Those of us in the fashion industry tend to forget there’s a whole country in between New York and L.A., and many who may never have attended a fashion show in their life, but still have style and taste. While we’re reading WWD and obsessing over whether our cut of jeans is in or not, they’re going about their everyday business, and if they’re young, hip and inventive, they’re creating street fashions that well-known designers will eventually latch onto and adopt for the runway. Now that fashion has become a spectator sport due to TV shows like “Project Runway” and “Ugly Betty” and books and movies like “The Devil Wears Prada,” the rest of the nation is no longer content to sit back and let a handful of people on both coasts dictate what they will or will not wear. Hence the proliferation of Fashion Week in every city in the U.S. with a population of more than 500,000.

One of the more interesting of these Fashion Weeks is a relative newcomer; Detroit Fashion Week is in its fifth year now, and these shows are annual, not biannual like the bigger Fashion Weeks. Detroit may not be the first city that comes to mind when you think of a fashion show, but it has a long history of style, and Motown left its imprint on fashion in a big way in the 1960s and 1970s, an influence that’s still being felt today.

Detroit Fashion Week

Detroit-based fashion photographer Brian Heath conceived Detroit Fashion Week in the hopes of creating a serious fashion industry in the city that’s possibly been hardest hit by recession in the country. Detroit Fashion Week has employed a number of skilled designers, stylists, makeup artists, models, photographers and publicity people, and their youthful optimism and energy could be just what Michiganders need to regain their confidence. It’s kind of like when you’re depressed and your mother tells you, “Put a little lipstick on and you’ll feel better!” It may not solve the whole problem but it’s a start!

Detroit Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2009 will be held from Sept. 27 through Oct. 3, 2008, with most of the events being held at Campus Martius Park. One of the designers to look out for is Lasijas Miller, a 25-year-old male Detroit native who designs under the label Nethade. Miller, who also works as a fashion stylist and as such is familiar with the myriad and competing needs of performers, is a versatile designer who does sportswear, menswear and couture with equal composure.

My favorites of the looks at his 2008 fashion show were the evening gowns, which included a brown mermaid shaped gown with velvet bodice, embroidered skirt and tulle ruffles at the hem and collar (it may sound busy but was fiercely sophisticated), a silver metallic asymmetrical gown with black ribbon accents, and a black jersey halter gown with ruched satin bodice. Keep your eyes out for Lasijas Miller in years to come. If I were attending the Oscars and needed something for the red carpet, he’d be one of the first people I would call.

Learn how loafers developed from the Native American mocassin shoe design.

Many styles of modern footwear evolved from ancient or primitive footwear designs. The loafer, for example, which has been a popular casual-dress shoe since the 1930s, actually evolved from the Native American shoe called the moccasin. The moccasin was popular with many tribes in the United States because it allowed the wearer to feel the texture of the ground while at the same time protecting their feet from sharp or coarse terrain, as well as from extremely hot or cold ground temperatures. The word “moccasin” was derived from the Algonquian word makasin, which simply means, shoe made from deer skin.

The Birth of the Loafer
While the design of the modern loafer is modeled after the Native American moccasin, the first loafers were actually based on pictures published in 1932 or 1933 in Esquire of a Norwegian slip-on shoe worn by a dairy farmer. These pictures inspired the Spaulding family, who had ties to the leather and lumber industry, to create a slip-on shoe called a “Pony.” By 1934 a bootmaker from Maine named John R. Bass modified the slip-on design to include a strap that crossed the vamp and that was capable of holding a coin. This was the birth of the Penny Loafer. However, instead of a penny, a dime was usually carried in the woman’s loafer so that she could call home if her date got too fresh.

The Fashion of Loafers

Loafers were such a versatile and comfortable shoe that they were worn by both sexes as both a casual and a dress shoe. Women’s loafer styles tended to revolve around the basic penny loafer design, however, tassel-topped loafers also were fashionable for women. When women wore loafers they were usually paired with knee socks, especially during the 1950s and ’60s.

Men tended to wear tassel-topped loafers instead of penny loafers. College men during the ’60s and ’70s tended to wear loafers without socks, especially when tramping on campus, when going out dancing or just wearing them with a pair of jeans. The tassel-top loafer eventually became a fashion symbol for the legal profession when they became a staple for lawyers’ wardrobes. In this case, a dark dress sock was paired with the loafer.

Our beloved Lynn has been working with us at Zappos since 2005, but that is only a fraction of the amount of time she has been studying for her degree. With working full time and other life intrusions, it has taken Lynn 10 years to get her bachelors degree in social work. We at Zappos are so very proud of her. After all, she is a part of our family, and families know how to celebrate!

Thursday we surprised her with a couple of gifts and cards letting her know how proud of her we are and how wonderful a person she is. Here is the short interview we did later in the evening:

Q: Now that you are done with school…. are you going to keep partying or will you settle down?

A: I’m never going to settle down, I will party to the grave!

Q: If you were going to do a psychological study of your fellow employees, what would you focus on?

A: All your childhoods, to see why you are all so crazy!

Q: What is your favorite color and what does that color stand for?

A: Blue. It is cool, calming, universal and peaceful.

Q: What type of social work are you currently involved in?

A: I work with Kentucky Impact through 7 counties services assessing children 6-18 years in their current environments and ongoing daily struggles.

Q: How has what you’ve learned at school helped you with your work at Zappos?

A: School has taught me to always look for the good in people, even in frustrating situations it has helped me be more tolerant of others.

Q: If you knew it was going to take 10 years, would you do it all again?

A: Yes – it is what I have always wanted to do.

Q: What will you do with all your free time now that you won’t have to go to school and work around the clock?

A: Catch up on sitcoms…..relax!

In conclusion, Lynn, YOU ARE AWESOME, and we all love you!!