The first famous person we ever dressed in one of our clients dresses was Carrie Underwood in 2005 – things have changed considerably since then!   American Idol is now a mega-brand and Carrie Underwood is the most successful contestant in Idol history as well as one of the world’s top entertainers with a fashion style that women all over the world covet.   When we welcomed Carrie and her stylist into our client WDNY’s NYC showroom she had just scored her Idol win and client Warren Donner custom designed her dress for the Grammy Awards.  Carrie won big that night and the rest is branding and CIV history.   Today top designers vie to dress Carrie and stylist Trish Townsend has her pick of the best of the best…yet we still maintain a wonderful relationship and have introduced her to more clients as she continues to introduce us to more of hers!  Win-Win!  Everyday we score best-dressed kudos for new clients and help launch their brands as we add to the growing list of  super-stylists on our roster.  What does it take to forge these all-important alliances besides offering a great product?  Trust, integrity and stellar communication skills.  As a New York-based public relations agency (the majority of national media works out of NY, so I can never understand why a company would choose a LA based one!) we identify fashion trends and the up and coming next style icon before they peak and this is where we begin to earn trust with our style partners.  We don’t say no and pick and choose only to work with a-listers, we don’t send the same dress to 10 different actresses hoping they will all be wearing it for those “who wore it better” segments, and we don’t give the same dress to a competitive celebrity to wear.  What we DO do is keep to our promises, honor that value of celebrity branding and never assume any dressing opportunity is guaranteed and have as much of an understanding of the style, taste and need  of each woman we are trying to dress as their stylists do.   We also make sure our clients have the resources to create a custom dress, or alter an existing one and we move heaven and earth to get that one-of-a-kind sample to and from that last minute event — even though our ‘star” may or not wear it.  We also offer exclusives and will hold a certain style sometimes months until a celebrity can preview the design at an event.  Recently we partnered our client Sherri Hill with Miranda Lambert’s stylist Tiffany Gifford to custom design over a dozen pieces for Miranda as considerations for both red carpet and performance wear at the CMA’s, spending time and money to fit and style both short cocktail dresses and gala gowns for the big event. And while Tiffany, had gathered lots of other potentials looks for the big night – Miranda wound up wearing four Sherri Hill designs for red carpet, performance, and afterparty on the big night!  She was featured on virtually ever best-dressed list and helped jump start the talents and put Sherri’s name on the fashionista radar!   Every celebrity dressing opportunity doesn’t always turn out this successful – sometimes you win big and sometimes for too many reasons to count – the dress or item just doesn’t work.  But being able to keep on delivering fresh and new options, to concentrate on long-term relationships not short term results, to go the extra mile, and to always remain calm, cool and collected – gives you the edge not just for the Golden Globes, Grammy’s, Sag’s, and Oscars but for the long haul.  Keep your fingers crossed —  as i post this we are sending several clients designs as potentials to a lady that’s “Country Strong”, one that resides in zip code “90210″, another that is both fabulous and “Shameless”, a very “Modern Family”, and a couple of “Housewives”…my team at CIV earns top rewards from me!

I can’t tell you how many times I have said and wholeheartedly offered, a “win-win” to woo a new client and negotiate a deal.  In tough economic times especially, a little compromise leads to an agreement that works for both sides. Right?  Actually NO!  Ok, I have you attention now – especially because those of you who have known me for a long time know that I am a smooth negotiator and love saying YES.   I love and am passionate about what I do and sometimes that passion and drive to create is bad for business.   Compromising too much is not a win-win – and settling for only part of what you want is not good business!  Think about all those blockbuster movies you have seen with some crazed bank robber holding dozens of innocents hostages – does the FBI negotiate?  STICK TO YOUR GUNS!  When someone proposes that you compromise – SAY NO!  As a women of integrity and confidently knowing that I am one of the best at what I do – I tell the truth each and every time I am dealing with a potential client or business associate – and most importantly – I deliver on my promises.  If you cut your fees to gain a new client, you are setting yourself up for failure by being unable to deliver first-rate services at a second-rate price. And something will have to give.  I am confident in the services I offer and if I  set myself up in a compromising relationship  - I have sold myself,  my agency and my client short.  My advice?  Respectfully decline to slash fees – explain to the client that you would rather pass on the business than fail them by not being able to provide your stellar services at a bargain price.  Be confident, end on a high note – tell them that once that “cut-rate” competitor doesn’t deliver to call you.  This is a real “win-win” – clients usually respond by meeting our real, realistic fees.  If not – I believe in and live up to my agency’s own PR and know they will be back…

