Standard-Speaker from Hazleton, Pennsylvania • 60

F4 Standard-Speaker SUNDAY March 12,2006 I Party planner offers baby shower ideas that don spur dark clouds of an excuse to leave before it starts. "A shower can be boring," acknowledges entertainment consultant Gia Russo. To make a baby shower the pleasant experience it should be for everyone involved, it's important to have a plan beyond some snacks and the 1 By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL Associated Press Writer NEW YORK A baby shower is supposed to be a happy occasion, so why do so many people cringe at the thought of attending one? Sometimes it's even the mother-to-be who is thinking -J J. opening of gifts, Russo says. However, traditional shower activities bottle bowling or name games, for example shouldn't be on the schedule.

They're the things that make people cringe most. Instead, Russo suggests projects or crafts that become keepsakes for the baby, or spa treatments such as manicures, pedicures or reflexology as activities. Another idea is to ask guests to bring a copy of their favorite children's book as a contribution to the baby's library. Watching the almost-mom open presents shouldn't be scrapped since giving her supplies and gifts is indeed the purpose of a shower, Russo It's OK if the gift is bulky (maybe a stroller or a Diaper Genie)' to send it to the expectant mother's home and simply bring a card to the shower alerting her the gift is on the way, Russo says, but it's not OK to show up empty-handed, even if the guest is superstitious or religious about pre-birth gifts. In that case, the guest should decline the invitation to attend the shower and send the gift when she's comfortable with it.

"Gift-giving is such an important part of the shower. Most moms open them at the shower and it might seem strange to not have one," Russo observes. If the expectant mother thinks it's bad luck to receive gifts before birth, she should forgo the shower and consider a "welcome-the-baby" party when she feels up to it, adds Russo, herself a new ill wires f.f 1 1 1. II III BABYGAP Party planner Gia Russo, who threw "the ultimate baby shower" for a babyGap contest winner, says modern showers should skip the games but not the unwrapping of gifts; it's really what the event is all about. met the baby's mom.

shower in the early evening, Baby showers are best held which often becomes a cock-in the early or late afternoon tail party. "Consider it more for either lunch or tea, Russo of a celebration for the par-says. Another option is a coed ents-to-be." BABYGAP Gifts are an undeniable part of a baby shower, says party planner Gia Russo. One fun way to make them "entertainment" is to assign a theme, she suggests. If 3 v.

aren't the bread and butter of the business. The core customer is a working woman, probably even a mother, who wants a wardrobe to reflect her success but also remain wholly feminine. Someone much like herself, Versace says. "Working mother" probably isn't the image you have of Versace. Instead you envision a woman with very long blond hair, a perpetual tan, voluptuous lips, a compact toned body, a cigarette dangling out of her mouth and speaking a mile a minute in barely decipherable Italian-tongued Eng- LION of JUDAH CLEANING SERVICES RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL SPECIAL EVENT MOVE-IN MOVE-OUT PARTY AND MORE CALL NOW (570) 233-5517 (570) 504-7357 52 EDGE ROCK DRUMS PA 18222 Donatella Versace look, showing her going for a simpler more complex side I mom to a 3-month-old boy.

She had two showers, perfectly acceptable by etiquette rules as long as the same people aren't invited to both. One was intimate for close family members and friends, the other was for business colleagues. "What was fun about one of my showers was that everyone was asked in their invitation for a (gift) theme. They were 'baby's first' something. First outing at the beach.

First plane trip. It was kind of a game because I had to try and figure out the theme," Russo recalls. One of her personal favorites was the beach gift, which included a shovel and other sand toys, a bucket, a passport holder and baby-styled luggage tags. "The baby's actually here with me in New York now and it was great to have those things, which I never would have thought of getting." Russo, half of the MiGi party-planning team that wrote the book "Baby Showers" (Chronicle) is based in Los Angeles. She was in New York to stage "the ultimate baby shower" for the winner of a babyGap contest.

