Fashion - dead, or merely resting?

By Alison Garner

  

My confession: I rather miss fashion trends. Fashion in the 'proper' sense that is - when some mysterious force, somewhere, told you just what to wear.

Like in the 60s, when mods, rockers, and hippies spawned fashion combinations of mini skirts and tie-dye garments of every kind. 

Or the early 70s, when if you were female, then at some point you'd have found yourself in hot pants. These were the days when, for both sexes, only trousers, collars and lapels that required whopping amounts of material would do. And unless you were in mild peril (whack that up to extreme on steps) due to the height of your platform shoes, then you'd probably have been ignored by your peers.

And when the 80s all went a bit Flashdance, it was easy to spot the in-crowd with their leg-warmers and ripped sweatshirts, flammable shellsuits or massive shoulder pads, while lots of girls in the 90s kept themselves busy choosing their favourite Spice Girl and dressing accordingly.

Maybe - the unisex, ubiquitous hoodie aside - fashion no longer means a uniform for the masses. Today individualism rules - extreme, a la Lady Gaga, or just with a few pointers from those in the know -who use phrases like 'colour blocking' and 'clashing prints'.

Individual expression has to be good - as Mae West said, "It's always better to be looked over than over-looked."  

But I wonder, now that the fashion police are off-duty, will today's youngsters be able to reminisce fondly about styles gone by? Will they have to keep their practical clothes forever because they haven't 'gone out of fashion'? And on a more serious note, what clues to the way we live now are we leaving behind for historians?

Don't ask me; I'm busy 'mixing high street and designer trends' - by order of the style mavens.

Rain, rain, go away

By Tim Richardson

This year, all eyes are on July 15 - otherwise known as St Swithin’s Day. For those who don’t know, July 15 has it’s own nursery rhyme that is of particular interest in light of the monsoon-like conditions the UK has experience for the last couple of months.

St. Swithin's day, if thou dost rain,

For forty days it will remain.

St. Swithin's day, if thou be fair,

For forty days 'twill rain na mair.

Or in other words, if it rains on July 15, it’s gonna rain for the rest of the summer. If it doesn’t, it’s time to head to the beach. Quaint superstitious nonsense – yes – but with the weather we’ve had so far it I will happily cling to the shortest of straws as I get washed away in the floods.

Which got me thinking. What about this one:

Doctor Foster went to Glo’cester,

In a shower of rain;

He stepped in a puddle,

Right up to his middle,

And never went there again.

Wise words, even if this is a child’s nursery rhyme. Perhaps it could be updated to have a modern day twist. Something along the lines of…

Hippy Mary went to Glast’bury

In a shower of rain;

She stepped in a puddle

Right up to her middle

And loved it so much she went ‘again, again!’

Ok, so a poet I am not. Here’s the last one. Yes, it is weather-related but that’s not why I chose it. Nope, it’s a proofing exercise. 

Whether the weather be fine,

Or whether the weather be not,

Whether the weather be cold,

Or whether the weather be hot,

We'll whether the weather

Whatever the weather,

Whether we like it or not!

Or to put it another way, keep dry and carry on.

Caught out for not practicing what I preach

By Michael Wadley

Recently my colleague Tim Richardson wrote a blog about the perils of knowing when to keep schtum and being overheard (sssshhhh!…you never know who’s listening).

In his blog, Tim gives a few real-life examples of people saying the wrong things in the wrong place.

As part of our media training, we provide some slightly more gruesome anecdotes to keep people alive to the fact that it can happen to anyone at any time.

Well last week it happened to me.

Attending an industry convention in a large London hotel, I had a few minutes to myself to check on emails and listen to voicemails. The event itself involved live presentations and so during the break, I sat quietly and unassumedly at the back of the technical area.

I didn’t realise that a remote microphone had been left switched on about a yard from where I perched. And yes, it was connected to the loudspeakers around the presentation suite…where the ensemble speakers and delegates were tucking into lunch.

I made a phone call. One which I later discovered, was listened in to by everybody present.

Oh dear.

But I had a lucky break.

Because fortunately my call wasn’t to book a massage with Helga or order a suitcase full of ketamine pills, or even to have a profanity-laced whine about life with work colleagues

It was a dull-as-you-like, 25 second conversation with my best friend about tickets for a one day cricket match.

Owizee?

Walking, head down, back to the pavilion. Lesson learned. That’s how.

Contracts for services, contracts of service.... Can’t we keep it simple?

By Mara Thorne  
M Thorne Consulting Ltd

So Fides Media has taken the plunge and put Ali Clarke on the payroll. Brilliant move! But wouldn’t it have been simpler to retain her on a freelance basis?

In an ever more complex world, we yearn for simplicity. Many businesses think hiring employees is complicated and onerous, so they use freelance contractors. Just find a self-employed person with the right skills, agree a price, shake hands, and write a cheque at the end of the project. No need for contracts, PAYE, NICs, and all that malarkey, right?

Wrong. There are plenty of pitfalls for the unwary business making use of freelancers.

For a start, a self-employed person has to cover their own tax and NICs, and make a living, so if they’re any good they’re likely to be more expensive than an equivalent employee.

If they’re good they’ll be in demand, so next time you need them in a hurry, if they’ve got a more lucrative project on the go, you may have to join the queue.

And you really do need a written service agreement for freelancers, to protect your intellectual property, avoid tax liabilities, and even prevent industrial espionage. A freelancer can work with anybody they please, including your biggest competitor. At best, that could lead to a conflict of interests; at worst, they could give away all your trade secrets...

If their laptop gets stolen, along with all your client work, you’ll want to be sure they’ve got insurance and backup systems in place. And if they’re in contact with your customers, you’d better be able to stop them offering their services direct and cutting you out of the equation.

There’s even the risk that your freelancer may be deemed by the powers that be to have employee status: if they spend most or all of their time working for you, if they use your equipment, if you exercise significant control over their work, and if you don’t want them sending a substitute. And that’s bad news, because the taxman may come after you for unpaid tax, and your “freelancer” may be able to claim employment rights to unfair dismissal compensation, holiday pay etc.

It would be nice if life were simple. But it’s not, so think carefully before sealing the deal with anybody on the basis of a handshake alone.