http://www.fashion.about.com

Fashion.about.com is one of the many informative web sites in the About.com network. The site is maintained by Cynthia Nellis, a journalist who has over 15 years experience in the fashion industry. According to Nellis, fashion.about.com can be used to "shop great boutiques from home, browse through runway collections, check out reviews and new designers like a pro or just get enough information to keep updated on fashion."

Included as part of this site are such headings as:

• Essentials (dressing for special occasions, what to wear)
• Fashion Offers (Plus size clothing, Fendi handbags)
• Articles & Resources (Latest trends, style basics)

The site contains a wealth of information useful to both fashion insiders and lay people. There is no shortage of advice columns, covering everything from "what to wear to your high school reunion" to "how to hide those five extra pounds." For students, the "day in the life of" section may be especially insightful. Here, the reader gets a play-by-play account of a fashion industry professional's typical day, written by the professionals themselves. The site also contains a ton of great links, including fashion history, runway shows and online shopping.

Fashion.about.com is a valuable resource, which combines thoughtful reporting on the latest trends with advice on where to shop for the look of the day. If you're not sure what to wear with your new mini skirt, or want to know what a haute couture designer does from 9 to 5, check out this site. Cynthia Nellis is waiting to be your "Guide to Women's Fashion."

Reviewed by R & RC Staff Member Meghan Gaynor

Title: Vogue Bambini

Publisher: Conde Nast
Piazza Castello 27
Milan, ITALY 20121
039.83.82.82
039.83.82.16 fax
Website: http://www.condenet.com/condenast/
Published: Bi-monthly
Subscription Rate: 5,20 (Euro)

It isn’t enough that the Italians have the best tailored suits for men, the most gorgeous women’s clothing and the sexiest stilettos ever to walk the face of the earth, now they’ve got the most adorable clothing for infants, toddlers and kids.

Vogue Bambini is the children’s fashion bible. Baby Gap or Osh Kosh B’Gosh is child’s play compared to the petite haute couture that is splashed across the pages of this esteemed publication. The models in here could give some of the Vogue supermodels a run for their money; their smiles are far more captivating than any of the senior publications pouty faces du jour. The clothing is breathtakingly detailed and reminiscent of every childhood dream of the fanciest party dress. Confections of lace, embroidery and silk are not just for mama anymore, vibrantly colored strappy sandals made just for teeny tiny feet wiggle in between pages of Gianfranco Ferre’s latest designs for baby and ideas for furnishing the nursery and play room in all the latest furniture styles and colors.

Alive with color, whimsy and imagination, Vogue Bambini is like a deliciously illustrated fairy tale. It is inspiring for fashion design majors interested in pursuing children’s fashion. It reflects the growing interest in the market geared towards parents whose incomes afford them the luxury of buying designer duds for their nursery school fashionistas and the discriminate tastes of a kindergartener.

Reviewed by R & RC Staff Member - Melissa Rubio

Title: Brandstand: Strategies For Retail Brand Building

Author: Arthur A. Winters, Peggy Fincher Winter, Carole Paul, and the editors of Retail Ad World
Publisher: Visual Reference Publications
302 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10001
212.279.7000
212.279.7014 fax
Website: http://www.visualreference.com
ISBN: 1-58471-070-5
Copyright: 2002
Pages: 174
Price: $39.99

Strategies For Retail Brand Building…

What makes a brand a brand? How do you reposition a brand? How do you differentiate between commitment branding and viral branding? All of these questions and more are answered in, Brandstanding: Strategies For Retail Brand Building. Brought to you by the editors of Retail Ad World Magazine, this book has been compiled by experts of the subject of branding and how this goes hand in hand with marketing and PR. Covered within are the four components of the brand checklist: Marketing Situation, Brand Objectives, Creative Strategy and Target Audience.

Brandstanding analyzes the following well-recognized brands in detail

• Kate Spade
• Target
• H & M
• Sephora
• Best Buy

Wonderfully illustrated to detail each case study in full detail. Examples given range from the traditional print ad to the very clever bus sides to snapshots of television spots. The creativity shown is key to the process. Also supplied for each company are contact information, agency and creative/marketing personnel involved. The authors cover such retail sectors as: Specialty Stores – Apparel, Designers, Manufacturers, General Merchandisers, Home Furnishings, Miscellaneous, and Shopping Centers. Brandstanding is essential to the success of any brand in today’s complex economy. Well worth picking up.

Reviewed by R & RC Staff Member - Monika Earle