Clothes Conscious: Two new books take a peek beneath the fluff of fashion

Like a candy bowl for the coffee table, "fashion book" usually implies "picture book," featuring models as glossy and dazzling as a Butterscotch Disk.Two new fashion books enhance flavor with nourishment. In "You Are What You Wear: What Your Clothes Reveal About You," clinical psychologist Jennifer Baumgartner gets past empty calories to explore how outer appearance can betray inner conflict. And "Women From the Ankle Down: The Story of Shoes and How They Define Us" unlaces the history of some women's obsession with shoes.
"When you look at a wardrobe, instead of fabrics and buttons, you can look at all these as components of self," said Baumgartner, who also runs a wardrobe consulting business, InsideOut, separate from her psychology practice in theWashington, D.C., area. "When you ask a client why she dresses how she does, it's more than whether she likes it. It's what does your family believe about stuff and spending? What do you believe about what the right body looks like? ... I don't engage in therapy with wardrobe consulting clients. But when I'm acting as a psychologist, we do look at dress."It's common knowledge that observers make snap judgments, within three seconds, based on someone's appearance. But Baumgartner's work isn't just about dressing to impress.
There's increasing evidence that how a person dresses can influence - not just reflect - the wearer's own psychological processes.One recent study on "enclothed cognition" - the effects of clothing on cognition - looked at the effect of wearing a lab coat on cognitive performance. In the study, conducted at Northwestern University and published on the website of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, wearing a lab coat improved study participants' performance on an attention task. In a second part, performance improved if participants were told the lab coat they were wearing was a doctor's coat. If they were told it was a painter's coat, their performance did not improve.
"Part of our initial discussion is to note clients' physical appearance when they first come in. ... If their dress has changed or they're failing to take care of their hygiene, it's a clinical indicator that something might be going on."Baumgartner pursued her doctoral degree in clinical psychology while working on the sales floor at Ralph Lauren to pay the bills."The two kind of came together. Women had meltdowns in the dressing room, but it had nothing to do with clothing. What else was it? Obviously there was a lot more there than the clothes."

Penelope Cruz Shows Off Two Stylish Dresses In One Day In NYC

The gorgeous brunette made her rounds in NYC to promote her latest flick 'To Rome With Love" and donned TWO different dresses in just one day! — which look did you like best?Penelope Cruz certainly knows a thing or two about fashion and did not disappoint with her outfit choices in NYC Jun. 20.Penelope first showed up to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in an emerald-green L'Wren Scott Fall 2012 dress. The wrap dress was embellished with gold embroidery along the sleeves and under the bustline. She accessorized the gorgeous get-up with nude Charlotte Olympia pumps. She looked so appropriate and chic for the appearance, and the color worked so well on her!
The stunning actress was then seen hitting the red carpet for a special screening of her latest film, To Rome With Love in a dress that was way sexier. Her burgundy off-the-shoulder Emilio Pucci Pre-Fall 2012 frock had her looking phenomenal. The lace dress with sheer lace sleeves was embellished with crystals and beads. Satin peep-toe pumps and a clutch finished off the ensemble.Govt to launch subsidy program for energy-efficient lighting products.While Penelope looked fabulous in both looks, the lace dress that showed off her incredible figure certainly has my vote! It looks like the dress was made for her!Though airport staffers were able to locate the dress, "it came right before the premiere … I didn’t have time to have it altered," Conrad says. "It was such a bummer because it was a beautiful dress that ended up not fitting quite right."
Since that incident, however, Conrad has streamlined her packing process — even though she still considers herself a "horrible" packer. "I always pack the night before, so I always forget things," she says. "So now, I always have one bag that I keep that’s packed with [travel-size] essentials. It’s filled with everything, from safety pins to Tide sticks and Band-Aids. I just have it ready for me so I can just throw it in my bag at any time." Whatever the reason for KStew's interesting wardrobe choice, the timing was spooky. Rob's better half was photographed in Sydney wearing her copycat version of RPattz's "sleek maroon Gucci suit... nearly two years to the day" after the Twilight Eclipse première. Was it coincidental? Or are she and RPattz somehow telepathically linked like Edward and Bella in New Moon, and instead of saving her from danger, he instructs her to mess with the media's minds by mimicking his heart-throb persona.

