RE/MAX scored a major legal victory earlier this fall when a federal judge ruled against an independent Texas brokerage for using red-over-white-over-blue yard signs that look too much like the trademarked RE/MAX design.

The decision resolved the biggest question in a two-year trademark suit brought by RE/MAX International against Trend Setter Realty, a 700-agent brokerage in Houston and San Antonio. The court held that Trend Setter’s sign is trademark infringement under both federal and Texas law.

“In addition to the victory in this case, the judge’s ruling will serve as a very important precedent for us to use against future infringements of our red-over-white-over-blue bar design,” says RE/MAX Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Geoff Lewis. “We made many attempts to get Trend Setter to settle with us and to change their sign before the case proceeded too far, but they refused.”

As part of its argument on the trademark issue, RE/MAX International commissioned a consumer survey to determine if the Trend Setter sign was confusing to the public. Some 225 adults were shown a photo of a Trend Setter sign and then asked whose sign it was, or who the company was affiliated with. More than a quarter of the participants associated the sign with RE/MAX.

In its ruling, the court quoted several survey respondents who, when asked why the tied the sign to RE/MAX, said, “Because it’s their sign; they are the only ones that I know of that have this color of sign,” and “It looks exactly like a RE/MAX sign.” This occurred despite the fact that Trend Setter’s sign contains no balloon and has a white bar modified into the shape of a roofline.

“This is more than just a victory for our brand,” said RE/MAX of Texas CEO Richard Filip. “This is a validation of the years of quality service, professionalism and integrity that RE/MAX agents have worked hard to provide to clients worldwide. The brand represents every RE/MAX agent and their efforts. They are the ones who built it into the powerful symbol it is today.”

The court rejected claims that the RE/MAX bar design is generic. It also cited the network’s diligence in policing its marks, noting that strict enforcement of Trademark & Graphic Standards significantly strengthens RE/MAX ownership of its brand and marks.

TrendSetter forced to change their signs due to similarity to RE/MAX

Quando eu estava no Ensino Médio ( ainda era 2º grau) lembro muito da minha irmã com as suas botas cowboy caminhando pelos corredores do colégio. Era difícil de encontrar modelos do tipo em Porto Alegre, só em lojas de motoqueiros, tipo Harley Davidson.

Na época, ninguém, mas absolutamente ninguém da escola usava essas botas. Então, era uma horda de pessoas com tênis Reebook branco chamando ela de pistoleira pelos corredores, principalmente pelas meninas mais patricinhas.
O melhor é que ela não tava nem aí e ainda dizia: “deixa elas verem isso num desfile de moda que vão querer copiar igual”. A Fernanda sempre foi trend setter. Atualmente, essas mesmas meninas devem ter um ou mais pares de botas estilo cowboy nos seus armários.

E isso me faz pensar qual a mágica que acontece para que as pessoas realmente fiquem maravilhadas com uma roupa ou uma nova tendência a ponto de desejar comprá-la e adaptá-la ao seu dia-a-dia. É um processo mental muito rápido e que (certamente!) começa de forma inconsciente.

Tantas e tantas referências de uma tendência ao redor: começa com o desfile de moda, depois a celebridade usa, logo está nas revistas, as vitrines mais chiques expõem e, um pouco depois, as mais acessíveis. Pronto, de repente a pessoa se pega com vontade de usar uma coisa e nem sabe mesmo o por quê. Mas magicamente, vai lá na loja e encontra exatamente aquilo que queria.
Claro que não é mágica, mas sim um processo minusciosamente pensado pela indústria da moda para que a gente tenha vontade de usar um tecido, uma cor, um corte. O que mais me intriga é como é que eles sempre conseguem que a gente caia nesta espécie de armadilha comercial.

Muitas vezes eu caio direitinho.