At the event at the posh Four Seasons hotel in Manhattan, Russo treated guests to an Asian-themed buffet, sleek, sophisticated and mostly brown decor instead of pink and blue streamers, and those aforementioned spa treatments. The guests also made a scrapbook for the baby using a Polaroid camera and pretty stationery with written explanations on how each guest of money to blow on clothes, shoes and leather goods. More attention has been paid to the men's section and the development of new products. Giancarlo Di Risio, chief executive officer of Versace, notes that in a year the accessories business has grown from 4 percent to 18 percent of the brand's business. "Today, someone who is hailing a taxi could be wearing Versace, not just the woman who's getting into a limo," he adds.

Not to say that Versace is for shrinking violets, though. "The woman who wears Versace wants to be noticed. She'll never be banal," Di Risio says. Versace wants to persuade people that daytime suits, handbags and sunglasses are the focus instead of red-carpet eveningwear. But, Donatella Versace says, the company can't abandon the celebrities, either, because that's what draws in ordinary people and keeps the Versace name in the news.

Plus, she says again with a smile, they're friends. "Last year, I decided this was a new age for Versace," she says. "There's a new fashion cycle every 10 years, and it was time. The Versace style is still glamorous and sensual but not as sexy. I'm now using less decoration, better quality, more muted colors which I wear and can be very sexy and sensual." She adds: "We have to show we can change and evolve, Nescopeck, PA 18635 www.countnfoIU (ifU Ulaverly Sale, your hom wllh Country Folk'i innujl Tuesday, March 21 Ixmdwt, mlnwt.

uphobturwl duirt, dining UMm. Miim md dMirj Chain! only JtlSO par fi iMlartna aittna at Oft) Dh' fit ifi By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL AP Fashion Writer NEW YORK The in Versace is for va-va-voom. That's what makes Versace the go-to label for the woman who wants to be the center of attention, the woman everyone looks at when she enters a room. A woman like Madonna, Demi Moore or Halle Berry, the most recent stars of Versace's ad campaigns. But, says Donatella Versace, the brand's creative director, those sexy Hollywood stars whom she also calls friends WE CLEAN IT ALL FROM TOP TO BOTTOM EVERYTHING FROM CEILING FANS TO BASEBOARDS 4 i -'I Versace talks to reporters.

clothing because she knew she was going to be compared to him, so she had to prove she could pull off that style. Also, she notes, a decade ago women wanted to look strong and aggressive because they thought they had to if they were going to succeed. "Now that women have had some success, they can show their softer side. It's what happened to me," she says. High Risk Obstetrics Hysleroscopy Laparosropy Contraception Menop.uise Management Urogynecology Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Fashion designer Donatella otherwise we're finished in this business." It's actually been nine years since Donatella Versace assumed all design duties.

She stepped in when her brother and fashion superstar Gianni Versace was murdered in Miami. Donatella Versace, who calls her late brother "a genius," says at first she followed his mold of strong and aggressive lish. You see Versace's alter-ego "Saturday Night Live" character. Donatella Versace, though, is both those people a combination almost inexplicable until one meets her in person. She is definitely a whirlwind but she also comes across as thoughtful and sincere.

Versace was in New York earlier this month to rechris-ten the Fifth Avenue boutique as the brand launches a new look for itself. That new look more gentle, more approachable is part of a strategy to court more regular folks who happen to have a lot Fashion designer Donatella Versace arrives at the party to celebrate the reopening of the Versace boutique on Fifth Avenue in New York. 550 Zenith (570) 379-3176 Spring Furniture Spring Coming! Tim to pni EM. KIRBY CENTER presents A Fun Pay with the Kids! r- -y DIMA GAVRYSHAssoclated Press Fashion designer Donatella Versace talks with an unidentified guest at the party to celebrate the reopening of the Versace boutique on Fifth Avenue during Fashion Week. Spring Furniture Sate Friday, March 0(t ill In ttoc fumlturt, mini, arm nirjl, end lUn.

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