Gigjaco

Go Green… Green Tea, That Is.

Written on July 30, 2009 – 8:33 am | by admin

For over four thousand years, human beings have been drinking green tea, and for good reason. Green tea boasts an extensive list of health benefits, some which have only been discovered in recent years.

Green tea is, like black tea, produced from the plant Camellia sinensi, but its manner of production differs in ways which preserve more of its beneficial characteristics.  The list of proven health benefits of green tea is long and well documented by scientific study.

The caffeine present in green tea supports weight loss and an improved ratio of muscle to fat, by making stored body fat more readily available to body as fuel; athletes can benefit from this by experiencing increased stamina and reducing the risk of over exertion leading to muscle loss.

The high antioxidant content of green tea (superior to that of many well known antioxidant- containing vegetables, such as broccoli and spinach) helps to clear the body of free radicals.  This improves health at the cellular level and increases life-span.  Free radicals are also considered to be one of the factors leading to cancer.

The list of ways in which green tea can support a healthy lifestyle goes on—it improves digestive function, helps protect against ultra-violet rays which damage the skin, and much more.

Posted in Health | No Comments »

Sportshoes As Fashion – More Recent Than You Realize

Written on July 26, 2009 – 7:29 am | by admin

It’s hard to imagine that when we look at shoes like the Nike Dunk, that this is a very modern phenomenon dating back barely twenty years. Yet we see basketball shoes as an item of fashion as almost timeless, and the Nike Air Jordan shoes have certainly been one of the best selling shoes of all time. For Nike, from the moment they announced Air Jordans for sale was the moment that their company would change forever. Up to this point, they had been associated as a company for joggers and runners, mostly middle aged white men who were overweight and needed to lose a few pounds by running. Suddenly, with the release of the Air Jordans, they were hip and cool, and associated with a multi-million dollar industry in basketball.

Originally, Nike Air Jordan shoes were banned by the NBA due to their color. The NBA had a rule that all basketball shoes had to be white. The Air Jordan, on the other hand came in a range of bright colors, thereby making them illegal in all NBA matches. Michael Jordan famously flouted this rule, racking up fines of $5000 per match. Nike were only to happy to pay these fines, as they were recouping their business many times over thanks to the prime advertising they were getting. They did extremely well out of it, and this was the beginning of the transformation for Nike, from being solely a company that was there to provide running shoes, to a company that we know today with a multi-billion dollar global presence.

The modern incarnation, the Nike Dunk, represents eighteen different types of Nike Air Jordan shoes over the years. It would be difficult to imagine how the world of sports footwear would have turned out had it not been for the Air Jordan.

Posted in Fashion, Footwear, Marketing and Advertising | No Comments »

Does a Recession Mean No More Nice Things?

Written on July 26, 2009 – 7:27 am | by admin

Judging by the latest economic data just released, things are going to be grim for a while longer. Government and personal debt are high, unemployment is higher, and deflation seems to be the current theme for a while longer. So what we as shopper shave to ask ourselves, is how we still can manage to look great, but without spending beyond our means?

Do we really want to go out and buy the most expensive and fashionable watch with the recession going the way it is? For many of us, cutting costs are more important than looking beautiful. However, there is no need to don the sackcloth and ashes just yet. There are plenty of ways to look good and keep the costs down, like wearing replica Rolex watches for example. We obsess about it, worrying if we’re going to be late, or if we’re going to arrive too early. We live our lives like clockwork. In fact, we love it so much, we spend thousands of dollars on expensive Swiss watches to record it as accurately and beautifully flow by. If, on the other hand, our love doesn’t go quite that far, then spending a couple of hundred dollars on replica IWC watches is a lot better buy than spending thousands on the real thing.

We all need to think about how we spend our money at the moment, and whether our more expensive or lavish spends are really worth it. We might question spending maybe $5000 on a Breitling watch, when the same money would buy ten replica Breitling watches. And the thing is that nobody would be able to tell the difference. The materials they’re made from, the quality of engineering, the attention to detail. All of these things are identical between the two. Which does bring the question how you would justify spending those extra thousand with a global economy the way it is today.

Posted in Fashion, Jewelry, Marketing and Advertising | No Comments »

Fashion In Our Changing World

Written on July 26, 2009 – 7:25 am | by admin

Our world seems to be changing continuously around us. Maybe it’s always been like this, but it now feels like this change is accelerating. It’s very pronounced in the world of shopping, where the current economic climate coupled with change in fashions has created a huge change in the way we buy and what we wear. The mass spending and huge debts that were characteristic of the first decade seem like a distant memory now.

