Some women go their entire pregnancies trying to avoid the need to wear maternity clothing. Whilst this can most certainly be done in a number of cases, it’s simply not always the best choice. Plus, it takes a whole lot of fun out of the prospect of creating a new wardrobe for this miraculous time of life!

Beyond the shopping adventure involved, there are some very compelling reasons to give maternity wear a very close look.

The top reasons to consider maternity wear verses baggy everyday attire include:

o Support. Many articles of maternity clothing are designed to provide the support a pregnant woman requires. Bras, for example, are fashioned to help lessen sag and even the discomfort this can cause. Some slacks and even blouses also help provide more support for the belly as its changes shape and grows.

o Comfort. Whilst big, baggy T-shirts and other similar designs can be comfortable during pregnancy, normal clothes on the whole simply are not. Many women find that trading in zippers and buttons for supporting or stretching panels simply makes it a little easier to function and breathe.

o Style. Today’s maternity styles are not what your grandmother wore by a long shot! The truth is the chic and sophisticated styles are no longer difficult to come by and many of the choices available are quite often stunning.

o It’s just plain fun. Some women adore pregnancy and everything about it, including the clothes. It can be an incredibly fun prospect to create a stylish and stunning wardrobe that shows off pregnancy. Besides, it’s often a great deal more feminine and flattering to select maternity wear than to grab a man’s T-shirt and head out the door!

Maternity wear is no longer what many women remember from their childhoods. Gone are the frumpy, unattractive styles of the past. Smart, stylish ensembles that most women simply adore have replaced them. Providing comfort, support and sophistication when they matter the most, today’s maternity wear offers plenty of pleasant surprises.

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The Barbie doll, which will be 50 years old in 2009, has what seems to be an infinite number of lines, including American Idol Barbie, Barbie Magic of Pegasus, and Happy Birthday Barbie. It’s incredible to believe that Ruth Handler created the doll in the early 1950s simply to satisfy her daughter’s desire to play with an adult-looking doll as opposed to a baby. Her husband and Mattel, his employer at the time, did not initially like the idea, but after Handler’s redesign of a German doll, introduced it at a New York City toy fair in 1959. Today, Mattel sells 1.5 million Barbie dolls each week. With the remarkable popularity of Barbie, a party themed after her can be a great afternoon shindig for a young girl.

A Barbie theme party is actually very common. If your daughter wants to have a Barbie party with her friends, but wants to do something unique, an afternoon tea party and fashion show is an idea. The tea party doesn’t have to be extravagant. Whether you use real dishes or not is up to you. However, you might not want to use your best china if the girls are very young. There are plenty of inexpensive tea sets on the market. Your daughter could play host and serve her guests or you could do the honors. Instead of cake and cookies, offering the guests scones, which are perfect with tea, or some other light confection is a good plan. Check with parents to see if there are any special diets that you need to take into consideration.

Young girls (and many grown up ones), love to dress up. The Barbie tea party and fashion show invitations should request that each girl dress up and bring their favorite Barbie. The highlight of the party will be the fashion show. There are two ways to do this. Each girl can describe their own wardrobe and accessories along with what their Barbie is wearing, or you could write something up fun and humorous while the girls are drinking tea and eating. Either way, the girls are sure to have a smashing good time!

fashion shows

The attraction of licensing trademarks for business intentions appears to be at an all-time high, mostly in the fashion arena where consumers are buying more licensed products and brand names than ever before. For retailers, licensing opportunities provide them with a point of difference from their competitors.

Licensing is leasing a legally protected property (like trademarked or copyrighted name, logo, likeness, character, phrase or design) to another party in combination with a product, service or promotion. It is a process which lays stress on consumer management, development of brand equity in line with international imagery, providing right shopping ambience and perhaps is less about manufacturing. Licensing is a way of growing with an already established brand. It provides the brand recall benefits, which are not achievable in case one comes out with a brand new image.

There are many types of licensing business like art & design, corporate brands, events, fashion brands, food & drink, institutional, magazine brands, music, personalities, sports and television licensing to name a few.

The advantages of licensing for licensors

The main advantage for a licensor is the facility to use and develop its brand or property.
Licensing can achieve this by:

. Improving its brand existence at a retail or distribution outlet.

. Making further brand perception to support its core products or services.

. Providing and increasing its core values through various links with the licensed products/service or category.

. Coming into new markets (consumer or geographical) which were unfeasible with its own strengths.

. Making new revenue flows, often with little involvement or additional financial resources

The advantage of licensing for licensees

The main advantage for a licensee (particularly manufacturer or retailer) is the capability to considerably upsurge consumer interest in and sales of its products or services.
Licensing can achieve this by:

. Shifting the values and consumer favour towards the licensed product or service.

. Providing added value and differentiation in the competitive market.

. Offering additional marketing support or speed from the core property’s activity given by the licensor.

. Attracting new target markets who have not been paid attention in a licensee’s product or service.

. Providing credibility for shifting into new market sectors through product extension.

. Attaining additional retail space and favor.

Licensing: The increasing scenario worldwide

Reviewing the year-after-year worldwide retail sales from 2000 to 2004, the licensing business this year has shown an increase. In general, 2004 anticipated worldwide retail sales of licensed business increased 1.5 per cent to $175.3 billion against 2003 $172.7 billion, with the USA making nearly $110 billion (nearly $5.805 billion in royalties) and Europe $34 billion. In UK, the brand licensing industry is worth approximately