Twitter and Facebook are smart Social Media tools to help businesses and brands market themselves.  But like any other marketing tool if they are not used correctly they can hinder rather than help get the message across to millions of potential customers and brand consumers…

When partnering with our clients to determine Social Media outreach one of the first areas we monitor is the competition and social media has lots of easy ways to do this.  Using sites like TweetBeep ( tweetbeep.com) and Goggle Alerts (google.com./alerts) are effective and effortless ways to see what others are doing.  These sites allow you to receive auto alerts (you set the parameters of how often) each time your competition is mentioned online (I put quotations around key words in my searches to weed out the irrelevant posts).   Knowing how your competition is interacting with “fans” and “friends” and tracking their activities provides an insight to how you want to create your own Company’s online buzz.

It always a surprise to me when I am researching a company or brand and I see “customers” (fans/friends), leave comments that go unnoticed or unanswered by the Company.   Ignoring what your customers have to say about you is a big mistake.  Just as the old and true adage “The customer is always right goes” this has no better application than when communicating online.  Caring about what people are saying about your brand, fixing a problem and opening up a dialogue all showcase your business in a positive light.

It is important to remember when communicating that arguing is a losing battle anywhere but nowhere more so than on social media pages.  It is important to train your administrator to remain professional and unemotional at all times – and when a mistake has indeed been made – own up to it and indicate that you want to make it right!

When you make a promise and commitment to someone on your social media links make sure that you handle the problem and/or provide the information requested.  Dropping the ball, especially in such a public venue can only exacerbate negative consequences.  Social media sites allow us to monitor more closely how customers interact with each other and discus our companies and brands – so you want to ensure that what they are airing is indeed a positive review or comment about you…

Its best to monitor all the different avenues of Social Media before jumping in and interacting to determine how the tools will benefit you.  I often ask clients to first sign up as consumers themselves, play around and get to know the vehicle we are adding to their marketing mix – and provide feedback of their experiences to not only the discussion but in determining the tone and voice of their Social Media communication.   A golden rule – don’t just tweet for Twitter’s sake.  Make focused, informative tweets on items and links that matter to you and your business…

A company’s Facebook and Twitter pages must be a reflection of the same brand identity you are using to build your brand or Company.  They work as part of a total imaging package that continue to build an interesting and consistent brand image.  More bright ideas for sharpening those Social skills…

So, okay..I’ve been MIA on my posting for the last few days, but I’m back – and ready to talk some trends.. As you all know from my previous entries, I am quite the MTV aficionado/a. Name a show and chances are I watched it when it aired and have watched it a few times since. Well I’ve become a fan of the network’s newest trial, ‘The Seven.’ Yes, some would put the segment on blast for mirroring E!’s Daily 10, but I’m pretty sure that this ‘borrowing’ of TV curricula has been practiced for quite some time (so haters, cool your jets…). As a brief rundown, the half-hour long show catalogues/countdowns the top seven celebrity gossip-ish news pieces of the day – MTV aptly refers to these seven as the ‘must know’ stories. In many ways, I would classify ‘The Seven’ as a reinvented/redirected renewal of the once-popular, Carson Daily-delivering TRL show. I prefer it just a tad more, because the focus is taken away from solely music to more broad popular culture topics..and, well, I think Kevin Manno is a much better looking alternative to Carson – my apologies. Anyhow, I’ve gotten attached to this show and find each episode pretty entertaining. So my newest MTV website obsession – the style page. Well as I was doing my daily perusing, I just so happened to come across a post all about ‘The Seven’s’ hosts Kevin Manno and Julie Alexandria! Didn’t say much about the show, but critiqued or, rather, appraised their fashion. The color and the verdict? PURPLE and it is TRENDING! Both hosts wore variations of the majestic color and each looked hot. A woman after my own heart, Julie wore a bright magenta and purple tank that looked FAB with her suede booties. A man after my boyfriend’s own heart, Kevin wore a deep purple and gray plaid button down (swoon). See, boys, purple is totally rock-able. I am always a fan of purple and Sherri Hill’s collection of purple pretties definitely proves a favorite of mine. Whether in longer jeweled gowns (for a regal goddess look) or shorter, body-hugging sheaths with all-over sequin embellishments, Sherri’s purpuraceous (why yes this IS a real world) designs are much preferred. Purple is definitely in my ‘seven’ for the week…

