Have You Heard the Rumors?

One of the things I love about Richmond are the nooks and crannies it has to offer. So many places to shop and eat that I truly believe that no two stores have the same thing. Monday I went to Rumors Boutique, a local store within walks of the VCU campus owned and operated by Casey Longyear, a VCU graduate.


I’ve heard of the store many times and even walked past it on my way to class, but had never been in until this Monday. Most of the items were very low-priced which is always a good thing for a college student. The most expensive item was $15. Not only do they sell really unique clothing, but they also buy from students. Definitely plan on shopping there more often!

Here are some pictures of what I bought as well as what the store looked like:

Safe to say that Rumors has it...

Rumors Boutique can be found at 404 N. Harrison Street, Richmond, VA

For more information, visit http://rumorsrva.com/ or  contact Casey Longyear at Casey.Longyear@gmail.com

Story by FBYA Journalist Intern, Cheryl Johnson, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University

Found in the Pollak Building...

For the past week, I have been sick and also lost my voice so I couldn't conduct any interviews. After speaking to a few people about my opportunity to write for FBYA and where I could get stories, someone mentioned I could sit in the Pollak Building. The Pollak Building is where Fashion, Interior and Graphic Design students work on their assignments and create their art. While I was there I found a few inspiring and breathtaking photos. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had a class coming up. There will definitely be more updates, sitting in the Pollak Building was a nice little getaway.

Story by FBYA Journalist Intern, Cheryl Johnson, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University

Talk Shop With Melanie Gayle Shopping Party

Join Us and Industry Creative PR for "Talk Shop" With Proprietor Melanie Gayle

WHEN: Tuesday, November, 17th, 2009, 6P to 8P

WHERE: 6818 Snider Plaza, Dallas, TX (Shopping center across from SMU)

WHY: Get your holiday fete LBD. Receive 20% off your purchases! Or feel free to make a donation to FBYA!

BREAKING NEWS...THE SECRET GARDEN MADE THE CUT...

YES! YES! YES!

"The Secret Garden" will be in print in next month's issue of Envy Magazine

Thanks to Envy Magazine and once again Our Crew for seeing the vision and being committed to making it a reality!

ENVY MAGAZINE

Interns Need Apply...

We are moving into our new office in the heart of Dallas, December 1st and we  NEED INTERNS!

This is what we are looking for...

FBYA "News Anchor" Intern-To Attend Events and Interview Attendees and Private Artists Interviews

Photographer Intern-To Photograph Sponsored Events

Web Editor/Journalist Intern-To write weekly blog post and maintain blog roll

PR/Marketing Intern- To write press releases for events and contribute to social media initiatives

ALSO OUR PR FIRM IS SEEKING INTERNS FOR THE FOLLOWING:

Web Editor/Journalist Intern-To write weekly blog post and maintain blog roll

PR/Marketing Intern- To write press releases for events and contribute to social media initiatives

REQUIREMENTS:

Must be a college freshman, sophomore or junior

Must be currently pursuing a degree in either; mass communications, journalism, business administration, marketing or related field.

Must be outgoing, responsible, reliable, organized, professional, punctual and have a love for fashion and the arts!

EMAIL A LETTER OF INTEREST AND RESUME TO:

FASHIONBENEFITINGYOUTHARTISTS@GMAIL.COM

Acknowledgements... "The Secret Garden"

Well, I, CJ Johnson, Founder and Executive Director of, Fashion Benefiting Youth Artists, is writing this acknowledgement. Simply because I am so pleased to have had such an amazing crew and support from local retailers and business owners. On sunday, October 25, our crew set out to create "The Secret Garden." We took over 800 shoots and it proved to be much more laborious to narrow it down to 20! Our Fashion Editor Intern, Haley, did an awesome job and worked til the midnight hour, to select her top shots. This shoot went from a mere idea, to pitching it to local retailers (thanks to those that saw our vision and believed in it), to a model casting call to a styling session with the chosen models, to THE BIG DAY, to post production. We learned so very much, but are already mapping out our next shoot, so stay tuned...

And oh...can also be viewed on our flickr account directly at:

FBYA Secret Garden Shoot

Just click the photo album to the right of the page and then select "Detail" to see editorial credits

THE CREW...