Jersey Shore star dresses her baby bump in a gaudy sequinned T-shirt dress

She may be six months pregnant, but Snooki is certainly not compromising on her trademark style.In fact, the Jersey Shore star's choice of outfit was as gaudy and revealing as ever as she ran errands in Seaside Heights earlier today.The 24-year-old reality star stepped out in a short black T-shirt dress which featured gold and silver sequinned sleeves, a picture of Marilyn Monroe and the words 'SWAG' emblazoned on it.The star's familiar baseball cap and animal print mule shoes completed the look.Snooki clutched a teddy bear as she joined cast-mates JWoww and Pauly D for a stroll.
And she looked positively outlandish in her striking ensemble, in comparison to her cast mates, who sported casual outfits.JWoww did however, show off the bright pink tips on her long brown hair as she strolled along in grey tracksuit bottoms and a pink T-shirt.Snooki revealed last month that she is expecting a baby boy with boyfriend Jionni - and said she's hoping to name him Lorenzo.And while she's spoken very openly about her relationship with Jionni and her preparation for motherhood, she says little 'Enzo's birth will not be televised.'When I get married, yeah, we could work out something to film the ceremony for the show,' says the pint-sized star.
'But having the baby and all that, no. Some things are private.'Snooki is also hoping her friend JWoww will get pregnant sooner rather than later.'I don't want to have play dates with any celebs - I'm a normal person, so probably just my family and friends that have kids,' she told Us Weekly. 'I'm waiting for her to get knocked up!'Meanwhile, filming continued for the forthcoming season of Jersey Shore with The Situation showing just where he got his trademark abs by taking part in a workout.The star, real name Mike Sorrentino, looked extremely focussed as he worked out with a trainer on the Jersey Shore house balcony.He then looked proudly down at the results of his toned torso, while the cameras captured every second for the new series of the MTV show.Sorrentino was fresh from his double date with housemate Deena which took place yesterday.The pair were each spotted with a mystery partner holding hands on the local boardwalk.While The Situation worked out, the rest of the male cast headed out together, with Vinny and Pauley D showing off their heavily tattooed arms.Pauly D later looked cheerful as he began his shift at the T-shirt stand.But JWoww looked to be leaving for a brief break as she left the house with a suitcase in tow.

Govt to launch subsidy program for energy-efficient lighting products

China's lighting suppliers producing light-emitting diodes (LED) and energy-saving products are expected to receive a huge subsidy, which experts said Sunday will speed up the industry's consolidation.The central government is set to unveil a subsidy program worth 2.2 billion yuan ($346 million) in early July to promote the use of energy-saving lamps and LED lighting, China Business Journal reported over the weekend, quoting insiders in the lighting industry.
The subsidy for the lighting industry is part of a national subsidy plan involving 26.5 billion yuan in total for consumption of household electrical appliances, aimed at expanding domestic demand and boosting energy conservation. The plan was disclosed by the State Council on May 16."Such a large subsidy will speed up the consolidation of the lighting industry, while some small and medium-sized LED companies will be possibly forced to shut down," said Wang Hong, director of the Engineering Research Center for Semiconductor Lighting at South China University of Technology.
Wang noted that large lighting producers with advanced technology in LED and energy conservation will benefit the most from the supportive program, because prices of energy-saving lamps will be lowered with the subsidies, which will enhance their competitiveness.Expansion Proves Highly Successful in Latin America.According to the 12th five-year plan (2011-15) for the semiconductor lighting sector released by the Ministry of Science and Technology in May, the value of LED lighting industry will reach 500 billion yuan by 2015, and the authorities will foster the development of a few large companies with core technologies. By 2015, there will be a maximum of 30 leading LED companies in the country.
The Guangzhou-based Information Times newspaper reported earlier this month that the country now has over 8,000 LED companies, with many small and medium-sized companies on the verge of closure due to intensified competition."Though the subsidies will help cut the prices of LED lamps, I don't think the sales will rise on the whole, due to severe overcapacity in the sector," said Huang Feng, a salesman at the Shanghai Hufan Lamps Co.

