Oversized T-shirt?

Check.

Nike shorts?

Check.

High socks?

Check.

The Baylor girls I’m thinking of may not participate in any sports, but they sure pull off the “slaving in the gym look” like a champ, even in full make-up.

Baylor fashion stereotypes exist as an irrefutable campus characteristic, prominent to anyone walking around campus for the day. Not all students fall into the Nike short trap, though.

“I think the Nike shorts and XXL t-shirt trend is for girls seeking an easy comfortable look for the day-to-day grind,” said Fort Worth senior Julie Rowlands. “I personally don’t deviate to that look because I enjoy expressing myself through the clothes I wear. Also, it just doesn’t really match my personality or lifestyle.”

Here’s the thing about Baylor trends, though: they’re not for everyone. Pearl earrings may look good on any girl, but we all know the same cannot be said about LuLulemon yoga pants.

Whether you are dressing for comfort or to express individuality; every girl loves a compliment and that will never go out of style.

However, be careful what fashion advice you give your friends.

“I think it is pathetic. It is funny that look has become so popular when that is not classified as attractive anywhere else except the Baylor campus,” said Palestine junior Rachel Dean.

Appearance is a communication tool, revealing one’s personality through style.

Light travels faster than sound, so you see sooner than you hear. The same can be said for first impressions.

Often, you see someone before you talk to them. The first impression you make is likely to be visual, and one would be a fool to think appearance does not matter, especially in the transition from college to the business world.

It makes you wonder where college trends come from.

One Baylor apparel professor explained that students’ fashion choices may be based on more than just a desire to impress.

“As your life stage changes, your priorities change,” said associate apparel merchandising professor Dr. Lorynn Divita. “As of right now, it is more important to feel good in your 9 a.m. class than it is to look good.”

Well, I say thank goodness for spring-cleaning, because it gives you an excuse to throw away last year’s trends.

I am sorry to say printed pants and boyfriend blazers have to go.

Instead, for this season, ‘80s fashion has come back in full force with crop tops and high-waisted shorts. The exposed midriff is big for spring, as proved by a bevy of designers in their spring collections. Peplum tops have also been making an appearance for those hoping to achieve the hourglass silhouette.

As an added bonus, it looks like the leather-pant-or-skirt trend from the fall has made its way to spring with some ultra-sexy new twists: pairing leather with a lightweight material is all the rage, like a cute sheer top and a bandeau.

Cutouts are also in vogue for this upcoming summer.

The pantone color of the year is emerald green, and you can see it everywhere from nail polish to handbags and shoes.

It is very timely because it makes us think of the environment. It is a relaxing color and it looks good on a lot of people, said Divita.

A bold few that dare to be individuals in what seems like a very conformist student population have expressed their excitement for this year’s spring trends.

“This year I have really enjoyed the colored jean spree, colored high-waisted shorts with types of button-up shirts tucked in, the return of chunky jewelry and high -low skirts,” Rowlands said.

Spring trends have hit. Some will enjoy wearing them, others watching. But some looks, are, unfortunately, eternal. Baylor’s Nike-short and t-shirt obsession seems to be one of those.

Why do the good trends die young?

The family and consumer sciences senior fashion show will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Center. It will feature 16 female models wearing a total of 87 garments. (Ashley Pereryra | Lariat Reporter)

With fewer than three days until the family and consumer sciences fashion show, McKinney junior Taylor Allen, a volunteer, along with a team of students is working on the final details. The race to the end is here.

This year’s show is at 3 p.m. Sunday on the fifth floor of Cashion Academic Center.

Thursday was a final garment fitting for the show’s 16 female models. The show is to feature a total of 87 garments.

“We have all the preparations for the entertainment, runway, seating, tickets,” Allen said. “Right now it’s just crunch time on the designers—the senior designers and finishing up their collections.”

Longview senior Lauren Dulweber is one of those nine senior designers to showcase their final collections at the fashion show.

“All of us are spending time doing corrections on our garments, making everything look its best for the show and just finishing up last minute projects,” Dulweber said.
Dr. Lorynn Divita, associate professor of family consumer sciences, is one of three professors in charge of the event.