Haley Geithens, Fashion Editor Intern 

Mar Childress, Make-Up Artist

Anikka Ray, Shoot Director

Shelby Hall, Production Manager

THE PHOTOGRAPHER...

Amy Gillis / Amy Gillis Photography!

THE MODELS...

Katrina Richardson, DMG Models

Breanna Collins, DMG Models

Lauren Manley, Seeking Representation

THE RETAILERS...
Parkerhawn Vintage / parkerhawn.com 
Unique Samples / uniquesamples.com

Tara To The T
Mei Mei's Fashionette / meimeisfashionette.com

Krimson and Klover

Onli Boutique

SPECIAL THANKS TO...

Pam Scrima, you are my inspiration and gave us great guidance!

DMG MODELS 

The Parents! Who took their daughters to castings, fittings, and spent their Sunday with us!

FBYA Interns Present "The Secret Garden"

Austin Stand Up! Boutique Spotlight...Buy Defitnition Boutique

BUY DEFINITION BOUTIQUE INTERVIEW WITH OWNER, ESTI CHOI

 

1. How long have you been running your store/selling your clothing online?

Our web shop has been operating for about two years now and we just opened

up a brick and mortar store off of South Congress about six months ago to

create a tangible space for our Austin customers.

2. Have you always been interested in fashion?

All things creative have always inspired and intrigued me, fashion being one

of them. I haven't always thought to be a store owner and surely, that's not

the boundaries of limitations I put on myself but yes, fashion has been a

strong interest of mine throughout my life.

3. Do you plan to expand Buy Definition or keep it more local to the 

Austin area?

Our web shop reaches everyone around the world, especially with our flat

rate shipping making it that much more reasonable. Austin is a very special

town to me and currently I would like to focus my energy here and our

e-commerce site.

4. How did you get involved in fashion?

It's all about chasing your dream. After graduating from college I moved to

New York City for about 10 months to intern at a Fashion PR company. I

learned a lot about the industry and about myself and it gave me a more

distinct idea of what and who I wanted to be in the industry.

5. What would you say to a young student who aspires to do what you're 

doing today?

Don't lose that creative energy and keep inventing and re-inventing

yourself. Remember that there are no limitations and as cheesy as it sounds,

I believe no things to be impossible so dream on! 

LOCATED AT:

3100 SOUTH CONGRESS AVE., SUITE 3B

AUSTIN, TEXAS 78704

BUYDEFINITION.COM

This story was written by our FBYA Journalist Intern, Brittany Robinson. She attends UT Austin and is a DISD, Lincoln High School graduate.

Fashion PR Blog PR Couture

Fashion PR Blog PR Couture

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The Cool, The Young, The Freshness: Indie t-shirt line, Ancient Thread Empire

What does a 23 year old college student majoring in business administration do in his spare time? Spin music at local events, hang out with friends - oh and last but not least, design a clothing line. Esmel Meeks AKA DJ Rock-It, a Virginia Commonwealth University student who was born in Philadelphia, raised in the California Bay Area and now calls his hometown Virginia Beach, Virginia, has been designing since he was in the 11^th grade where he came up with his first logo concept. Today his line, Ancient Thread Empire, most commonly referred to as ATE, has been featured in Richmond Fashion Week 2009, GroupMODA 2009 and for the past two years, STRUT, one of the biggest fashion shows in Virginia.

When asked what inspired him to create his clothing line, Meeks said “[I wanted] To start something new for the right reason. Not to start a trend, not to recreate a fad that died out, not to start off where somebody ended, but to create something unique that people would embrace not only because of the unique designs and concepts but the reason behind it. Through the designs in ATE you can see inspirations from everyday lifestyle, childhood muse, and the culture evolving throughout inimitable generation."

Meeks likes to go by a quote from his favorite lyricist, Nas who has said “No idea’s original, there's nothing new under the sun. It's never what you do but how it's done."

“I know that nothing is really original. I try to find a way to do something that hasn't done before in every design. Putting different elements into concepts that isn't ‘supposed to be there’ and making it look intriguing.”

Residents of the VCU/Richmond area can find his designs exclusively at the store Need Supply in the historic shopping area in Richmond named Carytown. In December, he has plans on opening an online store.

