While many businesses are suffering through the recession, one website that is thriving is the free fashion swap site www.swapstyle.com which has received a massive 300% increase in direct hits to the site over the past 8 months.

Swapstyle.com was the world's first fashion swap site, and has since grown to become the largest clothes swapping community online. It is the perfect way to look stylish in a recession, while making fashion green by being environmentally sustainable.

"I'm now receiving emails from women around the world saying what a difference swapstyle.com has made in their lives since the down turn in the economy, and that it has helped curb shopping addictions and lessen credit card debt by enabling them to be in control of their spending habits and still be able to have the rush of receiving a new dress. There is definitely a direct correlation to the down-turn in the economy and the huge increase in women joining swapstyle.com" says Chesher

swapstyle.com was created by Emily Chesher, 30, also known as The Swap Queen, in 2003 while she was a fashion design student. Living on her meek student budget Chesher couldn't afford to buy the fashion items that she adored, plus she was disillusioned by the negative environmental impact created by the fashion industry. Thus she put her mind to creating swapstyle.com - a free fashion swap website that allows women world-wide to swap clothes 24/7 from the comfort of their own home.

Chesher says, "swapstyle.com is free to use, and was created six years ago. When I created swapstyle.com there were no other online clothes swap sites - we were the first! The economy and the environment weren't at the forefront of people's minds, and I had a lot of people telling me that I was crazy - that the idea would never take off"

Fast forward to 2009. With economic and environmental concern, swapstyle.com has had to increase its servers on a monthly basis to keep up with the huge demand from members uploading swap items. From shoes to bags, cosmetics to designer fashion and vintage clothes, there are tens of thousands of members world-wide swapping and saving thousands of dollars a year through the site.

Not just a clothes swap site, swapstyle.com also offers a strong social networking platform in which members chat in forums, create personal profile pages and make friends. "It has become a really thriving online community," says Chesher. "It was always my dream to have swapstyle.com be a space where money didn't matter anymore. I found it refreshing to have an area online where we could enjoy fashion without having the guilt of spending attached" No guessing why one of the sites tag lines is experience guilt free shopping.

Chesher was also disillusioned by the environmental impact that fashion was having on the planet. "The waste created from the fashion industry is huge. We live season by season, sometimes only wearing an item once. It brings a smile to my face knowing that Ive created a easily accessible economically, socially and environmentally sound solution to an age old problem."

With its tag line 'open your world-wide wardrobe', fashion savvy women are taking heed and saving thousands of dollars by getting their fashion for free by swapping.

Embracing the newest hair style celebrity trend, this new 29 pc set of professional styling pins and snag-free elastics to create your own sexy, messy style on the go. Available for $12.95 at jasperjack.com. Hair Jack from Japan is represented by Madeline Johnson Marketing & Public Relations www.mjmpr.com.

"Up dos" are no longer the formal stiff looking buns and knots that women used to fashion during proms, weddings or other formal occasions. Instead modern up dos are softer, sexier and more feminine. Modern hair up dos can be done quickly and can be worn during any occasion. Hair Jack from Japan at www.jasperjack.com is the style secret for a quick DIY up do.

Apply mousse or styling wax to hair and secure into a loose pony or pigtails. Coil it round and pin into place. Remember to keep it loose and for a very new style, close to the neck. To instantly update the style, you can also wear it slightly to one side of the head.

Celebrity Hair Guru, Mika Fowler, Style Directorof Gavert Atelier, Beverly Hills, California offers her Do's and Don'ts for a sexy, messy up do like Angelina Jolie's red-carpet style.

1) Plan your style out. Give it a little thought -
Don't go messy every where. Choose either a messy bun or sexy loose face-framing hair.

2) Separate your hair from ear-to-ear in one section. Work with back part of hair to make bun then use front hair to softly frame your face.

3) Don't use a comb or a brush -Work with your hands.
Working with your fingers automatically gives some loose texture which looks soft and messy.

4) Day old dirty hair is best -
If your hair is too clean, you should use a styling wax to give enough texture and some "piece-e-ness".

5) If you can, use a curling iron or waffle iron to give your look more texture and volume. (curling the hair in different directions)

Hair Jack from Japan is the secret to creating catwalk glamor hair by professional fashion runway hair styling pros.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell lashed out Friday at what she sees as latent racism in the fashion industry, which she said gives preference to "blond, blue-eyed models" over black women.

"You know, the American president may be black, but as a black woman, I am still an exception in this business. I always have to work harder to be treated equally," she said in a Glamour interview appearing on Monday in Germany.

"In the past, there were more opportunities for black models but the trend towards blond women has again become extreme. In magazines, on the catwalk, I see blond, blue-eyed models everywhere," she added.

In 2007, the London-born Campbell, along with fellow models Liya Kebede and Tyson Beckford, launched a campaign against what they said was discrimination in the fashion world.