Mas vibro muito quando acontece o caminho inverso: pessoas reais com sua moda de rua influenciando o mercado. Quando a gente estuda moda, descobre que isso se chama de efeito borbulha  (bubble-up). 
Neste processo, a moda sai das ruas para aparecer nas revistas e nos jornais, que normalmente dão um nome à tendência. Logo, as celebridades passam a usar, o que significa que em breve versões caras irão aparecer em lojas mais exclusivas. Ou seja, todo o mercado tem que se adaptar rapidamente a uma tendência que está bombando tanto que eles não podem mais ignorar.

Kristin with Her Favorite Lunchboxes

Back to school…a time of pain (who wants to leave those lazy unscheduled days of summer!)  And a time of joy…the excitement of seeing friends, agonizing over the ‘first day of school outfit’, and the very exciting Back to School shopping trip! 

In my family, that Back to School shopping extravaganza never amounted to much since I was plagued with a mother who hated to shop, whereas I was one of the only ones in my family that lived to shop (I take after my dad I guess!).  Each year my mom would surrender to our “special day” of school shopping, making sure we hit the stores early and had a check list so there was no dilly-dallying.

Wade Going Back to Preschool

I was always front and center, with list in hand, and at the top of my list every year was the all-important NEW LUNCH BOX!  Of course every year there was the ‘must have’ lunch box…depending on the year it might be The Avengers (Marvel), My Little Ponies (Hasbro) and the ultimate – New Kids On the Block (I LOVED Jordan!)  As the years passed these ‘fashionable’ lunch boxes morphed into ‘cooler’ Igloo Lunch Bags and finally the perennial brown paper bag.  I hung on to my favorites though I kept them hidden away so my friends wouldn’t see them when they’d come over to play.

I still have two of my ‘classic’ lunch boxes – The Avengers and My Little Ponies.  During college I even pulled them out and tried to be a trend setter by using them as a hand bag!  During this year’s Back-to-School period the lunchroom conversation turned to lunchbox memories, and I discovered that I am not the only one who held on to their treasured accessory!  Sarah brought in her Candyland lunchbox for our own version of ‘show and tell’ – gathering a gaggle of excited ‘girls’, anxious to revisit their childhood memories. Here are a few of our other staff’s favorites.

Although these characters of yesteryear have been relegated to the category of ‘vintage’ – the children of today are still eagerly looking forward to the first day of school…and proudly displaying that great new LUNCHBOX!  I can’t wait until I can share in this time-honored tradition! 

What was YOUR favorite lunchbox?   Come on…share!

Fashion Trends for Fall 2009: Women in Their Sixties
Three outfits that will look great for women in their sixties this fall. Check them out; you just might like the look.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/2150423/fashion_trends_for_fall_2009_women.html

So I was trying to come up with an awesomely creative way to relay fall 2009 trends to you, but realized that Piperlime did a much better job (Damn you, Rachel Zoe! Do you have to do everything better than I, *in addition* to wearing Lanvin on the reg?!).

Anyway, here they are. I think I’m doing pretty well as far as most of these go. I could *kick myself* a good 500 times for not purchasing a pair of vintage cowboy boots while in Santa Fe this past May. GRRR. Big FAIL for me on that one. But it’s not too late, I hope. Can anyone recommend a great vintage in Philly where I might be able to snag some?

Always remember: one trend at a time.

I think we’ve all caught onto the plaid trend by now, and I also recently purchased a fantastic indigo boyfriend blazer (with the gold buttons, oh yes!) at…the Gap. It’s pretty exciting. If you had told me 10 years ago when I was in high school (with a black bob, nose ring, and Joan Jett ringer) that I’d be pining after plaid, cowboy boots and Ivy League blazers, I would’ve keeled over. But I am, and I like it. Just make sure you don’t end up looking like an extra from The Quick and the Dead, okay? Always remember: trends are great. Wearing 15 trends at one time: not so great.

Heyyyyyy. I have that too!

I think really the only piece I have yet to buy to fulfill this season’s demands are a pair of *ripped* skinnies. But I have my eye out. Oh yes I do. Perhaps this last treasure is to be snagged during my upcoming (first-time!) Labor Day trip to Boston. TBD. Although you know I have my eye on a few from Free People.

Eeeny. Meeny. Minee. Mo.

