June 13, 2011

Old Town Art Fair & Wells Street Art Festival

Between the Old Town and Wells Street Art Fairs, this was just an art filled weekend! I had never been to either of these street fests before and I had a great time at both. Old Town Art Fair had a lot more art while Wells Street was more of a social scene. It was nice to have a balance of both because they were equally as fun in my opinion. Oh, and I tried Polish food for the first time…which was quite the delight 🙂

I took some photos from the art festivals plus some of the items I picked up along the way. Whether you’re an art junkie or just like something to different to do on the weekend, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Old Town Art Fair

Fobots

My favorite Fobot, The Princess

Not sure what this is, but it's pretty awesome

One of my favorites from Old Town Art Fair

From the same vendor (as above) at Old Town Art Fair

And now for my purchases…

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I found this necklace at the same vendor as the peace sign pieces above. The artist makes these out of old return tags, keys and other charms. This return tag was from Chicago…so I knew I had to have it.

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Both of the photos above are taken by Xavier Nuez who is one of the most incredible photographers I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. He ventures into urban settings in the middle of the night and takes amazing photos of graffiti, buildings, alleys, etc. The coloring in all of his photos are just stunning. Seeing these vibrant colors in a nighttime setting is something I’ve never really seen, which is why I was so intrigued by this specific artist.

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This photograph is by Bruce Jeffries Reinfeld of High Fidelity Disco. His photos also had great use of color but in a completely different way than Xavier Nuez. Bruce uses both black and white and color in his photos to create these amazing images I couldn’t get enough of. Obviously when I saw the one of the Prada installation (off Highway 90 in West Texas), I knew it must be mine. One of the very few fashion-related pieces of art I saw at the festivals, it was my favorite purchase of the day.

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Did you go to the Old Town or Wells Street art festivals this weekend? If you didn’t, I highly recommend checking it out next year!

June 10, 2011

Scoop NYC Opening in Chicago’s Gold Coast

One of my favorite stores, Scoop NYC, is opening their second Chicago location this summer! The new boutique is set to open June 23 among the stylish stores of Gold Coast. Located at 1011 N. Rush Street, this is an amazing location for both tourists and local shoppers.

This is Scoop’s first store opening in 4 years and this will be their 15th location in the US. So why Gold Coast you may ask?

Susan Davidson, President and CEO of Scoop said, “Scoop has a robust client base in Chicago, and this second location will offer our current customers another shopping option while also introducing Scoop to new patrons and capitalizing on the terrific tourist clientele that shops on Rush Street.”

Some designers (and my personal favorites) you’ll find at Scoop include Helmut Lang, Missoni, Free City, Camilla Skovgaard, Zac Posen and many more. Great news for stylish men! There will be an entire men’s department on the 2nd floor featuring a variety of young and established designers including Dsquared, Billy Reid, and Simon Spurr.

So be sure to check out Scoop’s new store at 1011 N. Rush starting June 23!

June 8, 2011

Behind The Scenes at LaundryMagazine’s Growing Works

Last month I attended LaundryMagazine’s first ever Growing Works show, which was a huge success. People are STILL talking about it…including Refinery29!

Yesterday, they posted this fantastic video with behind the scenes footage, including the runway show with all of the designers and their collections. I absolutely love how this was filmed and it really showcases how amazing the event was.

Click here to watch the video

Behind The Scenes Action At This Summer’s Coolest Fashion Show

June 7, 2011

Red Carpet Fashion: 2011 CFDA Awards (Part 2)

I’m still a little confused as to why some of these celebrities attend this event. If you’re going to attend the awards ceremony for the Council of FASHION Designers of America, I’d hope you have some sense of fashion.

Anyway, I hope you’re all caught up with part 1 of my CFDA red carpet commentary, and now let’s move on to part 2…

Katie Cassidy in Behnaz Sarafpour

Just because you’re on the most fashionable show on TV (even though you played a crazy bitch), doesn’t mean you should be attending fashion events. This is exhibit A.

Karlie Kloss in Jason Wu (pictured with the designer)

I’m not a fan of red dresses and I’m less of a fan when paired with black accessories but for some reason I am loving this look. Maybe because Karlie is one of the raddest models out there. Maybe it’s because it’s a gorgeous Jason Wu gown. Most likely a combination of both.

Joy Bryant in Rachel Roy (pictured with the designer)

I think Joy Bryant is great and Rachel Roy is a beautiful person inside and out, which is why I feel terrible saying this…but I’m just hating everything. The dress is too tight and too short, there is too much black, and hair half up/half down rarely works for anybody.

Jessica Alba in Diane von Furstenberg

I absolutely love this color combo. These hues look perfect with Jessica’s glowing skin. This dress would look great on any girl…pregnant or not!

Emmanuelle Chriqui in David Meister

When bad dresses (and terrible styling) happen to pretty people.

Doutzen Kroes in J. Mendel

Too many elements I personally don’t like…red dress, black shoes, and one shoulder (a LONG SLEEVE one shoulder). She looks gorgeous though…and I do love the shoes (just not with the dress).

Chloe Sevigny in her own design for Opening Ceremony

Why does she look like she’s casting a spell on me here? Anyway, there are way too many design elements going on–ruffle, eyelet lace, plunging neckline, etc. And especially paired with those shoes…it’s just too much!

Ashley Greene in Michael Kors

Love the dress. I kind of like it on her. The poor styling is what kills it. The shoes are awful and the hair looks like a high school girl went crazy with a flat iron.

Amber Heard in Cynthia Rowley

When I initially look at this I think the main color of the dress washes her out. But the more I stare, the detailing really sticks out and brings some life to the dress. I love the unconventional shoe pairing and the belt is a nice touch.

Alessandra Ambrosio in Prabal Gurung

This is such a gorgeous dress but that enormous necklace is ruining it. Prabal is such a talented designer and Alessandra is so beautiful, but that damn necklace…it’s just unfortunate.

**Update: So I browsed through more photos of of Alessandra in this dress and I have officially changed my mind. I LOVE this look. When I saw shots at different angles (see these photos) I immediately fell in love. The necklace no longer bothers me…one of my favorite looks from the night!

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Who were your favorites at the CFDA Awards? Let me know in the comments section below.

Photos: Tom & Lorenzo, The Cut