PORTLAND, OR – Frustrated by the dearth of clothes that are fashionable, without being suggestive, Christa Taylor launched her own clothing company early in 2007. At 20, she is young and passionate about making Christa-Taylor.com her answer to the growing demand for chic and trendy clothes that don’t succumb to the social pressures to be revealing. “It all started when I imagined a store committed to modesty that was full of beautiful, stylish apparel for young women,” Taylor says. “I was exasperated by
the one option our culture presents: sexy.”

Her original designs are inspired by the classic looks of Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Onassis Kennedy, and Princess Dianna. With the support of her entrepreneurial father, Taylor began the daunting task of forming the company. “Baby step by baby step we designed and furnished a website, made contacts in the fashion industry for manufacturers, designers etc. and launched on January 15th, 2007.” Her two sisters, brother, and brother-in-law have also joined Taylor in the endeavor. Taylor’s father says, “Christa has a unique vision and phenomenal talent. We’re all in support!” Having released a spring line with two collections, Taylor is set to release a winter line in mid- September, adding “Timeless” to her “Posh” and “Trendy” collections. Five new signature dresses will also be offered, in addition to many other offerings in all three lines.

Taylor also sees a “mission beyond business.” She says she “wants to see the business make an enduring impact across the world,” and dedicates a minimum of 30% of her profits toward furthering social justice and serving the poor. Christa is currently sponsoring an orphanage in Cambodia, which she has personally visited. “Our company is positively impacting more than just our happy customers,” says Taylor.

Christa Taylor, founder
Christa-Taylor.com

Not too many months ago I did an interview with Vickie Courtney author of “Logged on and Tuned Out” about the reality of our tween/teen’s online activity. A series of programs I found today on PBS gives even greater insight into the reality that teens these days are apart of a new culture. A culture of kids that are literally growing up online. Watch these eye-opening videos here.

Here are a couple of the book’s by the experts featured on this program that I highly recommend to all mother’s of teens and tweens, girl and guys alike.

In addition you can visit the following resources:

Today the news released a new list of Power Girls found in US Weekly who are most popular and emulated by our tween and teen girls. The list has changed from prior years where Britney Spears and Paris Hilton topped the list. Now spots 1 and 2 are filled by Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana and country singer, Taylor Swift. I let out a big sigh of relief when I heard this news on the radio this morning. Then after doing a quick online search I found some more info about those young ladies on the list.

Both girls are quoted as saying that they don’t drink and here’s what else they had to say according to US Weekly,

“Clubs are just not where I want to be photographed,” adds country sensation Taylor Swift, 18. She also says she realizes the impact her actions could have on her younger fans. “For everything I do, I think about a 6-year-old girl and her mom that I saw at my concert last night,” she tells Us. “I think about what those two individuals would think if I were at a club last night.

“I never want to be arrested, and I never want to get a DUI,” Swift says. “Those are my moral values. I am an over-achiever, and I want to be known for the good things in my life.”

Miley, 15 says, “The most important thing is really staying true to yourself,” she tells Us. “That’s what my mom taught me. She’s the most beautiful girl, not only on the outside but on the inside. She’s teaching me how to be a good person.”

Now, I know these girls aren’t perfect, because we’re all human, but their fresh faces and higher moral standards sure are a ray of hope as far as the teen idols in our world go. Don’t you think?

This week’s podcast was a Back to School Special on Teen and Tween fashion for fall. I was so excited about this podcast and the upcoming Teleseminar that I thought I would do a post showing you all the great back to school fashion for girls that I found as I was researching and hunting online. This was fun! As I told you all I don’t recommend some of the Slogan T’s that we all see everywhere these days, but I did find one that I liked and their were others by this brand that were appropriate. So many of these draw negative attention to your teen girl, but this one is good clean fun.
I don’t know about your teen, but I am a shoeaholic. I LOVE shoes! So, I of course found several pair I liked. Flats, are in style in a major way, there are some out there like these first two that even look like athletic shoes, and then there are the dressy, cute, metallic styles that are in in a big way this fall.
Another popular style this fall is the cargo capri. This pair is also denim which is HOT as always!
When the weather ever decides to cool off your teen girl will need a cute jacket, this is a popular, fitted and cropped style that will make her feel extra “cute” in class.
A girl’s gotta have accessories too right? The bangle bracelet is a fun way to accessorize and why not have more than one bangle? This set gives you several to mix and match.
To hear more about this fall’s fashion for teens and tweens, listen in to this week’s podcast and if you have questions or comments be apart of next week’s Back to School Special “Q&A” Teleseminar by signing up for Mom-Daughter Connection Ezine. If you’re already a member you will be receiving an email with the call in information soon!

