My Pollignanno Al'Mare

Pollignanno Al'mare, a Brazilian Brand that we carry in our Store is not only sexy, feminine but comfortable! The Brand takes it's name from the small fishing village Polignano a Mare in Italy. It was launched in 2001 by two sisters Fernanda & Juliana.

I just love my Pollignanno Sandals!

Zai Store!

It was not a grand opening as it should have been. The opening of our newest store had taken way too long...more than a year. We all just wanted to get it done with. Still bits and pieces left to be done...somewhere fixtures are missing and somewhere the walls have to be done.

Thursday, 22nd of Jan, the Sheikh & the Sheikha came with a few of their friends and cut the ribbon and declared the store opened. It's a huge store on 3 levels. Most of the luxurious Brands are here in the store...Ungaro, Nina Ricci, Mathew Williamson, Lanvin, Paul Smith, Zilli, Kiton, Halston, Maria Luisa and many many more.

Now, we wait to see how well the store will do. What I can say is that given the location and the current economic situation, its going to be a real challenge.

Another Pair!

The week long holidays for EID comes to an end. I head to one of the Mall to enjoy the last day of the holidays indulging in my favourite pastime....shopping! Did not have anything particular in mind, just browsing....and what do I spy?

I know, I know....but a girl can never have enough of shoes! And a pair of Black Pumps? One always needs those! Check the one which I found today! The heels are simply gorgeous! And they are Oh! So comfortable!

Let's talk Business!

London was just not about shopping and sight seeing! We were on a Business Trip and serious business it was. The main purpose of the visit was to shake hands on a very lucrative deal....the contract for an exclusive Franchisee in the whole of the Middle East of their High End Luxury Brand and the rights of their very commercial brand, a High Street Brand for our country for the moment, as for other countries it is already taken.

We are mainly interested in that commercial brand but the Host Company is more worried in getting the right partner for their luxury brand. Understandable. Since we cannot get the exclusivity for the High Street Brand we have to bide our time and play along and try getting it in the long run....by proving we mean business...in handling of their High End Luxury Brand.

Seems our projections wasn't convincing. Need re-look the figures and the time frame. The handshake for now has been postponed. They will be coming here to the Middle East to check our outfit.....sometime soon and to talk business! Let's hope it happens then.

Below the Company Showroom....and the table across which we were having our serious negotiations!

Latest Edition!

London.....my feet were killing me....walking down the streets of London in my high heeled boots. I just had to get out of those boots into something comfortable. At Clarks, High street Kensington, London, spied this lil red number......very comfortable and tres chic! My latest edition.....on my shoe rack!

London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week....and I get to attend one of the shows! How exciting it was! Got an invitation from "Luella".....
You are cordially invited to view Luella Spring/Summer '09....

Just being there with all those beautiful people...the clothes, the shoes.....it was amazing! The venue too was very charming.....down the Hyde Park.....serpentine pathway....I went trotting on my high heeled boots. The walk nearly killed me.....but I would have gladly died in the name of Fashion!

My camera battery died out on me....didn't capture many pictures....had to resort using my phone camera!

Ramadan once again!

First day of Ramadan. No eating or drinking in the office.....at least in open.....a small price to pay for short working hours - 8.00am till 2.00pm!

I went for shopping late in the evening. I had seen it earlier......just needed to pick it up. What better way to start the holy month of Ramadan by splurging on some gorgeous looking Shoes & Bags! Nobody indulges me......I need to indulge myself!

I love the heels that I got for the simple reason of the color and the stylishly creative heel! The best of course are my boots! It fits beautifully and the heels again are simply gorgeous! Check the Blings on it!

I love what I have shopped! Ramadan Kareem!

Long locks gone!

Feeling a little blue these past few days.....and having had a very expensive haircut...albeit a very nice cut I am told, has not cheered me up. The new cut I am told makes me look very stylish & sophisticated....but I am in no mood to look sophisticated....in fact I look anything but sophisticated. If you ask me, I feel I look a little lost...a little blue...and a little confused.