Expansion Proves Highly Successful in Latin America

MEGAMAN, which leads the way in energy-efficient lighting, is pleased to announce the success of its Latin American operations, with sales in the first quarter of 2012 equaling those for the whole of 2011.Fred Bass, Managing Director of Neonlite International Ltd, the brand owners of MEGAMAN, commented: "We took the step of opening an office in Bogota, Colombia at the beginning of 2011 and also introduced local assembly and the testing of products. Headed up Esteban Tapias, Gerente General, Neonlite Americas SAS, the move into Latin America has proved highly successful, with sales for the first quarter of 2012 equaling those for the whole of 2011.
"South America seems to have been less impacted by the global economic slowdown than Europe, or the US and the up and coming World Cup and Olympics and the proliferation of Western style retail outlets, now make it a prime market for us. With Argentina already banning the incandescent lamp and commercial interior design across Latin America harnessing the economic and environmental power of LEDs, we are experiencing significant growth throughout the region."
"As in Europe, the long-term financial and environmental benefits of LEDs are creating real interest amongst specifiers, installers and end users alike and our work for the rest of 2012 is focused around demonstrating the full range of capabilities of LED lamp technology to these audiences. Our MEGAMAN LED AR111 range, which has a similar footprint to the halogen AR111, is proving very popular, as is the company's LED Classic range of energy efficient lamp solutions."
MEGAMAN is a global brand in high-performance, energy-efficient lighting and an innovative leader in LED and CFL design, with technology targeting the best eco-lighting solutions. MEGAMAN products are widely distributed throughout the world, including Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and South America, covering more than 90 countries. By setting environmental management as one of the company's highest priorities, MEGAMAN is focusing on eco-friendly environmental processes from initial design, to manufacturing, research and development, and the disposal and recycling of its products.

All of the indoor LED retrofits were 1:1 replacements for existing bulbs

As with the outdoor area, all of the indoor LED retrofits were 1:1 replacements for existing bulbs. But when it comes to the bottom line, Young stated "The unspoken thing we are very excited about is the maintenance and labor savings." He described how scaffolding had to be constructed once a year from the basement level to the second floor to replace the twelve 90W bulbs in the atrium area (Fig. 3), a task that was performed on the weekends. The company replaced the bulbs with 20W LED PAR38 lamps that are rated for 50,000 hours, which could allow the company to avoid the use of scaffolding for up to seven years.The GL350's performance is poor even by OLED standards.Veit explained that the calculation of maintenance savings was a combined effort between Marriott and GE Lighting personnel. "They were able to look at invoices from their contractors to calculate the yearly spend in day to day maintenance and the yearly cost associated with replacing ballasts or lamps when they went bad," he said. "Then we all agreed on what percentage would be saved with the new LED lighting system, because no system requires zero maintenance."
The headquarters has eight floors, which is lined with hallways containing artwork lit by halogen track lighting. GE replaced approximately 1000 65W incandescent bulbs with 7W LED PAR20 lamps in all hallways (Fig. 4). The 58W difference will deliver a nearly $18,000 savings (150,000-kWh) in electricity expense over 261 working days. Veit described the challenge of providing improved lighting in the Marriott auditorium, which has a 12-foot ceiling and had used a combination of halogen lamps, CFL lighting and a dimming system. "The auditorium had insufficient light levels for their needs and they were reluctant to implement traditional LED lighting because of concern over glare with the relatively low ceiling height," said Veit. In addition, while the halogen lights could be dimmed, the CFLs could not. The lighting retrofit was able to utilize the existing dimming system while installing 140 GE 12W LED BR30 lamps with plastic shrouds that control glare. The auditorium now has higher light levels, is fully dimmable and saves $2300 annually in energy cost. In the building's lower level, a combination of 4×4-ft and 1×4-ft fluorescent fixtures were replaced with 72 GE Lumination 2×2-ft recessed LED troffers. When illuminated, the fixtures produce even illumination. While off, they appear free of a light source and provide a soft glow. The replacement produced a dimmable, more elegant and uniform look in the company's lunchroom and day-care area.

