Tackle the elements with lower leg gaiters
Hikers and climbers often have to cope with water, dirt and snow that finds its way into the tight spaces of boots. The solution to limiting this problem often lies with a pair of gaiters, which can cover and protect the tops of footwear.
2008-12-02 20:18:12Foot training to avoid slip-ups
Care home staff are to be trained to understand the risks that poorly fitting footwear, like slippers, can present.
2008-11-19 01:40:0810 of the best: shoe boots
STEP out in this season's hottest footwear with our pick of the ten prettiest pairs
2008-10-27 15:00:00Politician, by design
By Sanjay BasakGone are the days when homespun khadi was the essence of the Indian politician. Today, Parliament is mostly inhabited by natty Armani suits and bespoke bandh-galas.A look at some trendy trailblazers and othersWhen Parliam-ent’s sartorial history is written, it will have a chapter titled Shot Gun. In 1998, Shatrughan Sinha walked into the Rajya Sabha in flamboyant Bollywood style, with a hint of bling — black kurta and black designer dhoti with gold edging. He wasn’t there to participate in the debate. He was there to make a style statement.Then came Vijay Mallya and Parliament’s shade card changed forever, from muted to primary colours. Swadeshi was taken off, gently folded in white muslin and kept in storage with scented mothballs. The "Gucci turks" had sashayed in and were here to stay: Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jay Panda and Omar Abdullah, among others.During the last Rajasthan Assembly elections, Vasundhara Raje would routinely take off like a dragon fly and change colours in the sky. She would slip into dresses that matched each particular constituency’s sartorial identity. She even took a dress designer along on her campaign, just in case.All talk of politicians’ obsession with clothes, however, is incomplete without the mention of home minister Shivraj Patil. He changes his tailored suits virtually every hour. Even when the Capital is under terrorist attack.But most politicians are not apologetic for their design makeovers. As commerce minister Kamal Nath was once quoted as saying: "Television is a powerful medium and it makes a politician aware of himself. The politician doesn’t want his voter to be fatigued by his old image, so he’s trying new ways to impress..."Designer kurtas to highlight designer sound-bytes.Come Parliament session, along with the ubiquitous TV channels’ OB vans, and you will see most politicians in their "classy whites". But don’t mistake the whites to have been spun meditatively at some Gandhi ashram. These are all premium brands. Just like the politicians.A fancy dress partyBy Narayan BarethRajasthan, the land of maharajas and maharanis is the place where royals have always dressed luxuriously to stand above the crowd. But the scion of Scindia family from neighbouring Madhya Pardesh, chief minister Vasundhra Raje, prefers to wear clothes that make the voters break out in a grin and see her as one of their own. While admirers praise her dress sense and say that it often endears her to the rural crowd for the effort she makes, Ms Raje’s critics are not impressed by her fancy dress party.Ms Raje is very careful and picky about what she wears when. For example, when she took oath as the first woman chief minister of Rajasthan, she was draped in a yellow saffron sari. A thank you, perhaps, to her BJP followers and colleagues.From the very beginning, during her Parivartran Yatra which began before the Assembly polls in 2003, Ms Raje started dressing according to the gathering she was to address. So if she was at a huge gathering of Gujjars, she would dress up like a Gujjar bahu. She’d be a Rebari by day and a tribal Bheel or a Marwari in the evening.For a routine work day in office, the chief minister mostly wears saris, but prefers salwar-kameez when she’s on inspection rounds.Few chief ministers would have dared what Ms Raje did in 2006. To promote khadi, she walked the ramp at a fashion show in Jaipur. Attired in a red sari with black border, she walked the ramp with model Rahul Dev.Though she drew criticism from various quarters, including some Gandhians, Ms Raje had put khadi back on the fashion "must have" list.Marx of a manBy Parwez HafeezLike a true Marxist, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee leads a simple and austere life. He lives with his wife and daughter in a modest south Kolkata flat. So far as his sartorial tastes are concerned, he is a quintessential Bengali bhadralok.He is always seen in his trade mark kurta which Bengalis call punjabi and dhoti. Mr Bhattacharjee is one of the few Bengali politicians who still prefer this traditional dress. Even during election campaigns, he is seen in the same outfit.Mr Bhattacharjee does not buy his own clothes. His wife Meera shops for him, often from a few select shops in south Kolkata — Khadi Emporium, Uttarayan, Punjabi Store and Kinnor-Kinnori. He prefers kolhapuris which are purchased from KM Das on College Street. "Mr Bhattacharjee does not wear any fancy material. He does not like his kurta or dhoti to be made of silk or terrycot. He is obsessed with white malmal," a family friend said.In recent memory, it was only once that Mr Bhattacharjee was seen in trousers and a shirt. In August 2005, West Bengal chief minister visited Singapore