For years, fashion publicists have been a revolving door of sample requests.

Pitch ‘em, log ‘em out, send ‘em out, log ‘em in and start again.

But the tides are shifting, and many editors now expect and want a digital sample, that is fashion photography and product shots, before requesting physical samples.

While fashion PR practitioners have been stressing the importance of hi-res, high quality photos to their clients for years now, many clients did not see the value to qualify the expense. Thankfully, as digital samples are requested more often, designers have come to understand their importance.

In addition to run-throughs for a print shoot, high quality images are essential when working with the fast-paced blog medium, creating & pitching one sheets, and developing a strong web presence.

Tips for great fashion photography

Invest in a photographer.They not only have the proper set up (light boxes, plexi and seamless backdrops), but the ability to clean up your image (remove shadows, enhance/tweak color) and create it in low and hi-res formats for email and printing purposes.

Less is more: A clean, simple image goes farther and has more uses than a branded, watermarked or logo’d image. Straightforward images allow an editor to interpret a silhouette or piece on their own and may offer more editorial opportunities. Over branding shots can pigeonhole and categorize a designer.

Update accordingly: Keep your product shots up-to-date! Not only does your publicist need product shots on a consistent basis, so do your buyers and customers visiting your website.

Taking the time to invest in product shot photography from the get-go, will save you time and money on the backside. As soon as you identify what you do best and what should be left to others, you are in business.

About Shannon

Shannon Estrada has been a publicist for too many years to count. She is a lover of all things fashion and a partner/co-owner of Pitch! Press. To get more information on Shannon, check out pitchpress

(image: Uneasy by Andromeda Mendoza)

• dramatis personae - Trashy Diva did it again.
• Dress Like a Celebrity - I Want to Dress Like a Celebrity - Kate Beckinsale
• Independent Fashion Bloggers - How to Make Money with Affiliate Programs
• Little Black Book - Rock up your wardrobe
• Mademoiselle Robot - Becoming… Wonder Woman
• Or False Glitter - Latex, lace, and toilet art
• PR COUTURE - Plus Size Fashion PR Request for Fashion Week Documentary
• Quail By Mail - She will wear Shweshwe
• Retro Chick - Take a Bow…..
• SwanDiamondRose - Image love ~ the prettiest clutter
• THE COVETED - Cutting Edges : An Interview with Alithia Spuri-Zampetti

Sarah was inspired to create the documentary after realizing that “as a plus size woman it is up to me to take charge of my image and show the fashion industry, and I, and other plus-size women refuse to stay in the background. I want to be a voice for women who love fashion but feel insecure about fitting into it for whatever reason.”

Sarah is looking for plus size fashion companies, accessories, shoes and make-up etc who are interested in participating in her venture through product sponsorships. Products will be featured in the documentary, all related promotion and may be chosen to be worn by Sarah as she covers FW for Coutorture. In additition, PR Couture will run the documentary and provide blog coverage  to those companies or PR agencies that help support Sarah in her work.

Send all inquiries to styleitonline[at]gmail.com

Styleaholics is looking for a few good indie fashion celebrity entertainment bloggers with a strong personal style and voice to cover events in New York, Los Angeles and London. Submit writing samples, including links to all current work, photo and video if available to Sigourney[at]styleaholics.com

If you live elsewhere, Fashhh is lookin for a few aspiring fashion writers to contribute to their site

Trend cycles - Are social networks like the fashion industry?

THREAD show San Diego celebrates their 5th anniversary with a new venue, DJs, an art show, a media lounge and an URB Magazine pool party with hosted drinks and giveaway!

Mashable reviews Sparkle*Shelf, a new online community focused on beauty and fashion, featuing original editorial content and user generated product reviews, Q&A, photos and more.

Ruby Press, one of PR Couture’s favorite boutique PR agencies is hiring for a part-time intern at their Berkeley, CA location.

