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The Most Exciting Swim Trends For 2021

Posted by Cathy Customer Care on January 26, 2021

#Sustainability

"Most notably, a trend we've seen gain momentum through 2020 is sustainably produced swimwear. More swim labels are launching as entirely sustainably and ethically produced than ever before. The sustainability 'trend' is one we anticipate will become the norm over the next few years.

# Creative Cutout

One-piece swimsuits have come to prove that they can be just as sexy and more interesting that bikinis this year. Enter, the cut-out swimsuit.

# Beach-to-Street

An ideal layering piece for on-and off beach styling , this feminine and sporty all in one piece can be worn as RTW and causal layering pieces.

# Asymmetric Bikini

Asymmetric top ideal layering piece, picked up for urban styling. this style is the perfect addition to the core fashion range.

Dia De Los Muertos: The History And Fashion Of Day Of the Dead

Posted by Cristina Mittermeier on October 18, 2020

In the globally connected world we live in, there are more and more different cultural references leaking into the fashion world. This is a beautiful thing, and leads to some amazing styles- but sometimes it's nice to know a bit more about the traditions behind the fashion. While Halloween is the big celebration in the Fall here in the united States, around the world it's a bit different. Sure, plenty of other countries have adopted Halloween celebrations, but days to honor the deceased are far more prevalent. In some places, it's known as All Saint's Day, Finados, or Undas, but one has outstripped them all in terms of popularity and identifiable icons- Dia de los Muertos, the mexican Day of the Dead.

The History of Dia de los Muertos

Rituals celebrating the deceased in Mexico go back at least 2500 years, though it initially took place in the early summer in the Aztec civilization. Those early rites took place over the course of an entire month, and honored both the deceased and a goddess known as Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of the Dead.

When the Spanish arrived in the 1600s, they brought with them Christianity, and began to convert the indigenous peoples to the new religious beliefs. In order to make the native people more compliant, local practices and holidays were merged with the Christian ones; sometimes they were moved, as was the observation of the deceased. It was changed to be later in the year, coinciding with All Saint's and All Soul's day. Many of the traditional iconography was kept, though, which is why the skull is so identifiable with the Dia de los Muertos.

Sugar Skull

The image of a brightly decorated sugar skull has become the de facto icon of Dia de los Muertos, though skulls in general have been used in the celebration since the Aztec days. In the 1910's, Jose Guadalupe Posada, a noted illustrator, drew an image poking fun at the upper classes of Mexico by drawing Calavera de la Catrina. This drawing of a skeleton dressed in an expensive hat has become iconic in the Day of the Dead celebrations, and has led to a resurgence of the Lady of the Dead- the Calavera Catrina, or Elegant Skull. Often depicted as a woman dressed in traditional long gowns and flowers, she is now found frequently on the altars to the deceased.

Halloween is going to look very different during the pandemic

Posted by Cristina Mittermeier on October 18, 2020

New York (CNN Business): Halloween, a holiday that brings Americans together over a shared love for candy and costumes, will look very different during the pandemic.

As families reconsider Halloween traditions, companies that usually rely on Halloween for sales have been shuffling to adapt.

Here's what Halloween will look like this year.

Candy

The Covid-19 pandemic is putting a damper on traditional trick-or-treating this year, a disappointment for kids and candy lovers alike. For candy companies like Hershey's, Halloween is the biggest season for sales, and the pandemic threw it a curveball.

To boost sales and keep customers interested, this season's Halloween preparations include putting Halloween-specific packaging on fewer treats, focusing on family-sized packs and extending the shopping season.

Halloween celebrations are unpredictable this year, but candy companies should still be optimistic, David Steinberg, co-founder and CEO of Zeta Global, a data-driven marketing technology company, told CNN Business. He added that consumers will continue to shop for candy for reasons that don't include trick-or-treating: For example, candy sales increased in April, at the start of the pandemic, indicating that "people are viewing candy as comfort" while they are staying at home and social distancing.

