Enjoying Your Wedding on a Budget

If you're planning your nuptials, you will undoubtedly be aware there are a great variety of costs to consider. You'll be yearning to have custom outfits created by high quality wedding dress designers; keen to book a luxury venue and ensure that the guests are provided with delicious food; and myriad other costs. However, as most people are, you may well be under some financial constraint. If this is the case, you'd be well advised to heed the budget tips featured in this article.

Find An Affordable Gown

If you're an avid reader of the glossy celebrity magazines, you will undoubtedly have noticed the exquisite dresses worn by Kate Middleton, Gwen Stefani and Joy Bryant. However, it is important to remember that the purchase of a designer dress does not guarantee marital bliss. You might find the local wedding dress designers can design customised outfits to suit your budget and it might even be possible to buy a second hand dress from one of the bridal websites.

Hire a Wedding Suit

Those with plenty of money to spend may consider purchasing suits from the specialist high street tailors. However, there will also be the option of hiring suits from stores such as Moss Bros or Debenhams. You should take your time to find a suit that fits your groom particularly well. Just remember that men are generally quite reluctant to spend long periods of time in clothes stores!

Buy Seasonal Flowers

You might be keen to enhance the bride and bridesmaid's dresses with flowers, along with decorating the ceremony and reception venues with beautiful bouquets. However, if you're on a tight budget it is best to use seasonal flowers. Sweet peas will be absolutely ideal for midsummer events and hydrangeas are recommended for the autumn.

Ask For Make-Up Advice

Your chosen wedding dress designers may well be happy to also make recommendations regarding the type of make up that matches perfectly with your outfit. If not, you can always enjoy a free make up session at your local department store. You might even choose to buy some of the recommended lipsticks and blushers in preparation for your big day, and if you don't want the pressure of applying your own make-up, you can ask a friend or local expert.

Borrow Items

If you're a traditionalist, you'll know the importance of finding something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue for your big day. Of course you have the option of asking wedding dress designers to incorporating blue tints as part of your outfit, too. Ask a friend or family member whether they can lend you an old piece of jewellery or it might even be possible to turn up in a classic vehicle you have borrowed. Be creative!

Priority - Investment Time

I believe that the jacket is the most important piece to get right in a wardrobe that will make you look and feel confident and successful.

To my mind, the jacket has to be the basis of every busy woman's wardrobe. Research has shown that women are taken far more seriously when they're working if they wear jackets. Cardigans are all very well, but you may be asked to make the tea!

So, more than for any other item, you should buy the best that you can afford. It really is an investment in your future which, if properly chosen within a co-ordinated capsule, you will wear a great deal.

Here are some tips to ensure that you make a wise investment:

• Fabric is key - a textured fabric is easiest to co-ordinate as a suit that can also be separated for use independently. It can be worn more easily, for example, with a non-textured bottom half in different colours because it won't look like part of a suit

• A jacket with a collar, especially when it's slightly higher at the back of the neck, is very flattering to most women and much easier to wear than a collarless jacket. If you do go for a collarless jacket you need to be sure that your hair is the right length and your hair is in good condition.

• Proportions: for your capsule wardrobe, an easy length jacket - approximately 52-58cms (and this doesn't vary according to your height) - is a stylish length that can be put more easily with a skirt or a simple dress and longer 64-68 cms with trousers.

• Go for a jacket with an interesting cut rather than fancy trimmings: it's much more chic and will date less quickly. Next season there are lots of interesting shoulder and seaming details to choose from

• Make sure the jacket has good buttons. This is very important because the buttons can, and often do, ruin a garment and make it look cheap. On expensive clothes you should ask if buttons are made of horn - not plastic and certainly not with logos. Plastic ones can melt in dry-cleaning, however even some of the biggest brands are using plastic now to cut costs. As a buyer, I've been known to refuse to buy a garment unless they exchange a cheap button for a better quality one.

• Make sure the jacket fits your bottom half. If you are a size 10 on top and a size 12 bottom make sure you buy the right size for your hips and adjust the jacket. Any jacket, unless very short will hit the biggest part of you at some point.

• It's important that the sleeve fits and that you can move in it - always stretch your arms out in front of you to see if there is enough fabric to enable ease of movement.