Ruby Press is seeking a mature, professional intern who is interested in learning multiple aspects of the industry. The position is part time, three days per week. This is a great opportunity for an energetic, confident individual seeking an entry-level position in a public relations firm specializing in fashion, beauty and lifestyle clients. This is an unpaid internship lasting six months.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Assist dynamic, highly motivated team at a boutique P.R. agency specializing in fashion, beauty and lifestyle. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Daily telephone/email contact with local and national press and vendors
• Maintain press contact database and client files
• Track press coverage and manage monthly press credits report
• Assist in distribution of press releases and client press kits/lookbooks
• Assist with research
• Assist with planning, production and execution of local PR events
• Managing VIP lists
• Assist with research
• Assisting with sample returns
• Updating database
• Mailings

For more information, check out the Fashion PR Job Board

• couturee yourself - Get Nicole Ritchie’s Look For Less
• dramatis personae - In my early 20s, I was a bit of a club ho: weekdays out drankin’ and posin’ until 3-4 a.m….
• Dress Me Up Dollie - Fall Wish List
• Fashion Journalist in the City - Models who blog: Meet newcomer Laurel Stovall
• Independent Fashion Bloggers - Interview with a Boutique Hunter
• la boudoir - Mer for Me
• MASH-World - Three good reasons to look forward to Autumn…..
• MyProfessionalStyle.com - Top Five Reasons Why The Juniors Department is NOT for You
• PR COUTURE - PR Couture gets the inside scoop on Jack + Bill “Wild Card” winners Badgley/Sneed and other winners of free fashion PR
• Retro Chick - Vintage Clothing & Retro Style - Dream outfits for the ultimate in Wedding Guest style
• So Stylish So Sassy - Oxford Peeptoes for less!
• SwanDiamondRose - Black is ground zero for fashion cliches.
• THE COVETED - ‘Anime Eyes’ contact lenses, kinda creepy, kinda cool…
• The Ongoing Project - Go shopping in your own closet

Written by PR Couture contributor Kristin Ann Janishefski

Summer is almost over, and fall fashion checklists must be made. My must-haves generally get designated into three categories. Completely unattainable, marginally attainable (like, if I eat carrots for a month til I turn orange) and modify the budget attainable (like, give up your hair appointment and you just might be able to get it.)

Wait? Give up my hair appointment. Hell no!

Because lets face it, you can have a fierce new outfit, but if the locks are looking more like fried frizz puffs than the shiny mane event, what is the point, really?

I will go to all lengths - from piling it on top of my head to braiding to twisting to curling to flat ironing, in order to make sure that my lovely do is looking perfectly did before I go out into the world. You may think of this as high maintenance, but it is what it is ladies, it is what it is.

If you are anything like me and sometimes find yourself watching runway shows and paying more attention to the works of art atop a models head than her designer duds, or are the girl on the street stopping people to to admire their cut/style/color/up-do/creative new twist on the Beckham bob…well I have the contest for you!

Brickfish and TRESemme have partnered up to give you the chance to win your very own Christian Siriano (winner of Project Runway’s season 4) custom designed fashion piece. All you have to do is capture your wildest and fiercest hair style on camera. The grand prize winner will also receive a two-night, all-expenses paid trip for two to the fashion capital of the world - New York City! You and your guest will also meet with the TRESemme Project Runway styling team to get a fierce new hairstyle to match your haute new outfit.

Scissors, check, mousse, check, hair spray, check, backcomb, check, over-use of the term fierce…check. Now ready aim shoot that sexy new style for the love of fashion!
More information and submission guidelines

TARA, Ink.

TARA, Ink.’s Luxury, Fashion and Beauty division welcomes the following clients:

•    BLACK DIAMONDS by Itay Malkin – for national and regional representation of Itay Malkin and his fine jewelry line, BLACK DIAMONDS, recently featured in Sex And The City, the movie

•    GUESS? – for regional representation and opening of the new Miami Beach, FL location

•    Betty Bangs – for regional and national representation for this rock ‘n roll chic swimsuit brand

About TARA, Ink.
TARA, Ink. is a full-service, bilingual public relations, creative marketing and special events firm with offices in Miami Beach and Los Angeles. Its principals are Tara Solomon and Nick D’Annunzio. TARA, Ink.’s East Coast office is located at 1666 Kennedy Causeway, Suite 703, Miami Beach, FL 33141; the West Coast office is located at 346 North Crescent Heights Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048. For more information, please contact Stacey Renée Benedetti at 305.864.3434 x 140 or stacey@taraink.com.