So you want a look at the color palette too, do you?

Remember this: muted tones with a splash of bright color. And: NEON!

Always remember: www.fashiontrendsetter.com

Happy trend hunting, ladies!

How can you say NO TO THIS?!

Das erste Projekt der neuen Seite und leider direkt ein Reinfall.
Ich hab mich so gefreut, den Fleckentferner testen zu dürfen, aber leider wurden meine Erwartungen nicht erfüllt. Die Flecken (Kakao und Sonnencreme) sind verblasst, aber gehen nicht raus. Auch nicht nach 30 Minuten Einweichen und anschließendem Waschen. Der Geruch ist sehr chemisch und für mich unangenehm. Sogar der gute Weichspülerduft wird von der Ariel-Chemie verdrängt.

Naja, dafür sind Produkttests ja da. Vielleicht findet einer meiner Mittester das Zeug ja ganz toll.

Juelz Knowles has been busy traveling the world with his mom, Solange and his auntie, Beyonce.  Here is Juelz being a jet setter at a very young age. Yup, Juelz is traveling on a private jet, with a special kids meal from his Japanese friends and guess what Juelz even reads in Japanese. side note: i highly doubt that …he he he

Of course being the jet setter and trend setter that he is; Juelz stopped by his favorite shoe store in Japan to pick up the latest and coolest kicks for school this Fall.  What a lucky kid!!!

Vopsirea unghiilor a fost un obicei popularizat in anii ’20 de catre make-up artist-ul Michelle Menard, insa femeile au fost convinse de avantajele folosirii lacului de unghii abia in anii ’40, odata cu promovarea culorii pe unghii de catre marile vedete hollywoodiene Rita Hayworth, Greta Garbo sau Jean Harlow.

Asortarea lacului de unghii cu rujul a devenit un trend. Ca in cazul oricarui element ce caracterizeaza moda, anii ’80 au transformat vopsirea unghiilor in opulenta: au inceput sa fie folosite unghiile false, iar de aici s-a dezvoltat un asa-zis “curent” al artei unghiilor: aplicarea, modelarea si imprimarea lor cu cele mai extravagante modele. In ultimii ani, ingrijirea unghiilor nu a mai depins de trend, ci a devenit un obicei foarte personal, strict legat de personalitate.

Fie ca preferi manichiura frantuzeasca, acoperind unghia cu un roz dulce, prafuit, fie ca preferi un bordo in stil burlesc, ingrijirea si colorarea unghiilor trebuie sa devina o rutina a frumusetii. De ce sa nu iti exprimi personalitatea in cel mai original mod, mai ales ca ai totul la indemana? In plus, nu va fi nevoie de niciun cuvant pentru a le arata celorlati ce stil abordezi.

Este bine ca in acest sezon sa uiti de culorile banale. Alege vernil, galben solar sau rosu electric iar unghiile vor fi mai putin plictisitoare. Urmareste colectiile de toamna si descopera arta metalelor: topeste argintiu sau auriu sidefat pe unghii si poti deveni rapid un trend setter intre prietenele tale. De asemenea, joaca-te cu imprimeuri neobisnuite: picteaza-le cu steagul Angliei, scrie pe ele mesaje socante sau deseneaza carouri de diferite culori. Poti incalca regula de a avea toate unghiile la fel, formand pentru fiecare o imagine diferita. Este mai putin complicat daca vopsesti fiecare unghie in parte in culori diferite, realizand un degrade sau, dimpotriva, trecand de la albastru la verde prin nuante placute de rosu si portocaliu.

Sfatul La Mignonne: cu cat abordezi un stil mai indraznet in ceea ce priveste unghiile, cu atat mai bine pentru imaginea ta!

C’est compliqué de lancer des modes, de trouver le style qui va faire succomber tout le monde et qui va confèrer le statut de trend setter. Beaucoup s’y sont cassés les dents, certains rendraient hype un sac poubelle s’ils le mettaient sur leur tête, et d’autres semblent se battre chaque jour avec leur garde robe, qui le leur rend mal. En hommage à ces derniers, voici donc 5 tenues incroyables, et pas forcément dans le bon sens du terme.