• The shoulder line is very important too: if it's too narrow you can get a bulge of the upper arm showing through, which is very unflattering.

• If you buy a longer jacket, you'll need a narrow bottom half, so pick a straight skirt or narrow trousers.

• A double breasted jacket is better for smaller sizes and a single breasted tends to be a shape more easily worn.

• A jacket with two or three buttons is the most flattering for most people; a one-button jacket is best avoided if you have a large bust

Using the capsule approach, you should also be thinking about the clothes you will wear with the jacket.

Beauty Pageants - Sample Interview Questions For Beauty Pageant Competitors

Here are some sample interview questions for beauty pageant competitors, along with information on how to answer pageant questions.

Sample Pageant Question 1: Two-part Pageant Interview Question

When answering pageant questions, it's important to break down the question and make sure you understand what you are being asked before responding. This requires that the contestant must listen carefully to the interviewer and assess the pageant question.

Q: Do you feel that pageants are a positive or negative experience for women, and why?

By assessing the sample pageant question, you can see that as a contestant you would need to have two parts to your answer. The first part is - which do you think pageants are, a positive or negative experience. So the answer needs to start off with that response. The second part of the answer is why do you feel that way, meaning you now need to back up your answer with the reasons why you feel the way you do.

Sample Pageant Question 2: Too Simple Pageant Interview Question

Often a contestant will encounter a pageant interview question that is too simple, requiring a short answer or an irrelevant answer that does nothing to help the contestant's potential chances of gaining favor with the judges.

Q: It says here your favorite sport is volleyball. How often do you play?

In this situation, while the pageant question has nothing to do with the pageant, and most likely nothing to do with your platform, if you are asked a question like this, it's a good opportunity to talk about things surrounding volleyball, which is a team sport and link it up to spending time with friends, family, members of the community, whoever you play volleyball with, and how often. In other words, punch up your answer and try to tie it in to community involvement or social engagement as best you can.

Sample Pageant Question 3: Hot Topic or Opinionated Pageant Interview Question

Inevitably one contestant in a pageant will be asked about a hot-button topic or current event that is predominantly in the news or on people's minds at the time of her pageant. While many judges don't try to invoke these types of controversial discussions, there are other judges who really enjoy doing so.

Q: How do you feel about teenage abstinence, and what would you do to enforce your opinion in the community if you do win this title?

In this instance, it is always best to be honest. Every person's beliefs and answers are going to be different, especially when asked about controversial topics in a very public forum, likely in front of hundreds or even thousands of people (millions if this is a nationally or internationally televised pageant). Again, this would be a two-part answer to a two-part question. So you want to break it down.

The first part is - how do you feel about it. Be honest and answer with conviction, either way. Then go to the next part. If this is something important to you, that you would try to get the message out there during your reign, then say so. If not, then state why you wouldn't. Answer clearly and with conviction in your beliefs, do not waver, and all the judges will see that you took a tough question and handled it with grace. That is what they are looking for.

As you can see, there are many types of pageant questions that require a contestant to think on her feet and answer quickly. By understanding the type of question and breaking it down before answering, you have a better chance at acing your pageant interview and winning your next pageant!

Three Lessons to Be Learnt From Aletta Jacobs - A Pioneer of Access to Birth Control

With celebrations of suffragettes all the rage, much focus is currently on attempts to gain the vote for women. This was, of course, only a small part of the battle even for 1st wave feminists. Issues of the right of women to control or own their bodies - whether the specific concern be birth control, family planning, abortion or sex workers - has been on the agenda for over 100 years - and probably in various places throughout history for millennia.

Achieving equality, where it has been achieved at all, has been a struggle for particular individuals, for groups of women and eventually movements. Unfortunately, women's rights is a matter of one step forward, two steps back. So we can never assume that whatever gains have been made will be retained. So looking to history, and the lives of particular women, is one way of fortifying ourselves for the battles we need to be part of.

Aletta Jacobs, the first female doctor in Holland, was an activist in the peace movement as well as in the woman's movement and in her daily life. Her death on August 10, 1929 provides an excuse to write about her. She pioneered health reform and access to birth control. But even before this point Aletta had won a victory. It took the personal support of the Prime Minister for her to gain access to sex-segregated higher education.