Well coming to my haircut....I never thought I would be getting a hair cut....it just happened. The young handsome Lebanese Hairdresser in Ritz Carlton was pretty charming and before I knew my long locks went under his scissors...snip...snip.. .snip and Voila!

Now here is a picture of me with my not so long locks but sort of long locks....before the haircut. This picture was taken just 19 days before my haircut! People did like my long hair....they really did. I even had strangers complimenting on it!

And here is the longest length that I have ever had so far in my life. This was just before I came to the Middle East.
I want long hair...I really, really do. Being an Air Force Brat, I have always had a short haircut! I have been trying to grow it...but on days when I feel I look totally from the country....I head straight to the salon! I need to look nice! I want to look nice! I wonder if I will ever have long, long hair as I have always wished....the length of my hair keeps fluctuating from just below my shoulders to mid waist...to waist....and back to below shoulders....and then growing it back!

Craig's List?!

For want of doing anything better...a choice between watching the "Chipmunks" (DVD) and surfing the net after my daily dose of some news/views and stray mails...I chose the latter and here I am at.....craigslist

A great site for local classifieds, for jobs, housing, personals, community, services, events, etc. The discussion forums too are quite interesting....provided you choose the right topic! Yes, one would need to choose the correct topic but as we do not know what is right/appropriate for us (so it seems!), we have many of the topics including the Personals blocked....in the country where I live currently. Nevertheless it is still very interesting! And if you really, really had time to kill and needed a bit of ha-ha-hee-hee...there's the jokes section that you could go to!

Check it out for yourself!

Bling, the size of a rock!

Bling, the size of a Rock,
That's what I wore;
To work today.
Not on my finger,
I know that's where one would love to wear!
But on my feet!

So far so good!

It was this day last month that I arrived here to this new country. One whole month! How time flies! My job's fabulous! Work's real challenging as we have to re-structure the entire Retail Division, put process and procedures into place where there was none. Being part of the process and part of the team implementing the changes is real interesting and fulfilling.

I always wanted to be dealing with the high end Luxury Brands....and here I am with a whole lot! Prada, Gucci, Ungaro, Paul Smith, Loewe, Zilli, Nina Ricci, ......I could just go on. Part of my job would be to eliminate the Brands which are not working. Hmmm, I can already see the Buyer not liking the suggestion but then the bottom line is the Sales. If the Brand is not selling then we would just have to let it go!

Haven't explored much or (should I say) at all, apart from going to all my Stores for a "Store Visit" and to a mall nearby for my daily needs. Even then the country is much friendlier than the previous one and people here have been quite helpful!

I'm liking it here! So far so good!

Ah! Retail Therapy.....

Whew! Packing, shifting....it's sure is a great task. Even though I am single, I equally have a great amount of household things...washing machine, refrigerator, TV, DVD, gas stove, shelves, table.....apart from my clothes, shoes, bags and more clothes and shoes! People generally for some reason, think that Singles live out of a suitcase!

I need to dispose these things, clothes and shoes which I will not be carrying with me. The cartons have been brought for packing.....things are lying scattered all around. It's such a mess! I needed to get away. I head straight to the nearest mall.

Ah! Retail Therapy....it's so good for one's well being! A beautiful silk blouse and some equally lovely lingerie along with some cosmetics completed my trip to the mall!

Oh no! I now have more things to pack!

From Chanel!

My latest addition to my eye wear......from Chanel!

Just yesterday, the brochure landed on my desk sometime in the afternoon distributed by the Office Boy. This was courtesy one of the Brands from the "Health & Beauty" Division of my own Company. The Ralph Lauren model caught my eye. On my way to paying my phone bill this afternoon, I dropped at the store to have a look at the sunglasses........just to have a look......and guess what happened? I looked, I spied, I tried and I fell in love with this pair from Chanel!

I know a terrible extravagance on my part.....but what the heck.....I am worth it!

Mohawk Hairstyle

Last Friday, Administrators of a school in Ohio, USA called the Mother of a kid to come and pick him up from school. The kindergarten student was being suspended for sporting a Mohawk hairstyle.

