| Fashion News Illinois |
Dressed for success
Dec 22, 2007 @ 11:34 PM
By ZACK CREGLOW
The Register-Mail
GALESBURG -
On the basketball court, James Hastings was an opportunist. Few thought the rotund Hastings would even make the squad, so when he entered a
Galesburg High School boys basketball game he never hesitated, hoisting 3-pointers any chance he got.
“I was known for hitting threes,” said Hastings, a 1991 GHS graduate. “My senior year, that’s what I was known for, coming in and popping a
couple threes.”
So it turns out, his approach in life isn’t at all different than his on hardwood — take every shot you get.
Some people wait for opportunity to unveil itself, holding tight until it does. Hastings seeks it out, and after jetsetting across the Midwest, his life
has winded back to his first loves — music and fashion.
Hastings, who founded the Champaign-based music management Jimshoes Entertainment in 2003, recently launched his own fashion line of the
same name. The clothes are available to purchase online at his company’s Web site, www.jimshoes.com, or at select urban clothing outlets in
Urbana, Champaign and Decatur.
“I just launched in November, so we are only a good month into it,” said Hastings, who promotes the clothing with television commercials on BET,
MTV and TNT. “But sales are picking up.”
Branching out into fashion only seemed natural to Hastings, who works also as an outpatient coder for doctors in central Illinois. “That’s the way I
was thinking,” the 34-year-old Hastings said. “Music is so influential in people’s everyday lives. I thought this could rub into that.”
Hastings’ odyssey into fashion and music began as a child in Galesburg, where he learned from his parents, the Rev. Charles and Malinda Jackson,
the importance of the two.
His father was a reverend at the Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church, 153 E. Tompkins St., and Hastings was immersed in the musical culture of religion,
listening to choirs from across the midwest. Later, when he reached high school, Hastings was a member of the band as a drummer.
“It blossomed from there,” Malinda Jackson said.
So did his knack for fashion.
Dressing well was never an option in that household, what with his father a reverend and his mother a woman who was raised believing in the
saying “dress for success.”
“That’s the way I was brought up,” Malinda Jackson said. “You didn’t have to have the latest style, but if you were clean and well-groomed, you
could go farther.”
The social skills that allowed Hastings to network his way into music and fashion as an outsider were apparent from a young age, remembers
former Silver Streaks star Elmer Dickerson. When Hastings moved to Galesburg in junior high, the two clicked. Quickly, Hastings made friends
with the other boys from the neighborhood — like Streaks gridiron legend Mikki Johnson — and was playing backyard football with them in a
matter of weeks.
“We hit it off like we knew each other from birth.”
In high school, Hastings tried out for the varsity squad. There were many whispers that there was no way Hastings, a heavy kid with limited
athletic ability, could make the squad.
Those doubters were proved wrong.
“The more people say he couldn’t do it, the harder he would apply himself to do it,” Dickerson said. “A lot of people didn’t think he would make
the basketball team, and he did.
“Jimmy, he’s the type of kid who if he said he wanted to be president, you better look out.”
His family left Galesburg for East Moline in 1990, with Hastings staying his senior year living with friends, and he has returned little since then,
only to visit with old friends like Dickerson.
After high school and short while at Black Hawk College, Hastings moved to Indianapolis and worked for nearly a decade as a manager at Auto
Zone, his dreams of being involved in music burning white-hot as ever. Then, in the summer of 2003, Hastings told friends and family he was
making his move into music.
They knew better than to doubt him.
“He gets an idea in his head and goes with it,” said Malinda Jackson, who now lives with her husband in Springfield.
Now, Hastings represents some of the hottest acts in central Illinois, and his clothing line is gaining notoriety.
Even one of Dickerson’s children may find some Jimshoes clothes under the tree on Tuesday.
If they’re good.
“My kids love it,” he said.
thread code
(http://www.southtownstar.com/sports/highschools/709922,122307sptdresscod.article)
December 23, 2007
BY TONY BARANEK Staff Writer
De La Salle's boys basketball team was very competitive at last year's State Farm Classic in Bloomington, finishing second in the big school class to
Thornwood.
On championship night, in fact, you might say the Meteors were showstoppers.
They had just arrived at Illinois Wesleyan University's Shirk Center for the big game against Thornwood. One of the earlier contests was in
overtime, and the crowd was really getting into the action.
Suddenly, the gym went quiet and all eyes turned toward the tunnel leading to the floor.
"Everybody was looking at our kids," Meteors coach Tom White said. "We all walked in wearing suit jackets. No earrings. No bling. Just Meteors."