and Indonesia to seek foreign investment. For his meetings with industrialists, Mr Bhattacharjee chose shirt and trousers over his regular dhoti-kurta. He does not usually wear any perfume and has no lucky pen or watch — that’d go against his Marxist salt. A chain smoker, his brand is Filter Wills but he sometimes also smokes Classics and India Kings.Modi: A designer brand in himselfBy Deepal TrivediFrom a former pracharak of the RSS leading a spartan life, to the power-dressing Gujarat chief minister, Narendra Modi has come a long way.Mr Modi’s impeccable dress sense is a matter of much discussion and emulation in Gujarat. Whatever he wears becomes a brand.Given the hot climate of Gujarat and Mr Modi’s hectic schedule, the chief minister took to wearing half-sleeve cotton kurtas in earthy colours. And today, most Gujarat stores stock what’s popularly known as the "Modi kurta".The ubiquitous "Modi kurta" might be appropriate while interacting with the electorate or on routine office days. But for special occasions he has special clothes designed and tailored.So if he is filling up an election form, he’ll sport a saffron kurta, complete with a matching churidar. If it’s Navratri, he’ll delight audiences with a formal silk kurta and a Gujarati style achkan.And when the chief minister is calling on industrialists or is out wooing foreign investors, it’ll all have to be done in a stylish three-piece dark Italian suit.Most of Mr Modi’s clothes are styled at Jade Blue, an Ahmedabad store. Jitu Chauhan, Jade Blue’s owner, is not willing to shell out details but says that his best tailors are reserved for the chief minister.He adds that it is not that Modi saheb blindly follows fashion but that whatever Mr Modi wears becomes fashionable.Paresh Patel, a fashion victim and a Modi fan, saw the chief minister wearing a stylish pair of chappals — flat, brown, with double straps. "It was very contemporary. I found out that they were sourced from Chavda, located the shop and the shopkeeper immediately gave me a pair of ‘Modi chappals’."Though the chief minister never shows off his love for luxury brands, his choice of designer goods endears him further to Gujarat’s plush-with-money electorate.Mr Modi loves branded accessories — from Bvlgari rimless glasses to Mont Blanc pens and designer flat-dial watches. You might even spot him using a gold Cartier pen on special occasions.The scent of a kingBy ASIT JOLLYHeir to a king’s fortune, Amarinder Singh retains several subtle hints of blue-blooded credentials. Maybe it’s royal tradition, but the Maharaja’s six-yard-long turban must be dyed and starched together just like it used to be for his ancestor, Baba Alla Singh who established the Patiala throne.This is a most elaborate procedure, using pure vegetable colours and organic starching agents and can only be done by a handful of specialists ;left from a fast-disappearing tradition. And though largely constrained, by politics, to dressing up in his trademark white, short-sleeved shirt-kurta and churidaar pyjama, Capt. Singh never fails to wear his favourite Aramis 900 cologne.The scent is perhaps the only thing that lingers when he travels abroad and his sartorial style changes to shirt sleeves and trousers and overcoats from Harrods or Burberrys.Back home, however, Ludhiana Pringle jerseys or, on more formal occasions, an achkan is the preferred winter dress. Unlike most of his ilk, he shuns ornamental jewelry, not even sporting a ring.The King’s clothes are all stitched by Jassal Tailors, Patiala-based apparel-makers who inherited the royal warrant from Master Kartar Singh, who retired once he was unable to thread a needle.Monotonous MayawatiBy Amita VermaIf anyone were to ever get a peep into Mr Mayawati’s closet, the sheer monotony would be mind-numbing. Hanger after hanger of beige-coloured salwar-kameez. But it would tell you that Ms Mayawati has no time for distractions. Not in her life, nor her wardrobe.The way Ms Mayawati dresses reflects the way she looks at life. Her dress sense is simple, straightforward and monotonous. There’s no room for any distraction. Much like her political and personal life. She remains fully focused on her political tasks and does not leave room for anything else.Ms Mayawati wears beige-coloured salwar-kameez on all occasions, in all seasons. Her full-sleeve kurta has a loose flowing cut while the salwar is more traditionally stitched. The cloth is synthetic — doesn't crush and does not need frequent changes. Interestingly, the dupatta that she drapes around her neck like a muffler is also made of the same fabric and Ms Mayawati is said to be very particular about its length and width. For special occasions like her own birthdays and swearing-in ceremonies, Ms Mayawati seems to have a thing for pink brocades and silks. She is even known to wear pink Banarasi silk sari on her birthdays.Ms Mayawati, according to sources, has never visited a boutique or consulted a fashion designer. "She goes strictly by her instinct and the design she has created for herself has been done keeping in mind the functional aspects of the attire. She is cautious not to assert her femininity and wants to be treated not as a woman but as a political commander," says the wife of a bureaucrat known to be close to Ms Mayawati.Though no one is allowed to peep into her private world, sources say the