According to Divita, the show will include Baylor students, faculty and staff volunteers across many different departments. Some of them include: Jonatan Lenells, assistant professor in the mathematics department, as a juggler; Lewisville senior Richard Ross as ring master; Lori Fogleman, the director of media relations at Baylor, as announcer and commentator; Saint Louis, Mo., senior Jake Brown as the disc jockey; and Sandy, Utah, junior Christine Strangl as a tight rope walker. There will also be a musical performance by Uproar artist Layne Lynch.

Outside businesses have also joined to put on the event. After the show, fashion show-goers can attend a dessert reception that will be catered by Waco’s Best Yet catering and sponsored by Cotton Incorporated.

Divita said that she feels confident about where the show is at currently.

“It’s a good feeling to know that even if I couldn’t send one more email, the fashion show could go on at this point,” Divita said. “We’ve got it all under control. Little crises may pop up but by and large we’ve got it together.”

While most of the final preparations for the show are set, the show has not been without its crises. As of one week ago, the department didn’t have a runway because of their new location in Cashion, Divita said. The runway in their old location, Barfield Drawing Room in the Bill Daniel Student Center, could not be moved. They had to look for a new runway, but even that had its difficulties.

“Because of our new location, the standard runways, 8 feet by 4 feet, don’t fit into the elevators of Cashion,” Divita said. “So that was a problem and we had to scramble to find a vendor that had four foot by four foot staging for the runway.”

A runway was found for the show. Divita said that the floor could have been used if they had been unable to find a vendor but that wouldn’t have been preferable.

Tickets to the fashion show are still on sale. They can be bought at the ticket office in the Student Union Building from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Friday.

Next year’s fashion show date has already been set for May 4, 2014.

Sugar Land senior Caleb Thompson prepares a shirt in the Mary Gibbs Jones Family and Consumer Sciences Building on Friday, April 19, 2013.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

The apparel design and product development students are preparing to present their clothing at the annual Family and Consumer Sciences fashion show May 5. The Lariat sat down with one of these students, London, UK, senior Helena Stefanowicz. She is graduating in December and is showcasing her senior collection at the fashion show next month. She is one of nine senior designers taking part in the show.

Q: How did your interest in design begin?
A: I grew up in a household of sewers. My grandmother does needlepoint. My mom makes quilts. One of my great-grandmothers was actually a fashion designer. My grandmother on my mom’s side was an editor at Cosmopolitan in New York for a while and was like a model, so she was always very fashion minded and always looked gorgeous in everything she wore. So I learned how to sew at a really young age. And then my mom’s an architect so we kind of have an artistic flair in my family.
When I was like 10, I just decided one day I’m going to be a fashion designer. And as I started getting really interested in fashion and my hands on every magazine I could possibly find and ripping out pages and sewing like little skirts for myself that were horribly made, but I was determined. Then I got into high school. I started painting and drawing. So through high school, I was a fine artist. I did portraiture and a lot of oil and acrylic painting. I got to my junior year, which is really when you have to decide like what are you going to do with your life. I was like well, I could stick with this but I don’t know if I’ll make any money.
My dad is a banker and he was like, oh you’ll do economics right? I was like what? And he was like what about languages? I speak three languages. So he was like oh, go do something with that. And I thought about it. On the one hand, I have fashion design and on the other hand, I have business. Or I actually almost became a doctor. I did the whole bio/pre-med school thing. And then I just thought like for me academics comes more easily than creative things just because I don’t know why. So, definitely it was more of a challenge and I thought I should try it. And if it doesn’t work out, it’s not going to work out. But this is something I could see myself doing and why not give it a shot.

