Urban Code Magazine

Archive for July, 2009

Do you remember the 80s? Whether you were an adult or a teenager, there is a good chance that you do. While you may have fond memories of raising a family or being a fun loving kid, one thing that many seem to remember is the fashion trends of the 80s. Popular 80s fashion trends often included large scrunched up socks, rolled up jeans, pony tails off to the side, and bright colored clothing, often neon. The fashions of the 80s is one that often brings back smiles and memories for some. That is actually one the reasons why many individuals throw themed 80s parties.

If you ever find yourself invited to a themed 80s fashion party, you may end up wondering what you can wear. Even if you can remember some of the many 80s fashion trends, you may want still want to think about doing a little bit of research before deciding on your 80s fashion wardrobe for your party. When it comes to 80s fashions, there are many individuals who seem to remember the same thing. While this is okay, a little bit of 80s fashion research and you could be more than just an average partygoer; you could be one that stands out or is complimented for your wardrobe choice.

If you are interested in familiarizing yourself with 80s fashion trends of the past, you will find that you have a number of different options. One of those options involves using the internet. What is nice about using the internet is that you can find just about anything that you are looking for online, including information on popular 80s fashion trends. In addition to traditional websites that may provide you with free information online, you may also be able to find older versions or scans of old 80s fashion magazines online. The internet is a nice and easy way to familiarize yourself with 80s fashion trends. You can get started by performing a standard internet search.

Whether you were a child or an adult during the 80s there is a good chance that you may have photographs of yourself, your family, or your friends. If you are able to find those photographs, if they do exist, you may want to take a look at them. In addition to getting a nice walk down memory lane, you can also familiarize yourself with some of the popular 80s fashion trends. When doing so, you may want to think about grabbing a friend, family member, or an old acquaintance, as it is often fun to reminisce.

Another fun way that you can go about researching 80s fashion trends is by turning on your television. On television, even today, you can find a number of shows that aired in the 80s. What is nice about these shows is that they are set in the time. Watching 80s television shows will likely not only bring back memories of your childhood or your young adult days, but it may also help you familiarize yourself with 80s fashion trends; trends that you may want to incorporate into your next 80s party outfit. You may also want to think about heading down to your local video store to rent an 80s movie.

Of course, the decision as to what you want to wear or even if you want to do any research for an 80s themed party is yours to make, but you may want to think about doing so. As previously mentioned, researching 80s fashions is likely to be fun, exciting and bring back a lot of memories.

Choosing bridesmaids dresses is no easy task, but it’s one of the most exciting and often the most emotional parts of the wedding planning process.

Inviting the special women in your life to be your bridesmaids; your sisters, your lifelong friends, your cousins and special family friends; is a way to seal important friendships during this very special time in your life. Choosing the bridesmaids dress, whether you do it yourself or together with your bridesmaids, is an integral part of the tradition.

Tips on Choosing the Right Dresses for your Bridesmaids

Naturally, it’s the bride who will be the focus of attention on her wedding day, but it’s important for the bridesmaids to look gorgeous too. Choose something simple and not overdecorated or detailed, but which will make your bridesmaids look elegant, sophisticated and feminine.

It’s important to choose a dress style which will flatter everyone’s figure. This is never an easy task, but empire waists and A-line or princess skirts will tend to suit most shapes and sizes.

If your bridesmaids have very different figure types and heights, and you think they might feel uncomfortable in matching dresses, a nice alternative is to choose the fabrics and colors, and allow each individual bridesmaid to choose her own dress style.

Always keep a budget in mind for your bridesmaids gowns. It’s very unfair to expect your bridesmaids to buy overly expensive dresses, and it may damage your relationship with some of the most important women in your life. Around $100-250 each dress is generally considered a reasonable cost. If you have your heart set on a more expensive gown, you might consider making up the difference yourself.

Classic Looks for Bridesmaids

Any kind of formal gown, semi-formal or evening dress can be chosen as a bridesmaids gown, so you have literally thousands of options. Satin, organza, chiffon, georgette, tulle, lace, brocades, and crepe are all classic fabrics for bridesmaid dresses. Whether you choose real silks and imported laces, or more economical alternatives will depend on your budget.

It’s traditional to choose a one-piece dress or gown, but separates are definitely an option. Mixing and matching separate blouses and skirts makes it easier to find a style which suits each individual bridesmaid.

You should think about the time of year you plan to hold the wedding, and how this will effect your gown choices. Choose lighter fabrics for summer, and a sleeveless or even a strapless dress style. If your wedding is planned for a cooler time in the year, long skirts and sleeves are best, or include a shawl or wrap as part of the outfit.

