It's official: Arkansas Fashion School, which turns its students into fashion designers at its campus at 3625 Kavanaugh Blvd., is now properly accredited.
AFS started the journey to accreditation six years ago, according to founder, instructor and couture designer Jamileh Kamran, and now bears a certificate from the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education & Training.
Call (501) 663-3242 for more information about classes, or visit the school at its new website address, arkansasfashionschool.edu. AFS, whose alumni include designers Linda Rowe Thomas, Shonda Ali-Shamaa, Abby Alba and Chris Hess, currently offers two online courses -- Basic Tailoring and Intro to Fashion Design, with each course lasting 10 weeks.
Congratulations to Kamran and her students.
HURD HAIR
Vendors, a fashion show, beauty, health and fitness segments, entertainment, an artwork auction, music, food and giveaways will be on tap at the fifth annual Naturally Hurd Hair Event, which will be held from 3-7 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Maumelle Event Center, 10910 Maumelle Blvd. Described as celebrating "all who embrace the various textures of their hair," the event will also feature natural hair demonstrations, professional stylists and panel discussions. DJ Nick Hud will spin tunes. Special guest is Dee Dee Jones.
Doors will open at 2:30. Tickets are $15 general admission; "Hurd Out Loud" swag bag tickets, which include event shirts, are $40. Children age 2 and under get in free. Visit Eventbrite.com.
GETTIN' FESTIVE WITH IT
Festival of Fashion, part of the Festival of Trees benefiting the cancer patients served by CARTI, is on tap for Nov. 15. Presented by Inviting Arkansas, the show will be in the Statehouse Convention Center's Wally Allen Ballroom. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; the show begins at 7. Its theme this year is "Champagne Wishes" -- the celebration of a "'Champagne-inspired lifestyle' with a nod to the 1980s."
Featured boutiques are B.Barnett, Barbara/Jean Ltd., Bell & Sward, Beyond Cotton II, Daniel Cremieux for Dillard's, E. Leigh's, Feinstein's, Indigo, J. McLaughlin, Roberson's Fine Jewelry, Scarlet, Steamroller Blues and Vesta's. Tickets are $50 each or $500 for block seating for 10. Visit Carti.com.
REVIEWS
A few notable fashion/beauty-grooming products of which I was recently provided samples:
• Bath bombs from Lush Cosmetics. I mentioned last column how Lush (Lushusa.com) brought a pop-up shop to Little Rock's South Main district the first weekend in August and sold out even after they had additional product shipped in. I was given several sample bath bombs, all of which smell so good I want to just keep them as room scents. The top two:
Black Rose, $8.95 and shaped like ... a black rose, with contrasting trim. It's a blend of rose and lemon oils and is rich with fair-trade organic lemon butter.
Royalty, $6.45, a crown-shaped bomb of muted gold with colored shimmery streaks. Jasmine, ylang ylang and sandalwood are in this baby, which also bears notes of vanilla absolute and includes soy milk powder for skin-softening.
• Non-bath bombs from Lush Cosmetics. Hubby and I fell in love with the Dream Cream Self-Preserving Body Lotion ($7.95), which comes bearing gifts of cocoa butter, olive oil, oat milk and calming rose, lavender and chamomile oils. It's lighter than, but still just as moisturizing as a commercial body butter or our usual shea butter/olive oil/distilled water mixture. We also enjoyed the Lavender Vida Loca Bar Soap ($7.95), a bar of "skin-soothing French lavender and chamomile lullaby." It doesn't create the most lather, but yum, that scent.
Other Lush products we gave a whirl, and liked: the Ocean Salt Self-Preserving Face and Body Scrub ($21.95), an exfoliant/moisturizer/skin brightener with sea salt, avocado butter, lime, silken tofu, mango butter and japan wax; the Mask of Magnaminty Face and Body Mask ($14.95), with a tingly mixture of kaolin clay and peppermint oil, ground aduki beans, vanilla absolute and honey to get the job done; the Scrubee ($7.95), a combination body butter and skin buffer that resembles a bumble-bee body -- "scrubby ground almonds and coconut shell with softening honey, cocoa and shea butter in alternating exfoliating and moisturizing stripes," and Rose Jam Shower Gel ($8.95), which includes vanilla pod infusion, goji berry juice and argan oil and matches the rose bath bomb.
• Women's athletic shoes from Vionic. After trying a number of dressier styles from the company, I finally turned to one of its selection of women's workout kicks -- the Miles Active Sneaker ($99.95, vionicshoes.com). Offered in five shades and in wide as well as medium, the shoe combines a dual-layer, breathable mesh upper with a lightweight removable footbed; overlays that increase stability; an ombre color effect on the midsole; and patterned laces. I got a sample in 9 wide and, as has happened quite a few times before, had trouble getting the shoes to fit at first. I had to loosen the laces and start out wearing the shoes without the removable orthotic insoles. They stood up well to my workouts and eventually expanded enough for me to slip the insoles back in soon. As always, Vionic recommends wearing its shoes "for just a few hours for the first few days to allow your feet to adjust" to them.
• KeySmart's Urban 21 Commuter Backpack. This function-meets-fashion piece ($239.99) combines a sleek design with what seems to be a gazillion compartments. Billed as waterproof and comfortable to carry, the backpack features a HexBreathe Back Pad, designed to ventilate sweat; Comfort Foam Straps to protect against neck and shoulder strain; a waterproof top hard-shell compartment; a padded laptop pocket with foam insert; dark-gray woven ripstop fabric that stops snags in place; stabilized weight distribution; anti-theft pockets and a "super secret back pocket" for valuables. The piece can go on a plane as a personal item and includes a sleeve to slide the backpack onto a suitcase handle. The bag also boasts "proprietary stitching used in parachutes [and which] protects against 360 degrees of pulling and tearing." My husband took the backpack along on a recent trip as his personal item. "I loved traveling with [it]," he says. "I was impressed with how much stuff I was able to pack inside that backpack [without it] being too heavy." He continues to marvel over all the compartments. A Professional Bundle, $299.96, includes the bag, chest strap (included with starter bundle), water bottle, rain cover and pocket organizer. For $369.95, a portable charger and a Tile Slim, which tracks the location of the backpack, are thrown in.
Dressing Room appears monthly. Send fashion- and beauty-related news releases to:
hwilliams@arkansasonline.com
High Profile on 10/20/2019