After attaining her degree, Jacobs immediately set up free clinics for the working-class, which she ran 2 mornings a week. In 1882, she went a step further and founding the first birth control clinic in the world. Her focus on prostitutes made her a double target, just as her insistence that the working conditions of salesgirls required reform angered entrenched capitalism. She clearly was only interested in perpetuating immorality.

In l903 Aletta Jacobs left her medical practice in order to focus on the broader issues for women. She worked with international organizations for women's suffrage, undertook a world tour (taking in South Africa, the Middle East, India, Ceylon, the Dutch East Indies, Burma, the Philippines, China and Japan) with ex-IWSA president Carrie Chapman Catt studying the conditions of women and reporting to the Dutch paper De Telegraaf. Suffrage for Dutch women was achieved in 1919.

Jacobs energies did not just focus on women. In 1914, with the outbreak of WWI, she used her international women's network to fight for peace and she even travelled to the USA in an attempt to persuade President Woodrow Wilson to mediate the conflict. She remained an activist until her death in 1929.

So what can we learn from this.

1. Education matters. There is currently an international movement, rallying around 16 year old Afghani, Malala Yousafzai, to provide access to education for all the world's children. Malala is a survivor of terrorist action which aimed at silencing her insistence that women and girls, as well as boys and men, have a right to education.

A second side to this is that formal education provides the tools, one would hope, for critical analysis. If you have never thought of birth control as a matter of a woman's control over her own body, it is time to rethink the matter. In the West we consider autonomy to be an essential right - in fact a precursor of rights. But autonomy assumes that our bodies are our own. If we want to be reckless, we can. If we want to exercise we can. If we want to carry a child, we can. If we do not want to carry a child, we have the right to that decision too. But without access to birth control and abortion, to say we have a right is meaningless.

2. A commitment to social justice matters. Not just seeing the conditions of others, but being prepared to work to alleviate these conditions. I guess this requires bravery - at least the courage to act on one's convictions. I'm a coward, but activism isn't only about large battles or standing in the front line. While signing a petition may seem a small thing to do, for example, every name counts.

One other aspect of this is the inter-relatedness of rights. Aletta demonstrated that compassion has many faces and that caring about women leads to caring about men and the whole of humanity and the world we inhabit.

3. Networking is key. We can't do anything on our own. Women are said to be good at networking and maintaining relationships. Aletta Jacobs did not achieve what she did on her own. From the outset she worked with others. This does two things. It makes us realise that we are not alone - that there are others who value social justice and human rights. Secondly, numbers bring power. Sharing the burden and multiplying the effect.

My aim is not to be preachy, but to suggest that we don't create a pantheon of great women, unlike us in every way. Rather, that we take small steps to demand equality for overselves and for our daughters, but that we also see that we can have guidance in this from those who have come before us.

If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will know that Mad-Eye Moody had advice that is relevant here. He tells the young heroes that they need to be "forever vigilant". Unfortunately there is wisdom, not paranoia here. It is not just that in every generation we have to fight the same battles anew. It is that we always have to watch out for impositions on our equality, because whenever we think there are gains there is slippage.

Does This Type Of Lingerie Suit You?

Buying Leather Lingerie and looking after your new garments.

What happens when you amalgamate the raunchiness of lingerie with the sensual elements of leather? The answer is of course is that you get an amazing, unbelievably sexy leather lingerie. Leather lingerie is super hot and can be extremely comfortable if you buy the highest quality brands from the right stores. Since your lingerie is an important purchase, we should discuss methods for deciding how to buy your lingerie. We'll discuss how to buy the garments that best suit your body type and also what to do to maintain and clean the sexy unique leather material.

Try boy shorts if you have a nice butt. Whether you opt for a boy shorts and bra combination or boy shorts and corset combination, there is nothing like a pair of these male inspired under garments to accentuate your derriere. Don't forget those heels, which will make your legs and butt look long, firm and in shape.

Look for support if you are big breasted. There are plenty of teddies, bra and panty sets with built in under-wires. If you're looking to show off your large chest, steer toward demi cut bras. Conversely, if you're big busted with a small waist, most built-in bra sets won't work for you. On the other hand you can look for a corset, which is much more customizable to your shape.

