Christmas is coming…as in, it’s almost here! Undoubtedly you have a few items left on your to-buy list. My solution for last minute gifts is pretty simple: gift cards. I know gift cards seem impersonal and it’s more fun to find that perfect gift yourself. You envision the recipient’s grateful expression as they tell you they can’t believe you knew exactly what to buy them (and ideally this happens in a crowded room so everyone can see just how awesome you are). But the truth about gift cards is, they are [how shall I put it?] necessary.

Gift cards especially come in handy when there is a tall gal or guy on your Christmas list. I love gifts (who doesn’t?), but being a tall woman myself I’ve definitely experienced the disappointment when holding up that sweater and realizing the sleeves aren’t even going to reach your wrist. Or opening that pair of jeans and knowing that though the 80s are coming back, there is no way you could pull off those high waters. Then comes the awkward part of either admitting it doesn’t fit or feigning adoration of the gift. I’m guessing that little scenario isn’t the one you’ve been envisioning. So it’s okay-even preferred-to play it safe with a gift card! You can still personalize it by getting one from the perfect store where you know your tall friend or family member can find plenty of tall clothing to suit her needs. And seriously, you’re giving the gift of guilt-free shopping! Is it me, or is that one of the best gifts of all?!

In addition to the fit factor, there is also the practicality of gift cards. What I mean is-Have you ever purchased a gift, say a sweater from a certain mall store that starts with a G, only to go in said store a few days after Christmas and find the same sweater on clearance for less than half of what you paid? I know giving gifts isn’t about being cheap but as a frugal fashionista, I have to say, I hate it when that happens! Imagine getting a gift card for your tall friend who can then go to the store after Christmas and pick up her favorite tall clothing for literally a fraction of the cost. Basically your money will go further and your tall friend or family member can get a few items that fit perfectly. Totally a win-win! So go ahead, purchase that gift card and have no fear, you’ll see that look of appreciation and you’ll know that it’s real.

Seasonal color analysis has come a long way from the days when people were told that if they were blond, they were springs, brunettes were summers, redheads were autumns and women with black hair were winters. Can you believe that there was once a time when certified color analysts and image consultants thought that way?

These days, the process is a bit more complicated and there are a few more seasons to consider. In order to identify your perfect season, what you need to do is determine whether your coloring is warm or cool, identify the broad season category which fits for you and identify which characteristic is dominant.

Seasonal Color Analysis: Which Is Your Dominant Characteristic?

Light: If you are a light, then you have very light blond hair (or very light brown if you are a woman of color) and very light eyes. Also, there is not a lot of contrast between your hair and eyes and skin. You will look best in the lightest colors of your palette, the ones that look like they might have been iced or frosted.

Deep: If you are deep, then your hair and your eyes are both dark and there is significant contrast between the darkness of your hair and your eyes and the color of your skin. Your best look will come from the deepest colors in your palette, and if you do wear lighter ones, pair them with the dark ones for contrast.

Clear: If you are clear, you may have deep coloring just like the person who is deep, except for one thing. Your eyes are bright or unusually light in comparison to the color of your hair. You also have contrast between your hair and your skin. Your best colors will be the brightest in your color palette.

Soft: If your coloring is soft, then your natural hair color is likely to be brown and mousy. If you haven’t actually done so, you have at least considered highlighting or coloring your hair to add interest. Your eyes are a soft, muted color and your overall coloring is blended.

The journey from hair to eyes to skin is smooth. Not a lot of contrast, no sudden stops. So within your palette, you will need the colors that are soft and muted, and tone-on-ton or monochromatic looks will work best for you.

True: If your coloring is true, then you are a perfect fit for all of the colors in your palette. If you are true and your coloring is warm, then you are either a spring or an autumn. If your coloring is cool, then you are either a summer or a winter. You will look best in the truest and richest of your palette’s colors. Not lightened, not softened, not brightened, not deepened.

Seasonal Color Analysis Decision Tree

So the secret to identifying the season that suits you best is to use the following decision tree…

(1) First, determine whether your coloring is warm or cool.

(2) Second, depending on whether you are warm or cool, identify which broad season category fits best: winter or summer if you are cool, autumn or spring if you are warm.

(3) Third, determine which characteristic is dominant. Are you light, deep, clear, soft or true?

Once you identify your season and your dominant characteristic, you will be empowered to choose the colors and create the outfits that look best on you.

“Hey, Dog Walker!”

The shout-out bounds across the street like a puppy fetching a stick. Erin O’Meara, leash and iPod in hand, waves.

This happens to her all the time. Since she started this job four years ago, she and the dogs on her leashes have walked just about every square and non-square block of Astoria.

“Everyone knows who I am, but nobody knows my name, so they just call me the Dog Walker,” she says. “This is not a career for someone who’s anti-social. People are always stopping me on the street — to talk to the dogs.”

Photo by Nancy A. Ruhling
Erin and Donut take Astoria Park.