When asked in a perfect world, where he would like to see his clothing line in 5 years, Meeks replied “In our exclusive boutique stores in 8 locations: VA Beach, Richmond, LA, NY, Japan, Paris, and London. Also to have a portion of every sale donated to, Achievements Through Education, a scholarship fund that will assist under-privileged students with tuition. He states, "at that point we will be sending over 100 students to college on full scholarship every year.”

But in a perfect world everyone’s dreams come true. – Meeks

Ancient Thread Empire can be reached at: info@ateclothing.com / ateclothing.com coming soon! 

Story by FBYA Journalist Intern, Cheryl Johnson, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University

Young.Fashion. Artists. Interview: Jane, from, seaofshoes.com!!!

Jane from the immensely popular blog, seaofshoes.com, graciously agreed to an interview with us recently and this is a glimpse of her take on her inspiration, life, and her blog...

1.What inspired you to start the blog, Sea of Shoes? Why the emphasis on shoes?

Sea of Shoes started as a weekend project. I was inspired by my favorite  blogs, Kingdom of Style and

Style Bubble. I chose shoes as the emphasis because I collect them.

2. What are your influences (fashion, life in general)?

My influences for fashion are the 70's and 80, style icons, Tina Chow and Bianca Jagger, and fashion photographer Helmut Newton. My influence for life in general is, Yves St. Laurent. His beliefs about aesthetics translated to every aspect of his life.

3. What are your career aspirations? Journalism, design, etc.?

I would love to design shoes someday, but I am also considering working as a buyer or brand consultant.

4. What are your favorite blogs, websites, magazines?

Luxirare.com, Garancedore.com, Purplediary.com. My favorite magazine is; Paradis

5. What has been your biggest challenge with your blog and what have you learned since its inception about blogging, journalism?

My biggest challenge with my blog has been managing my correspondence, finding time to create quality content for my blog and coping with my fear of flying for all the traveling I have to do. Thanks to my blog I have learned that journalism is not for me.

6. What advice would you give an aspiring blogger?

I would tell them to take a point of view that sets them apart from other fashion bloggers. With so many fashion blogs around these days, it is hard to stand out. If you want to blog about travel, food, personal style, etc. I would suggest investing in a good camera. It is a fun hobby to pick up and the results are very gratifying.

7. What school do you attend?

I am enrolled in Westlake Academy

*Jane's blog was recently cited in the November issue of, Instyle Magazine, as one of the most respected fashion blogs* Visit: seaofshoes.com

Thanks Jane!

FBYA Student "News Anchor" Intern Contest!!!

At FBYA we are gearing to launch "FBYA TV" and we need a student "News Anchor" intern!!!

Imagine free entry into all FBYA sponsored events (and for 2010, we've got an onslaught of them on deck)

and attendance to other fashion and arts related events here in Dallas!

You will be interviewing attendees at events and visiting local boutiques, artists and indie designer studios for interviews. They will be taped and uploaded onto FBYA TV!

You MUST not be shy and have a strong interest in TV Reporting/Journalism!!!

Contest Rules:

DEADLINE: Monday, November 30th, 2009

DETAILS: Submit a 5 to 7 minute video of you interviewing a total stranger in a public setting about fashion and conclude with why we should select you to be our "News Anchor" intern.

DURATION: The internship will last til June, 2010

THE MUST: You must be currently taking journalism or mass communication or related courses

GRADE LEVEL/AGES: You must be at least a high school Junior to college Sophmore

PLEASE EMAIL US A LETTER OF INTEREST AND VIDEO TO:

fashionbenefitingyouthartists@gmail.com

For questions please email us at the email above or call our office at:

214-272-9982

GOOD LUCK!!!

FBYA Model Casting Call, November 11th, For Holiday Fashion Show

We need a few more models to round out our catwalk crew for our Holiday "Hollywood Vixen" Fashion Show, December 11, at the Via Pelle Boutique.

WHERE: Via Pelle Boutique, 3699 McKinney Avenue, Dallas, TX, Suite 312 (Next to Lucky Brand Jeans) West Village Shopping Complex

WHEN: Wednesday, November 11, 6p to 7p

REQUIREMENTS: Ages 14-22, At least 5'8

Bring Comp Card or Recent Professional Photo and Heels

We are looking for models that can be transformed into a Hollywood Starlet of yesteryear!

Please RSVP to:

fashionbenefitingyouthartists@gmail.com

Or Call: 214-272-9982