BSP leader's favourite tailor is in Delhi.She has simple taste when it comes to footwear. She wears sturdy sandals through the year and shoes in winter. She prefers socks even in summer to protect her feet from skin allergy. In winters, she drapes Pashmina shawls and was even seen sporting a trendy brown coat last year which she picked up during her foreign sojourns. Perhaps the only politician who has never been seen wearing sunglasses, a brown bag she lugs around seems to be her only "must have" accessory. As no one is allowed near her, nobody knows whether she wears perfume or not.Venkatgiri, with a splash of YSLJaya PradaFor me, sense of dressing is a very important component of my overall personality. As I travel a lot because of my political and film commitments, I take care that what I am wearing goes with the occasion and the weather, and that I feel comfortable in it. I’m not very brand conscious but if I like something then I don’t think too much about the money. I never plan my shopping, but do it spontaneously.Mostly, I buy my clothes from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Venkatgiris and Procham Padus are my favourite saris and Neeta Lula, Archana Kochar and Tarun Tahiliani are some of my favourite designers. Tulip in Delhi is one of my favourite outlets and RockyS myfavourite brand for western dresses. Someof the brandsI prefer forperfumes, footwear and other accessories are Versace, Gucci, YSL and Davidoff.As told to K KailashÂÂ
2008-10-25 16:26:30Temp Life 01: "Trouble"
Season 1 Pilot Webisode. When Mark gets a call from his temp agency Commodity Staffing with a job in "the fashion industry," he has no idea the kind of "trouble" he's in for. Temping for "the global leader in synthetic encasing solutions for the global footwear market" isn't exactly Fashion Week. LaShared by : TheTempLife.tvOn: Sunday, August 24, 2008Views: 101Tags:  market  webisode  agency  industry  interns  synthetic  commodity  temping  carell  footwear  Staffing  cardies  Gets  idea  life  Funny  office  week  Call  fashion  exactly  job  Boss  solutions  trouble  kind  global  series  Mark  leader  psycho  pilot  season  Gervais  temp  isn
2008-10-25 05:14:26Best feet forward
Celebrities donate footwear to raise money for charities
2008-10-11 13:30:25Uttar Pradesh school dropouts to be given industrial training
NAT23National/Education/EconomyUttar Pradesh school dropouts to be given industrial trainingLucknow, Oct 10 IANS The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to allow people with basic reading and writing skills to enroll for industrial training programmes that are at present open only to those who have studied upto Class 10, an official said Friday."Special short-duration courses will be designed for the unskilled school dropouts. They will undergo training in 258 Industrial Training Institutes ITIs across the state," R. Dev, additional technical education director, told IANS."The move intends to create better job avenues for school dropouts and uneducated youths," he added.Small-term courses varying from 60 hours, 120 hours and 720 hours on dress making, footwear manufacturing, leather goods manufacturing, automobile repair and others would be offered. The training programmes are expected to start within the next two months.At present, 50,000 students are enrolled in various ITIs across the state. --Indo-Asian News Serviceasit/sh/jg159 Words10101439
2008-10-10 05:04:08High heels leave you low on health and wealth
INT29International/Fashion/HealthHigh heels leave you low on health and wealthBy Venkata VemuriLondon, Oct 1 IANS High heels eventually leave women down at the heel, a new study says.Spindly stilettos and towering wedges walk you ultimately to the podiatrist's parade of bunions, corns, bent toes, trapped nerves and disfigured feet.Those who foot the bill annually in Britain alone add up to a few thousands, but the bills they foot are a bit high. Around 29 million pounds.And mind you, free treatment through the National Health Service NHS means a lengthy waiting period. Private clinics are the only alternative for the impatient.A study by shoe brand MBT claims nearly one in three foot operations on women are to straighten toes disfigured by ill-fitting shoes, mostly high heels.The cost of each such non-NHS procedure is about 1,200 pounds.If all patients opted for private treatment, these operations would cost a total of 10.4 million pounds a year.One in five feet operations are to remove bunions, which is a structural deformity of the bones and the joint between the foot and big toe. Based on the average cost of private treatment of about 4,000 pounds, this equates to 10.5 million pounds a year. A further 3.3 million pounds a year would be spent on big toe joint replacement, 2.9 million pounds on operations for corns, 2 million pounds to remove trapped nerves, and 200,000 pounds to correct in-growing toe-nails, the study says. Cosmetic surgery is also increasing in popularity with treatments including "plumping" in which a dermal filler is injected into the ball of the foot to make walking more comfortable. The survey of 1,000 women aged 15 and above found those in Liverpool and Manchester were most likely to end up with foot injuries. Nearly half of all women in the North-West of Britain said they wore high heels five days or more a week.Forty-three