Those who don’t know Erin as the Dog Walker know her as Donut’s Mom. Donut is the cuddly-cute black and white French bulldog she calls her own. Actually, it was Donut who got her her dog-walking papers. When she took him home, she was working in retail, designing handbags and lingerie.

“It was a very cutthroat business,” she says. “It wasn’t for me. I was getting all kinds of publicity — I was even written up in Women’s Wear Daily — but I was still broke and getting knocked off.”

She found she loved walking Donut, so she started offering the leash to other dogs. “My first client was Stanley, a 160-pound bull mastiff who was twice my size,” says Erin, a petite personage with the figure and rah, rah enthusiasm of a Super Bowl cheerleader. “He turned out to be a real mush; I could walk him around on my pinky.”

It wasn’t long before Erin had quite a pack; on any given day, she takes 12 to 17 canines on half-hour constitutionals one or two at a time. “I don’t like to walk a whole bunch at once because I can’t keep my eye on all of them,” she says. “It’s not safe — for them or for me.”

Erin’s no gossip, but she’s willing to dish a little poop. She generally starts by taking Donut to meet Jack, one of his Frenchie friends. “He’s a treat monger,” she confides. “Every day we get in an argument when we go by TD Bank on Ditmars and 31st because he wants to get a bone there; I tried to change the route, but he knows there’s treats across the street at Jolsons, the liquor store, too.”

Photo by Nancy A. Ruhling
Erin and Donut spend some quality time together.

After she drops Jack and Donut off, she picks up Beukaboom, a lab/pit bull mix puppy, at Crescent Street and Astoria Boulevard. Beukaboom likes to wrestle with Gus, the Frenchie from 27th Street. The next stop is 50th Street and 30th Avenue, where Mouse, a pug/chihuahua mix, lives. “He’s so friggin’ cute,” Erin says. “But he’s lazy; it takes me 15 minutes to seduce him to walk.”

After Mouse come a maltipoo named Kilo and a Jack Russell/chihuahua mix who answers (sometimes) to Havana. “They’re my little divas,” she says. “Havana is brown, Kilo is white; they look like salt and pepper shakers. And they do a synchronized poop. It’s SO cute!”

At 35th Street and 23rd Avenue, Erin puts the leash on Bruto, a yellow lab who is “the total picture of a sweet puppy.” A stop at Crescent Street and Hoyt Avenue brings her Louise, a little Frenchie with a large underbite. “She looks fierce, but she’s a fraidy cat,” Erin says. “And she’s big into wolfing — rubbing her face in dirty, nasty things.”

Then she meets MacGyver, a 15-pound, 6-year-old pug at 41st Street and 30th Avenue. “I’ve never seen a dog walk with such a strut!” she says.

Next up are Tessie, a Welsh terrier, and Otis, a beagle/basset hound mix. Their strolls, which begin at 42nd Street and 30th Avenue, turn into scavenger hunts. “They are out for booty,” Erin says. “Otis likes garbage; Tessie looks for chewing gum on the sidewalk.”

Photo by Nancy A. Ruhling
Erin’s had a million jobs, but dog walking is the one for her — and Donut.

Then there’s Lulu, the yellow lab at 23rd Street and 21st Avenue who smacks other dogs with her paw when she wants to play.

After all this, Erin goes back to Beukaboom. When she drops her off, she’s off with Blinky Palermo, a shih tzu who calls 27th Street and 21st Avenue home. “He’s never in his bed, he’s always somewhere he’s not supposed to be.”

That would be the end of the day, except for Doozer, a chow/German shepherd mix, Erin sometimes walks at 9 p.m. “It’s because of him that I got a garage for my car because I could never find a parking place when I got home,” she says.

That Erin found her calling as a dog walker isn’t such a leap of faith. Growing up in Washington, D.C., she and her family always had dogs. “The first word I said was ‘dog,’ she says. “My little brother’s first word was ‘doggie.’ And our parents were delighted; they didn’t care that the words ‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy’ came later.”

Photo by Nancy A. Ruhling
Erin walks only a couple of dogs at a time.

She’s in Astoria Park with Donut today — she likes to spend a lot of mommy-and-me time with him because she feels guilty that he’s not the only one she squires about on her strolls.

Erin, an artistic, creative soul, has had “a million different jobs” none of them remotely related to dog walking. After she earned a bachelor’s degree in languages and art photography from Georgetown University, she moved to New York City, where she did everything from waitressing to working for a headhunter.

It was after she studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology that she began her design career. Now, she’s also a travel agent/property manager, a job that allows her to mix leashes and leases. “I answer my e-mails and take care of business on my iPod while I’m walking,” she says.

Erin is crazy about her canine crew. “This is a great way to get to know the neighborhood,” she says. “And you can’t beat the company.”

Donut hasn’t been in the park in a long time, Erin says, a tinge of regret in her voice. He charges up to a tree to corner a squirrel then heads toward the East River.

“Dogs are great companions,” she says. “They don’t take everything so seriously. I’ve gone through some really tough times — I got a divorce and knowing that the doggies I walk were waiting for me got me through each day.”

