Nostagic Music Monday -- T Rex

Don't know where my brain leads me on You Tube some times... I swear I start out looking for something completely different, then well, this! When girls my age had posters of Donny Osmond on their walls, I gazed at Marc Bolan! Love this clip the best with the candid shots in between.



The music and his voice still holds up as some of the best rock n' roll ever, almost 40 years later!

XXX

Norma Kamali "Try Before You Buy"

One of the things I dread most each year is finding a new swimsuit. Up until we joined a yacht club (not as boaters but for the lovely pool overlooking the Hudson) I wasn't too fussed and could get by with my two standards. But now that we're there more often than not, I need a few more to switch off. Since losing weight the old standards are now drooping in places you really don't want droopage, so the hunt began.

I've always loved Norma Kamali swimsuits and over the years have had many (I think I still have a vintage 80s one somewhere!) I love how she incorporates vintage styling with modern fabrics bringing the looks to a new level.

So yesterday I went to her website to peruse the offerings. There on the front page was the *exact* style I wanted! And at a fabulous price! It's the $98 Bill swimsuit available in red, black, acid, olive, and white. I was torn between red and white, but decided to go for red and placed my order.

Just hours ago the lovely Fed Ex man delivered my package!
It arrived with a pre-paid Fex Ex bubble wrap envelope in case you need to return. How easy is that?

Too excited, I tore open the package and tried it on asap! Perfect style, perfect fit! We've got a keeper! And the best part was not having to traipse from shop to shop trying on goodness knows how many suits only to settle for something that fit but wasn't really the style I wanted!

For those ageists out there, this is what a 51 year old woman, who's lived a full life, had a child at 40 looks like. (Okay, not my best angle!) Excuse the turban and shades, I was just out of the shower! Hey at least I smeared on some red lipstick and my flame Tributes!

I will definitely use this service again! And this baby is a keeper!!

XXX

Versatile Blogger Award

I was completely caught off guard and flattered to receive the Versatile Blogger Award from one of my favourite bloggers: Baroque Boudoir.

The Rules:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass it along to 7 blogs you have recently discovered and enjoy.
4. Leave your recipient a note, telling them about the award.

Here we go...

1. I own 100's of pairs of shoes (not exaggerating!) from the 30s up to the present. I lost count somewhere close to 200 and that was about 4 years ago! Most are vintage as I started over 30 years ago when they were cheap and plentiful. I'm a firm believer that shoes make an outfit, and only buy what I love and would wear for many years to come!

2. I'm not big on sweets, much more of a savoury gal. Give me fresh bread, cheeses and fresh vegetables and I'm in food heaven! My one weakness is English sausages, I could eat them everyday!

3. I have more dresses than any other item of clothing as I love that you can pull one on and instantly look great without stressing over separates that need to go together.

4. Here's a huge disclosure that will probably freak out a lot: I'm a full-fledged modern witch, having gone through many years of training both here and in the UK. I attained my 3rd degree (high as you can go within my branch of Wicca/Paganism) as well as am considered an elder within the community for quite some years. I've also trained 1000's. I've written books on the subject (as well as other metaphysical and non-fiction titles) and am considered by my peers to be an expert (but I'm always learning -- kill me and put me put of my misery if I ever do stop!) Oh and 'I see dead people'! (Good times. Not!) The whole "witchy" look kinda pisses me off, real witches look very much like everyone else and not the stereotype. Those who play into the stereotype only wind up coming off as poseurs! One of these days I'll dispel the stereotypes and blow away the hipsters!

5. Green is my all-time fav colour and various shares are frequently found on my fingers and toenails, as well as my wardrobe and home!

6. My husband is the love of my life and my hero! And my daughter is more precious to me than anything as she was a miracle baby that I was told could never bring to term!

7. From the late 70s to even now I've met more rock stars and rock gods than most people can even think of! I'm still friends with many. And boy the stories I could tell... I was never a groupie, but more like one of the guys! (Hella lot more fun by far!)

Bonus:
If I don't travel frequently I actually become physically ill! My wanderlust is shared with glee with the best little adventure and travel companion one could ask for, my daughter. She's always up for one of our adventures!

I'm passing this award on to these fab bloggers, please check them out!

1. Punk Glam Panache -- the Punk Glam princess is blogging!
2. Jeanne Suica
3. Pull Your Sox Up
4. Discount
5. Panache
6. Pretty Portobello
7.Vintage Vandalizm

XXX

Shoeperwoman trademark dispute: an update

Shoeperwoman trademark dispute: an update
Posted on April 8th, 2011 by Shoeperwoman


Following on from my most recent post about the dispute we’re involved in over the “Shoeperwoman” brand, I’ve just received the following comment from Laura Blake, in which she demands that I immediately remove my post, and threatens to contact the police and have me charged with harassment if I do not. As Laura has posted her comment in the public domain, I’m sure she will not mind me reproducing it here:

“Hi Amber,

I am really disappointed to see the way that you have reacted today, and in organising an inaccurate hate campaign against me via your blog.

