A guide to making holiday gift returns
Someone gives you a gift. It’s the wrong size. It’s a duplicate. Maybe you don’t like it. You want to return it. After months of shopping leading up to Christmas, some people will be heading back to the stores Dec. 26. That’s a day known for holiday gift exchanges. In...
C_Shoemaker Custom Clothier brings bespoke menswear to Ligonier
If clothes don’t make the man, they certainly make the first impression. And if the clothes look good, the wearer feels good, too. That’s the aesthetic Cindy Shoemaker is bringing to Ligonier with her recently opened business, C_Shoemaker Custom Clothier. The shop specializes in custom-made suits, tuxedos, sport coats, trousers,...
Pittsburgh designer Kiya Tomlin recognized in Oprah’s ‘Favorite Things’
Kiya Tomlin grew up watching “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” The crowd drew Tomlin’s attention. “I always marveled at her audience,” said Tomlin, a fashion designer and apparel manufacturer with a studio in Etna. “They were the best dressed. They always had their hair and makeup done. They looked great.” Now,...
Fashion designer Virgil Abloh dies of cancer at 41
NEW YORK — Virgil Abloh, a leading designer whose groundbreaking fusions of streetwear and high couture made him one of the most celebrated tastemakers in fashion and beyond, has died of cancer. He was 41. Abloh’s death was announced Sunday by the luxury group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) and...
Perfect marriage: Greensburg’s MB Bride has been committed to making wedding dreams come true for 30 years
Maja Pederson got a request from a bride who was in the hospital diagnosed with terminal cancer. Pederson, co-owner of MB Bride & Special Occasion dress boutique in Greensburg with husband Reed, relayed the message to store manager and head buyer Jenn Mason of Washington Township. Mason and her teenage...
Steelers fans invited to East End’s Bakery Square for fashion tailgate
Zach Banner isn’t a suit and tie kind of guy. The 6-foot-8, 335-pound offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers prefers a casual look. “Sometimes, simple is better,” said Banner, who wears a size 18 shoe. “A nice pair of jeans and a sweater with some comfortable footwear is how I...
Promoting smart fashion for all women, East West Boutique to open storefront in Vandergrift
They’re two best friends with a passion for fashion. Alle-Kiski Valley natives Dessie Mitcheson Pilek and Jen Zatko Atchison met as cheerleaders in seventh grade and graduated together from Kiski Area High School in 2009. These days, they are business partners expanding their online clothing business — East West Boutique...
Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh Foundation raises money for Emmaus through fashion show
Being a Realtor is more than helping someone find a house. It’s about creating an opportunity for them to have a place to feel at home. That’s the mission of the Fashion for a Cause runway show. Hosted by the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh Foundation, the event benefited the...
Out & About: YWCA Westmoreland fashion show touts ‘Amaizeing’ thrift shop looks
The YWCA Westmoreland County’s annual Girls in Pearls fashion show was subtitled “An Amaizeing Gala.” The name was a nod to the harvest season and to the looks that graced the runway. Held Monday at Rizzo’s Banquet Hall in Crabtree, the 18th annual show featured trendy fashions to be had...
Pittsburgh looks to create official merchandise
The city of Pittsburgh is looking to team up with professional designers or apparel manufacturers to create officially licensed and branded Pittsburgh merchandise. Merchandise could include T-shirts, hats and more, officials said in an announcement from Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration. The city on Wednesday issued a request for proposals for...
Rihanna takes time with album while unveiling lingerie line
Rihanna might be extremely consumed with rolling out her popular lingerie line, but finishing her forthcoming album is still a priority. The multi-Grammy winner is just taking her time to “experiment.” She suggests her new music will sound much different than her previous projects. “You’re not going to expect what...
Met Gala returns Monday with star power after pandemic delay
Thanks to the pandemic, the 2020 Met Gala and its fashion parade was pushed from its traditional May berth and morphed this year into a two-part affair that kicks off Monday night with a mini version of the celebrity-splashed fundraiser. Organizers promise no less the star power. The intimate gala...