Q: Why Baylor?
I grew up in England. That’s where my dad is from. And my mom is from Georgia. So all my family is over there. My dad is an only child. So all my cousins, aunts and uncles, everyone is in Georgia. I decided to come over to the States for college just cause I really didn’t want to stay in London. That’s where all the fashion schools in England are and I lived there for 18 years. I’m like a gazelle; I like open spaces. So I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll just go to America.’
I went to the Savannah College of Art and Design for two years. After my first semester, I was kind of like, ‘You know this isn’t the college experience that I wanted.’ It’s really artsy. It has a much more graduate school vibe. There is no sense of community at all. So, I Google searched every college in America with fashion design as a major. I had a huge list and I started narrowing it down and narrowing it down. I was supposed to transfer after my fall semester of sophomore year and only Baylor had responded to me after I applied to 10 different schools. I didn’t want to make a rushed decision. I had never visited Baylor. And I was like, ‘Ah, I don’t know.’ So I waited another semester. And so I narrowed it down to Purdue in Indiana, Baylor and staying where I was because some thing had changed and I was feeling a little better about it. Then spring break of my sophomore year, I went to Purdue to visit for a weekend and it was cold. I’m just not a cold weather person. It was cold and there are so many hills and I don’t know anyone in Indiana. And I don’t know. So, I went back to Savannah and was like, ‘Oh, man. Well, I guess I’m staying here but I probably should go visit Baylor just in case.’ So I called my mom and I was like ‘mom, listen — I really think I need to go visit Baylor.’ She was like, ‘OK if you can get there in $300 or less, you can. So, I got on a Greyhound. I was like, ‘Oh, this is fine, I’m a student. I can handle a Greyhound.’ Like no. It was a two-day drive on a bus with strangers. And I got to Waco at 8 in the morning and had a tour at 9. I walked onto campus and I was like, ‘O my gosh, this is so great.’

Q: You are a senior designer set to present your collection at this year’s fashion show. What is your set theme?
My theme is rainstorms, which I know makes me sound like a hippie. I actually had a really hard time thinking up an inspiration just because you don’t want to pigeonhole yourself, but you have to have a direction. And you don’t want it to be super broad because then it can be all over the place. It has to be cohesive. And so I went home over Christmas break and it rained every single day. I’m just one of those people that just loves the rain. I love rainstorms. I love walking in the rain. I love drizzle. Sun is great but there’s just something about the rain that I love. And so I was like, ‘Oh, I wonder if I could make this a thing.’ Rainstorms became my design concept. I’ve been using a lot of cool dying fabric dying techniques and felting and embellishments. I didn’t want to take it too literally, so my models won’t be wearing rain boots but my colors are blues and grays.

Q: What is your favorite thing to design?
I’m a dress girl. I’m girly and I’m not a skinny girl. I have curves, so I design things that I would wear. And I look good in things that come in the waist and then have a lot of flair because that’s where my weight is. So I tend to design things that I think would look good on my body because a lot of women have bodies that are similar to mine. There aren’t just so many size 0s and like everyone else in the world has like something they want to show off and something they don’t want to show off. I just tend to design a lot of dresses that are flattering. I have also recently found out that I love designing coats. The last two coats that I have made I just love. I love them. So maybe that’s what I’ll do. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do when I graduate. But I am interning this summer in New Orleans with a bridal and evening wear designer. Her name is Suzanne Perron.

Q: What types of clothes do you design during school?
A lot of stuff we do in our design department is career-wear because the largest target market of consumers is women who are 35-55. It’s not people our age because people our age don’t have money. We’re in college. We have like small jobs maybe but like nothing that is paying big bucks. And we want trendy stuff like fast fashion, Forever 21, which I hate. We want to buy a dress and throw away it next season, but by the time you hit 35, you kind of know your style. You know what you want. For me, I guess because I’m a designer, quality is really important. For most customers, quality doesn’t become important until you know what you’re going to love forever. And so those same women tend to have jobs, really solid long-term jobs that they want to look nice and appropriate for but also don’t want to wear a pantsuit every day. So, a lot of the stuff we do is career wear for them. And we’ve done cocktail dresses, pants and jackets, coats, swimsuits and everything in between. So we get a hand in everything we need to learn just to able to produce everything. But people tend to find their favorite things pretty quickly. So it kind of encompasses everything.

Q: Where are you going to live after you graduate?
Honestly, wherever I can get a job, as cynical as that sounds. The economy in England is absolutely horrific. It’s horrible. I’ve had almost all my friends that have graduated are either doing a second degree, have left the country, or are living back at home because they don’t have a job. So in all likelihood, I’ll be staying over here. But you never know, I might get lucky.

Q: What garments have you completed thus far?
We are currently working on look four. So I have made my coat and my first two dresses. I’m currently working on a skirt and a shirt. And then my last look is a really simple blouse and a pair of pants. So, a total of eight garments and five looks. Oh, and a jacket somewhere in there. I made a jacket a while ago.