Every walk is a treat for Erin, and every dog gets a treat at walk’s end.

Donut, of course, is her No. 1 fan. And Erin plays the part of indulgent mom to perfection. As she walks toward the subway, Donut makes a detour to the Jumping Bulldog. He’s best buds with Oskar, the Fabulous Frenchie King.

Photo by Nancy A. Ruhling
Oskar and Donut are set to hit the streets with Erin.

While Donut and Oskar do their doggie play, Erin introduces herself to Mr. Humphries, a teacup-size Pekinese-beagle puppy.

Erin’s walking card is full; she swears she’s not taking on any new dogs.

“But he’s so cute,” she says as she strokes Mr. Humphries’ velveteen ears. “And he has such sweet puppy breath.”

There was a drumbeat on the soundtrack during her entire show, which featured mostly sexy, slinky dresses with tribal prints, and full circle skirts painted with tribal masks. People were raving about the necklaces, made of wood shards and Lucite piled up on necklaces and wristlets.

By ERIC WILSON

Fashion is fitting into the scene and making one look the best that he or she can look. Fashion is the norm of clothing, cars, homes, and yes, even pets. Fashion is fashionable. What is fashionable though?

Fashions change all the time. There are some constants about fashion though. The outfits should fit appropriately and be flattering. The vehicles should be safe and clean. The homes should be comfortable and personable. The pets should be well cared for. Now that we know the constants, how does one achieve these constant fashions?

Fashionable outfits typically sport the name of a high end designer. This is not necessary though, since in other parts of the world, say the Philippians, fashionable pants include the Levi pant line. This is considered an expensive brand in the United States, but in other parts of the world, it is. Fashionable clothing is clothing that fits well and compliments the body of the wearer. Fashionable clothing does not show too much skin or appear to be too tight. Fashionable clothing does not restrict movement, but rather enables the individual to be as comfortable and natural as possible.

Fashionable cars are much like fashionable clothing. What is expensive in one country is not in the other. In America, the BMW is considered one of the most expensive cars on the market. In Bosnia, everyone drives a BMW and people want the Ford Taurus. How is that for luxury and fashion? A fashionable car is a vehicle with personality and is clean at the same time. There should be plenty of the driver in the car and plenty of car to be seen. Dirty is never fashionable and clutter is much like dirt.

Fashionable homes are sketchy. Everyone wants a home. Homes in themselves are fashionable. A fashionable home is a home that is well put together with general themes for each room. The living room should not have lawn chairs. The dining room should not have a weight bench. The kitchen should not be storage room. Fashionable homes are all about themes and cleanliness.

Fashionable pets are scary. While it can be “fashionable” to have a specific breed, it is far more ‘fashionable” to have a healthy and happy pet. Remember though, pets are for life, not for fashion. Once you get a pet, you are in a till death-do-you-part relationship with that pet. Think before you purchase.

By Aaron Grau

Many people look at fashion and say that magazines and celebrities start trends in the fashion industry. That may be true but did you know that you can set your own fashion trend. If people like it well enough and see it often enough they may start copying it for a look for them selves thus creating a fashion trend. A fashion trend is copying the look of some one else and more and more people copying the same look so they can look like that person. In writing copying is not okay, but in the fashion industry it is considered to be a good thing because the more people you have that want to look like you the more people will be your line of designs or your line of clothing if you have it placed in a retail store.

In fashion there are other ways at looking at trends. Another way of looking at trends is through celebrities. Trends tend to come and go because of what you might see a celebrity wear to the SAG Awards or to another award show. Singers also tend to set fashion trends when they go to the video music awards or country music awards. There are a lot fashion trends set by singers, celebrities, movies, video songs, and others in the television industry. You would be surprised at how many people buy clothes to dress like a certain person that they look up to. Also, they decide who to follow and what trends to follow. You always want to look good because you want to have a good example for the people who follow you.

The fashion world is tough because you have jobs in the fashion world that depend on you to do your job as a model or designer and if you do not produce clothes to set every thing in place for the trends to occur and happen then you don’t have a trend. In fashion every thing is different from one day to the next and it can change in the blink of an eye. You can have some thing be hip two minutes ago and in the fashion world be out of hip the minute it was in hip. It just depends on who is wearing and how long the fashion is seen as cool by most of the general population.

People like Jennifer Anniston and Tyra Banks both have influences in fashion. One does in acting and the other does in modeling. This goes to show you that you can have a career in the fashion world and influence a different part of society. It also shows how others influence fashion and the different ways that trends are set where they may not be set before. Tyra has had fashion models looking up to her and people in general that want to be her. She makes billions in profits each year and is considered not just a model but one of the first super models of the run way. This woman created a path for many black women and many women in general.

In conclusion, many people look at fashion and just think a super model for Victoria Secret and that being a model is easy work when in all reality it is very hard work for every one involved. The fashion designer has to be in touch with people that want to sale her line. The photographer really has to know people to take pictures of and the magazines just tend to follow where ever the story takes them. So where ever you may be in fashion you still have to know your stuff to keep up with the latest trends.