FASHION AND YOU We asked sor teenagers to fell us how they fee! about fashion, Thomas (17), Netheriands I'ma vegan $0 | only wear clothes that haven't been manufactured from animal products. Vegan clothes {arent so aificuit to find that its a problem because most clothes nowadays are made from man-made fibres, Itjust means that Im not able to wear clothes or accessories made of leather, fur or wool. Kismet (16), Turkey [like smart, designer clothing and I don't believe that i's just for rich people. If you're able to save your money fo buy even one high-quality item occasionally when you go shopping and look after it carefully, dressing well becomes affardable. | never wear trainers unless Im playing sports, and I cant stand hocdies, baggy jeans or cheap jewellery, Denise (16), Brazil [im pretty fashion-conscious. Fortunately, m so creative that even when I don't have money, I'm able to ‘adapt clothes | already own io new fashions. For example, | cut holes in my jeans or I dye my clothes different colours when | get bored of them — basically, | make them into completely new things so they look cool again, Valentin (14), Russia | wouldn't really say that | follow fashion. usually wear casual clothes, such as jeans and a T-shirt or ‘racksuits and trainers, fd rather be comfortable in my clothes and concentrate on more important things ike my studies than keep up withthe latest trends. Marta (18), Norway Heavy metal music ig such a big par of my life that influences how | dress. | wear a lot of black clothes — black leather jackets and (always!) siver accessories such as earings and bracelets. | ike to stand out from the crovid so that people wall be able to recognise that | belong to a particular small croup with specific interests, Sophia (14), Italy | must admit that most of my allowance goes towards keeping up with the latest tends. I read magazines to {ind out what's in fashion and | go shopping at least once a month. | lke fo look so stylish that people turn their heads as | walk down the street. 'm pretty self-confident, so | don't worry about being the frst person in ‘school to wear a new siveGross or Net | just watched a programme on TV in which a group of young people were leaning how to become successful in the business world. At one point, they met Richard Branson, one of Bitain’s most famous business entrepreneurs. Branson, who is most famous for his Virain airline and record companies, was telling the young people that he hadn't been able fo understand the difference between gross and net until he was fy years old. | was surprised that this man, who'd started his first successful business venture when he ‘was sixteen, had never managed to master one of the mast important aspects of running a business, ‘So what is the difference between gross and net? A gross amount of money is the total amount before taxes or costs have been taken out. A net amount of money is the total amount after taxes or costs have been taken out It sounds simple but is more complicated than it sounds. | know this because | run 3 business. Unfortunately, my business isn't as successful as Richard Branson's so | ‘won't be joining him in the Forbes 2008 list of billionaires in the near future. In the TV programme, Richard told the young would-be entrepreneurs that they had to do everything they could to be succeed. He said that f they did fail then they would've leamt a lot and could try again | think this is the quality that has made Richard Branson so successful. He sees life as a series of challenges that have to be faced and overcome. It he doesn't succeed then he tries again, Apart from his business achievements, for which he was knighted in 1999 for services to entrepreneurship, he has tried to break world records on sea and in the air. Not bad for someone whose business emoire began with a magazine called Student, and who didn't know the difference between oross and net Until he was fifty!