Q: Is that typical of collections?
Yes, it is. We all have to make five looks. It used to be six but they cut it down—I think either last year or this year they made it only five because six is just crazy. So yeah, we have to have five looks. They encourage variety for your portfolio. Everyone has to make a coat. Dresses are for me the easiest thing to make and for a lot of people it’s not the same. But most people make a dress, a jacket or vest of some kind, some pair of like pants or shorts and a skirt. Obviously, tops to go with everything.

Scandia, Kan. sophomore Ashley Gross tries on a dress as Edmund, Okla. junior Claire Major makes adjustments in the Mary Gibbs Jones Family and Consumer Sciences Building on Friday, April 19, 2013.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

The Baylor Fashion Show will move to the Cashion Academic Center next month. The family consumer sciences department will host its annual fashion show at 3 p.m. on the fifth floor of Cashion on May 5. The event will showcase collections from nine senior design students and an assortment of pieces from underclassmen.

Sugar Land senior Caleb Thompson has been a part of the show in the past. He said that this year the department is taking the extra step with a circus theme. The show has previously been hosted in Barfield Drawing Room of the Bill Daniel Student Center.

“This year we’re doing things on a lot bigger scale and doing things differently than in the past,” Thompson said. “We have a different space, which presents a lot more challenges.”

Preparations began in fall 2012 with Dr. Lorynn Divita’s fashion forecasting class. This was a change from previous years when the organizing class was Visual Merchandising, Thompson said.

“Visual merchandising is only a class that merchandising students take but forecasting is both design and merch,” Thompson said. “So, that might have an effect on the whole outlook of it since we are able to bring a different perspective than merchandising students.“

The fashion forecasting class last fall came up with overriding theme ideas, stories, music, promotion, color stories, decorations and props, Divita said. Then the class voted for the top three themes. The final vote was at the beginning of the spring semester and all design students were invited, Divita said.

Raleigh, N.C., senior Hannah Maynard is a current student in the fashion forecasting class. She said that the class is currently working on decorations, public relations and accessories such as feathered boas and masks.

“We had Pinterest boards and different things online that everyone pinned ideas for decorations and accessories for models,” Maynard said. “And then we tried to narrow it done from there in the class. Also we discussed ways to advertise and how we can get people from all sorts of departments, not just our own, to watch the show.”

Designers in the show, specifically the senior designers, are not as heavily involved in planning activities.

Austin senior, Kaylyn Smith said the senior designers spend most of their time outside of the planning side of the show. The senior designers take a class with Dr. Mary Simpson lecturer in family and consumer sciences who oversees the progress of their collection. Each collection consists of five looks, Smith said. The class is working on its fourth look. Senior designers are not limited to the circus theme and they have their own theme for their individual collection.

“Within the circus theme of the show, we each have our own collection theme, “ Smith said. “Mine is called secret garden — there is a mod one. One is based on rain. There is a coral-themed one. So we have our own theme and we just have to make it consistent within that. It’s a very individualized kind of semester.”

Project Greenway is a mesmerizing collaboration of music and “green” design. Design teams of one to four members compete with garments they created using completely recycled materials during the spring semester. At the event, a model from each team walked the runway wearing the team’s outfit while Uproar artists played live music on Thursday, March 21.
Monica Lake | Lariat Photographer

By Kate McGuire
Staff Writer

Green wasn’t just a color Thursday at Common Grounds.

Houston junior Eliza Coleman and Plano junior Ryan Schaap designed two “green” outfits for the Project Greenway fashion show at 7 p.m. Thursday. The pair won the competition and received a $500 prize.

Project Greenway is a fashion show and concert sponsored by Uproar Records, Baylor’s student-run record label.

It consists of fashion designer teams that work over the course of four months to design and create recyclable outfits that depict “green” materials. All outfits consisted of recyclable materials such as newspaper, cardboard, plastic bottles and more.

Crandall junior Jodi Orr, director of Project Greenway said, all materials have to be recyclable and Baylor appropriate.

Coleman and Schaap said they were excited about the night but didn’t know what to expect.

“We didn’t have any expectations going in but we were confident,” Schaap said. “We were definitely nervous and the other teams did a really good job.”