Moving Light to the Front Panel With New Flexible Light Pipe

To address machine to human communication, in which light is transferred from LED to the human eye to convey a message, Bivar points to its comprehensive family of flexible light pipes and panel mount assemblies. A leading specialty provider of LED indication products, Bivar offers a variety of off-the-shelf and custom solutions to efficiently move light to the front panel in any number of consumer or industrial end-products. Target markets include security, medical, computing, transportation and communication.
Bringing flexibility to designers, Bivar's indication products take into account a number of key considerations including the distance from LED source to panel, size and brightness, type of material best suited to the application, and indoor versus outdoor conditions. To address tough outdoor conditions, Bivar's new series of IP67 rated panel mount assemblies and flexible light pipes are totally protected against dust and immersion up to 1m.
"We take great pride in working with our customers to understand their needs and provide them with fail-safe solutions that are both practical and cost-effective," said Tom Silber, Bivar president and CEO. "From metal to nylon to IP67 rated products that can withstand rugged conditions, our comprehensive family of flexible light pipes and panel mount assemblies can satisfy even the most difficult design challenge and can be used in just about any application."
Bivar's flexible light pipe family makes routing light through crowded or tight spaces easy and efficient. They are suited for a range of applications, including accent and trim lighting for commercial buildings, commercial aircraft and rail cars; panel and cabinet illumination in industrial environments; automotive ambient lighting and contour illumination; wall wash, alcove and back lighting in architectural environments; and signage and advertisement lighting. The flexible light pipes are available in standard nylon, quick mount flexible nylon and IP67 rated metal. Bivar's panel mount assemblies are designed for a variety of applications from x-ray scanning machines, electrical control panels and instrumental panels, to vending and gaming machines, exercise equipment and outdoor sportsman equipment, to military robots and unmanned aerial vehicles. They are available in standard nylon, quick mount nylon, IP67 rated nylon, standard metal, IP67 rated metal and EMC UL rated metal.

The GL350's performance is poor even by OLED standards

Philips's own Lumiblade PLUS OLED panel achieves 45lm/W, though its output per unit area is only one quarter that of the GL350's. In fact, an efficacy of 16.7lm/W is firmly within incandescent territory, and had international lighting legislation focused more on performance targets than on banning specific technologies, the GL350 might never have emerged. It certainly falls well short of the minimum efficacy of 45lm/W for general-purpose lighting, set to come into effect in 2020 in the US.
Looking through the lens of efficiency, it's hard to justify the claim that the GL350 is the first OLED suitable for general lighting. "I would have still put [OLED] in its innovation stage. It is not stable enough, efficient enough, or low enough cost to become mainstream yet," Macrae told Ars, when asked for his take on the general state of OLED lighting today. "Our brand specifically would not adopt a technology until it can outperform the existing technology on a number of levels," he added, speaking with his Thorn Lighting hat on. "I think energy efficiency has to be balanced with sustainability, where OLED will have benefits, but also on cost, useful light, and on practicality.LED supplied by Toshiba to light up Louvre.Compared to LED and to fluorescent, OLED technology is simply not efficient enough for our customers, but there will be early adopters who see other values, making it worthwhile."
Having said that, Macrae shares the industry's broader optimism for the possibilities OLED technology presents, which we reported on last year. "The technology could allow the window glass to be lit, the walls too, the ceiling even, but as complete surfaces or decorative panels," he said. "It should push the market away from the ceiling-mounted regular arrays of luminaries we currently see." Though Macrae points out that for such developments to occur, some innovations in power supply are necessary.If the future of OLED lighting really is glowing walls and ceilings, then Philips would appear to be barking up the wrong tree by producing small, bright panels that compete for the same market niche as traditional light sources. Though the GL350 is doubtless a noteworthy evolutionary step in the development of OLED lighting, it is larger, lower output surfaces we're waiting for (and besides, LEDs have the small-bright thing covered).
Whatever form OLED lighting eventually takes, more efficiency is required. Philips is optimistic. "Moving forward, we expect efficacy of our Lumiblade OLED panels in our decorative line to reach 35 lm/W by 2018," a Philips spokesman told Ars. "For our Lumiblade OLED performance line we expect to attain an efficacy level of 130 lm/W by 2018." (It's interesting that by this metric, Philips would seem to be positioning the GL350 as decorative rather than general purpose lighting.)