Jack + Bill, Porter Novelli’s pop up fashion PR agency, has finally announced the results from its casting call! Last month, the agency staged a two-day open audition for New York’s next big fashion stars, promising the winners free representation leading up to Fashion Week.

For Jewelry Design, J+B picked DANNIJO, a line created by sisters Danielle and Jodie Snyder (top left). AIRA has been chosen as Women’s Apparel Designer (top right), Kalyn Johnson has been named Fashion Stylist (bottom right), and Christopher Fawcett is J+B’s hot pick for Model (center).

Attendees at the casting call competed in one of the four categories mentioned above. And in a surprising development, J+B created a fifth “Wild Card” category, and announced Badgley/Sneed Designs as an additional client. Badgley/Sneed Designs is a new jewelry line created by Gossip Girls’ star Penn Badgley’s mother, Lynne, and godmother, Jan Sneed. As has been widely reported in the press (Jack + Bill landed People and a sound byte on E! News to name a few), co-stars Penn and Blake Lively accompanied the Badgley/Sneed duo to the casting call. After presenting the jewelry line to J+B, the four special guests posed for pictures and spoke to media.

From left: Penn & Lynne Badgley, Blake Lively, Jan Sneed

Alyson Campbell, partner at J+B, explained the agency’s decision to bring in a “Wild Card” winner: “There were so many talented individuals. We thought, let’s give exposure to more people.” But isn’t J+B concerned about possible criticism of its celebrity client, given its mission to represent emerging designers?

Alyson responded that the agency is not worried at all. “Penn’s name is attached but not in the jewelry. Their line is so new,” she said. “We took them on because they have celebrity connections but also because they are emerging themselves.”

Alyson added that August will be a busy month as J+B as staff sit down with their new clients and plan their PR campaigns. The agency’s services to the winners end on September 5th. J+B plans to throw a rap party at the end of Fashion Week to celebrate its clients’ achievements. For more information on its new clients, including videos from the casting, visit J + B’s blog

PR Couture loves a good up-and-coming fashion designer success story, so we are excited that My It Things has chosen three talented designerss finalists (out of 300 applicants!) for their “It” designer competition - Chicago’s Nora delBusto NYC’s Wakana Koike and Las Vegas’ Adolfo Sanchez . These designers will be awarded $1500 to work on their looks for a Spring 2009 collection and each and show their work in a New York City runway show on October 15th.

The “It” Designer Contest, which invited up-and-coming designers to submit five of their best designs, launched on May 12, 2008. Each designer submitted five of their best looks, which were displayed on MyItThings.com through July 15. These looks received nearly 100,000 votes from site’s community of trendsetters and as well as the all-star panelist of judges including “Project Runway” alum Malan Breton, Life & Style’s former Editor-in-Chief Sheryl Berk, C Magazine’s Nathan Cooper, Designer Keith Lissner, Design Expert Greg Littley, Style Expert Hitha Prabhakar and MyItThings’ Yuli Ziv.

A runway show styled by New York’s Sassoon Salon will be conducted on Oct. 15 in NYC, where the finalists will display their work in a professional runway show. Before the event, designer Kathlin Argiro will host the finalists in her studio and showroom in New York and serve as their mentor. The final winner will be chosen by a combined vote, which is 50 percent by the MyItThings.com community and 50 percent by the panel of celebrity judges. The winner of The Next It Fashion Designer will receive a $5,000 Grand Prize, as well as exclusive collection sale on MyItThings.com.

In true social web fashion, the designers efforts will be documented on the MyItThings.com social platform through blogs, videos and pictures in order for fans to keep up with their favorite designers’ efforts. Check out MyItThings for an insider look into putting together a collection for FW and stay tuned for the winner!