Sorrento's premier fashion event, the Chamber's 2010 Ladies Fashion Show and Luncheon, The Four Seasons in Sorrento, will thrill you! EM'Z on Fifth is once again providing great fashions for our beautiful models. 
 
We know that you will just love the fashions, the luncheon, the raffle prizes and our Grand Prize. 
 
This year, we've made some changes that we are sure you will like.  First, ALL seating will be indoors.  Second, we've made it so simple to get your tickets…just click the link below to register and RSVP!
 
We are looking forward to seeing you on October 28th.

Register Now!

If you have any questions, please give one of us a call,BettyAnn Christian, Event Chairperson,352-383-5694 or Lisa Martin, Event Co-Chairperson 352-217-2058. We will be happy to talk with you.
 
Thank you for sharing the excitement of our 2010 Ladies Fashion Show and Luncheon!
 

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Ladies, mark your calendars. Frédéric Fekkai is inviting customers to Saks Fifth Avenue stores on Thursday, August 26th to receive a personalized hair consultation and full sized complimentary Fekkai Advanced styling product while supplies last. Visit the website, Fekkai.com, to register for the free trial. Product options to choose from include: Brilliant Glossing™ Cream, Full Blown Volume™ Lifting Hairspray, Salon Technician Color Care™ Anti-Fade Top Coat, Silky Straight Ironless™ Straightening Balm.  Print the registration form and present it at Saks to receive your product and try a new style.

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Living with Florida’s humidity can wreak havoc to women from their hair to their feet. There is no grosser feeling than walking around in sweaty, squishy shoes. It is uncomfortable, nasty, icky and all around just gross. Well let me tell you, I have found the next best thing to slice bread, Summer Soles®.

Summer Soles® are fabric insoles designed to keep feet looking and feeling fresh while providing an added layer of protection against perspiration inside shoes. The insoles are so easy to use and fit any style shoe. It just takes a few seconds to trim and insert in the shoes. Just peel and stick.

Summer Soles® are available in two styles – “Softness of Suede,” a soft micro fiber polyester, and “Ultra-Absorbent,” a non-woven wool blend. I tried the Ultra-Absorbent insoles and loved them. They are absolutely fantastic. My feet stayed nice and dry and the insoles are super comfortable. The Ultra’s are great for hyperhidrosis sufferers. These insoles help stop sweaty feet from limiting your footwear options. I have a friend who has hyperhidrosis and they have opened a whole new world of shoe wear for her. She no longer has to worry about slipping and falling in sweaty shoes again.

Summer Soles® are available in over 20 styles, colors and prints, as well as “Fragrant Footings®,” a line developed with a special step-to-release fragrance technology that transfers fine essential oils to your feet when walking. You can purchase Summer Soles® at SummerSoles.com and a variety of specialty boutiques, hotels and pharmacies. It’s never too early to start thinking about Christmas gifts and these would make great Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers.

If you have a crazy gadget that you want me to try or have one you love and would like to share it with us, please-mail me at style@towndigger.com!

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Researchers from England’s Manchester Metropolitan University found women who regularly wore high heels for extended periods suffered more discomfort because their calf muscles were overstretched and could not relax.

In their study, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, the team used volunteers aged between 20 and 50 who had regularly worn 5cm (that’s almost 2” for us Americans) high heels for two years or more.

They tested a final group of 11 who felt uncomfortable walking without their heels and recruited a second group of 9 women who did not wear high heels.

Using ultrasound to measure the length of muscle fibres in the women’s calf muscles, the team found high heel wearers’ fibres were 13 percent shorter than those who wore flat shoes.

“This confirmed the hypothesis that when you place the muscle in a shorter position, the fibres become shorter,” told Professor Marco Narici, who led the study, to the Telegraph.

“We found the Achilles’ tendon was the same length in the two groups, but in women who wore high heels it was much thicker and stiffer, making it harder for them to stretch their feet out when they were on the flat.”

These findings explain why women could wear high heels for hours but experience feet aches after removing them.
But this problem can be overcome by doing simple stretching exercises throughout the day.

“If you stand on your tip toes and lower your heels up and down again it will stretch out the tendons making it easier to walk without heels,” Narici said.  “If you do this about 20 times a day it should be sufficient to prevent this happening.”

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Economic Commentary by Dr. Scott Brown

Near-term economic expectations have softened over the last few months and the risks to the growth outlook have become tilted more to the downside. There’s nothing to suggest that a double dip recession is imminent or even likely over the next few quarters. However, the one element that’s hard to get a handle on is psychology. Fears of a double dip could become self-fulfilling if enough firms stop hiring.
 
The June Employment Report seemed to encapsulate the themes generated by recent economic data releases. That is, the pace of growth appears to have moderated – still positive, but somewhat slower than was anticipated a few months ago. Private-sector payrolls continued to advance in June and the three-month average (+119,000) was respectable, but not especially strong. Prior to seasonal adjustment, private-sector payrolls advanced by 863,000, up by 3.358 million since February. That looks like the kind of (unadjusted) job gains we would see in a normal year, but the pace has been disappointing given the depth of the decline over the last two years.

The unemployment rate fell to 9.5% in June, but the details suggest no significant improvement. The decline was due largely to a drop in labor force participation, which could be a consequence of unemployment insurance benefits running out for some individuals. The employment/population ratio avoids month-to-month peculiarities in labor force participation – it fell further in June (to 58.5%, vs. 58.7% in May, 59.4% a year ago, and around 64% in the late 1990s).

The June jobs report confirms what was widely expected at the start of the year. That is, economic growth was expected to be positive, transitioning to a more sustainable recovery (one supported by an underlying expansion in consumer spending and business fixed investment rather that federal fiscal stimulus and a shift in inventories), but unlikely to be strong enough to push the unemployment rate down by much.

The list of near-term economic headwinds is long: lingering problems in residential and commercial real estate; tight credit, especially for small firms (and some reluctance of creditworthy borrowers to take on debt); the contractionary consequences of tighter state and local budgets; the federal fiscal stimulus ramping down into 2010; the Bush tax cuts expiring at the end of this year; and tighter budgets overseas limiting global growth. On the positive side, long-term interest rates are extremely low, which should provide some support. Thirty-year home mortgage rates hit another record low last week.

One worry is that if the recovery should falter, monetary and fiscal policy may be helpless to counter that. The Fed already has short-term interest rates near 0% – conventional monetary policy is played out. The Fed could resurrect quantitative easing (buying mortgage-backed securities and long-term Treasuries), but what would be the point? Long-term interest rates are already low. There’s clearly scope for more fiscal stimulus, but the public mood is against it and it would be nearly impossible to get anything significant through Congress. The desire to reduce the budget deficit is well-intentioned, but misguided in the short term. As a consequence, the economic recovery may be painfully slow in the quarters (perhaps years) ahead.

The Gulf oil spill had a clear impact on consumer confidence numbers in June and may dampen consumer spending growth in the near term. If households increase savings significantly (which might happen after a drop in the stock market), overall growth will be even softer. Businesses generally remain fearful of what the Obama Administration might do, but Obama has already had difficulties getting things through Congress (healthcare and financial reforms were significantly watered down). The November elections won’t change that outlook, but it could alter perceptions. Normally, gridlock is good for the markets, but there are times when stuff has to get done.

This article was submitted courtesy of Brian Kraus of Raymond James Financial.  For more information on Brian Kraus, click here to view his Business Listing on Towndigger.com.

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