This bit of news got me researching more on Mohawks..... Mohawks became a popular fad in mid 1960s and then in mid 1980s it became common with the youth punk subcultures. The Mohawk is often thought to be worn by the Mohican or the Mohawk Tribes. In this hairstyle both sides of the head are shaved or buzzed and the remaining hair in the middle is left long and often spiked.

Joseph Brant is the most well known of the North American Indians. He was a Mohawk leader and a British Military Officer during the American Revolution. Brant was born near prsent day Akron. Ohio. He was named Thayendanegea which possibly meant "he who places two bets". He was a Mohawk of the Wolf Clan (his mother's clan).

Joseph Brant, painted in London by leading court painter George Romney in 1776.

Joseph Brant, painted in London by Gilbert Stuart in 1786.











1830s lithograph based on the last portrait of Joseph Brant, an 1806 oil on canvas painting by Ezra Ames.

Personally, I am in awe of this hairstyle. To sport a Mohawk, one would need a lot of spunk!

Mannequins to be 'beheaded'

Gosh! Some of the things that one come across in the Middle East...either it leaves you amused or appalled or frustrated or all three at the same time.

If you read what I read this morning in one of the news site, I did not know whether to laugh or to be indignant. Do not understand how beheading the mannequins would help in upholding the traditional & religious values.

Sharjah shops told to 'behead' mannequins

By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
Published: February 19, 2008, 17:31

Sharjah: Mannequins in Sharjah shops should be headless and only model “decent” clothing, a Sharjah Municipality circular has stated.

The municipality has urged shopkeepers to abide by a ban that prohibits the display of mannequins with facial features, said a senior Sharjah Municipality official.

“The only clothes on display now should be decent and the mannequins should be headless,” said Khalid Al Jaberi, head of market control at Sharjah Municipality.

A circular was recently sent to all shops stating the heads of mannequins be removed and that they are forbidden to wear underwear, to uphold the traditional and religious values of the emirate.

more....

It's a Baby Girl!

A huge Box of prettily wrapped chocolates arrived in the office - Fashion & Footwear Dept this afternoon.

It's a Baby Girl for our Colleague who does the Visual Merchandising for us. Her first child. How sweet of her to send us these pretty chocolates complete with the Baby's name on the satin ribbon and the date of the birth! Baby Honey, born on the 27th of Jan. Yes! The Baby has been named Honey!


Needless to say........the chocolates disappeared in no time! Poof! And it was gone!

High Heels Highly Sexy!

A recent study has just confirmed that wearing high heels not only makes a woman look sexy but also improves her sex life. Now that's an added incentive for a woman to go for heels!

The Researcher, a woman herself, Maria Cerruto who too loves wearing heels wanted to tackle the existing theories for blaming heels for a number of health problems and so she conducted her tests to find something healthy in them. Wearing a pair of moderately high heels, the study found that it could tone the body, condition the muscles and even improve a woman's sex life without the tedious need for the exercise sessions.

Matt Roberts, a personal trainer to someof the rich & famous like Madonna, NaomiThough Campbell, Natalie Imbruglia, also stated the negative aspects of wearing heels. He said, "A woman wearing high heels will hold the muscles tight to compensate. When you are standing on tiptoes you have to clench the buttocks, the inner thighs and the pelvic floor muscles. It would potentially give them a short-term tension and toning. But the negative effects can outweigh the positive. The knees and metatarsals are put under strain, the hips are out of position. It can lead to long term health risks. "

Honestly, I have never heard of high heels killing a person. J'adore la heels! I feel good in it! Being petite I need my heels! I walk tall in it!

The verdict......High Heels Highly Sexy!

My Shoe-Style Personality?!

