Weird News Files

Fashionistas need not fear the rising tide – shoe designers have come to their rescue.

SANTIAGO – A prominent fashion designer has sparked outrage in Chile by dressing up models like the Virgin Mary — in some cases with ample, near-naked breasts.

The Roman Catholic Church condemned Ricardo Oyarzun’s plans for a show featuring the models, and a conservative group tried unsuccessfully to block it in court.

Oyarzun said he had received telephone threats and had excrement smeared on his doorstep.

“There is no pornography here, there’s no sex, there are no virgins menstruating or feeling each other up,” Oyarzun said ahead of the catwalk show set to be held at a Santiago nightclub later on Thursday. “This is artistic expression.”

He said his designs — which include halos, look as though they come from a nativity scene and include religious icons — were inspired by the Virgin Mary but not intended to represent her.

“We look on with special pain and deplore those acts which seek to tarnish manifestations of sincere love toward the Virgin Mary, which end up striking at the dignity of womankind by presenting her as an object of consumption,” Chile’s Episcopal Conference, which includes Catholic bishops, said in a statement.

The show is more evidence that Chile, heavily influenced by the church for decades, is shaking off its reputation as one of the most socially conservative countries in Latin America.

Source: Reuters link filed under Weird World News

Two Washington state moms have launched a business that sells baby high heels.

They sold their first shoes 14 weeks ago and haven’t looked back since.

They could very well possibly be the smallest stilettos ever.

“Oh yeah. It draws attention,” said Jenelle Kulaas. “People see them and are like, those are hilarious!”

The shoes are the brain child of Britta Bacon, who thought up the idea and the brand name “Heelarious” on her daughter’s fourth birthday.

“That’s kind of all I could think about at her birthday party and came home and registered the Web site, and called Hayden,” Bacon said.

Hayden Porter is Britta’s childhood friend, her current partner, and an admitted high heel addict.

“I wish I had an adult version, for when I’m putting all of my ‘Sex and the City’ re-runs and I can just sit back on the couch and be in the most comfortable shoes ever,” Porter said.

“Heelarious” shoes are only made for infants up to 6 months old, and the heel is squishy for safety reasons.

In just three months, the shoes have found their way into 350 stores world wide.

More than 1,500 pairs have been bought off the Web site.

The women admit some have criticized them, saying heels, even fake ones, are inappropriate for babies, but they insist it’s all meant to be in good fun.

To get the word out about their new product, the women have been sending shoes to celebrities who’ve just had baby girls.

They also are getting ready to send boxes to the Emmys, where they’re going to be included in gift bags for nominees.

With six styles of shoes now gaining traction, the women say they may try to tackle boy shoes next, although they’re coy on what they’ll look like.

Source: NBCNews Link Filed under Weird Fashion News

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Mexico has seen a huge surge in violence recently as the government attempts to crack down on the nation’s powerful drug cartels.

This year alone, nearly 1,400 people have been killed in drug-related shootings. Mexico also has a kidnapping problem and high levels of car theft and street crime.

For a Colombian clothing maker who recently opened up shop in Mexico City, all of this has been great for business.

Miguel Caballero’s sleek glass and metal showroom is just around the corner from the Hugo Boss boutique on Avenida Presidente Masaryk, a high-end shopping thoroughfare in the Polanco neighborhood, one of the most upscale in Mexico City.

His racks are lined with bulletproof blazers, women’s suede jackets that’ll stop a .44 Magnum, T-shirts lined with body armor, and guayabera shirts for catching sun or bullets.

“In all the clothing that we have here, it’s 100 percent flexible,” Caballero says. “With the bulletproof vests of the police force, you can’t find that.”

Caballero first started making bulletproof clothes in his native Colombia in the early 1990s. It was at the peak of the Medellin drug cartel’s power, and Colombia was awash in violence. Now the multi billion-dollar drug trade is dominated by Mexican cartels. And as Mexican President Felipe Calderon confronts the gangs, violence here has skyrocketed, killing thousands. In one week in May, six high-ranking police officials, including the nation’s top cop, were assassinated.

Starting at around $2,000, Caballero offers bulletproof business suits, long Burberry-type raincoats, slick biker jackets and a women’s ski parka in orange with a fake fur collar.

“We can make any type of bulletproof vest,” he says. “But the basis of the company is design, fashion, discretion. And what we are doing all the time — the discretion — we are working to develop the concept of fashion and, in this way, it’s very comfortable and flexible.”

