Luke Judge

OTTUMWA — Jodi Cravens is young, enjoys people, the retail business, and working with clothing. all that adds up to something New Bridal & Prom, which is Cravens’ new business at 219 E. Main St. in Ottumwa. she opened the store Feb. 1 and it’s her first business. her shop handles bridal and prom gowns and tuxedos. Cravens has “accessories” on the way for those going to the prom or getting married. not only is she the shop owner, she’s also the operator and the staff. just because it’s her first business doesn’t mean Cravens is inexperienced. her mother had a bridal shop, which closed two years ago. Why didn’t Cravens keep the shop open? “I wasn’t ready then,” Cravens said. “my baby is now 2 years old and I think I’m ready. I’ve been hands on, especially during the last two years.” because she has a small business, Cravens wants to be “very hands-on with everyone.” she likes to help the customer make decisions and also enjoys building a relationship. Why does this line of work appeal to her? “I love working with people. I’m a people person,” Cravens said. For your Information something New Bridal & Prom is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, contact Cravens at 641-455-1456 or e-mail:

Fashion Clothing Collectables relationship, small business, tuxedos

Something that remains wearable during the entire year is a good pair of boots. As far as footwear and fashion are concern, boots can be worn all the time, during all seasons, so it?s a good piece to have in your closet.

You can choose a modern style or you can go with a classic model. They can be made from artificial materials or you can get something made from real leather. These days, boots aren?t made just to protect your foot during winter. There are many types, including above the knee, mid calf, knee and ankle boots.

The ankle boots are quite fashionable and comfortable, and they are quite flexible, since anyone can wear them. The idea here is to combine these ankle boots with some clothes that suit them well. Usually these boots are worn together with some pants that will cover the top. They are very good for people that don?t enjoy the tall boots or the high heels. As long as you combine them with pants, people won?t even know that they are short boots and not the regular model.

The mid calf boots can be used by a lot of people, though their problem is that shorter legs will look even shorter when you wear them. If the skirt falls below the knee, then it is recommended to use this type of boots, as it is a flattering combo.

They are stylish, but they are relaxed and they can be worn with jerseys and jean skirts, in Western cuts. If you want to wear them to work, you can also use the models that come with black heels, which are a bit more sophisticated. The important thing here is to wear skirts below your knees when you use mid calf boots, or to wear pants and jeans.

As for knee boots, these have a sexier image, so they?re often used by exotic dancers. They are considered classy and hot, as they showcase the legs, thanks to their height. If you have longer legs, these are the boots to wear. They will give you a more exotic look and they will make legs look slimmer. In many cases, they are used together with skinny jeans which are tucked in the boots. Pants, skirts or short dresses can be easily combined with knee boots. The one thing you don?t want to do is pairing them with longer dresses.

Fashion Clothing Collectables black heels, high heels, knee boots, skirt, tall boots

The market research conducted on Marks & Spencer (M&S) was specifically targeted at their clothing department which has in recent years been struggling despite new brands and a re-branding being developed. The key problems that need to be addressed are the corporate image, which whilst being in high regard with the population, is actually considered unfashionable. This means M&S are failing to attract the younger crowds. To attract the youth market it is important to not only make the image of the company more fashionable but also their products within the clothing range.

Marks & Spencer’s is one of the UK’s leading retailers, with 15 million people visiting each week. Findings from this report suggest they alone account for almost 15% of the clothing sales in the U.K. Their clothing sector represents 49.5% of their UK retail turnover; therefore poor performance in this area will have a negative effect on their profit as a whole.

It is notable that the U.K clothing retail market is highly youth orientated and a decline in this sector can have a major affect on all clothing retailers. Marks and Spencer’s fell victim to consumer trends during the late 1990′s, when Britain’s increasingly affluent shoppers began to demand more in terms of fashion, while value orientated shoppers turned to low price retailers such as Matalan. Foreign entrants such as H&M and Zara have also heated up the competition. The problems started in 1998 with a 23% drop in profits and by 2001 Marks and Spencer was no longer even in the Financial Times list of the top 500 global companies

It is apparent that the M&S brand particularly the clothing sector must be made more fashionable to attract the younger market and in turn the largest sector of the UK clothing retail market. M&S have already implemented a lot of changes to stem the poor performance in the last 5 years, it is important they now build on this to ensure they reach the level of success they were at 10 years ago. People would shop at M&S more if they had a reason to be drawn in to the store; this is something that should be addressed; whether it be a new national marketing campaign or simple point of sale window displays.

Marks and Spencer traditionally started off as a clothing retailer on a policy of only selling British-made goods and sold the goods under the “St Michael” brand. They are the largest clothing retailer in the U.K by turnover and by 1997 became the first U.K retailer to make a profit before tax of over 1 billion. To continue these achievements maybe this should change to accommodate the modern market. Marks and Spencer has now branched out to other areas including home furnishings and quite notably food. The home furnishings and food sector have not been as successful as the clothing line which represents 49.5% of the turnover.

It is apparent the younger market does not shop at Marks & Spencer generally and with the youth market being the biggest sector of the population who spend on clothing in the UK and that 49.5% of Marks and Spencer’s turnover is from their clothing sector it is clear their clothing sector must be addressed.

Below bullet pointed are my recommendations:

o Market the Marks and Spencer brand to be fashionable; do not completely re-brand as M&S are still well respected. With a more fashionable corporate image, it should draw a new cliental in the youth market.

o Develop new more fashionable clothing ranges, specifically targeted at the youth market; sell these alongside the other popular ranges that sell with the mature market.

o Continue the use of celebrities and new brands of clothing to ensure they are constantly marketing in the right way. The hope is that deals like this would encourage a younger market to at least browse in the store.

o The female market seem more comfortable shopping with M&S for their underwear and therefore it is important to not lose this market and make sure the underwear range is diverse with “sexy” underwear, fashionable underwear and comfortable underwear.

o A brand new national campaign is needed urgently to put M&S back in the publics mind, along with experts brought in to help with their window displays and point of sale display to try and draw people off the high street and shop with M&S.

Fashion Clothing Collectables corporate image, global companies, market research, retail turnover