percent of those in the South-East also chose heels five days a week. Four in ten reported having an accident in their heels, with twisted ankles and tripping over the most common mishaps. The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists explains that because stilettos force the wearer to raise their heel, the lower back bends to compensate. This puts pressure on nerves in the back and can cause sciatica. Another common problem is damage to the Achilles tendon. Sticking to heels no higher than one and a half inches can help, the study advises. Foot expert Emma Supple told Daily Mail: "We need to mix and match our choice of footwear to allow our bodies time to recover. Heaven forbid that we ban heels from our wardrobes but we want to balance out our heel wearing days, protect our bodies from future damage and avoid injuries."--Indo-Asian News Serviceven/rd/jg516 Words01101310
2008-10-01 04:07:12Five-star hotel on track, CPI-M learns more about tourism business
NAT6National/Politics/Tourism/BusinessFive-star hotel on track, CPI-M learns more about tourism businessBy Sanu GeorgeKochi, Sep 23 IANS The latest proposed tourism venture in Kerala backed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist CPI-M is a hospitality centre in Kozhikode that includes a five-star hotel and a catering institute. The party now seems keen to learn more about the tourism business. V. Padmanabhan, secretary of the Kozhikode Tourism Development Society KTDS, a CPI-M controlled cooperative organisation, visited the ongoing Kerala Travel Mart here over the weekend along with former party legislator V.K.C. Mammed Koya, the society's director. The KTDS is the flagship body that will implement the Kozhikode hotel project. Padmanabhan told IANS that they had attended the travel mart to gain first-hand knowledge of the nuances of the tourism business, but added that the controversy surrounding the hotel project had been blown out of proportion."The present controversy that the CPI-M is building a five-star hotel is needless because this is being carried out by a cooperative society and it so happens that many of the society members are are CPI-M followers. Is that a big crime" asked Padmanabhan.The authorised capital of the society has been fixed at Rs.8.25 crores Rs.82.5 million and they have begun issuing three types of shares."Category A shareholders would be for individuals with the value of one share pegged at Rs.1,000. Category B is for various state government organisations and Category C for other cooperative societies," explained Koya.The society has crossed the first step of acquiring land for the mega project. They took part in an auction conducted by a Kozhikode court and got a 55-cent plot of land in a prime locality in the city."Fifteen different parties had taken part in the auction and our quote came second and the court decided that since we are a cooperative, we should be given priority. We paid Rs.5.50 crores Rs.55 million for the land," said Padmanabhan.The society members say that the controversy about CPI-M launching a five-star hotel has got them a lot of publicity. Regional media had highlighted how the party was slowly making it presence felt in the tourism sector by first opening a Rs.350 million amusement park in Kannur district last month and now building a five star hotel."We are indeed grateful to the media who gave us a lot of publicity for the society and the project. For nearly a week this was the main story for many in the media. We got free publicity and it has given us lot of visibility," said Koya, who is also a businessman who controls a large share of Kerala's footwear market.The cooperative society's board of directors also has two CPI-M ministers, the party's Kozhikode district committee secretary T.P. Ramakrishnan and Kozhikode Mayor M. Bhaskaran as members."Our first priority is not the hotel but instead a state of art catering and hotel management institute. We are at the travel mart see what professional tourism is about and we also don't mind entering into a joint venture for our projects. This is the best place to meet those who are in the hospitality industry," said Koya.--Indo-Asian News Servicesg/mv/jg575 Words*23091154
2008-09-23 02:02:04Worn Again Virgin from Virgin Atlantic seat cover to eco it bag
Virgin Atlantic is working with footwear and accessories company Worn Again on an innovative new project – which will see the airline recycling aircraft seat covers to create desirable new fashion accessories. The collaboration has contributed to Worn Again developing a range of unique bags by recycling disused materials such as car seat belts, bicycle tyres and aircraft seat covers. The Worn Again Virgin range, which includes the ‘Ollie’ wash bag, the ‘Sherman’ male messenger bag, ‘Lydia’ and ‘Romero’ ladies handbags are available to buy from 1 September 2008. The bags include an ‘Ingredients’ label which lists the all the materials that make up the bags – such as Virgin Atlantic seat covers, car safety belts, Glastonbury tents and bicycle tyres. Worn Again Virgin bags will be available at Terra Plana stores around the world and on the Worn Again website www.wornagain.co.uk. The bags will also be available in John Lewis stores as well as stores in Romania, Israel and The Philippines.
2008-09-15 01:23:12
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