Uniform Advantage, a leading national provider of scrubs and medical uniforms, announced today that it will be holding its first ever Facebook contest in honor of 2012 Nurses Week. This contest gives medical professionals and students the chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Fort Lauderdale Florida, a 4-night stay at a Fort Lauderdale Beach hotel, UA professional photo shoot and makeover for feature in the Fall 2012 catalog, a $200 UA shopping spree, and more. Contestants can enter by registering through the Ultimate Fan link on the UA Facebook page (http://www.Facebook.com/UAScrubs).

The Ultimate Fan contest will begin on March 14, 2012 and last until April 10, 2012. During this time, contestant's contributions to the UA Facebook page through comments and "likes" will be measured by the Ultimate Fan App . These rankings will continue until April 10, 2012 at midnight EST at which point the (1) Facebook fan with the most "participation points" will be recognized as the UA Ultimate Fan to be awarded the Florida getaway and catalog photo shoot. The runner-up will receive an e-gift card to Uniform Advantage. Additionally, each week during the contest UA will be giving away 3 e-gift cards valued at $50 each to randomly drawn winners out of the pool of the top 50 Facebook participants for that week.

At the end of the contest, all contestants except the grand prize winner, runner-up, and the 9 winners receiving UA gift cards throughout the contest will receive an exclusive UA coupon code as a "thank you" for their participation and to wish them a Happy 2012 Nurses Week.

SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade) Show 2012 took place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Sands Convention Center last week.

With 630,000 net square feet and some 1,600 exhibitors it is the largest and most comprehensive trade show for all professionals involved with the shooting sports, hunting and law enforcement industries and the world's premier exposition of combined firearms, ammunition, cutlery, outdoor apparel, optics and related products and services. The SHOT Show attracts buyers from all 50 states and more than 100 countries.

To the casual observer not much has changed since the last show, apart from larger attendance (61,000 this year) and more celebrity appearances. The Columbia River Knife and Tool Booth became particularly crowded when Aerosmith Lead singer and American Idol judge, Stephen Tyler showed up to see CRKT's latest knives.

Textile service company Lindström, a Finnish family business, has invited students of clothing design from Europe and Asia to take part in a design competition. For the students, the competition is an opportunity to become familiar with the challenges of an international textile service company in the area of workwear design.

"Professional, customer-oriented design work is a prerequisite for good textile service. Companies have discovered the benefits of outsourced textile service, and designers will be in great demand in the sector of corporate workwear design," says Juha Laurio, Lindström's President and CEO. "Indeed, it is out objective to highlight the significance of workwear design from the perspective of both companies and designers."

Students at universities that teach clothing design in Lindström's area of operation, Europe and Asia, were invited to take part in the competition. The goal of the competition is to give students of the industry an opportunity to showcase their competence and bring fresh ideas to corporate workwear. With their design experience, the students will be able to network with other students in the field and create important contacts.

Some of our most memory-filled possessions sit in the attic, boxed up with mothballs. It is the flannel shirt of a woodsman father, it is the juice-stained skirt of a mother who made the best blueberry jam and, for many, it is the military uniform of a relative who served in World War II, Vietnam or Iraq.

But why should those precious garments, so meaningful that one would never consider throwing them away, remain hidden in a dusty storage space? What memories, then, could they possibly evoke? These questions led Johanna "Jodi" Ferro of Belfast to recently start a small clothing company she has appropriately named Walked in Fabrics.

Ferro reuses people's old clothing to make new, custom designs. She calls it, "wearing a memory, and wearing it proud."

It works like this: You ship her any clothing that holds meaning to you. Then, with some direction, she combines old fabric with new to create a custom dress, skirt, vest or handbag — whatever you like.

In conjunction with the release of the new Carhartt Rental Active Jacket, Cintas has launched its search for the "Cintas & Carhartt Cold Crew." Contestants can enter the contest by submitting a short essay and photo at http://www.cintas.com/carharttcoldcrew.

Contest organizers are looking for workers in the U.S. and Canada whose jobs require them to withstand tough conditions in cold temperatures. These individuals are encouraged to share their stories and explain why Carhartt workwear is essential to their jobs.

Entries will be accepted through Feb. 29, 2012, at which time Cintas and Carhartt will select its Cold Crew finalists and begin public voting at the contest website. The grand prize winner will be announced in March, and he or she will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the 2012 STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. on June 15 – 17.

The Carhartt Rental Active Jacket is available through Cintas in Carhartt brown and features a quilted flannel lining for warmth, an attached hood, two large lower outside front pockets and secure inside pockets, triple-stitched seams for added durability and a heavy-duty zipper. It is available in sizes small through 5XL.

No two jobs are alike, but when your job is forcing you to leave home, you're probably doing so in clothes you'd never choose to wear. Of course, many of those in the public eye have official uniforms, leaving them with at least the freedom of not having to worry about what to wear, even if they are being dressed against their will. 