The dresses were judged by a panel of judges representing Baylor Sustainability, Common Grounds, Uproar Records and Baylor family and consumer science department. Criteria for judges included amount of recyclable material, creativity, and appeal of the design and wearabilty of the outfit.

Altogether there were three teams that created four dresses total. The winning team consisted of two friends, Coleman and Schaap, who designed and created two dresses. The first dress was black with an umbrella for the bosom, broken records on the hips, an intertube for the waist and plastic sheeting and lining for the flowy skirt. Their second dress was made of blue camping tarp, and broken CDs around the waist, up the bosom and around the neck.

Inspiration for the different outfits came from Pinterest, fashion magazines and personal items around rooms and apartments.

Schaap said he got his inspiration for the designs from big-name designers in his magazines.

“I am a magazine hoarder, so we went through all the magazines, and we saw Dior and Alexander McQueen,” Schaap said. “Sitting down and doing research was really fun.”

One of the teams included three designers who were paired up by Project Greenway.

Spring freshman Jasmine Miller, Chino Hills, Calif., graduate student Holly Smith, and Norcross, Ga., sophomore Laura Beth Hooper created a dress made mostly of newspaper but the trio didn’t stop at a dress. Their sandals were made out of cardboard and paper mache newspaper. Miller said accessories consisted of melted plastic bottles for earrings and a belt made out of shopping bags.

Kingwood senior Krista Stephens worked alone. She designed, created and modeled a dress made of packing paper, burlap, medical tape, coffee filters and peacock feathers.

Stephens said she wanted an outfit that is functional as well as environmentally friendly.

“I wanted to create a dress people would look at and say, ‘I want that,’” Stephens said.

Sponsors of Project Greenway included Baylor Sustainability, student government, the Baylor Lariat, Uproar Records and Common Grounds.

Uproar artists also performed at the event. Dreamboat performed at the beginning of the night before the fashion show and then Lane Lynch ended the show.

The “going-green attitude” was furthered when Common Grounds announced its transition from using Styrofoam cups to compostable cups, as well as adding three recycling bins, Orr said.

Common Grounds also began offering a new drink, the Treehugger. A dollar from every purchase of the drink will go to Keep Waco Beautiful, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to keep Waco clean, healthy, and safe through green programs said Sherri Street, executive director of Keep Waco Beautiful.

Musicians perform at Project Greenway March 29, 2012. Project Greenway is a competitive fashion show where designers create outfits using recyclable or reusable materials. This year’s Project Greenway will take place Thursday at Common Grounds. (Lariat File Photo)

By Kara Blomquist
Reporter

Green is the new black — at least at the third annual Project Greenway.

Project Greenway is a competitive fashion show and concert hosted by Uproar Records, Baylor’s student-run record label. The event begins at 7 p.m. Thursday at Common Grounds. Admission is free and open to the public.

Students, individually or in a group, design and create outfits using recyclable or reusable materials. Student models will wear these outfits in a runway show at the event. Before and during the runway competition, Uproar artists Dreamboat and Layne Lynch will perform.

This year, the event will benefit Keep Waco Beautiful, a nonprofit organization aimed at making Waco a clean and safe place to live, according to the organization’s website.

Common Grounds is creating a new drink for Project Greenway, that it will begin selling Thursday for a limited time. One dollar from each sale of the drink will go to Keep Waco Beautiful.

Uproar Records will also accept donations for the nonprofit at the event.

The coffee shop will use the event as the kickoff party for their green initiative, said Crandall junior Jodie Orr, director of Project Greenway.

“The goal for the event as a whole is to motivate and inspire students, or whoever comes to the event, to live a more sustainable lifestyle,” she said. “We just thought that a fashion show and a concert is a unique way to convey that message.”

The designer of the winning garment, either a team or an individual, will receive a $500 cash prize. A panel of judges determines the winner. The judges include representatives from Uproar Records, Baylor’s Office of Sustainability, Common Grounds and the Baylor fashion department. There will also be a fan-favorite award that the audience can vote for by using a hashtag on Twitter.

Garments will be judged on their creativity, the amount of recyclable material versus new material, the appeal and quality of the design and the wearability of the outfit, according to Project Greenway’s 2013 Official Criteria.

The teams have the option of using a fashion mentor to help them design and create the outfits. These mentors are Baylor fashion students.