It’s a nice idea to choose your colors according to the time of year also. Fresh, soft colors are lovely for spring and summer; golds, copper tones and rusty reds for fall, and deep marine blues, teal green, deep burgundies and plums, or platinum shades for winter.

Choose colors which will match the flowers which are in bloom at the time of year, so your gowns will tone in nicely with the bouquets. Discussing your color ideas with your favorite florist will make the job of choosing colors much easier.

For a very sophisticated, formal look, black or black and white never goes out of style.. Alternating black and white solid panels has a very dramatic effect.

For a more romantic look, use white or a solid color overlaid with black lace, either as a feature of the dress itself, or as a shawl or wrap.

Soft, pretty pastel shades like lilac, powder pink, cream, platinum and eggshell blue are always popular colors for bridesmaid dresses, because they always look good together with the white or ivory shade of the bridal gown. Adding dramatic color accents in the bouquets creates a very attractive look for the wedding party as a whole.

Another idea which works very well for bridesmaids gowns is to use a silk or satin fabric with a subtle crossweave in a contrasting color, and match the bouquets to the crossweave color. The bouquets will bring out and enhance the color highlights in the dress fabric, which has a very pretty effect.

Accessories for Bridesmaids

The simplest look will tend to work best, so accessories should best be kept to a minimum. Often a simple pair of earrings, a brooch or necklace is all the jewelry you’ll need. It’s traditional for the bride to give the bridesmaids their jewelry as a gift, which is a lovely idea.

For a very formal look, shawls, gloves and even small tiaras are always appropriate as bridesmaids’ accessories.

Keep comfort as well as style in mind when you choose shoes for your bridesmaids. Very high heels may be uncomfortable to stand in for any period of time. Also consider the fact that the bridesmaids will most likely be wearing the shoes for the wedding ceremony and the reception, so choose shoes which will be comfortable to wear all day, then dance away the night.

Color Treated Diamonds

Many people are starting to favor the fancy, vivid colored diamond gem stones over the traditional transparent, or white, diamond. Some diamonds are found in their natural colors when they are mined, others become colored by gemologists and jewelers during a treatment process. In order to make them more affordable to the average consumer, companies have begun color treating diamonds of lower grades in order to take a less desirable yellow or brownish tinted diamond and make it into a beautiful, brightly colored diamond.

Colored diamonds can be treated by a process called irradiation, which uses a high heat system to alter the color of a diamond. Other diamonds are treated by painting.

Fancy Colored Diamonds

While many diamonds are inspected and valued based on their colorless qualities, there are people who prefer the fancy colored diamonds that come in vivid hues of greens, yellows, reds, pinks and all the different colors in between.

Some colored diamonds are that way naturally. If a diamond has nitrogen in it, it often has a yellow tint to the stone. If the gemstone has been effected by radiation, the gem may turn green.

Other colored diamonds have been treated to obtain their color, and this allows people with lower budgets to purchase the fancy colored diamonds. Gemologists have found ways to alter the colors of diamonds to get any shade or hue desired.

The grading process for colored diamonds is slightly different than that of the transparent diamond. First, a colored diamond is graded based on the primary hue, the blue or pink or red color that makes up the majority of the diamonds color. Second, they are graded based on the intensity of that color. A very intense, naturally colored diamond is more rare than a less intense diamond, and therefore more expensive. A treated diamond will cost less than a naturally colored diamond in most instances.

Synthetic Diamonds

Most diamonds are found and mined by miners, but more recently, scientists have come up with ways to create synthetic diamonds. While a synthetic diamond is still a “real diamond”, they are created within a laboratory instead of by nature in a mine.

Colored Diamond Names

Because fancy colored diamonds come in so many different shades, it can sometimes be difficult to interpret the name of the diamonds color. Often, you’ll find two colors labeling the shade of a diamond, such as greenish blue. Each name has a primary color description, and some have a secondary color description. If a diamond is called “blue diamond”, you can tell it will be a blue shaded diamond gemstone. If the diamond is called “greenish blue”, you may wonder what that means. Is the diamond blue, or is it green? The color that is described with the “ish” at the end is considered the secondary color, and the other color, in this case blue, becomes the primary color. So a greenish blue diamond is mostly blue, with specks of green seen throughout the stone. If you come upon a diamond labeled “brown red”, then the diamond will have equal amounts of both colors seen through the stone.