5. Serena Williams et son jeans “boyish”. Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas ce type de pantalons, il s’agit de jeans féminins mais qui ont une coupe homme, à porter larges de préférence, pour faire croire qu’on a volé celui de son mec. Sauf qu’en l’occurrence, Common rentrerait tout entier dans une seule de ses jambes. Elle devrait plutôt se diriger vers les jeans “rideau-ish”.

4. Jim Jones et son T-Shirt Twitter. Je vous en parlais un peu plus tôt, Jones est sérieux avec son Twitter, parce que c’est le seul moyen pour lui d’exister. Sérieux au point de passer pour un touriste ringard en ballade avec ses potes universitaires de l’Arkansas, qui auraient pu mettre un tee “One Beer, Two Beer, Floor” ou “I’m with Stupid –>”. Mais au moins, on a évité le T-Shirt “FesseBook“.

3. Lydia Guevara et ses carottes révolutionnaires. La petite fille du Che a décidé de lancer une Révolution Végétarienne, et de reprendre une pose chère à son grand père pour une campagne de la Peta (SPA américaine). Elle a donc posée nue, la poitrine couverte de carottes (qui ne viennent pas de Patagonie pour ceux qui demandent) en forme de munitions. Je crois qu’Ernesto vient de se retourner 7 fois dans sa tombe. Hasta la salada, siempre.

2. Brüno et sa tenue de taureau fou. Sacha Baron Cohen continue sa tournée mondiale pour présenter en avant première son dernier film Brüno, et l’Espagne ne s’est toujours pas remise de sa tenue extraordinaire (à bien des égards). Je prie pour qu’il l’ai faite faire sur mesure, parce que s’il existe des boutiques qui vendent ce type de costumes, la fin du monde est plus proche que je ne le pensais.

1. R-Kelly et son masque. Un classique absolu, pour tout ce qu’il représente. Parce qu’il symbolise ces millions d’américains qui estiment que se filmer en train de pisser sur une mineure est acceptable si elle est consentante, mais aussi cet épisode extraordinaire des Boondocks, et la folie d’un homme qui se prend au sérieux et se transforme en Zorro de l’Amour. Et parce qu’à vrai dire, il n’y a même pas besoin d’explication. Le masque de R-Kelly est légendaire, un point c’est tout.

a. 0:00 Trend setter / leader.
b. 0:51 Early adopters (those who aren’t afraid to not be “normal”).
c. 1:13 Crowd acceptance sets in resulting in wild popularity.

It works this way in every area of human life if you think about it. Business, fashion, music, etc.

I know sometimes we want to look super posh and can’t afford it, hopefully, this post will show you how to dress fresh for less. Time to showcase the styles that are sometimes hard to afford, the whole purpose is afforabilty !!! This week we’re focusing on a more grown up sophisticated look that is all under $70 … you don’t have to be rich to look fab-u-lous !!!

Classic Look with a Twist

Cute, Classy, and Killer

This look can sometimes be the hardest to pull off, because when we think of classic the first thing that comes to the mind is Audrey Hepburn and the little Chanel black dress. Yes!!!! this is the look we are going for but, not the price. With a classic look it is best to stick with simple, neutral colors like black, grey, brown, beige and white and remember, a dress or skirt would just make you look more polished. For the twist we would add a funky belt or purse or maybe some shocking shoe, and for the summer, you can always add a cute hairband to complete your classy look . For the dress, this lovely white and black number from Wet Seal is simply chic and simply cheap only costing $19.50 and ranging from size x small to medium.

Diva !

If you want add a little spice to this, we can add a little color with a shrug or cardigan. But if you want to you can just leave it by itself. But I 100% recommend cute headband especially something that is very unique and bright to add a little color to you outfit. This is a hair clip from Forever 21 that would definitely set up apart from the posers and bring you into trendsetter status. The hair clip is only $14.80 and can be dressed up or down.