Event sponsors include the Office of Sustainability, student government and Uproar Records. Common Grounds is partnering with Uproar Records to host the event.

Designers are also not allowed to use any kind of toxic materials, such as Styrofoam, certain paints and plastics that aren’t recyclable.

The Office of Sustainability played a large role in determining what materials were available to the design teams.

Smith Getterman, sustainability coordinator, said the competition allows designers to use reusable materials in addition to recyclable items.

Orr said she wants the focus of the event to be recycling.

“I think that’s the easiest way to take the first step in living a more sustainable lifestyle, and so that’s the main form of eco-friendliness that we’re focusing on,” she said.

Aberdeen, Scotland, senior Katherine Davis, vice president of marketing for Uproar Records, said the event has grown each year. Last year was the first time Project Greenway was held at Common Grounds.

“We had people on the roof, like climbed up onto the roof to see the event,” she said. “We’re hosting it at Common Grounds again, and I honestly think we’re going to fill it up. Maybe next we’ll have to host it somewhere else that’s bigger.”

Getterman said he thinks growth of the event means more students are hearing the message of sustainability.

“It’s a great, kind of unobtrusive, almost subtle way of really getting some people who maybe normally aren’t thinking about being good stewards of God’s creation into that mindset,” he said.

Orr said Project Greenway has inspired her to live more sustainably.

“If these people can make clothing out of trash, how hard can it be to take those little steps to live more sustainably and more eco-friendly?” she said.

Beyond sustainability, Getterman said students should come to the event to see the designers’ outfits.

“It’s such a neat thing to see students really put a lot of effort and creativity into reusing materials that you typically wouldn’t see,” he said. “The designs that they come up with are just unbelievable.”

Getterman said he wants more students to attend and experience the event.

“It’s kind of a hidden gem on campus that I hope more and more students discover, just because it’s a cool thing,” he said. “It’s so unique.”

When I saw this necklace on Etsy, I immediately wanted one, but I was not going to pay $75 no matter how much it was calling my name. So I Googled the name hoping to find some instructions on how to make one for myself. I found a YouTube video with step-by-step instructions. The YouTube video explains this DIY the best, but I’ve tried my best to write out the steps and include what I did differently.

Tree of Life Necklace (adapted from CamilleSharon’s YouTube tutorial)

What you need:

• 16 gauge wire (5 pieces at 8-9 inches each and one piece at 6 inches)
• 24 gauge wire (one at 8 inches)
• Beads (I just bought a string of beads at a craft store)
• Pliers
• Something circular to form the hoop around (I used a water bottle)

Instructions:

1. Take the 16 gauge wire and make a loop around one end. She uses a pair of round-nose pliers for this but really a regular pair of pliers would do the trick as well. Or you can invest in a set of crafting pliers. I bought my set for about $10 at Hobby Lobby. Shape the rest of the wire into a circle forming your frame. Make a loop going in the opposite direction on the other end of the wire.

2. The next step was actually the trickiest part for me, but you’re going to essentially wire the two ends together. You accomplish this by taking the smaller, six in. piece of wire, threading it through one of the loops you made and twisting it around a couple times. Then you bring the two ends together and twist the wire around both ends a few times. Finally you twist the wire around the other looped end a few times, securing the wire. After that, you can cut off the excess wire.

3. Now you should have a hoop with two loops at the top. Next you’re going to take one of the 16 gauge wire pieces, fold it in half and twist it around the hoop. Twist it a couple times to secure it to the hoop, but don’t over-twist or you’ll break the wire. Then you’re going to string the beads on. This is where I started diverging from the video. Since my hoop was smaller, I didn’t need as many beads as she was using, nor did I use as much wire as she was using. I’ve found that the best way to do this pendant is to put half the wire branches on one side and the other half on the other side, so you don’t have to worry about try to move the branches to the other side of the pendant at the end. You can secure the wires all at once or do the branches one at a time. I typically do the branches one at a time.

4. Next you’re going to add the beads to the branch wires. This can be modified any way you want, but for this necklace, the order I used from left to right is 3-4-4-5-5 with three branches on the left side and two on the right side. This is entirely dependent on the size of your frame and the size of your beads. I like to eyeball it while I’m working on it so there are just enough beads. Also since the branches are divided in two, I split the number of beads further so I ended up stringing the beads 1-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-2-3.