Costumes

Seasonal chain Spirit Halloween, which is known for its extensive costume collection, is prepared for a very non-traditional Halloween. The company is shifting its strategy during the pandemic, getting creative by offering new ways to celebrate and offering contactless Instacart delivery for Halloween costume shopping.

"We're seeing strong customer foot traffic and are anticipating sales on par with last year," Erin Springer, senior manager of public and media relations at Spirit Halloween, told CNN Business.

And costume sales are still going up, Steinberg said, even though it may be unsafe to partake in traditional trick-or-treating. "Kids are still excited for Halloween. Parents don't want to disappoint them -- especially after a tough year of having school from home," Steinberg said. "Whether or not they are trick-or-treating, there is still a reason for them to dress up as their favorite character."

Socially distant trick-or-treating

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Halloween safety guidelines, labeling traditional trick-or-treating as a "high risk activity." As an alternative, the CDC suggested "one-way trick-or-treating," which involves dropping off individually wrapped goodie bags at neighbors and friends' houses.

Retailers, such as CVS, Target and Meijer, took note, tapping into one-way trick-or-treating by offering "boo bags" -- bags of candy that are meant to be left at your friends or neightbors' front doors, eliminating human contact.

Additionally, a group of companies -- including Party City, Hershey, Shoprite, Spirit Halloween and the National Retail Federation and Unicef -- teamed up to create halloween2020.org, a website that maps out how to trick-or-treat safely in every county in the United States.

Spirit Halloween recommended contactless trick-or-treating (even though they don't sell candy), socially distant costume parades, graveyard scavenger hunts and virtual ghost storytelling.

To shop or not to shop

Online shopping has taken over during the pandemic, and curbside pickup -- which minimizes human contact -- has become one of the biggest shopping trends of 2020.

In preparation for Halloween, Lowe's is launching drive-through, curbside trick-or-treating events leading up to the holiday, giving customers free candy and pumpkins. Lowe's is likely using the event as an opportunity to keep shoppers coming to their stores. The initiative allows customers to partake in curbside pickup for items they ordered from the store while simultaneously participating in curbside trick-or-treating.

Party City has shifted its strategy, too. "Party City has essentially written the playbook on virtual at-home and drive-by celebrations," company CEO Brad Weston told CNN Business, adding that the company developed virtual party kits, step-by-step guides and checklists to make it easier to plan Halloween celebrations during the pandemic.

The party supplier is still struggling, however. In 2019, the company had 275 Halloween pop-up shops around the country, and this year, the company will have only 25 Halloween pop-up shops in the United States.

Spirit Halloween, however, which has become a Halloween staple for many, opened 1,360 locations nationwide last year, and this year increased that number to 1,400.

Aurora's 'Sugar Skull City' to honor Day of the Dead among suburbs' Halloween displays

Posted by Chuyen Nguyen on October 18, 2020

Colorfully painted storefronts and intricate window displays have transformed downtown Aurora into what organizers are calling "Sugar Skull City," honoring a traditional Mexican holiday that reunites the living and dead.

For years, the city has celebrated Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, in great fashion, hosting a slew of cultural activities in a downtown festival that typically draw thousands of people, said Marissa Amoni, manager of the Aurora Downtown nonprofit.

(The window of Balderas Beauty Salon in downtown Aurora has been decorated as part of the 30-day "Sugar Skull City" event honoring the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead.)

(The Halloween display at 502 S. Second St. has been a focal point of a West Dundee neighborhood for years.)

But the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizers to re-imagine the event, she said, prompting the creation of a 30-day celebration beginning Thursday that features festive artwork, self-guided tours, business promotions, virtual content and a socially distanced scavenger hunt.

"There's a lot to take in," Amoni said, "and with 30 days to do it, it'll be a fun thing for people to do and not really have to worry about crowds."

As sugar skull artwork by local artists adorn downtown Aurora, Halloween-themed displays are popping up in other parts of the suburbs, including at the home of West Dundee resident Myke Kustief, whose elaborate decorations have been a focal point in her neighborhood for years.

Skull-Lord.com