To end the outfit you need the perfect shoes. Colors that would look funky but classic at the same time are red, purple and dark blue. Nothing to bright and try to keep it solid. You’d also need the perfect purse. A great tip that people really don’t get is that your purse does not have to match your shoes but you don’t want it to be a color that is not in the family or doesn’t compliment. If you wear red shoes I suggest a blue purse, blue shoes a purple purse  and purple shoes a green purse. This purse is really simple and because it is gold it would virtually go with any shoe or outfit … it’s universal and really cheap. It’s only £6.00 ($9.60) and is one of my favourite British sites: www.selectfashions.co.uk.

OMG Suede .... and Buckles? can it get any better?

Now for the shoes, make sure that they are comfortable first and cute second, because with comfort you can hang out all not with no worry. These shoes are from Go Jane and sadly only run in a size 7 but this store has a lot of cute shoes that you can buy with a clear conscience.  I like shoes like this because it helps to add the twist in the look, they a perfect for Diva’s and Trendsetters alike and am sure would be the perfect addition to any girl’s closet.

Don’t forget to add stylish, sophisticated jewelry that is not to big, bulky o

f bright. Keep the jewels classy, yet unique. Pearl earrings, necklace and a matching ring can simply carry you to a whole other level of class. Stay with metallic jewels and gemstones, it is not hard to pull off this classy look …. and you can totally do it !!!

Websites Used:

www.forever21.com

www.wetseal.com

www.gojane.com

www.selectfashions.com

It’s nice that friends and acquaintances of me care less about the war, and more about things that *really* matter. If you had to take a guess what I had to apologise for most often, on behalf of the German people, over the past 15 years, what would it be? What does Joe Bloggs consider to be an atrocity that I could atone for? Something that happened in their lifetime, that puzzled them so endlessly, they had to take the opportunity to ask the first German they knew well enough to dare breaching the topic.

I give you two words:

THE HOFF!

I’m not making this up. I have been asked about the success of David Hasselhoff in Germany more often than I can count. Not so much Knight Rider, I guess, but his singing career. And I never quite knew what to say. It’s true that I didn’t listen to him, but he kind of popped up not long after something called New German Wave (Neue Deutsche Welle), and many of those songs were more than a little bizarre, so…who was I to tell the Hoff where to go and stick it? ‘Looking for Freedom’ came out as a single when the wall came down – coincidence (erm, no, I’m not implying that the Hoff had anything to do with instigating the fall of the Berlin Wall, more that the people were using the lyrics of the song to express themselves)?

Anyway, I tried to explain the phenomenon for years. And then, I suddenly didn’t have to anymore. Because….THE HOFF CAME BACK! Suddenly, he was cool again, in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. With as much chest hair as ever, tan firmly in place, teeth shining brightly, he’s back on our screens, and I can breathe a sigh of relief – no more need for explanations. Thank you, Hoff. I can now say that I was with you all along, a trend spotter 15 years before its time. I always knew you’d do it. Loved ‘ya in Chicago. Can’t wait to catch the new Knight Rider, I hear you have a part.

Salaam Namaste is one of the biggest movies in 2005. Sidharth Anand made his debut with this movie .

Aidtya Chopra produced this movie on their own banner Yash Raj Films. Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta paired in this movie. Most of the movie moves in Australia.

This is a completely youth movie. The people who believe Indian culture never invites this type of stories.

The plot is a simple story: love- differences- reconcile. But director gave a modern touch to the film and took it to Australia. Preity Zinta features as a R.J and Saif Ali Khan as a Chef.

Jugal Hansraj, Abhishek Bachchan, Ness Wadia and Sidharth Anand add their cameo appearences in the movie. Vishal Shekar’s music rocked the audience.

Rihanna was spotted wearing these ear (rings) link chains (not sure what else I should call them).

Rihanna

The girl is in every way a trendsetter. Her hair cut got even edgier!

And if you’ve seen the other images from that day, then you know I cropped this one. Intentionally too. won’t discuss the entire ‘get-up’. If you don’t get it, then you will never get it!

LOVE IT!

xoxo