So, okay, as an MTV enthusiast I’m pretty much ‘tuned in’ to anything and everything that the network puts out. Well, when it comes to reality programming, that is…I never knew how fantastic and resourceful the MTV website was – I’ve mostly referenced the site to check up on the TV schedule and when I should expect the latest episode of ‘The Gauntlet’ to air on repeat. Recently, though, I’ve discovered that MTV.com has a fantastic Style section; one that uses pop culture as its central muse. Just today, I was visiting the Style section’s ‘trends’ tab and it just so happens that MTV’s fashion 411 is right on target with ours! You’ll have to check out the site on your own (http://style.mtv.com/category/trends/), but I can give you a quick synopsis! So, glitter, sparkling, sequined GOLD: this style is a GEM right now with celebrity starlets. According to the detailed blog post and supplementary stunning photos, AJ Michalka, Heather Morris, and Halle Berry have all been entranced by this rich hue and its extra glistening accent. This post was particularly poignant considering what I’ll segue into in a few, but if you gloss over the rest of the style blog you’ll find tons of other trends and celebrity-driven fashion fixes that are complete with helpful hints for creating your own ‘famous’ adaptations. Now, MTV and CIV must be style-watching in harmony, because just today I was marveling at a ‘get the look’ story we were working on. The always beautiful Heidi Klum arrived to Roberto Cavalli’s 40th Anniversary bash (in Paris) wearing his own gold and peach metallic draped gown. Trend-savvy Designer Sherri Hill’s unique metallic chain mail style is right on par with Heidi’s golden goddess look – and you don’t need to be a supermodel for this one. A golden ‘get the look!’ Well would you look at that! MTV and CIV…we might not be Midas, but everything we touch turns to gold…

Wow, just looking at the title of this blog I’m realizing that in 13 (the eerie, mystical bad-luck number) days Halloween 10′ will be upon us. Even though I won’t be in college this time around, dressing up will certainly still be a top priority! And if you’ve been keeping up with the trends and this year’s most popular choices, you should know which crazy costumes are commanding the least amount of ‘boos.’ One of this year’s top ghoulish get-ups is none other than the pint-sized Princess of Poughkeepsie…Snooki! For almost a year at this point, the cast of Jersey Shore has been at the heart of media coverage (for the good and the bad) and while I’ve definitely seen my fair share of Jersey Shore themed socials and over-poufed NJ posers, the Snooki look is quite unique and something that deserves characteristic attention to detail. If you didn’t tune in to this morning’s Regis and Kelly show, I’ll fill you in..Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi and her taller, equally busty counterpart, Jenni JWOWW Farley visited the talk show and let everyone in on some J.Shore antics as well as some totally inappro fan encounters. Snooki’s wardrobe for the show was a fitting choice for her personality and one that didn’t scream ‘overly orange NJ skank (as a disclaimer, I think I can use those terms considering I’m a Jersey girl myself),’ but a more tamed, stylish and sassy New York party-girl. Now, this classier, more elevated look can certainly serve as a Halloween muse. Snooki’s animal print design by Sherri Hill was a great compliment to her wild free-spirit, but something that was a distinct change from her usual skin-tight all over leopard minis. This dress had layers (and not literally..but you know what I meant), personality, depth; perhaps a reflection of a multifaceted Nicole that successfully squashes the negative commentary surrounding the reality star. This is the ‘Snook look’ I would definitely work to pull off for Halloween. Snooki 2.0, rockin the animal print as a styling stunner. For those who choose a more literal, show-like version of Miss. Guidette, go ahead..but that extra high pouf might cost you a very uncool punch in the face….I’d go for the class-act curls