This is why so many people these days are choosing knock off designer handbags. Part of us still wants to have that quality and style that goes with the designer goods, but are unwilling or unable in these times to spend the several hundred dollars on their favourite handbag, when a knock off Louis Vuitton handbag would cost half or even a third of the original. The quality is still there, the branding is still superb, the only essential difference is the price.

Certainly, in the current economic climate, many people are worried about the security of their jobs, their homes, and their way of life. They don’t want to compromise too much on the lifestyle, but at the same time know that they need to save a lot more than they have been doing. Saving perhaps a couple of hundred dollars on knock off purses over the originals is an easy saving, and one that more and more people are doing. They can save money, but they still have the designer clothes and accessories they enjoy without having to compromise on either quality or looks.

Posted in Accessories, Clothing, Fashion | No Comments »

Crises at Louis Vuitton

Written on July 26, 2009 – 7:23 am | by admin

One thing that really marks out the traditional European design houses is their conservatism. We’ve all seen the new range of Louis Vuitton products out this season, and to be honest, there isn’t anything revolutionary or drastically new. Not that we expected this. LV have always been known for style and aesthetics over cutting edge fashion. However, their prices are still unfortunately very high. Not that this is any big surprise. Louis Vuitton have always prided themselves on their exclusivity, and how their goods can’t be afforded by normal people. Their business model has continued in this way for at least a hundred years, pricing themselves so aggressively high that only the elite could afford, and therefore be seen Louis Vuitton purses and handbags.

So what can us normal people do who want the style and glamour of Louis Vuitton products without bankrupting ourselves in the process? Well, it’s simple. Have a look at the latest Louis Vuitton replica handbags. Made from the same materials, they are so similar to the originals that virtually nobody, experts included, can tell the difference. Costing less than three hundred dollars, they work out at less than a fifth of the price of the originals. Why? The answer is simple: the manufacturers of the replica Louis Vuitton handbags aren’t obsessed with trying to stop normal people from owning them. They want you to buy their products, and so they use the same materials, and the same quality of workmanship, but price on conventional business models rather than the over-inflated margins used by Louis Vuitton. Given that the quality is identical, and that you can’t tell the difference, the replica makes better sense for the fashion-conscious of us out there.

Posted in Accessories | No Comments »

Are Chanel Replicas Better Than The Real Chanel?

Written on July 26, 2009 – 7:21 am | by admin

Now that the major fashion shows are over, we can take stock of all the new innovation that have happened this year. Innovation though is perhaps a strong word to use for Chanel, one of the most conservative of all the major European design houses. There was always the elegant classicism, and femininity in their range, which still exists in Chanel purses, handbags, and clothing. Unfortunately, their price hasn’t changed, with their obvious price fixing still in place to keep us away. Their way of keeping profits soaring in a recession is to price their products so that only the select few super-rich can afford them, especially at a time like this. With prices so high, they can afford to keep their volume low, and therefore give their products the exclusivity and prestige that goes with Chanel. That’s why we all want one.

So with the Chanel line launched, it’s also worthwhile to look at the latest line of replica Chanel handbags out, and, it has to be said, they are pretty impressive. Quality is so good that it’s impossible to tell the difference between the two, and they manage somehow to keep up with the fast changing product line of Chanel. Quality is high, with the same materials being used on this as on the original. It seems that the only real difference is the price.

This isn’t really surprising though. Most of the high quality replica Chanel is made in Japan using exactly the same materials as the originals, using skilled tailors and designers. There is an attention to detail in this work that you get the feeling is sometimes missing from the original, and the end result is so breathtaking that you actually find yourself preferring the replica over the original.

Posted in Clothing, Fashion, Marketing and Advertising | No Comments »

Is there Price Fixing in Fashion?

Written on July 26, 2009 – 7:18 am | by admin

t’s becoming evident in the world of shopping that there is a large amount of price fixing going on with the higher end goods. People are now beginning to ask themselves why they should pay so much money for a pair of mens True Religion jeans when they can buy the replicas for a fraction of the price. It is certainly a valid question. Most of us don’t earn enough money to satisfy all of our likes and desires when it comes to designer clothing and accessories. We all want to own those Louis Vuitton shoes that we saw last week in Vogue, but we can’t afford the thousand dollar price tag that goes with it, especially when we’re only able to wear them once or twice before having to buy another pair.

This is where the attraction of replica clothing and accessories comes in. We can get the same item for a couple of hundred dollars instead of a couple of thousand. Most of the time, the replica is made from exactly the same materials as the originals, and generally are made to the same standards. In fact, the vast majority of us would never be able to tell the difference between the originals and the replicas.