Joe Karas loves being a sharp-dressed man.
A junior at De La Salle, he wears his suit coat proudly when the Meteors arrive at the gym for games, both home and away.
"We feel like we're taking care of business," Karas said. "We walk into the gym and everybody recognizes that we're there to do business."
Many teams, both private and public, encourage their players to wear team shirts, pullovers or sweaters at school on game day. At De La Salle,
however, they shoot for the fashion moon.
"When we are at home, our kids wear their dark pants, their white shirt, their blue sports jacket with a 'D' on it, and their blue ties," White said.
"For road games, we're in the blue shirt, blue tie and blue sports blazer. So on every day we have a game we wear our blazers."
This is the fourth season for that particular game day dress code at De La Salle.
"Before that we had kids wear V-cut sweaters," White said. "That was fine, but they got ragtag after awhile. So during summer league, we had the
kids work a concession stand and the funds were used to buy jackets.
"At first, they thought I was a nerd. They said, 'Oh, c'mon, coach. Just because you wear a sports jacket, why do we? Now that we've done it for a
few years, they like it. What's great is that we have everybody on the same page. You can't tell who my rich kids are, or who my poor kids are.
Everybody is a Meteor on that day."
At Brother Rice, players wear slacks and dress shoes on game day. The varsity players show up for that night's contest wearing long-sleeve mock
turtlenecks, with the school's logo on the left chest.
"We want our guys to dress well and look good, and have some pride in the program," Crusaders coach Pat Richardson said. "Even on the Saturday
morning (JV) games, the guys are supposed to wear our sweat pants and our sweatshirt."
Boys basketball players at Bremen are issued official game day attire at the beginning of the season.
"We found that some of the kids couldn't afford the dress code policy for road trips, so we spent some money to get them nice travel suits," Braves
coach Brian Flaherty said. "It's kind of higher advanced, a little more sophisticated than sweatsuits.
"We sort of treat it like their uniforms. They keep them all year, and then return them for someone else to wear next year."
There is no mistaking a Chicago Christian girls basketball player during a school day when there's a game that night.
"We do a couple of different things," Knights coach Brad Engbers said. "They can wear a travel suit to class. Otherwise we have long-sleeve T-
shirts and sweatshirts. The captains decide the day before the game what the team will wear the next day."
On the boys side, the Knights are required to wear dress shirts and ties to class.
The player's number and the phrase "Marian Women's Basketball" are emblazoned on the travel windsuits worn by the Lady Spartans at Marian
Catholic.
"We wore black-and-white ones downstate last year, and we have different ones this year," Spartans coach Annie Basic said. "They wear them all
day."
Marist girls basketball players are given special edition polo shirts unique to the team and are encouraged to wear them on game day. They have a
choice, however. They can wear their regular school uniform if they wish.
It's no contest.
"We get good stuff," Marist coach Mary Pat Connolly said, laughing. "If it was ugly, they'd wear their uniforms. But they like them, and they
support their program."
New boutique brings 'Artistic Jeanius' to University Village
By: Tatianah Green
Posted: 11/26/07
A new boutique opened in the University Village neighborhood, and this one has an artistic local flair. The boutique is called Artistic Jeanius - pun
intended - and is a collaboration of both an art gallery and clothing store.
Daris Jasper, owner of the new business, is an Illinois Institute of Art alum who wanted to bring both artistic worlds of art and fashion together.
Tired of working in clothing stores where he had to fold clothes, he decided to create an at-home atmosphere in his boutique.
The building looks like a young persons' bedroom filled with featured art on the walls and designer clothes on the shelves - there are even hangers to
make it look like a big walk-in closet. Why put the store in University Village?
"I used to intern in the area, and this district is known for its artwork," said Jasper.
Jasper, a Chicago artist himself, wanted to showcase local clothing designers and Chicago artists, and the collections have been getting positive
feedback. Artistic Jeanius is marketed to both men and women, young professionals, from ages 18-35. Jasper says that the style of the clothes is a
mix or alternative and hip-hop. Since the store's grand opening in September of this year, they have sold clothes and accessories. Soon they will sell
shoes and sneakers as well.
Jasper's goal is to excite all the senses of people who come into the shop. The boutique features all things Chicago, from multiple designer clothes
to art, and local music that all are sure to enjoy. Some events to come at Artistic Jeanius are the accessory fashion show on Dec. 8 and Artistic
Jeanius fashion show featuring designs by Kelley Mosely on Dec. 19.
You can find Artistic Jeanius on 1711 S. Halsted; they are open from Tuesday to Saturday at 1 through 9 p.m.