Click here for the top 10 worst work uniforms, courtesy of AOL Jobs. 

Salem, VA - Fire fighters in Salem unveiled their new uniforms that also double to help fight breast cancer.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and the fire crew will be wearing bright pink shirts for the month as part of a national campaign to promote breast cancer awareness.

"There's an old saying that real men wear pink which means you gotta have a lot of gumption about you to wear pink out in public. So it does bring the pink color to everyone's attention, and it's gotta mean something," said Pat Counts, from Salem Fire Chief. "By taking the pink color and relating it to breast cancer awareness, it really gets the word out."

The shirts were bought by ServPro, which is a company that cleans up following fires and donated to the department.

What countries are obsessed with uniforms? What countries support Casual Friday? And what countries think it's OK to wear a Speedo to an office party?

Reuters and international market research firm Ipsos answered these questions and many more in last year's "Proper Attire in the Workplace" survey, based on 12,691 recent interviews in 24 countries comprising 75% of the world's GDP.

We took a look at the results and have shared the most interesting findings.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/office-attire-dos-donts-2011-8#ixzz1U4SXuzpj

Research shows that Apple iPads are redefining healthcare. Medelita®, a performance lab coat, uniforms and scrubs manufacturer, is giving away a 16GB iPad 2 to three medical professionals.

San Clemente, CA (PRWEB) July 20, 2011

An old Welsh proverb states, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." While the health claims of the popular fruit have remained strong, the company Apple is doing anything but keeping healthcare professionals away. In a recent survey conducted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, 70% of their members expected to implement the use of iPads in their hospitals by the end of 2011. In a similar study, based on more than 550,000 healthcare providers, Bulletin Healthcare reported that mobile access to medical news had increased 45% over the past year. According to their findings, Apple clearly dominates the medical industry. "Combined, the iPhone and iPad grabbed more than 90%," said Bill Mulderry, president of Bulletin Healthcare.

Popular throughout the medical industry, iPads are being used for far more than medical news. From diagnostic encyclopedias and electronic medical records to hospital applications and test results available at their fingertips, the medical community is utilizing these mobile technologies across the board to learn new skills, provide better patient care, and improve the efficiency of every aspect of the medical profession.

Medelita®, a high-quality performance lab coat and scrubs manufacturer for both men and women, is a company driven by forward thinking and technological advancement. After eight years working in Emergency Medicine, Physician Assistant, Lara Manchik, PA-C, founded Medelita to address an urgent need in the healthcare industry for functional, performance-based lab coats and scrubs of superior quality, with ergonomic fit, superb durability, and professional styling. More than simply designer-quality medical apparel, Medelita has ensured that even their fabric works overtime along with their busy and dedicated customers. Medelita lab coats are breathable 100% cotton treated with DuPont™ Advanced Dual Action Teflon® fabric protector. Medelita is the first medical apparel manufacturer to use this nanotechnology to protect lab coats from fluid, soil, and stains, including blood.

On July 1st, Medelita launched an iPad 2 contest for medical professionals, and will be awarding a 16GB iPad 2 to three winners in the upcoming months. Although conference attendance is not necessary to win, the first two winners of the random drawing will be announced at the American College of Emergency Physicians Scientific Assembly conference in San Francisco, California from October 15th - 18th, 2011. The winner of the third iPad 2 will be announced by Medelita on December 1st, 2011 - allowing that lucky person the opportunity to begin the new year with an advanced tool for success and efficiency. Full contest rules are available at http://www.medelita.com/ipad2contest.

Read more: click here. 

Two collectors of vintage airline uniforms talk about the evolution of style in the skies

From boxy blazers to synthetic shirts that emit more static crackle than an airport tannoy, many of the air stewardesses uniforms we encounter when heading off on holiday aren't exactly chic.

It wasn't always like this, though, from the 1940s until the late 1970s, stewardess uniforms were at the cutting edge of jet-set glamour. Retro outfits that now look deeply kitsch, as well as classic motifs that remain part of the look, have continued to influence mainstream fashion.

Many designers have even created uniforms. Emilio Pucci's designs for Braniff International were probably the most memorable, including its 1965 "space helmet", a clear plastic bubble designed to protect hairstyles from wind and rain on the walk from the terminal to the plane before the air bridge was introduced. The only drawback was that stewardesses found it difficult to hear anything.

Armani designed uniforms for Alitalia in the 1990s and Christian Lacroix for Air France in 2005; Valentino, Hermès, Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain and Mary Quant all tried their hand in the sector. Now, details from vintage uniforms have found their way into several contemporary collections: the retro geometric patterns, trapeze shapes and bold colours of Marc by Marc Jacobs, for example; the 1970s prints and colours of Diane von Furstenberg; and the silky pussy-bow blouses of designers everywhere. Not to mention the Duchess of Cambridge's line in neat little hats, which aren't a million (air) miles away from what might be seen on British Airways hostesses.