Frank Trigg - Image courtesy of newPR, Inc.

Mixed martial artist, Frank Trigg, excels both inside and outside the ring.  In additon to being a multiple title fight winner and Olympic trials wrestling finalist, Frank can also be seen on the small screen and radio.  He has his own radio show, “MMA Weekly” that covers martial arts and all things UFC. In fact, he’s the only mixed martial artist that has fought AND been a commentator on the same night!  You might have seen him on Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Sports Show” or on BET as well.

Frank Trigg, MMA - Image courtesy newPR, Inc.

OK, so we’ve established that Frank shines in the ring, on the screen, and through the airwaves.  Who knew he was a trendsetter?!  His signature clothing line originally focused on martial arts, wrestling, boxing and other fighting athletes as a target market.  However, since then he’s expanded to both a men’s and women’s clothing line too.  Most recently, he’s launched an urban streetwear line appropriately named Triggonomics.

For such a tough guy, he didn’t exactly have an easy path to his accomplishments.  Born into a mixed race family as one of eight kids, he suffered from Dyslexia and a severe speech impediment.  His siblings are all boys, so you can imagine that the rivalry in the house was unmatched.  No wonder he’s such a successful fighter!  He was recruited out of high school for the wrestling team at the University of Oklahoma and after receiving his degree in Public Affairs & Administration went on to coach at his alma mater.

Being the fighter he is, in more ways than one, he overcame obstacles to become a successful athlete and entrepreneur.

Frank Trigg - Image courtesy of newPR, Inc.

On a personal note, Frank and his wife are looking forward to a new addition to their family with the birth of their third child.  From all of us at Sparkplugging, I congratulate the Triggs on this exciting time in their life!

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One of the hardest things about “reporting” on celebrity clothing lines is determining if they’re still around. In the last week, I’ve tried to tell you about Pamela Anderson’s “The Pamela Collection,” Kylie Minogue’s “Love Kylie,” and Ryan Seacrest’s “The R Line.” It seems that all of these clothing lines were announced with much fanfare, but have so much more quietly disappeared. (I suspect that Love Kylie is still around, but it’s sure hard to find . . . not the best marketing ploy, IMHO.)

One person who has never really had much trouble getting his name out there, however, is Justin Timberlake; and that holds true for his clothing line, as well. Granted it’s only a year old, so who knows what the future holds. In the meantime, we can take a peek at the William Rast line by Justin Timberlake and his best friend Trace Ayala.

I’m guessing that the other celebrities were expecting a lot out of this line because tons of stars were their first runway show, including Patrick Dempsey, Nicky and Paris Hilton, Wilmer Valderrama, and (of course) Cameron Diaz. The focus of the collection really seems to be on jeans, with a number of hip-hugging women’s styles and some options for men, as well. There are a few v-necks and t-shirts with the William Rast logo, and what I can only hope is supposed to be an ironic camouflaged baseball cap.

The hook for William Rast clothing – besides Timberlake’s involvement, of course – is touted to be attention to detail and high-end production. The outcome is knits and denims that are made to be especially comfortable. Oddly, many of the styles have a note encouraging customers to buy a size smaller than they usually would. Not sure what that’s about . . . Must be an attempt to avoid some sort of “wardrobe malfunction.” (C’mon, it’s a post about Justin Timberlake and clothes; I had to use the phrase at least once!)

Anyhow, the prices are a little high with jeans averaging about $220 and t-shirts priced around $57. The jeans especially, though, are going to get you noticed, and most likely in the “good” way.

I’ll admit it. When I first heard that Reba McEntire had her own clothing line, I couldn’t help but think of the sequins and big hair that sort of defined her look in the 80s and 90s. What on earth was this lady going to be able to offer the every day woman, I wondered.

It turns out that her down-home charm extends beyond the friendly twang of her accent. Her clothes are actually quite cute and accessible. I imagined something you would expect to see on the character from her song “Fancy,” but what I found was actually much more of what you would see on a 30-something mom who was still making an effort on her appearance.

In addition to cute tops, jackets, and jeans, she has some really cute skirts and dresses.

The line is really one of the most comprehensive I’ve seen so far, and it’s definitely one of the most affordable for us mere mortals.

I’m in love with this $58 shirt, for example:

It turns out that cute clothes aren’t the only trick the country star has up her sleeve, as she’s also rolled out a line of shoes, as well as a line of home decor called Harmony for the Home”.

All three lines can be found at Dillard’s stores.

Hey, I’m getting distracted!

In the last few years, Paula Abdul has branched out to become a designer. While many celebrities have their own clothing lines, Paula’s is actually highly focused. She designs cheerleading and dancewear for her own line called Skirtz. Of course, Paula was actually a cheerleader herself as a Laker Girl in the early 1980s. So, wait, I guess that was her first career . . . After that, she went on to choreograph for big stars like Janet Jackson.

So, the first career was as a cheerleader, the second was as a choreographer, then she became a singer, then an American Idol judge, then a designer, then a reality television star. So, that technically makes the whole designing thing her, um, fifth career, right? I am so confused.

Anyway…

In addition to designing her dance clothing, Paula Abdul also designs jewelry based on the dedication of contestants on American Idol. The line is called “Innergy.” Many of the pieces have charm tags on them with messages like “Sing your heart out as if no one’s listening” and “When you wish upon a star you just might become one.” She’s even been known to give out various pieces of her own jewelry designs to contestants on the show.

No matter how many different ways Paula Abdul reinvents herself, she sure seems to stay pretty near and dear to Americans’ hearts.

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If you grew up around the same time I did, then you probably remember Justine Bateman as the air-headed Mallory on Family Ties. Wow, I haven’t thought of that show in a while. Before the Huxtables came along, it’s sort of what every family wanted to be, wasn’t it?

If you’re growing up right now, you might know her as Gabby’s drug-dealing boarder on Desperate Housewives. Oh, and you’re probably too young to be watching Desperate Housewives.

Justine Bateman actually went on to live out her most famous character’s fantasy. Mallory wanted to be a fashion designer, and Justine actually is. Her creations tend to center around her hobby and obsession of knitting. She started out by knitting stuff for friends, but as her ideas began to take on a life of their own, and in 2000 she started to get downright serious about it. Her little hobby turned into Justine Bateman Designs.

She creates some of the typical knitwear you would expect, like hats and such:

But some of her creations are a bit out there, like these boy briefs:

Bateman has even designed for some big names like Courtney Love, who got a sweater similar to this one:

Other famous clients include Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.