Okay, so this may sound outlandishly silly for the moment..but, I will proceed without judgment, hopefully. This past weekend was a pretty boring one.. Not that I don’t love seeing old high school friends or picking pumpkins with my little cousins..I just thought there would be ample time for more outdoorsy, exciting activities considering how GORGEOUS the weather was – summer sun without the frigid fall temps. Thus, to make up for the rather tepid weekend, my Columbus Day was spent doing something I haven’t done in years. (Now here’s the part where I expect some head tilts, snickers and sneers). I watched Disney movies. Not the new-aged ones, the ones that I have trouble relating to..but the classic stories of love and loss, romance and comedy, serious plot line intermixed with an essential blend of family-friendly, memorable music numbers. And my favorite? The Lion King. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight..” Genius. So anyway, as I was thinking of a blog topic for today my mind wandered back to Pride Rock. See where I’m going? Animal Print. Some of us love it, some of us consider it a tacky mess, and others outright protest its very existence. I once erred on the side of the non-believers, but after falling in love with leopard and zebra prints this summer, I’d put myself somewhere in between. It’s fun and flirty, obviously ‘wild,’ but needs to be ‘tamed’ once in a while. Interestingly, I read somewhere that everyone has a flair for animal printing (even if it’s entirely subconscious). Our ancestors hunted and gathered way back when, and now I guess we ‘prey’ on fierce fashion. It’s a pretty intriguing theory. Nevertheless, animal prints are always in style (one of Fall 2010′s hottest trends) if worn appropriately – i.e. noooo head-to-toe dressing and never too much mixing/matching of prints, if at all. For the more style savage, dramatic animal print designs might be the way to go. For the less ferocious fashionistas, a little bit of AP may go a long way – consider choosing a bag with a little bit of leopard or maybe even heels with subtle giraffe print accents. Whichever way you choose to ‘let your inner animal out,’ Sherri Hill is the perfect ‘zookeeper.’ Sherri’s collections of long gowns and shorter cocktails feature a ‘herd’ of animal printed designs. Accented with brightly colored ribbons or complete with fashion-appropriate feathers, these animal-inspired dresses are cause for roaring applause!!

Okay, so in a nostalgic look back to well, Tuesday’s post, I wanted to elaborate more on this idea of dual products and how they can weasel their way into the budget-tightened purses of today’s shopper. As I was saying the other day, during the Depression there became a beauty phenomenon called the Lipstick Effect. Now what this meant was that even during the most deafening economic times, women allocate whatever extra (or maybe not even..) money they had to buying a single lipstick or other seemingly cheap cosmetic. Today, the illustrious Lipstick Effect has taken on a new vision. Women are once again in financially compromising times, but feel comfortable ‘indulging’ in a relatively less expensive dirty little secret….Not lipstick this time, though – Instead of enhancing their pucker with a color-rich smooch-stick, women are lathering up, spritzing, washing, and beautifying with two-in-one or dual purpose beauty products. My own theory on this is that beauty products (if not designer) are usually always less expensive than a couture clothing piece or a night out on the town, and if that ONE product has MULTIPLE uses, then why the hell wouldn’t you buy it? Killing two birds with a small stone. So as I picked up Marie Claire’s November issue this afternoon, the wheels in my head already started to turn. Page 105-106: Natural Beauty. A feature that uncovers a plethora of ‘green’ beauty products. Now how does this organic story fit into the ‘already been said’…Well, glossed over these two pages are products that pack insane amounts of cosmetic benefit with the ADDED bonus that they are environmentally friendly and bodily sound (i.e. no chemicals eating away/wreaking havoc on your skin and internal health).  The catch? Some of these organic specific products come with a designer price tag.  Take for example, the Lavanilla organic deodorant – $18 or the Organic Pharmacy Self-Tanner – $60.  A teeeeny bit more money than you’d like to spend on some bronzing oil, right?  I still think it works for the Lipstick Effect, though, through some well-thought out, exaggerated rationalizing.  A woman knows that she wants/needs her beauty supplies; they’re basically a necessary priority.  So she’s going to buy them, regardless..But, before making the infamous purchase she thinks ‘well, I need this..I’m going to buy it sometime anyway, AND it’s going to take the sun damage out of my skin AND reduce the aging process so it’s really a miracle for more than one reason!  Now prefacing these products with ‘organic’ only facilitates the process. This product can do so much already AND is good for me/will ward off the later-in-life health problems, I’m buying this for sureee. And to be honest, I would be the forerunner of this group, most definitely…..