Don't miss out on what leather lingerie can do for you and your relationship, this is one piece that your partner will be thanking you for wearing in years to come. Leather is definitely not just for jackets, boots and belts. Genuine leather is a fantastic option for lingerie material. You can find any type of hot lingerie in this material. Like corsets, teddies, bustiers, boy shorts, corset dresses, bras, miniskirts, babydolls and much more.

Part of owning leather lingerie is understanding the techniques of how to care of it. Leather is a bit of an investment and most definitely not a disposable lingerie outfit. With the proper care, your gorgeous lingerie sale can last quite a long time. An important tip is to keep in mind that if it becomes wet, you will want to allow it to dry at room temperature. When you aren't wearing it, it should be hung on wide wooden or padded hangers; you don't want to expose the leather to hot or damp conditions for any extended amount of time. Your best keeping it out of direct sunlight too.

The Beauty Myth - How Do Women Really Feel About Their Looks?

In 1991, Naomi Wolf published The Beauty Myth detailing her understanding on how women continue to be oppressed throughout society for the benefit of men.

Wolf argued that the instigation and use of the myth of beauty would be men's ultimate weapon against women and their perceived rising power.

Women continue to face blockades in the workplace due to the political and systemic use of beauty to define worth. Although men define the ideology of beauty, the demarcation of beauty is not defined thereby leaving the female confused about her own feelings of self.

This allows big corporations to levy unfairly the work that women do increasing their revenue whilst enriching both female expenditure and manageability. This has in turn reduced the female's self-esteem, a powerful tool for control.

Naomi Wolf wrote this book in 1991 following both the first and second wave of feminisms. Are we embarking upon a third wave of feminism? Many skeptics of feminism report that the previously overwhelming injustice towards women and their cries that created and sustained Women's Rights movements have now been diluted to a mere whimper. Is there any truth to this statement?

I want to use this article to examine what if any changes have happened since 1991 and how women's lives may or may not have changed.

Women have always been necessary to the workplace even if not respected for their contribution. Latent history informs us that due to the First World War (WW1) in 1914 -18, women were necessary to move out of the home where they worked to fulfill the employment gap due to men being at war. When the war ended, women did not naturally want to give up this level of financial independence and return to the home. Cross-referencing historical information, the fight for Women's Rights began much earlier therefore women were already aware of the injustices towards them thereby informing of the reluctance to 'return to the home.' In 1848, 68 women and 32 men outlined grievances towards women including women having the right to vote and signed a Declaration of Sentiments in New York. It was in 1872 that saw the national movement begin in the UK in the form of the National Society for Women's Suffrage and later the more influential National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. Without this cross-referencing, one would be forgiven for mistaking that up until WW1 in 1914, women were not knowledgeable about their unjust treatment towards them.

With the knowledge that women did indeed know that they were being treated unfairly and that they actually felt strong enough to take action in different forms showed both tenacity and strength; words that were not used to describe women at all. Since 1991, what has changed to strengthen Women's Rights to being more equal to men?

Not much in my opinion from the viewpoint of entry-level top careers for women although according to a recent research carried out by Astbury Marsden, they found that this year has seen an increase of 100% of women in management positions. This equates to 12% overall from 6% overall last year. We should be grateful! What about the significant pay gaps between men and women for equal jobs? Well, according to Dr. Carla Harris from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), the gap is widening, currently for every dollar a man makes, his female counterpart earns 82 cents. I doubt very much that you will find a noticeable difference in the UK. In fact, upon research, women earned 15% less than men. Is this gap made worse in poor economic times?

So not much has changed in terms of respect for females and the contribution they make in society and for society. Not much in terms of how females are viewed, mostly negatively and for sexual pleasures. However what is more startling (perhaps an over-exaggeration) is that although there have always been women 'night-workers' (prostitutes), women appear to be engaging in their own war against themselves. Let me put this into perspective about this internal war going on with women. Notwithstanding the 'glamour' needed for night workers to attract for work, women are now using this same concept for approval from men and in the meantime waging an unsubstantiated war on their self-esteem. Not that those women did not care for their looks previously, as their grooming ritual is natural in attracting a mate. However, because of the Beauty Myth, the natural birthing process of grooming for a mate has become blurred, confusing and instills a lack of confidence in a female. The precocious instigation of the Beauty Myth undertaken by men but calculatingly not clearly defined (Naomi Wolf) has left women attempting to attain not just the indescribable but the unattainable as beauty is left open for interpretation by the beholder (men).

