoes, no matter how comfortable and fashionable they are, that don't fit properly is a big mistake!

KIWI gives some great tips for women who can't help but buy that super trendy shoe that's just a little too tight:

Break 'em in. Women should wear their heels around the house for an afternoon - especially if they are brand new. This allows women to notice problems, like blister areas, before they become painful – and helps women take the necessary steps to correct any issues before wearing the shoes in public.

Don't feel the burn. Women don't have to experience that horrible burning sensation in the balls of their feet and heels. KIWI recommends women pick up some insoles for their shoes to provide extra cushioning and enhanced comfort to those sensitive pain points in the feet.

For more of KIWI’s tips on pain-free feet, click here.

PR's Secret Weapon: Celebrity Gifting Suites?

PR professionals know that introducing celebrities to client products can be a critical part of the overall strategy and, when it works, makes their job a lot easier. Backstage at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards, the MoroccanOil “Celebrity Retreat” produced by Backstage Creations, was filled with celebrities grabbing up free products left and right and brands hoping to gain coverage.

From the award show's perspective, outreach at the event is intended to maximize marketing efforts. It used to be enough to tweet about your celebrity successes, now the goal is for the celebrity to tweet about it themselves. The companies participating in these gifting suites are each integrating social media and celebrity outreach into their public relations strategy to gain coverage and hopefully increase sales.

To read more about which brands were stationed in the backstage celebrity retreat click here.. 

Fashion GPS: Changing the Future of Fashion Week

As Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2010 comes to a close, I thought it was important to address the amazing updates that developed this year. None of the changes compare, however, to Credit Fashion GPS created by IMG Fashion. Fashion GPS is a web-based (created essentially for iPad users), event-planning and inventory-tracking system that aims to eliminate the hectic list-checking and general confusion that inevitably happens each season. 

This idea generated from the need for an inventory control system that would help KCD Public Relations track designer samples sent to magazines, stylists, models and celebrities. Now 80% of the designers, including Chanel, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Dior, who showed at this years fashion week are managing their shows with a  customized version called "Fashion GPS for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week."

To read more about the GPS and its founder, Eddie Mullon's interview click here.

Fashion Defined

Hi Fashionistas ,

I am starting Fashion Relations for a Public Relations class I am taking this semester. I hope you enjoy the connections I find between Earl Babbie's The Basics of Social Research and the Fashion Public Relations world. 

After reading this weeks chapters, I thought it might be interesting to give a couple fashion operational definitions. An operational definition is the "concrete and specific definition of something in terms of the operations by which observations are to be categorized" (Earl Babbie). 

Fashion: expressing oneself by utilizing apparel, accessories, and hair to help project an image of oneself to the world. 

Fashion Publicist: One who handles all operations regarding exposure for the the brand image of the company. 

Since I'm going to be writing a research paper on something fashion related to public relations, I thought Fashion and Fashion Publicist would be good to define first. What definitions would you define?