Remember, those obscure salons back in the 90s where you could upload an image of yourself and check out how different hairstyles looked? They were really the “wave” of the future! Please, excuse the pun.

Now, you don’t have to leave your home to check out different looks. DesignYourOwnEyewear.com allows you to play eyeglass and sunglass designer and to share it with others!

Users can try different shapes, sizes and experiment with all sorts of colors. If they like what they come up with, they can email their photo with their eyewear design to themselves, friends and family for comments and suggestions.

DYOE not only allows you to experiment and try different shapes, but you’re able to tinker with the sizes and shapes to improve upon the standard stuff. Then you can go shopping armed with the knowledge of exactly what you want, instead of taking up time in your day to awkwardly try on frames in front of people.

I don’t need to wear glasses yet, so check it out and tell me what you think!

The fourth season of Mad Men starts Sunday, July 25, and Unique Vintage has the dresses for your watch parties and even your daily wardrobe! From Jackie-O silhouettes to form-fitting wiggle dresses, the vintage-inspired clothing boutique, Unique Vintage has everything you need to channel your show’s favorite character.

Dresses range from $68-$300. Whether you’re a Betty, Joan or Peggy, this boutique has the popular trends of “Mad Men” style.

Check out their website at www.Unique-Vintage.com to shop their entire collection. And, if you’re in SoCal, check out the Unique Vintage store located at: 2013 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA 91506.

If you’re interested in nonprofit PR or event planning, the Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle will surely spark your interest!

Lorrie and Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III will host a hike and picnic lunch on Saturday, July 24 to raise funds for Best Buddies International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for friendship, employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The Sullenbergers are hosting this fundraiser in support of the Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle to help Best Buddies’ local and national programs and engage the organization’s community of volunteers in the Bay Area.

Additionally, on September 11, Sully and Lorrie Sullenberger will join Honorary Chairperson and First Lady of California Maria Shriver for the seventh Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle as members of TEAM MARIA. The First Lady leads TEAM MARIA to participate in the annual Challenge. Cyclists will ride from Carmel to San Simeon on the Pacific Coast Highway, while walkers and runners will participate in a 3K walk or 5K run led by Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis on the beach in San Simeon. At the conclusion of the event, singer Natasha Bedingfield will entertain Challenge participants at the post-ride BBQ at Hearst Ranch to celebrate this important cause. The Challenge is open to people of all ages and with all disabilities.

Where: Oak Hill Park, located at 3005 Stone Valley Road in Danville

When: Saturday, July 24 from 9:00am to 12:00pm

Tickets: Available for $45 per person or $150 per family of five. Special ticket packages are also being offered, including two VIP admissions to the Hearst Ranch BBQ following September’s Audi Best Buddies Challenge and eight raffle tickets for the Challenge’s raffle.

To RSVP, contact Brittany Jibby at bjibby(at)deweysquare(dot)com or (916) 447-4099.
All tickets can be purchased online and all donations are welcome here: http://bit.ly/b0wuMU

(View from the Edelman SF office)

It’s been a few weeks since my last blog entry, but I’m happy to say things are up and running and you’ll have more blogging coming your way!

I’ve recently joined the Edelman Digital team in San Francisco. Already in my second week at the office, it’s been an amazing experience learning from the best in the biz and honing in on my social media skills. For up-to-the-minute social media, consumer and fashion news, follow me on Twitter @ConsumingPR. Talk to you soon!

Fruitz Watches recently approached me with information on their 24 summer colors featuring delicious flavors like raspberry, lychee, golden pear and melon.

Not only are these watches fun and fresh for a bold summer statement, they have natural frequency technology allowing wearers to sleep better at night, maintain increased focus during the day and reduce overall stress levels. Pretty remarkable!

This added value seemed to good to be true, so I asked the company’s rep to explain further:

“The natural frequency technology is delivered to wearers through a metal disk inside the watch that has been infused with key frequencies in a proprietary process.  When worn on the wrist, the watch exposes frequencies and information to the bio-field of the person wearing it. The bio-field, which is the Master energy field that regulates the body’s functions, informs the body to relax, and in doing so, the person becomes more resistant and resilient to stress. When wearing a Fruitz frequency watch you are more in harmony with natural earth, centered and grounded.”

If you’re looking to de-stress your life through fashion, you can find Fruitz at fruitzwatches.com, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom for $225.