Sooo one of the only things that makes Mondays and Tuesdays tolerable is the thought that between 8-10pm (MON) and 9-10pm (TUE), I’ll be plopped down on my couch glued to ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. Now, I can officially call myself a newbie, because this is the first season I’ve tuned into (and there have already been 10 seasons!). And while it pains me to admit sometimes, I’ve truthfully dedicated my Mon/Tues TV time to this show to watch my favorite J. Shore guido – The Situation. Every time that tanned ab-machine advances to the next round, I salute with my own [at-home] fist pump. Under no circumstances do I agree that the ‘Sitch’ has prized ranking among the dancing elite, but it’s definitely endearing to watch him relinquish his Karma beat bumping to join the impressive roster of celebs – Jennifer Grey, to name one of the favorites. Personally, I think ‘The Hills’ own Audrina Patridge is going to take the competition. Her delicate, beautifully danced, and ‘touching’ performance on Monday night only further reinforced my bets on Justin Bobby’s outgoing Ex. But, to return to Mike…his outfit was quite interesting on Monday. I wouldn’t give him high scores for his on-stage wear, but it certainly proved a risky and vaguely successful maneuver to show off his celebrated 6-pack.  On the other hand, the rest of Dancing’s designs are killer this season.  Audrina’s cobalt blue two piece skirt and glittery webbed long-sleeve top was insane last week, as was Jennifer Grey’s gold shimmy dress that matched the fringe and fun to the fitting Metro Station hit “Shake It.”  I was also in love with Margaret Cho’s hot pink feathery skirt beneath a zebra printed top.  It was fun, colorful, and full of movement (a great compliment to her personality) – a welcomed change from her over-sized kimono look of week 1.  Even the boys have been dressed to the nines..While I didn’t loveeee Rick’s mustard-colored open button down from this past week, he has looked dapper every other time.  Kurt was all kinds of handsome this week in his dark navy suit with a bubble gum pink tie, and Kyle is, well, always adorable (see his bedazzled argyle vest from this week).  And really, the Situation looked pretty dapper in his military jacket from last week – very refined compared to his usual fashion choices!  9 more couples left..18 + costumes..sublime excitement!!!

So it’s about time I re-introduced the broad scope of beauty into our daily blogs..fashion certainly warrants discussion on a daily basis, but clothes can only do so much to dress up a lady – the rest of her ‘make up’ is driven by beauty products and cosmetics galore. Until this morning, I had never heard of the ‘Progressive Grocer.’ Hearing the phrase out of context would no sooner make me think of a grocery store that was, in all respects, successfully ahead of the consumer curve. Well, this magazine does just that – describes and commentates on the patterns and trends in grocery store management and maintenance that make a unique and fruitful impact on business. A couple things that immediately stuck out to me upon browsing the ‘Getting Personal’ feature in the Health & Wellness section: the growth and explosive success of the masculine grooming market and the techniques productive in getting women to invest in ‘little luxuries.’ If you asked a group of women and men what they thought about ‘manscaping,’ it’s likely that you’d encounter a full gamut of responses (ranging from ‘yes, please’ to ‘Nah, I prefer my man rough and scruff’). Personally, I like it when a guy can put aside his own insecurities and ‘freshen up’ in a completely masculine way. According to the Progressive Grocer entry, beauty or self-care (less gender-specific) companies are dedicating loads of energy and resources into catalysting the male market to compare with the already successful female market. Entire aisles are being built around men’s products. Grocers are using the label ‘Guy Space’ to preface the all-male, masculine and rough-and-tumble experience men and women will have strolling down the navy blue, red, and black decorated item lane. The result: clean-smelling and hygienic men who feel comfortable prepping to beautify when they have their own testosterone concentrated space. And for women, a return to the Depression Era-coined ‘Lipstick Effect…’ Meaning that in tight, stressful economic times, women would steal away to ‘little luxuries’ to satisfy their cravings for ‘the goods’ without putting strain on their finances. Fast forward to 2010, women are again using these tactics, but practicing with another muse – dual, two-in-one purpose products. I guess this works in the same way too, sufficing a desire for self-rejuvenation and beautification with little monetary deficit. Plus, knowing that there are multiple benefits/uses to a product makes the rationalizing a lot easier.  The beauty industry ‘ain’t going nowhere’ as evidenced by the marketing prestige highlighted in this article..Especially when considering the ‘family-focused’ shopper…must read to comprehend!