Growing Works 2011

I posted about the highly anticipated event Laundry Magazine’s Growing Works about 3 weeks ago, and the time has finally come. On Tuesday night I attended the Growing Works show at the gorgeous Garfield Park Conservatory. This was my first time at this venue and it’s the perfect space to host a fashion show. I know this event has been in the works (no pun intended) for quite some time…and it definitely paid off. It’s so great to provide an event for local young talent to showcase their designs and what better company to host this event than Laundry Magazine? Be sure to check out the full list of designers and their profiles from the show.

Check out my pre-show photos…

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The Runway

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Backstage

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With Kelsey Kreiling, Editor In Chief of Laundry Magazine

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Growing Works program

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Pretending to straighten the bowtie of The Bowtie Memoirs

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With Ryan Beshel, of The Bowtie Memoirs

Let’s start the show…


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Red Carpet Fashion: 2011 Met Gala (Part 3)

This is the last red carpet fashion post for the Met Gala. Any previous coverage has been posted in best dressed, part 1 and part 2. Hope you’ve enjoyed the fashion as much as I have!

Enjoy part 3…

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Emma Roberts in Michael Kors

I’ve really been loving Emma’s red carpet choices lately. She looks stunning in this Michael Kors gown and it fits her perfectly. However, this could have been worn to just about any red carpet event and she could have done more for the Met Gala.

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Dianna Agron in Michael Kors

I love Glee, but I find Dianna’s red carpet choices to be quite boring. She looks gorgeous and it’s a pretty dress but again, IT’S THE MET GALA PEOPLE. Time to step it up!

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Daphne Guinness in Alexander McQueen

Now THIS is someone I can always count on to make a statement. She got dressed for the Met Gala in the Barneys windows…it doesn’t get more statement-making than that. This was the perfect dress to wear when making a tribute to her good friend and late designer, Alexander McQueen.

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Dakota Fanning in Valentino

I actually think this dress is perfect for the occasion. It looks gorgeous on her, but is she not wearing ANY makeup? I mean come on…if you’re going to put the effort into wearing a gown like this, at least do something with the hair and makeup.

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Ciara in Prabal Gurung

I love this dress, especially because I appreciate some Prabal on the red carpet, but the jewelry completely ruins the look. I’m not sure if that’s one large cuff or several bracelets, either way they are completely unnecessary. If the jewelry choices were different, this may have made best dressed! (okay that and a different hair style)

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Christina Ricci in Zac Posen

I actually don’t love this dress and I can’t help but think of the movie Beetlejuice, but it is THE ultimate Met Gala gown. It’s dramatic and makes a statement yet isn’t over styled. I can go either way on this…

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Brooklyn Decker in Michael Kors

Love the dress. Indifferent about the bag. Hate the hair. However, this look would work at a more “mainstream” red carpet event (with a different hair style of course).

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Blake Lively in custom Chanel

Don’t you wish Karl was making YOU custom Chanel gowns for fancy red carpet events? I do. But I’ll let Blake have the spotlight…for now. I wouldn’t love the dress on anyone else but she looks gorgeous…doesn’t she always though?

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Beyonce in Emilio Pucci

Can she move? Can she breathe? This is when a size up would have been helpful. May have given this look an entirely different vibe but I just can’t help but think she’s going to pass out due to lack of air.

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Ashley Olsen in vintage Christian Dior

I did not like this at first but I’m really growing to love it. Again, it’s fit for an Olsen and no one else, so it works here. I think it’s great how they incorporate designer vintage into modern times and it works for them. I do think she could have done with different shoes but I’ll stop being picky.

I hope you enjoyed all my 2011 Met Gala coverage. Until next year!

Photos: Tom & LorenzoThe Cut

Red Carpet Fashion: 2011 Met Gala (Part 2)

Hope you’ve been keeping up with my Met Gala fashion coverage. If not, see my best dressed picks and part 1 of the red carpet fashion. If you’re all caught up then let’s continue…

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Mia Wasikowska in Thakoon

An awkward hemline and boring shoes, but the fit of this dress is stunning. The detailing on the bodice is dramatic enough to make this black dress really stick out. I’ve seen better, but I’ve seen worse.

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Mary Kate Olsen in vintage Givenchy Couture

I actually don’t mind the dress…it’s very MKO (vintage and oversized) but the green accessories paired with this red dress? Come on. You can’t help but think, CHRISTMAS. And are those bells sticking out of the necklace and bracelet? This outfit is only appropriate on December 25th (if that).

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Leighton Meester in Louis Vuitton

She always means well. Leighton truly thinks she’s making fashionable choices, but unfortunately the styling is always all wrong. From the neck up you’d think she’s wearing a flowing gold strapless gown, and from the neck down you’d think she’s about to start torturing you…with a whip.

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Lea Michele in Escada

Lea always looks gorgeous on the red carpet. I will give her that. But this is way too understated for the Met Gala. I know she can do better.

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Jennifer Lopez in Gucci

Nothing is working for me here. Pink bag with a pink dress, then red lips, with crazy floral shoulder detailing and that neck wrap…it’s just too much! Sorry JLo…I’d stick to the sequins you’re used to.

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Jennifer Hudson in Vera Wang

Waist up is gorgeous. Waist down is a disaster.

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Iman in Stella McCartney

The same rules apply to SJP as they do to Iman. You do not criticize, you just admire.