I think I’ve been more than willing to talk with you, and reach an amicable solution and today reached out to you to offer to bookmark and outline the points of differentiation between our sites.

You have posted a lot of misleading, inaccurate and incomplete information about me and my business on your site today and it’s been hurtful to see someone act so unprofessionally and damaging to my business and my name.

Therefore I wanted to once again reach out to you, and ask if you wanted to have a proper discussion (so we can both operate in our respective niches…I categorically did not see your site first and decide to set mine up anyway – I explained all of this to you, but think you’ve misinterpreted my comments.)

I did not set out to close you down, or take over, and registering the TM was about protecting me as a business…I would do that for any business I start, it’s the first rule of setting up a company. Seeing any form of Shoeper-Woman wasn’t already registered I didn’t think that ShoeperWoman was a serious company, I thought it was an American site, and just a bit of fun, and not a competitor as you don’t retail shoes or design them.

I would still consider talking about the linking suggestion I made earlier, a joint statement, or even tweaking my branding (or not using certain phrases if you believe they are ‘yours’) so I’m more than open to those type of discussions (or others if you have any bright ideas) but you MUST remove your earlier post about me that was slander and cyberbullying, and I also expect an apology on your site and an end to this hate campaign.

If you are not willing to do this, I’m going to speak to the police in the morning about pressing charges against you for harassment, slander, and cyber-bullying.

I’m sure this is something we could both do without right now, but as above, I’m not out to cause or do any malicious damage, so I’d appreciate the same professional courtesy.

As previous, still wish you the best with your sites and business ventures,

Laura”

I’m frankly astonished that someone would not only try to trademark my blog name, but then threaten to report me to the police for defending myself. The post below is an accurate statement of the situation I’ve found myself in and I’m confident that it contains nothing which could be construed as libel or harresment: indeed, Laura actually suggested that I publish a post clarifying the differences between our two sites, having also suggested that we issue a press release about the situation to garner publicity. I will not be responding again to Laura, as I can see little point in trying to communicate with someone who is threatening to report me to the police, but obviously she is free to take any action she feels is appropriate.

As I mentioned previously please do comment, tweet, FB, and let Amber know of your support. This must stop. You never know, it may be you next! Let's make this history!

XXX

An important announcement about Shoeperwoman, the shoe blog

I just came across this on twitter. Its starting to happen too often, and can happen to anyone. Please repost, tweet, facebook to get the word out!

An important announcement about Shoeperwoman, the shoe blog

(First of all, the Shoeper Shoe Challenge roundup will not be appearing today as my time has been totally taken up with the issue below. My apologies to everyone who’s sent me photos - I promise I will publish them on Monday. In the meantime, I would really appreciate your comments and re-tweets on this post…)
I had really hoped not to have to write this post, but having exhausted my other options I’ve taken legal advice (from the wonderful Caveat Calcei, who you all know from the Shoe Challenge), and feel I have no option but to go public about an issue regarding the “Shoeperwoman” name and this site.
As most of my regular readers will know, I set up Shoeperwoman two years ago this month, having registered the domain in May of 2008 and spent a year planning the site. At the time there were no other sites using the name. Earlier this year, however, a UK-based company launched a shoe blog called “Shoeperwoman” and an associated retail website of the same name.
I don’t really want to link to these sites as I feel they are damaging enough to my brand without me helping their Google rank, but you can see the address of the retail site from the image above and the blog can be found at shoeper-woman.blogspot.com (note: all of the links in this post are nofollow, and this is the only time I will link to these sites.) First of all, I want to clarify that these sites have absolutely no connection to Shoeperwoman.com or to Midas Media. I realise it’s confusing for people as they are using the same name, and writing about the same subjects, often in exactly the same way (i.e. using phrases like “shoeperhero”, “Shoeperman” etc.) but there is no connection, so please know that this is the only “Shoeperwoman” site run by us (with the exception of our associated Twitter and Facebook accounts, which also use the “Shoeperwoman” name), therefore if you come across these sites, or any others, please be aware that they have nothing to do with us.
The other company is also using the name “Shoeperwoman” on Twitter, Facebook and other sites, which I realise adds to the confusion. If you are in any doubt whether something you read online is being said by me, or by Laura Blake, who is the owner of the other sites, please feel free to get in touch.
When I found out about these sites, I immediately contacted Laura Blake, who tells me that she does not believe there is any issue with her using exactly the same name as me for her two sites (although she has put up a disclaimer today which you can read on her blog). Obviously I’m disappointed about this. I set up Shoeperwoman.com two years ago: it is my livelihood (along with my other blogs), and Terry and I have worked very hard to build up the brand to where it is today. It’s disheartening, to say the least, to find that someone has knowingly decided to use exactly the same name and idea for a very similar project (Laura tells me she was aware of the existence of this site but decided to use the name regardless), and obviously this will make it much harder for both of the respective businesses to thrive, as rather than having our own unique identities, these two new sites have effectively set themselves up in direct competition to us instead.
What Laura didn’t tell me during our lengthy email conversations, was that not only has she knowingly used a name which has been associated with my blog for the past two years, she has also applied for the UK trademark to the name “Shoeperwoman”. If she is successful in this application, this would mean that I would no longer be able to use the name I have made mine, and this site will effectively cease to exist. As the revenue from this site forms a large part of my income, I’m sure you can understand my distress at this, and the reason I’m writing this post.
To answer the obvious question that has cropped up in relation to this: no, we do not own the trademark to the name “Shoeperwoman”. We looked into doing this when we launched the site, however the very high cost of this was prohibitive for us, as it is for most other bloggers, and so we were forced to rely on the goodwill and common sense of our fellow bloggers/site owners, and to hope that most people would prefer to create something that’s truly their own rather than to duplicate another brand. Obviously that isn’t always the case: some of you may remember the issues Jennine Jacob’s The Coveted encountered recently when another site launched using the same name, and if this can happen to me, and can happen to a well-known blogger like Jennine, it can happen to anyone.
We have now lodged our own trademark application for the name, which means we’re already hundreds of pounds out of pocket in our bid to assert our right to continue to use a name which has been associated with this site for two years now, and which I have also used on Twitter, Facebook and other sites for the same length of time. Having taken advice on this, we believe it could cost us much more to defend our brand, which is obviously causing us a great deal of stress. This is where you come in:
How you can help Shoeperwoman:
Obviously this is a source of huge concern to us, so we would welcome any support our readers and friends have to offer us, in the shape of comments, re-tweets and advice. If you are a blogger, and would like to mention this is issue on your site, I would be eternally grateful, not just for my sake, but because as I mentioned above, this is something that can happen to anyone, and it is devastating to work so hard on something for so long, only to see it put at risk like this. Also, any links back to Shoeperwoman.com (especially those using the word “Shoeperwoman” as the link text) would be a huge help to us right now as they will help cement our position in search engines and support our right to the trademark when we file our dispute.
I also want to say a big thank you to everyone who has emailed Terry and I with their support over this issue: it really means the world to us to know that we have loyal readers who will continue to support us no matter how many other ”Shoeperwomen” crop up!
XXX