Last week, Mashable’s Macala Wright Lee shared her advice on fashion brands using location-based marketing to engage customers. As a professional with an interest in learning more about these types of social media tools, I wanted to share Lee’s thoughts on this emerging trend. She explained, “it’s important to remember that location-based marketing efforts can and should be used to accomplish more than one marketing goal. Brands should strive to not only engage customers, but to enhance their shopping experiences.”

Lee also suggested an alternative to implementing Foursquare from in-house: “If integrating Foursquare into the marketing mix seems too complicated, or if it doesn’t match a brand’s core audience, consider partnering with a publication that is already exploring these strategies. Lucky Magazine has already started developing a solid presence on Foursquare, and has interactive and socially-enabled smartphone applications that show great marketing potential, for example. Tristan Walker, Vice President of Business Development for Foursquare informed us that a customer loyalty program integration usually costs less than $10,000 to implement (as seen in the case of Tasti D-Lite).”

In this post, Lee particularly focused on Diesel as an insightful example of lessons learned from soft-launching a Foursquare campaign. In conjunction with their Be Stupid campaign, the fashion brand held a one-day event giving a discount to customers checking in to their flagship store. Diesel decided to organically promote the Foursquare event without any proactive pre-promotion outreach to bloggers and online writers.

PR Couture‘s Crosby Noricks shared her thoughts on this strategy, “In this iteration, without pre-promotion, it also failed to drive the level of activity I feel would be required to qualify its replication, although I applaud them heartily for trying. What is potentially more valuable for the brand is the post-event coverage that promotes Diesel as an innovating, digitally-savvy company who puts together pretty incredible experiential opportunities for its customers.”

Currently fashion brands are still green as they use this type of marketing. Glamour Magazine Technology Editor Amalia Agathou said, “Luxury brands have used location-based services like Foursquare to create buzz and promote new lines and stores. The challenge for the retailers is to find ways to use these services in order to build a cohesive shopping experience in the web/mobile and the physical world. The retailers are now presented with a plethora of geo-location apps to choose from, but it remains to be seen the amount of control they will want to have on them.”

Here’s a list of brands already experimenting with this type of marketing tool. Check out the following for great case studies:

• Diesel: Faces of Stupid campaign
• Marc Jacobs: NY Fashion Week
• Jimmy Choo

MyJewelryBox.com, an online jewelry retailer, recently launched The Jacqueline Kennedy Collection. Each piece is similar to the jewelry she wore in her days as the first lady and reflects her impeccable taste and elegance.

The collection debuts just in time for shoppers to get ready for the Jackie O craze that could be headed our way! In addition to MyJewelryBox.com, The History Channel is in works to film a mini-series titled The Kennedys featuring Katie Holmes. Also, Rachel Weisz is said to star in an upcomming feature film about the days following John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Looks like we could see a new trend on the horizon: modest, conservative, clean lines and simplicity.

Last night, I had the pleasure of guest speaking via Skype with my alma mater’s student-run PR agency, Allen Hall Public Relations. I presented with my SHIFT colleague Allie Cefalo (@alliecefalo) about agency life and how to set yourself apart after graduating college.

It’s been an amazing journey from when I once was in the shoes of a student, but I’m not very far from that place. Even after college, I am constantly being challenged and learning new things. There is never a day where I’m not learning new ways of practicing PR from my colleagues.

Here are a few of tips Allie and I presented last night, which pertain to job searching as a recent grad:

• Always keep your finger on the pulse. Even if you want to take time off after college, remember to blog or volunteer your PR services. Employers like to see someone who keeps their skills fresh.
• Research the company you’re meeting. Be prepared to ask questions and offer up current information on the company.
• Send thank-you cards and e-mail the potential employer when you see coverage of their client. It will show that you are already tapped in to their industry.
• Prepare to show a portfolio of work; whether it be writing, design or even your social media skills.
• Don’t be afraid to dive into a new industry. If you already have a love for PR, chances are you will enjoy more than one industry.

Curious about branding yourself? Wondering how a recent grad lives in a big city? Let me know if you have any questions!

Thursday, April 1 | 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Washington Post Style Editor Robin Givhan leads a conversation with past National Design Award Winners Francisco Costa (Women’s Creative Director of Calvin Klein Collection), Yeohlee Teng, and Maria Cornejo about their work and the role of fashion in contemporary culture.

• Designs are featured in Design USA: Contemporary Innovation.
• Galleries open from 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Live Web-cast at www.cooperhewitt.org.

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Location:
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
2 East 91st Street
New York City

Admission:
General, $15
Seniors and members, $10
FREE for students

Registration:
General public should register online at http://events.cooperhewitt.org