Fashion Funhouse Emporium

Courtesy Photo: PR Newswire

Thank you for being a fri-eeend! Travel down the road and back aggaaaain!

You know that tune if you're a fan of The Golden Girls. And now you and your best girl Betty White can listen together. Jerry Leigh Apparel, the company behind the Hoodie Buddie headphone sweatshirt combo is rolling out limited edition Betty sweatshirts and tees.

There is no shortage of love for the 88 year old actress whose appearance this year on Saturday Night Live grabbed the NBC show its highest rating since November of 2008. Even David Blond of the fashion design team, The Blonds, said he'd drop everything just to make her a white pave pants suit--if she asked.

As for Betty, herself, she's not licensing out her name with out giving back.  A portion of all proceeds on sales of the clothing will benefit the Morris Animal Foundation, an animal welfare organization which s. White is a trustee.

Betty White officially licensed apparel will be available at retailers beginning in August, as well as on the official HoodieBuddie site.

$88.00 by Lily at Nordstrom

The debate over fashion and the too thin model has been a hot topic over the past year. Ask most fashion designers, and prefer women to be less shapely.

However, this doesn't always translate into the realm of "real women." And you should know there is scientific evidence to prove it. The Discovery Channel's program, Science of Sex Appeal-Shapely Figures, scientists asked participants to identify a shadowed figure to determine gender. Subjects interpreted the body shapes by most often looking at the hips and the waist. Further more, women who were being watched while walking on a treadmill and were told they were being evaluated for their sexiness tended to sway their hips more than women who thought they were walking just for efficiency purposes.

Could ladies conclude that is not size that matters, but rather your swagger? So what does this mean in terms of modern fashion? Its all on how you dress for your shape.

At fashion shoots, we've put clothes on even tiny models that just don't work. Though retailers and designers never want you to know this, sometimes a garment just won't work on every body type. Aren't we lucky there isn't just one clothing manufacturer? No need to get bent out of shape (pun certainly intended).

Check out these tips on how to look your best.

$64.00 by ING at Macy's

• Wear your REAL size. - No one sees the size label on your clothes except you. While you may be able to squeeze into a 6, if you're really a size 10, the garment is going to pull, grab and cinch in all the wrong places, MAKING YOU LOOK BIGGER! I see this mistake all the time and think, if she just bought the correct size, it wouldn't look like her ass or breasts are trying to escape from being constrained in a too small casing.
• Get it altered! Hardly anyone can fit into anything straight from the rack. It's too expensive for clothing manufactures to measure every single body shape and size and then produce them all. So, enter a standard fit model, that is most likely not a match for your body or mine.  Your arms may be longer, legs shorter, and your tummy may be wider than the garment is made for.  If its too small, opt for the next size up and spend $12 at your local tailor to have them take it in and fit it.  Plus, there is nothing like wearing a piece that was made to fit you!
• Accentuate the Positives - It doesn't matter if you are a perfect hour glass shape. Thats why clothing is such fun. Add a belt around the center of a dress or top (and as long as its not too tight) you create the illusion of a waistline. Feel chunky around the middle, but love your legs?  Try a jacket over a top and a short skirt.

TREND ALERT!

$248.00$165.90 by Halogen at Nordstrom

Yes, you can wear leather, a major trend for Fall. Skip the tight mini and go for this long tailored skirt.

Forever 21 is taking a page from thier fast-fashion counterparts like H&M and is launching it's first designer collaboration.

First up on thier roster is LA designer Brian Lichtenberg. Though this name may not ring a bell, his recent claim to fame is designing Lady Gaga's caution tape "outfit" for her Telephone video and her geometric necklace in the "Poker Face" video.

So has the knock-off retailer finally had enough lawsuits to decide that giving some cash to designers is a better business practice?

Forever 21 has definitley seen its share of designer names (and even other retailers) linked to its own, but in court.  Diane von Furstenberg, Anna Sui, Trovata, Anthropologie, Bebe, Gwen Stefani for Harajuku Lovers, Express, and the list goes on.

Though, with only settlements in these cases and never any clear "wins" for the plantiffs, will a designer collaboration actually bring in enough money for the chain whose entire being is based quickly produced runway "inspiration"? The answer is not black and white.

Milord A. Keshishian who practices law with a focus on intellectual property rights at Milord & Associates, PC in Los Angeles says "It’s difficult to ascertain the court costs and the amount of settlement because they’re usually confidential and the court costs and settlement sums may be covered by insurance.  So there may actually be no actual costs, other than increased insurance premiums."

However, this doesn't mean that designers can never win in the seemingly never ending brigade of lawsuits against Forever 21. Keshishian continues  "Although copyrights do not currently protect the design as a whole (or design construction), most designers are unaware that their garment, shoe, and accessories can be protected by design patents.  For example,True Religion has patented its stitch design on pants."

Though, will a connection to a rising fashion designer and a larger than life celebrity like Lady Gaga stop the chain from growing and growing like some sort of killer blob, rolling over the cities and towns, slurping up designer fashions and spitting out millions of cheaper, ill-constructed clones?

This remains to be seen until Lichtenberg's creations hit the racks (or rather the floor, if you've ever been in a NYC Forever 21) on August 13th at the retailer's top selling stores.