What has been the result?

Financial contributions to cosmetic, diet and surgery have all seen a surge in willing captors, all seeking this beauty myth and all rather quite despondent when they realise that the goalposts keeps shifting. Cosmetic companies revel in ascribing what their latest product is and how wonderfully powerful some ingredient is, now contained in their product. I mean, who on earth really heard of Pentapeptide, let alone researched what it did before buying the product?

Companies such as those in the cosmetic industry rely on the poor self-esteem of women to direct their products to. Women in return respond in an impassioned grab for the 'miracle' product that will stave off or at least slow down the ageing process. Women are made to feel that they no longer visually please and according to Wolf, companies can take steps in removing the female from her role in the workplace in favour of a younger model. Remember Miriam O'Reilly winning her claim against the BBC for what she alleges being dismissed on ageism and victimisation grounds? A second rate victory because she did not win on the grounds of sexism. What this tells me is what Wolf already identified in her book, that it is very difficult for a woman to claim against sex discrimination as the law fully supports what it calls a BFOQ (bone fide occupational qualification- USA) or the UK's version of GOQ (genuine occupational qualification- Wolf). What this means is that a company may dismiss a woman if they feel that she does not measure up to their ideology of beauty. Now remember, this level of beauty is not defined and what would this really say? As beauty is in the eye of the beholder (self) is it not?

The tribunal for Miriam O'Reilly was held on the 4-19th November 2010, 19 years after Wolf's publication therefore women are still demonstrably being targeted and treated according to how they look and not what talents they may have in the workplace. So no real progress here then!

Next time you go shopping, look out for the number of different beauty products. Be aware of the amount of time and energy that commercials use to sell you their copious amounts of products and the images they use. The use of anti-wrinkle creams on models probably not even yet 20 years old yet. Why on earth they need anti-wrinkle cream is beyond me. Next, these kinds of adverts will be shown using a 13 year old!

Now look at grounded products such as lipsticks. Now you can get ones that last all day. In fact, you need another product to get the lipstick off because normal cleanser and water does not always work. Companies have to keep re-inventing the wheel to keep their profits up so their imagination runs riot and comes up with all sorts of products all doing the same thing but differently. Women fall for this; just take a look at her make up bag, products of the same but different thing, hardly used due to the copious amounts.

What about products containing a certain ingredient that will 'benefit' perceived 'bags' under the eyes. Do you really think that by buying this product will alleviate 'baggy eyes'? Why should it, because if it did then you would have to stop buying the product once you have been cured? So companies use only enough to make a slight difference and you have to keep re-buying to secure better results. I imagine companies laughing at women as they stand far at the side of the room throwing in the magic ingredient (that is to say how offensively low the ingredient is in terms of weight and productivity). Now, I am not saying that a particular ingredient does not work, for example caffeine. However, following your lovely cup of tea, you could quite easily reconstitute the teabag and put this on your eyes. Probably has more caffeine in the teabag than in the expensive product you buy.

Let us look at how other companies have cashed in on the creation of poor self-esteem in women. An ostentatious amount of money is spent by females on diet products in the hope that the 'extra' pounds they think they are carrying will disappear leaving the female with a sense of acceptance and perceived beauty. The sugars used in many foods are replaced with a substitute that is less calorific. To me, this is just a lot of useless chemicals being pumped in the body and for no real gain. Processed sugars are not good for anyone in huge amounts and a wise thing for health purposes would be to reduce your intake not substitute this with something that requires the body to work harder to break it down if it is able to use at all.

For research purposes, I typed in 'what effect does artificial sugars have on the body?' and I did not have to look far to clearly see the dangers of artificial sweeteners. According to author Marcelle Pick, (Obstetrician and Gynecologist) she speaks openly about being properly informed of possible side effects of sweeteners. I will not mention the company as I do not wish to give them any form of exposure but you can do your own research. This particular name brand is the trade name for Sucralose; a synthetic compound stumbled upon in 1976 by scientists in Britain seeking a new pesticide formation. (Marcelle Pick) What this company did was twist the sugar component of their product by citing the 'natural sugar' aspect. Yet more importantly, did you catch the word 'pesticide?'