We also don’t like the way that many of the major fashion houses deliberately price their items high, not just to make more money, but also to price us normal people out of the market and achieve a higher exclusivity for their product. Buying replica not only means we can afford that Christian Louboutin number we wanted, but also that we don’t have to follow that agenda set by the big houses.

Posted in Clothing, Fashion | No Comments »

Difficult Decision For The Shopper?

Written on July 26, 2009 – 7:16 am | by admin

Sometimes shopping is not easy.  We have to make decisions all the time, and some of them are difficult decisions.  One of these issues that is very widely discussed in the fashion world at the moment is that over replica items, with the ethics and morals become more and more of a grey area.  Many of us have bought replica handbags in the past, but are unsure about doing it again.  We like the replica products.  For example, the latest generation of Rolex replica watches to come out of Japan are generally made from the same alloys and materials as the genuine article, made by skilled watchmakers from Japan, but cost only a few hundred dollars compared to the thousands of dollars that a genuine Rolex would cost.

A lot of us are also unsure of the ethics of the major design companies.   Many of these companies want to be associated with chic, opulence, or exclusivity.  Now, there are several ways to achieve exclusivity in the business world, but the designers have all pretty much hit on one method.  They’ve priced their products so high, that nobody can afford to buy them except the super rich.  This is why most of us buy replicas.  We can get a Prada replica handbag for maybe two or three hundred dollars made to the same standards as the real thousand dollar Prada bag.  Nobody is able to tell the difference between the two, and to all intents and purposes they’re the same.

In fact, there is a lot of replica Louis Vuitton out there where even the experts are unable to tell whether they are real or fake.  Consequently, shoppers are following their wallets and buying the replicas instead of the overpriced real ones.

Posted in Accessories, Jewelry, Shopping | No Comments »

Why We All Deserve Nice Things

Written on July 26, 2009 – 7:13 am | by admin

We all love nice things, to have the best designer clothing, or the fanciest luggage. Unfortunately, most of us normal people can’t afford these things. So how do we get round this? Well, would you believe that you can get the same look of, say, Louis Vuitton for what you would pay for a high end generic brand elsewhere? Believe it, because it’s true. When you purchase Louis Vuitton knockoffs, you are getting the same look for less.

You have probably always assumed that a replica will be cheaply made, look nothing like the original, and all in all be worthless for whatever money you do shell out, but that just isn’t true. You can find pieces that look just like Louis Vuitton handbags, clothing, and accessories online, which have been handcrafted to give you the same look, without paying the same price.

It isn’t just purses and scarves, either. You can get anything from any line, such as Louis Vuitton replica luggage, and it looks exactly the same as what you would be from the designer. Even experts have been fooled by some of the items that have passed across the Internet, and for good reason. While you may feel off at first knowing that you are buying a fake, no one else will know the difference, and the way it makes you feel walking down the street is guaranteed to be the same.

So, why pay more for something as unimportant as a label? No one will be seeing the inside to check for authenticity, and is it really worth spending hundreds more, all for a simple name?

Posted in Accessories, Clothing, Fashion, Footwear, Marketing and Advertising | No Comments »

Why Fashion Should Be Practical Too

Written on July 26, 2009 – 7:11 am | by admin

It’s probably a fair statement that the fashion world has ignored outdoor or practical clothing in general. When you look at the catwalks of Paris and Milan, you see the most outrageous clothing with minimal practicality. However they do this at their own peril. Most of us actually need our clothing to stand up to the rigors of our daily lives., and this is why Abercrombie and Fitch have done so well. They have now been in business for well over a hundred years, and represent one of the greatest American success stories in the world of fashion, and it has to be said that they’ve come a long way in these past hundred years. To match the growing trend in the late nineteenth century for hiking, hunting, and other outdoor activities, Abercrombie and Fitch was founded to meet these demands. They became something of an icon in the twenties and thirties, and were worn by several writers, artists, and even presidents. However, it’s really only been since the late eighties when the company was bought out and re-invented that Abercrombie and Fitch really developed to the level that it is today where you can see people wearing Abercrombie hoodies in any country of the world.

Abercrombie clothing itself is known for its toughness, its quality in manufacture, and its simplicity and utility in design. As well as being stylish, Abercrombie clothing gives an image of being useful for outdoor pursuits as well as sitting in a coffee bar with friends. It’s this ruggedness, combined with its comfortable and attractive clothing that has made Abercrombie and Fitch such a global success. With stores now in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Japan, and Germany, it’s not surprising that their profits are now in excess of $1.5 billion per year. And, for those of you who want stylish yet comfortable clothing that can be worn every day, Abercrombie and Fitch are the leading choice.

Posted in Clothing, Fashion, Marketing and Advertising | No Comments »