5. I preferred to do one branch at a time, and from the middle out. So after you string the beads, twist wire to hold the beads in place. Eventually, you’ll have five branches with beads on them.

6. Now you have some more creative freedom. You’re going to twist the excess wires together to form the trunk of the tree until you almost reach the bottom.

7. Then you’re going to fan out the wires and twist them around the bottom of the hoop to form the “roots.” Don’t worry about being too exact because it’s a tree and imperfections add to the beauty of the piece.

8. Finally string a chain through the top loop of the hoop and you’re done.

In her video, she makes a two in diameter pendant. I thought it was a little big for me, so I shaped the hoop smaller to make the pendant smaller. The hoop ends up being the outer frame of the pendant. Therefore I used fewer branch wires and beads than she did in her tutorial.

This project has become one of my go-to projects for unique gifts and the tediousness of twisting the wire, adding the beads, shaping the necklace makes it also ideal when I need something to take my mind off of school and relax a little.

I gave this project a difficulty rating 4.5/5 because of the attention to detail involved in twisting the wires and shaping the pendant.

Though the inaugural frenzy has settled, rest assured that there isn’t a fashionista worth her Louboutins who doesn’t want to see what Jason Wu (the man who famously designed both of Michelle Obama’s inaugural ballgowns) has up his high-profile sleeve for fall. They’ll get their chance Friday, when Wu shows his collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which runs from Thursday through Feb. 14.

The always-fabulous Heart Truth extravaganza will warm up the well-heeled crowd Wednesday night, as stars (said to be among them, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, gymnast Gabby Douglas and Savannah Guthrie of “Today”) dressed in red dresses take to the runway to promote heart health for women.

The tents at Lincoln Center will feature some 80 designers, including newcomers Trina Turk, the saucy California-based brand, and red carpet regular and celeb fave KaufmanFranco. Carmen Marc Valvo, with a new eponymous shoe line to flaunt, returns to the tents after eight years showing at NASDAQ. Says Valvo, “Those long runways at the tents are a great way to see the front and the back of the shoes.”

The shows, as always, will be going on all over town. Kenneth Cole, who hasn’t shown since ‘06, will celebrate his 30th anniversary with a show in Chelsea. There’s buzz about Spanish design house Delpozo showing for the first time in the United States at Canoe Studios. And Tory Burch, who for several seasons has presented at Avery Fisher Hall, is holding her fall fete at the swanky Pierre Hotel.

The news is not all good, with Holmes & Yang (as in Katie) and Chris Benz opting out for the season. Peter Som has replaced his traditional runway romp with a digital fashion show.

Then there’s feisty Betsey Johnson, who can’t seem to make up her mind. First, she was taking the season off after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May but promised to have a presence at the tents for her new reality series, “The Betsey and Lulu Show.” But, last Monday, the exuberant designer said she was, indeed, having a show at Lincoln Center. Whether there will be clothes in it remains a question, but we feel confident we’ll see a signature cartwheel or two.

This Aug. 4, 2010, file photo shows presidential pet Bo climbing the steps of Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., for a flight to Chicago with President Barack Obama.
Associated Press

“WE AGREE NOT TO FEED RANGER. WE WILL NOT GIVE HIM BISCUITS. WE WILL NOT GIVE HIM FOOD OF ANY KIND,” the pledge read.

Bush ends his memo saying, “I will, of course, report on Ranger’s fight against obesity. Right now he looks like a blimp, a nice friendly appealing blimp, but a blimp.”

That memo, along with countless anecdotes and more than 200 pictures are featured in Dallas author Jennifer Boswell Pickens’ new book, “Pets at the White House,” which gives readers a glimpse of what life is like at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. for pets, and what those pets have meant to their famous owners.

“I think they all would agree 100 percent that they got a lot of comfort from their pets,” Pickens said.

The coffee-table book devotes a chapter to each administration’s pets from Kennedy to Obama. And an introduction gives an overview of the animals that were part of first families prior to 1961, which Pickens notes includes the array of pets cared for by Calvin Coolidge and his family, including Rebecca the raccoon, who walked on a leash.

“They became such known pet lovers that if you no longer wanted your pet you could just ship it to the White House and they were known to keep it,” Pickens said.