Best friends organize A-K Valley photo shoot to help women feel comfortable in bathing suits
Lucille Gearhart walked with a cane as she made her way down the steps to the Vandergrift pool in Veterans Memorial Park. The 91-year-old donned a green, black and white tankini top and black, skirted bottom. It was time for the bathing suit photo shoot. “I’m doing this for my...
From WPIAL to S.I. swimsuits, Apollo’s Dessie Mitcheson launching boutique with body-positive message
Former WPIAL athlete Dessie Mitcheson left Pittsburgh area fairways for international runways a long time ago. Now she’s going from a big-time model to a small business owner. And she’s doing so back home in Western Pennsylvania. Mitcheson — who was a golfer and regionally top-15 ranked diver at Kiski...
Family will bid farewell to fashion icon B. Smith in Scottdale ceremony
Late fashion icon and Everson native Barbara “B.” Smith will be laid to rest next to her parents Saturday in the Scottdale Cemetery. The private ceremony and interment of Smith’s ashes will be attended by family, including her younger brother, Dennis, and his four grown daughters. Smith, 70, died Feb....
Greensburg MB Bride’s ‘Hug-A-Hero’ event gives wedding gowns to those in the military
Jenn Mason often felt like a single parent and often feared for her husband Michael Mason’s life when he went overseas. “As a wife and mother with a military husband, there were tough and scary times,” said Jenn Mason, store manager at MB Bride & Special Occasion wedding boutique in...
The Waterfront set to add tacos, shoes and other new stores
The Waterfront shopping center in Homestead is adding four tenants. Boards & Baskets, Shoe Fly, Appalachian Running Co. and Shorty’s Tap x Taco are planned to open sometime this summer. Boards & Baskets is a charcuterie deli which will sell the traditional cured meats, cheese, vegetables, nuts, olives, dried fruits,...
A pandemic clothing purge is on as normal life resumes in U.S.
Alina Clark is about as tired of her pandemic wardrobe as her comfort clothes are stretched and torn. “I have four sets of jeans, seven shirts and five sweaters that I wear every week,” said Clark, co-founder of a software development company in Los Angeles. “They’re everything I’ve worn in...
FestivalAFRICANA brings Rwanda fashion, art, culture to Pittsburgh
Rwanda and Pittsburgh have something in common: The East African country is known as the “land of hills.” The two areas will share a connection this weekend for “FestivalAFRICANA: Rwanda,” an event showcasing fashion, beauty and cultural creatives. There is an in-person component on Friday as well as virtual offerings...
Monte Durham of TLC’s ‘Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta’ has ideas to personalize a wedding
Monte Durham knows a little bit about weddings. The fashion director on TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta” and owner of Salon Monte, in Alexandria, Va., Durham said via email there are so many ways to customize a wedding and reception. Looking to the past can create new ideas....
Princess Diana’s wedding dress goes on display in London
LONDON — The dress Princess Diana wore at her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles went on public display Thursday at the late princess’s former home in London. The taffeta-ruffled white dress designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, with its 25 foot sequin-encrusted train, helped seal the fairytale image of the...
Kids clothes that grow with them
Just imagine buying clothes for your child that they didn’t outgrow in one year. After seeing how fast his nephew outgrew his clothes, aeronautical engineer Ryan Yasin set out to address the problem and created Petit Pli, a cool line of clothes for kids featuring pleats that expand and contract...
Kanye West sneakers fetch record $1.8M at private sale
NEW YORK — A pair of prototype Nikes worn by Kanye West during his performances of “Hey Mama” and “Stronger” at the Grammy Awards in 2008 has shattered the record for a pair of sneakers ever sold. Sotheby’s announced Monday that West’s so-called “Grammy Worn” Nike Air Yeezy 1 fetched...
Ralph Lauren unveils crisp white Team USA Olympic uniforms
With a crisp white graphic look and roomy pockets, the uniforms to be worn by Team USA at the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics were unveiled Wednesday by official outfitter Ralph Lauren. The uniforms, along with Ralph Lauren-designed Olympic Village attire for the American athletes, had been ready to...
Sidelined last year, the Met Gala is returning twice
The Met Gala is coming back. Actually, twice. The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced Monday that the annual high-wattage celebration of both fashion and celebrity — canceled last year because of the pandemic — will return in person, first in September, then again in 2022 in its usual slot of...