What's my Shoe-Style Personality? That's what the quiz was about.....in one of the Beauty & Style website I was browsing, today. I was curious. The result:-

You're a pointy-toe stiletto/slingback!
The latest fashion magazines are your monthly bible. You love shoes so much that you ran out of room in your closet for shoe boxes, so the oven now doubles as a storage unit. You're always looking sophisticated and polished, even when you have jeans on, and Gwyneth Paltrow and Sarah Jessica Parker are your idols. Every seasonal trend is right up your alley, and most trends work back to things that are already in your closet. Looking great was never so easy!

Now, how uncanny this is! See my photos! Apart from the fact that I have yet to run out of space and use my oven as a storage......other things I would agree to it! Gwyneth and Sarah have a great sense of style....although I never considered them my idols! Actually, I don't have any idol as such. My personal style..........tailored classic pieces with just-the-right-trend items.

Me & My Makeup

I guess a girl can never have enough of Makeup! This is applicable to yours truly too!

Today again, I succumbed to the various goodies for hair, skin and various face & eye products! This, in spite of my telling myself that I will not buy......just look! But, as always...the look turns to smelling.....smelling to trying....and before long its in my shopping basket! And if the Sales Person has a nice smile....coaxes & extols the virtue of the product.....I end up buying more....different smell...color!

The excuse.....I don't have this particular one....this smells of lavender....and the one I have is rose...jasmine...whatever! This shade of lipstick is soooo sexy.....really brings out the color of my face! This mascara is for lengthening.....this one for volume! This is gloss....this is for shine....this for shimmer. Lotions - hand & body, moisturizing lotion, eye cream, toner, cleanser, nail cream....with coconut & almond oil or primrose with vitamin e or cocoa butter or grapefruit....

The Makeup Industry is to be blamed....for my splurge! How can they make lipsticks or nail colors in so many colors/shades?! Perfumes........lets not go there! I love perfumes! Some of my ever lasting favorites....Obsession, Poison, Opium, Jádore, Dolce Vita,......Why am I not content with having just 2 or 3 or 5? Why do I have more than 10 lipsticks or nail colors at one given time......or for that matter 8-10 perfumes! Why do I have 4 mascaras....different color eye pencils....eye liners....eye shadows??! Foundations, concealers, loose powder, pressed powder, blush on - powder, cream....

Having so many....I never seem to finish any...and after sometime, it would go straight to the trash can! I read somewhere that it was not hygienic to use makeup after sometime....after having opened or from the date of manufacturing date.

The glossies, Tv....temptations are everywhere....and with the pressure of looking good in this corporate rat race............what am I suppose to do?! Nah! Not true....I just love makeup! Makeup which looks not made-up.....if you know what I mean!

"A Haircut?"

I have been meaning to, for sometime.......to go down to the Friendly Neighborhood Beauty Salon. Finally I got down there today.

I just wanted a couple of things to be done. To tell you the truth, I'm quite low maintenance when it comes to the "Beauty Salon" routine! Really! Perhaps, my growing up years had something to do with it?

I've always had short hair while growing up. Being an Air Force Girl, the length of my hair just stopped at the point of me having a "crew cut"! Dad's diktat - a student should not spend time on combing & preening in front of the mirror....wash & go it should be! Each trip to the salon was taken with a heavy heart and after every hair cut, I would have my tears rolling down my cheeks. I hated to have my hair cut!

Going to College.........to another city, away from my Parents constituted the freedom to do what I wanted/liked. I let my hair grow.......the length, ever since has been fluctuating. The texture of my hair is silky, hence it tends to fall flat and at times looks a bit lanky. To give it a bit of body, I have it cut in steps to give the bounce.....but then when I tie into a pony tail, it looks too thin! Hence, I have it cut straight....one length! Then, when I see girls with step cut hair, I again succumb to the temptation and head for my Hairdresser to have it styled.

My dream has been to have long, long hair cascading down my back...reaching my waist and perhaps even below. I nearly came quite close to realizing this dream......but reaching the Middle East, I headed straight to a Salon to give my hair a new style!

I now sat in the Beauty Salon.......the Lady asks me, "A haircut?" "No, not a haircut....I am growing it.........(again!) I will have it cut straight.........but not today!"