Photographs include first daughter Caroline Kennedy perched on her pony Macaroni on the White House’s South Lawn to the elder Bush walking across the same lawn with brown-and-white-springer spaniel Millie as her puppies trail behind them.

She also gives readers an array of anecdotes about first pets. She writes that Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Scottish terrier Fala traveled with him, attended galas with world leaders and even contributed to the war effort by giving up toys for a scrap rubber collection campaign.

When the Kennedys were given a dog by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, the dog named Pushinka — Russian for “fluffy” — underwent tests at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to rule out everything from listening devices to bombs.

One of Millie’s puppies, Spot, was a resident of the White House twice. After being born there, she went to live in Texas with George W. Bush and Laura Bush before returning when he was elected to the White House.

Former first lady Barbara Bush writes in the foreword, “Not only are these animals important to each first family, but, as George points out, when you have the toughest job in the world, there is nothing like the unconditional love of a dog.”

Or a cat. Amy Carter, who was 9 when her father became president, says in the book, “Misty, my cat, was one of my best friends and she really turned the White House into a home.”

Not long before her death last year, Betty Ford commented for the book that the family’s golden retriever Liberty was her husband’s “favorite adviser.”

Inspiration for a book focused on pets came as Pickens was putting together her first book, “Christmas in the White House,” which came out in 2009. Pickens, who worked as a staffer in the Texas finance office when George W. Bush was running for re-election and has worked as a consultant on various campaigns, turned to presidential libraries, old newspapers, first families and White House staffers as she put the book together.

“I think a lot of people have their own pets and a lot of people find comfort with their animals,” said Pickens, who lives in Dallas with her husband, four young daughters and two dogs.

Historian Douglas Brinkley of Rice University notes that it’s “almost mandatory” for first families to have a pet, adding, “We demand a first pet.”

“So many Americans have dogs and cats and it makes us feel like the first family is one of us,” Brinkley said.

The public fascination is shown in the book, too: There’s a photo of a greeting card featuring the Clintons’ first cat Socks, complete with a paw print “signature,” a photo of Laura Bush holding Scottish terrier Barney eyeing a chocolate replica of himself and a picture of a cookies being decorated depicting Bo, President Barack Obama’s Portuguese water dog.

Anita McBride, Laura Bush’s chief of staff in the White House who currently teaches at American University, was among former staffers interviewed for the book. She notes that it was Barney who “opened up the White House to the public” after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

With a tiny video camera on his collar, he helped record a tour of the White House’s Christmas decorations. The Barney Cam was such a hit that it continued for the rest of Bush’s presidency.

“The pets really were a big part of helping to tell the story of life in the White House,” she said.

Bond Girls are known for being symbols of beauty, class and style, so it’s no surprise that actress Berenice Marlohe has taken on the role. She plays Severine in the upcoming 23rd James Bond film, “Skyfall,” slated for release Nov. 9.

The French beauty has been spotted around the globe proving just how stylish she can be in outfits worthy of any Bond love interest.

She chose a sleeveless royal blue peplum number by Julien Macdonald at a photo call in Moscow and a draped aqua blue dress by Roksanda Ilincic in Istanbul, Turkey.

Marlohe was photographed at a recent photo call for the film at the Crosby Street Hotel in New York City in a Salvatore Ferragamo fall 2012 military-green coat and Tod’s knee-high boots.
On the runway Ferragamo showed this look with matching high-waist pants, a silky top, belt and riding boots.

Marlohe covered up, but the coat’s shape, her loose waves and high boots amp up the sex appeal, proving you don’t have to show skin to turn heads.

For a sharp coat to wear over an outfit or by itself, try the wool military coat from Victoria’s Secret for $188 or the military piped girly coat from Top Shop for $190.

Whether you’re looking to ward off the chill or simply need a pair of shoes to go with your new trench, a functional, stylish boot works for any occasion.

Marlohe’s Tod’s boots feature a fashionable suede top and a functional leather bottom.

For a similar style, try the blocked platform knee-high boots from Arden B for $62.30, the Cougar women’s mirage knee-high boot from Amazon.com for $124.50 or the Annie shoes women’s Denver boot from Amazon.com for $44.50.

You’ll be cozy and stylish at the same time.