Dec 22, 2007 @ 11:34 PM
By ZACK CREGLOW
The Register-Mail
GALESBURG -
On the basketball court, James Hastings was an opportunist. Few thought the rotund Hastings would even make the squad, so when he entered a
Galesburg High School boys basketball game he never hesitated, hoisting 3-pointers any chance he got.
“I was known for hitting threes,” said Hastings, a 1991 GHS graduate. “My senior year, that’s what I was known for, coming in and popping a
couple threes.”
So it turns out, his approach in life isn’t at all different than his on hardwood — take every shot you get.
Some people wait for opportunity to unveil itself, holding tight until it does. Hastings seeks it out, and after jetsetting across the Midwest, his life
has winded back to his first loves — music and fashion.
Hastings, who founded the Champaign-based music management Jimshoes Entertainment in 2003, recently launched his own fashion line of the
same name. The clothes are available to purchase online at his company’s Web site, www.jimshoes.com, or at select urban clothing outlets in
Urbana, Champaign and Decatur.
“I just launched in November, so we are only a good month into it,” said Hastings, who promotes the clothing with television commercials on BET,
MTV and TNT. “But sales are picking up.”
Branching out into fashion only seemed natural to Hastings, who works also as an outpatient coder for doctors in central Illinois. “That’s the way I
was thinking,” the 34-year-old Hastings said. “Music is so influential in people’s everyday lives. I thought this could rub into that.”
Hastings’ odyssey into fashion and music began as a child in Galesburg, where he learned from his parents, the Rev. Charles and Malinda Jackson,
the importance of the two.
His father was a reverend at the Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church, 153 E. Tompkins St., and Hastings was immersed in the musical culture of religion,
listening to choirs from across the midwest. Later, when he reached high school, Hastings was a member of the band as a drummer.
“It blossomed from there,” Malinda Jackson said.
So did his knack for fashion.
Dressing well was never an option in that household, what with his father a reverend and his mother a woman who was raised believing in the
saying “dress for success.”
“That’s the way I was brought up,” Malinda Jackson said. “You didn’t have to have the latest style, but if you were clean and well-groomed, you
could go farther.”
The social skills that allowed Hastings to network his way into music and fashion as an outsider were apparent from a young age, remembers
former Silver Streaks star Elmer Dickerson. When Hastings moved to Galesburg in junior high, the two clicked. Quickly, Hastings made friends
with the other boys from the neighborhood — like Streaks gridiron legend Mikki Johnson — and was playing backyard football with them in a
matter of weeks.
“We hit it off like we knew each other from birth.”
In high school, Hastings tried out for the varsity squad. There were many whispers that there was no way Hastings, a heavy kid with limited
athletic ability, could make the squad.
Those doubters were proved wrong.
“The more people say he couldn’t do it, the harder he would apply himself to do it,” Dickerson said. “A lot of people didn’t think he would make
the basketball team, and he did.
“Jimmy, he’s the type of kid who if he said he wanted to be president, you better look out.”
His family left Galesburg for East Moline in 1990, with Hastings staying his senior year living with friends, and he has returned little since then,
only to visit with old friends like Dickerson.
After high school and short while at Black Hawk College, Hastings moved to Indianapolis and worked for nearly a decade as a manager at Auto
Zone, his dreams of being involved in music burning white-hot as ever. Then, in the summer of 2003, Hastings told friends and family he was
making his move into music.
They knew better than to doubt him.
“He gets an idea in his head and goes with it,” said Malinda Jackson, who now lives with her husband in Springfield.
Now, Hastings represents some of the hottest acts in central Illinois, and his clothing line is gaining notoriety.
Even one of Dickerson’s children may find some Jimshoes clothes under the tree on Tuesday.
If they’re good.
“My kids love it,” he said.
thread code
(http://www.southtownstar.com/sports/highschools/709922,122307sptdresscod.article)
December 23, 2007
BY TONY BARANEK Staff Writer
De La Salle's boys basketball team was very competitive at last year's State Farm Classic in Bloomington, finishing second in the big school class to
Thornwood.
On championship night, in fact, you might say the Meteors were showstoppers.
They had just arrived at Illinois Wesleyan University's Shirk Center for the big game against Thornwood. One of the earlier contests was in
overtime, and the crowd was really getting into the action.
Suddenly, the gym went quiet and all eyes turned toward the tunnel leading to the floor.
"Everybody was looking at our kids," Meteors coach Tom White said. "We all walked in wearing suit jackets. No earrings. No bling. Just Meteors."