My hat is off to this year’s female artist of the year, Carrie Underwood, who beat out Faith Hill last night at the CMA’s. I was very excited to hear this news as I am a Carrie fan, mainly because she openly professes her faith in Jesus Christ. I did a little research on her and found some interesting facts about her I thought I would share. This girls history in singing and glorifying God with her voice goes way back.�

• Born: 10 March 1983
• Birthplace: Checotah, Oklahoma
• Best Known As: 2005 winner of TV’s American Idol contest

Singer Carrie Underwood won the TV talent show American Idol in 2005. From a small town in Oklahoma, Underwood was a senior in college when she entered the contest. Described by some as polite and shy, she performed mostly country songs, a departure from previous years’ shows that yielded winners Kelly Clarkson (2002) and Ruben Studdard (2003) and Fantasia Barrino (2004). Underwood grew up singing at events and at church in and around her hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma. She was one of 100,000 potential contestants when the 2005 season began, and she ended up in a tight race against Bo Bice, a southern rocker from Alabama. Judge Simon Cowell predicted Underwood’s ultimate victory two months in advance, but in the final weeks Bice emerged as a favorite. In the final show of the season, on 25 May 2005, Underwood narrowly beat out Bice to become the new “American Idol,” guaranteeing her a recording contract. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was released in November of 2005 and included the hit “Jesus Take the Wheel.” (Found on www.answers.net)

I would like to recommend Carrie as someone our young girls can certainly look up to. Congrats!

The information super highway most of use refer to as the Internet or even just the “net” is an increasing popular place to hang out for almost every age group. MySpace a popular hang out for teens, college age, singles and more has been quite the controversy, making the national news.ABC News reported that “Hemanshu Nigam was recently appointed the head of security at MySpace, at a time when the news has showcased stories about kids getting into serious trouble on the site.

In Rhode Island, teens were arrested on pornography charges after posting sexually explicit acts on their home pages; in Kansas, five high school students were arrested after they posted their alleged plans to commit mass murder in a Columbine style rampage. And there have been a number of stories about predators trolling the site for victims.”

This is all very scary that is why I thought I’d give you my own opinion on the controversal website. I personally had a My Space page, felt invaded upon by having someone from my past contact me annoymously and took my page down, but later returned to My Space for its convenience and ease of finding friends of mine I wanted to communicate with. I am able to see both sides of the story because I have experienced both the good and the bad of My Space. Here are my tips for keeping safe on My Space. Do not post your personal contact information such as address, telephone or cell phone numbers, name of your school or work or any other similiar information. You just don’t want to make it too easy for anyone to locate you.Also, I would advise everyone to pay close attention to the content that they post as well as the photographs. MySpace in my opinon can be a fun place, but it can also be a place where anyone can contact you, and you cannot trust everyone. Its like the old saying “Never trust nobody.”

Movies are literally a million dollar industry in today’s society. This weekend two movies vowed for tops at the box office, Xmen, a mutant science fiction movie was knocked out of first place by The Break Up, a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston.

The MTV Movie awards was also held this Saturday night. MTV’s Movie Awards are much more “fun” than serious. As an Associated Press article reads, “This is the awards show where a teen-is-king attitude reigns, where stars step out in jeans and use the f-word in acceptance speeches.” This is a shame because MTV is a quite popular station for teens, preteens and those in their early 20’s-30’s.

Television continues to get more and more vulgar as the days pass. “What are we suppose to watch on televison?”, I wonder as I sit and flip through the channels with my 2 year old sitting nearby occasionally glancing up from his Matchbox cars to see what’s on the TV. I cannot imagine having him view three-quarters of what I see. It is my hope and prayer that you as parents pay attention to what your teens are watching, and teens it is good practice to think about what is in the show before you choose to let it be viewed by your eyes.

The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:8 , “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable�if anything is excellent or praiseworthy�think about such things.” How can we THINK about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable if we are filling our minds with vulgarity and course talk. I do not believe that we can. As for me and my house, “we will serve the Lord” as we watch lots of FOOD network and the Weather Channel!

I have to admit I am an American Idol fan. I watched faithfully almost every episode and looked forward to the shows where someone was voted off week after week. I waited in anticipation as gray haired, SOUL PATROL Taylor Hicks of Birmingham, Alabama, a man of the south was crowned this year’s American Idol. I was a Taylor fan. I was also a fan of many others who did not make the final cut. However, I have one quirk with this ever popular show. What good does it do� Why do I ask? Well, will the fate of American Idol change the world as we know it? Will its effects reach to the ends of the earth? Will its results end in “world peace” or something even half as great? As I was sitting watching the show one night I had a revelation, or at least that�is what I like to think of it as. An estimated 200 million viewers tuned in for the season finale according to http://american.idolblog.com/What if, at the end of the show before they gave us the final results of who the NEXT American Idol was Ryan Seacrest himself gave the plan of salvation and an invitation to those millions of viewers, not to be a “Taylor Hicks” fan, but to be a fan of Jesus Christ, the only IDOL any of us should ever need. I was thinking what an awesome impact this show has had on the world, but what an even greater impact it would have if it ever chose to use its popularity for greater good. I know that this would not likely happen in a million years, but you know what … I like to think WHAT IF it did. Now that WOULD change our world, or at least have a phenomenal impact.