Dressing So Chic – The History of Italian Fashion

Italian fashion designers are known and loved all over the world for innovative fashion and stunning design that is ever so wearable. Can anyone but the Italians create wearable art that takes the breath away? Historically, Italy began to surface as a desirable fashion source or role model in the 1000s, the year being a tongue twister to say, and the Italians being a tough act to follow with fame for starting the Renaissance. The Renaissance is a nostalgic period which is the time in history known for including a revival among arts and the classical period which was also the same time as the budding of Christianity. The cultural or artistic influences of a Greek, Roman or Oriental nature were abundant at this time and show in the articles of clothing that were produced then.Given all of these influences the Italians’ flair for fashion became the most popular in all of Europe. Italy continued to lead the fashionables in Europe for several more hundred years going from being the choice of Queen Catherine de’ Medici to being fashioned after the paintings of Raphael or Michelangelo among other favorite Italian painters. The popularity of these fashions seemed to be due to the elaborate fabrics and embellishments included in the designs as well as the accessories that either accompanied the clothing, or were meant to be used with it. Items were embellished with brocade, jewels or velvet, just whatever was elaborate or beautiful and consisted of fashion items such as dresses, shoes, robes, fabric, shoes or jewelry. In the 1400s skirts were dramatically pleated or gathered and even often made so as to reveal another dress hiding beneath them. By the 1600s French competition beat out the Italian designers until a period falling in the 1950s when the Italians again stood out. Designers in the 1950s included Giovanni Giorgini who successfully put the Italians back of Europe’s popular list with a fashion show he led in Florence, Italy in February of 1951.Some of the most popular fashion icons wearing Italian fashion throughout the 1900s and beyond include Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Christina Aguilera, Victoria Beckham and Lady Diana, Princess of Wales. Celebrity men wearing Italian labels included or include Peter Sellers and even musician Elton John. The fashion capital cities of Italy began with Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome or Vicenza in the beginning and over time have gravitated heavily toward Rome, Florence and Milan with Rome and Milan being the leading fashion capital cities currently. Italian designers and their perspective labels include Gucci, one of the most popular among celebrities, Armani, Bulgari, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo and Prada. Giorgio Armani is a creator of fashion wear of the high-end caliber, cosmetics, perfumes and even eye glasses. Bulgari produces jewelry, handbags, watches and accessories. Versace specializes in luxury fashions, items for the home and makeup. Dolce & Gabbana tends toward an urban influence and markets eyewear and clothing. Gucci’s lines include luggage, clothing, shoes and distinctive fabric treatments in many of the products. Prada specializes in hats as well as high-end clothing, shoes and accessories. In the past and now Italian fashion is a sought after commodity and a mark of prestige that serves as a main influence over all the other designers in the world today.

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Taking Control of Health Care Costs

If you turn on the news, you will hear all about the latest health care reform ideas. You will hear how badly we need change. I agree. But what I don’t agree with is where we are placing the highest priorities. I see people getting worked up over prescription costs and network regulations. I also see people calling for the heads of insurance companies, claiming that they are evil and out to get us. I’m not trying to start a public vs. private debate, so that is all I will say about either side. It doesn’t have to be a complicated debate though. In fact, we are wasting a lot of time and energy.You can change the health care system any way you want to, but with our current lifestyles, it won’t make a difference. There is only one thing that will “fix” our current situation. That one thing is control. The good (or bad) thing is that we already have control. We have control over our own health regardless of the system operating around us. The health care system is there to treat illness, injury and other disease. What if we could prevent some of these things? Wouldn’t that be a good system? Well, we can and the current system, even if we don’t change a single thing, will function well if we start using our control. We just need to use our control.No matter what side of the debate you are on, you can see where I’m coming from, right? Think about it: instead of going down to the town hall meeting to complain about what they might take away or how change may or may not affect you, what if you took control of your health? What if you spent as much time taking care of yourself as you did worrying about how much reform will cost?The fact is: No one in government, no one in insurance, not even anyone in the medical field can give you any more control over your health. They can regulate what types of treatments you receive, provide the payment for such treatments and even operate on you to battle certain ailments. But the bottom line is, they are only able to treat symptoms that you present to them. 75% of the symptoms we present to them are preventable, meaning we shouldn’t need 75% of what we are being treated for. What’s worse is that we still aren’t solving the problems now. We are just treating symptoms. What kind of control is that?
In other words, for the past few decades, we have been throwing ourselves at the mercy of modern medicine and begging it to keep us going. We have refused to take responsibility for our own health and now we are blaming the very system that has kept us alive for being the problem. We have run up a huge bill for services that we have depended upon, but now we don’t want to pay for it.Control: You have it, I have it and actually we all have the control. Let’s use it and truly solve this problem rather than looking for more ways to treat the symptoms. Health insurance is expensive because health care is expensive. If we are in control, we will prevent the problems that are costing us so much money. Wouldn’t that solve our health care problems? That sounds like a good solution to me.

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