Joe Karas loves being a sharp-dressed man.
A junior at De La Salle, he wears his suit coat proudly when the Meteors arrive at the gym for games, both home and away.
"We feel like we're taking care of business," Karas said. "We walk into the gym and everybody recognizes that we're there to do business."
Many teams, both private and public, encourage their players to wear team shirts, pullovers or sweaters at school on game day. At De La Salle,
however, they shoot for the fashion moon.
"When we are at home, our kids wear their dark pants, their white shirt, their blue sports jacket with a 'D' on it, and their blue ties," White said.
"For road games, we're in the blue shirt, blue tie and blue sports blazer. So on every day we have a game we wear our blazers."
This is the fourth season for that particular game day dress code at De La Salle.
"Before that we had kids wear V-cut sweaters," White said. "That was fine, but they got ragtag after awhile. So during summer league, we had the
kids work a concession stand and the funds were used to buy jackets.
"At first, they thought I was a nerd. They said, 'Oh, c'mon, coach. Just because you wear a sports jacket, why do we? Now that we've done it for a
few years, they like it. What's great is that we have everybody on the same page. You can't tell who my rich kids are, or who my poor kids are.
Everybody is a Meteor on that day."
At Brother Rice, players wear slacks and dress shoes on game day. The varsity players show up for that night's contest wearing long-sleeve mock
turtlenecks, with the school's logo on the left chest.
"We want our guys to dress well and look good, and have some pride in the program," Crusaders coach Pat Richardson said. "Even on the Saturday
morning (JV) games, the guys are supposed to wear our sweat pants and our sweatshirt."
Boys basketball players at Bremen are issued official game day attire at the beginning of the season.
"We found that some of the kids couldn't afford the dress code policy for road trips, so we spent some money to get them nice travel suits," Braves
coach Brian Flaherty said. "It's kind of higher advanced, a little more sophisticated than sweatsuits.
"We sort of treat it like their uniforms. They keep them all year, and then return them for someone else to wear next year."
There is no mistaking a Chicago Christian girls basketball player during a school day when there's a game that night.
"We do a couple of different things," Knights coach Brad Engbers said. "They can wear a travel suit to class. Otherwise we have long-sleeve T-
shirts and sweatshirts. The captains decide the day before the game what the team will wear the next day."
On the boys side, the Knights are required to wear dress shirts and ties to class.
The player's number and the phrase "Marian Women's Basketball" are emblazoned on the travel windsuits worn by the Lady Spartans at Marian
Catholic.
"We wore black-and-white ones downstate last year, and we have different ones this year," Spartans coach Annie Basic said. "They wear them all
day."
Marist girls basketball players are given special edition polo shirts unique to the team and are encouraged to wear them on game day. They have a
choice, however. They can wear their regular school uniform if they wish.
It's no contest.
"We get good stuff," Marist coach Mary Pat Connolly said, laughing. "If it was ugly, they'd wear their uniforms. But they like them, and they
support their program."
New boutique brings 'Artistic Jeanius' to University Village
By: Tatianah Green
Posted: 11/26/07
A new boutique opened in the University Village neighborhood, and this one has an artistic local flair. The boutique is called Artistic Jeanius - pun
intended - and is a collaboration of both an art gallery and clothing store.
Daris Jasper, owner of the new business, is an Illinois Institute of Art alum who wanted to bring both artistic worlds of art and fashion together.
Tired of working in clothing stores where he had to fold clothes, he decided to create an at-home atmosphere in his boutique.
The building looks like a young persons' bedroom filled with featured art on the walls and designer clothes on the shelves - there are even hangers to
make it look like a big walk-in closet. Why put the store in University Village?
"I used to intern in the area, and this district is known for its artwork," said Jasper.
Jasper, a Chicago artist himself, wanted to showcase local clothing designers and Chicago artists, and the collections have been getting positive
feedback. Artistic Jeanius is marketed to both men and women, young professionals, from ages 18-35. Jasper says that the style of the clothes is a
mix or alternative and hip-hop. Since the store's grand opening in September of this year, they have sold clothes and accessories. Soon they will sell
shoes and sneakers as well.
Jasper's goal is to excite all the senses of people who come into the shop. The boutique features all things Chicago, from multiple designer clothes
to art, and local music that all are sure to enjoy. Some events to come at Artistic Jeanius are the accessory fashion show on Dec. 8 and Artistic
Jeanius fashion show featuring designs by Kelley Mosely on Dec. 19.
You can find Artistic Jeanius on 1711 S. Halsted; they are open from Tuesday to Saturday at 1 through 9 p.m.
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