Caballero boasts that his clients include the presidents of Colombia, Peru and Guatemala. There are rumors that his product has ended up under Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s trademark sweaters, but Caballero won’t confirm them. He’s made bulletproof clothes for Prince Felipe of Spain and his wife, Letizia. Once, Caballero says, he even created an armored kimono for actor Steven Seagal.

Caballero says the company sold 37,000 garments last year, and Mexico is his most important market in Latin America.

Jorge Chabat, a leading criminologist in Mexico City, says the recent uptick in violence in Mexico is mainly aimed at three groups — people in the drug trade, honest police officers and the superrich.

“I wouldn’t say that most of the population is exposed to this kind of violence,” Chabat says. “Obviously, if you are a rich guy — you drive a BMW or Mercedes — well, OK, probabilities that you are a target are higher. Most of the people who are buying these kind of clothes are these kind of persons.”

Caballero insists that he only provides his products to “the good guys” and doesn’t sell to drug dealers. He vets his clients against a terrorist watch list maintained by the U.S. Treasury Department.

He warns that bulletproof clothes are only one part of a security plan. He says they should be used to complement armored cars, bodyguards and communication equipment.

“I say to my clients, if the product works in Colombia, [it] works in any place of the world,” he says. “But I don’t know what is exactly the risk in any person.”

For instance, Edgar Guzman, the son of Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin Guzman, was gunned down last month outside a mall in Culiacan. Media reports said as many as 40 men with AK-47s and a grenade launcher opened fire on Guzman’s armored pickup truck. For that, Caballero’s clothing would still look good, but offer little defense.

Source: NPR Link Posted by Drew Filed under Weird Fashion News

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CHUR, Switzerland – Diamonds really are forever. Algordanza, a small company based in the mountainous southeast of Switzerland, uses the ashes of dead people to make diamonds as a permanent memento for their nearest and dearest.

And with prices starting at less than 5,000 euros ($7,488), the jewels are not solely the preserve of the jetset.

“Some people find it helpful to go to the cemetery and grieve, and they leave their grief in the cemetery,” said Algordanza Chairman Veit Brimer. “There are some people who, for whatever reason, do not want to have this farewell.

“Astonishingly these are mainly Christian people. They say: ‘Why should I say goodbye? I’ll see my husband in 15 years in heaven anyway,’” Brimer said in his office overlooking the town of Chur and its surrounding steep mountains.

The technology for making artificial diamonds was first pioneered by General Electric in the 1950s, and mirrors nature by subjecting carbon to huge pressure and temperature.

Algordanza — which means “remembrance” in the local language Romansch, spoken in some parts of the Swiss canton of Grisons — is one of a handful of companies offering artificial diamonds that have sprung up as the technology has improved.

U.S.-based LifeGem and Britain’s Phoenix Diamonds, for example, also offer diamonds made from hair, which contains more carbon than ashes meaning a gem can be created from the hair of a living person, or from someone who has been buried rather than cremated. LifeGem even offers diamonds made from dead pets.

“Some people find it is a great honor and remembrance,” said Laura Simanton at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). “The technology is certainly getting better.”

Synthetic diamonds have become so common that GIA now grades their quality, so buyers can assess what they are getting compared with a natural diamond.

John Cordova, vice president of California-based engagement ring store Robbins Bros said synthetic diamonds are “in general a little less expensive” than natural ones, but it depends on each individual stone.

GIA engraves the word “synthetic” and its report number on all artificial diamonds it grades.

Algordanza’s Brimer first saw a business opportunity in “remembrance” diamonds after meeting a Russian chemist, who explained how gems could be created in a laboratory.

Because only 2 percent of a corpse’s ashes are carbon, which then has to be purified, the largest size diamond offered by Algordanza is 1 carat, which costs 13,328 euros. 

Source: Reuters Link  Posted by Drew. Filed under Weird News

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So you want to do your part to save the environment by utilizing solar power. That’s great, however, a lot of solar products aren’t the easiest to carry around without making you stick out like a sore thumb. Well if you’re really dedicated to the cause, you might check out this solar powered necktie.

The idea here is that when the solar panels are arranged in a grid, they almost look normal on a tie. I’ve seen people wear some crazy ties, so this one might not look half bad, depending on where you work. Of course, if you work in an office, there’s a good chance that this thing won’t see enough sunlight to be all that useful. Sure, it’ll get some juice from the lights in the office, but I doubt it would be strong enough to charge whatever gadget you have connected.

Source: OhGizmo Link Posted by Drew. Filed under Weird Fashion News.