Emerging Designer -- Stacy Lomman Fall 2011

I was privileged to attend emerging NY designer Stacy Lomman's second collection show last week, and view how she has grown as a designer as well as the new direction she took for the upcoming season. If you'll recall her debut collection consisted of beautiful cocktail dresses in hem lengths to appeal to many different women. This collection, entitled "Les Femmes de la Resistancè", included a foray into sportswear, as well as some of her gorgeous dresses. In her words: "Fall 2011 glamourises and romanticises the bold and fearless women of the French Resistancè who lead high risk and clandestine lifestyles. Mystery, intrigue and espionage lurk within each piece in the collection. Luxurious fabrics and subdued colours feminize the military influence, thereby enforcing an air of chic strength. While the early 1940's serve as inspiration, the collection interprets the period into modern and very wearable clothes." She's managed to accomplish exactly that with this latest collection!


Motorcycle jacket in grey wool with distressed silver foil print, black wool/mohair shirt with back patch pocket.


Black cropped trench vest in heavy silk twill, lined with olive nylon, coated nylon pencil pants with back pocket detail in olive. (I loved the combo of black and olive as well as this silhouette -- military without being too overt.)


Olive bomber jacket in crocodile patterned jacquard, black leather shorts.



Unlined trench coat in double face in poly/nylon/mohair and heavy rib knit sleeves. (I think this one is a great look for so many different figure types, again proving Stacy has a knack for designing for many, not just model figures!)


Mushroom grey cropped jacket in wool/cashmere lined with coated nylon in grey, matching pencil skirt with "gunflap" detail.



Camel cape in wool/mohair lined with silk, cigarette pant in bronze stretch satin. (While I'm not sure I could pull this look off, I'm in love with it! Capes are a staple in my wardrobe, and I love this interesting take on it!)



Beige angora/cashmere dress with knit bodice, open back & bullet/chain detail.



Asymmetric, one-sleeve dress in olive crocodile patterned jacquard & leather trim.



Bronze stretch satin dress with trench detail in back and shoulder.



Strapless column dress in bronze cashmere with gold zipper & chain detail. (I love this look and the detailing!)



Black slim dress in crepe black acetate with fleur-de-lis breast patch and leather trim. (This is also a favourite look .... now if I can only find an occasion to wear it!)


Slate grey dress with full skirt in nylon "parachute" fabric.


The talented and lovely designer herself- Stacy Lomman!

While I would consider her debut collection elegant, glamourous, and sexy, this collection moves on to be elegant with an edge. Class with some sass! I believe the pieces could easily be incorporated into ones existing wardrobe, and can easily see women of all ages not only finding the collection appealing, but looking fabulous at any age! Triumph! Brava Stacy!

Special thanks to Stacy for allowing me the opportunity to view her new collection, may there be many more!

For pricing and other enquiries, please contact Stacy at: taffetadarlings@gmail.com Also don't forget to check out Stacy's blog to keep up to date on her collections and more on: http://taffetadarlings.blogspot.com/ Her official website is: http://www.stacylomman.com/

XXX