Now we go onto cosmetic surgery. This phenomenon has increased tenfold since the 1970's. Now you can book a botox in your lunch hour and be back to work. The lackadaisical procedure should be seen as worrying and not that companies are seeking to make life easier for women to attain this face stiffening procedure. Remember the poor actress infamously known for her 'trout pout?' I will leave this here to save her blushes! The point I am making is some of these procedures are downright dangerous yet women are still clambering to risk life or limb.

We do not have to search our brains too hard to recall some other poor soul who underwent breast surgery to enlarge her already natural assets and perceptually ended up looking misplaced. The female body is perfect as it stands and whilst some females may have to undergo a surgical procedure on medical grounds, this should not be confused with the female body, being nature at its finest.

Women are undergoing all sorts of procedures in an attempt to gain the unattainable body. Bum enhancements, face lifts, eye lifts, neck lifts (anything that is deemed lift-up-able), nose adjustments, liposuction on any part of the body and do not get me started with lace fronted weaves or extensions. The woman spends a great deal of time and money on products and services to achieve the ideology of beauty and remember this perceived beauty is undefined. So what this means, is they end up chasing a mirage that disintegrates the moment they think that they are now acceptable. This results in a cyclical pattern in women dabbling in metamorphosis, re-inventing something else to feed that ever-growing pit in lost souls leading to other behavioural and emotional difficulties.

If you look at the objective of The Beauty Myth, the power is monumental and the devastation that this myth leaves behind is great news for those instigating this concept for nothing more than mind-control over women. This concept reminds me of the Lynch (Willie Lynch) method; create a divide and rule mask, in this case, in women.

Tips For Keeping Cool at Work This Summer

There's nothing like escaping the overwhelming heat of summer into an air-conditioned office, but for many busy workingwomen, there are no such luxuries. Ceiling fans and afternoon breezes just don't cut it these days. It seems as if sweat stains and oily faces are this season's hottest accessories (pun intended). For all the effort you put into making yourself up in the morning, sunshine and humidity shouldn't be able to take that away from you. Here are some tips to keep your cool this summer.

Shapewear

Pain is beauty right? I think that saying perfectly describes shapewear. Smoothing out the body, hiding our natural lumps and bumps is what it's best at, but boy is it uncomfortable, not that work clothes are all that comfortable to begin with. Keeping things tight and in tact makes us feel more confident, so why should we ditch it just because it traps in the heat. Japanese lingerie brand, Wacoal, has the answer to your prayers. Behold, the power of cooling yarns! This fabric is quick-drying, odor-controlling and made of recycled coffee grounds, so it's eco-friendly.

Dresses and Skirts

Store your pants, jeans, slacks or whatever away at least until mid-fall. Dresses and skirts are your new best friends this summer. The right frock will offer breathablity, flexibility and will make you look and feel like a million bucks. The type of dress you can get away with wearing all depends on your work environment of course, but if your dress code is casual, indulge in the comfort of a flowy maxi dress. Accessorize appropriately by adding something to cover your shoulders and perhaps a necklace and no one will blame you for wearing beach attire to work.

Updos

If you have long hair, or even medium-length hair, you know that wearing it down during the summer feels like you have a scarf around your neck. Carry hair elastics in your purse, or wear them on your wrists, so long as they aren't noticeable. Emi-Jay hair ties double as bracelets and don't tug at your hair. Sponge donuts will transform frizzy, humid-wrecked hair into a masterpiece that will last all day with the help of a few bobby pins.

Open-toe Shoes

A little peep in your toe, can provide all the ventilation you need for sweaty feet. The last thing you want is to sliding around in your shoes. Trust me, people will laugh. Extra moisture also means stinky feet. If tripping over yourself isn't embarrassing enough, imagine having to explain a strange odor falling you around. A little trick is to apply a some deodorant to the soles of your feet after washing and drying them thoroughly. Your feet will smell great and stay dry all day long.

Simple Makeup

When you go to grab that gel eyeliner or extra mascara, remember what kind of effect a little heat has on heavy eye makeup. When it's especially hot, there's no such thing as "waterproof." Keep things simple. Switch the focus from your eyes to your lips and wear a bold color on your lips.