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Ginnifer Goodwin in custom Topshop

I really do appreciate what she’s trying to do here. I actually love this dress on its own, I think the shoes are awesome, but the face she’s giving with her odd haircut kind of scares me. I’m not a huge fan of this hair style so it automatically makes me hate this overall look.

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Florence Welch in YSL

So angelic. This event is meant for people like Florence Welch. It’s her look, and she owns it.

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Eva Mendes in Stella McCartney

Not the biggest fan of a the long sleeve one-shoulder dress, however this one is a gorgeous color and I love the pleating. Eva looks pretty, but it’s now wowing me.

Look out for part 3 coming soon!

Photos: Tom & LorenzoThe Cut

Red Carpet Fashion: 2011 Met Gala (Part 1)

It was so hard for me to choose my best dressed picks from the Met Gala last night because there were so many amazing dresses. This is why I think a follow up post (or 2) is much needed. These ladies were probably getting ready since 10am yesterday, so they deserve a little credit right?

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Joy Bryant in Missoni

Joy is such a beautiful woman and I do love her in this Missoni dress (it’s kind of hard for me to hate anything Missoni) but it is a little casual for the Met Gala. I mean, it’s a gala…a long sleeve knit dress simply won’t do.

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Kristen Stewart in Proenza Schouler, pictured with the designers Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez

As you all know, I LIVE for Proenza Schouler so I hate to say this…but this just isn’t working for me. I don’t hate the dress but Kristen needs to learn how to work the red carpet. She was getting better but she went right back down hill because she looks miserable here. You’re wearing CUSTOM PROENZA K-Stew…try to look a little happier!

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Karolina Kurkova in Jean Paul Gaultier Couture

Never thought I’d find myself loving a “mullet hem” dress paired with lace leggings, but for the Met Gala it totally works. She’s a model so owning a look is her job…and she should get a raise because she is doing all sorts of good for Mr. Gaultier.

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Isabel Lucas in Louis Vuitton

I am now sort of regretting not including this in my best dressed post, because the more I look at it the more I love it. The dress is a stunning color, the pleats are perfect, and that headpiece only works for this occasion and I find it quite beautiful. If anyone can find me that exact bag, or something very similar, please inform me immediately…because I must have it.

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Crystal Renn in Zac Posen

THIS IS HOW YOU OWN A LOOK ON THE RED CARPET. Stunning.

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Anna Dello Russo in Alexander McQueen

This is not what I was expecting from ADR, but I’m not totally hating it. She’s the Lady Gaga of the fashion industry, which is why the egg headpiece couldn’t be more perfect. She can wear anything, and do no wrong.

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Taylor Swift in J. Mendel

Dear Taylor, thank you for not wearing your hair in those little girl crimps/curls, thank you for not wearing a short sparkly dress, and thank you for doing something DIFFERENT. I normally wouldn’t love this but it’s a step in the right direction so I must say…I’m impressed.

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Zoe Saldana in Calvin Klein

Love this color on her. She always kills it on the red carpet. However, this seems a little casual and safe for the Met Gala. She maybe could have pulled it off with some more statement accessories but the gold necklace is not enough to make the cut.

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Sarah Jessica Parker in Alexander McQueen

This dress fits her perfectly. The shoe pairing is a little unconventional which I always appreciate. I was expecting something more extravagant from SJP, but in fashion we are not allowed to criticize SJP so I will leave it at that.

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Rihanna in Stella McCartney

I don’t really know what to say here. The dress looks amazing on her and I do love the colored earrings paired with it…but the hair is ruining everything. It’s what I like to call “the dragon braid” and when your hair is FLAMING RED, it’s just too much.

Photos: Tom & LorenzoThe Cut

Best Dressed: Met Gala 2011

Last night was the Met Gala…otherwise known as the Met Ball, Costume Institute Gala, and the “Oscars of Fashion.” As I like to say, normal red carpet events are meant to please the mainstream, and the Met Gala is meant to please the fashion world. There were a lot of fabulous dresses out there, which of course can easily be ruined by poor styling choices. No one is perfect, but when you have a team of hair stylists, wardrobe stylists and makeup artists on hand, you are expected to get pretty damn close.

With that said, here are my best dressed picks for the 2011 Met Gala…

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Miranda Kerr in custom Marchesa

Her job is to be an angel, and she looked like quite the fashionable one in this custom Marchesa dress. Those appear to be Nicholas Kirkwood shoes which is always a funkier pairing choice. I appreciate when celebs choose an unexpected accessory, and pairing this stunning dress with something other than a sparkly pump is exactly what I’m talking about.

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Margherita Missoni in Missoni

I can always count on Margherita Missoni for some unexpected accessory pairings. Belting this dress definitely dresses it down, but I don’t hate it. Wearing a spiked necklace with those statement bracelets is a bold move, and it’s the perfect juxtaposition to the pastel lightness of the dress.

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Liv Tyler in Givenchy Haute Couture

The 2011 Met Gala wouldn’t be the 2011 Met Gala without at least one dress from the Givenchy Spring 2011 Couture collection. That collection screams WEAR ME TO THE MET so I’m glad Liv Tyler decided to go this direction. The bright yellow clutch is a perfect pairing for this lavish gown.

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Gwyneth Paltrow in Stella McCartney

I’m normally not one for simplicity but this was too perfect to pass up. I know she does this minimalistic nude dress look often, but you can’t help but stare. When a dress fits like a glove, it makes all the difference…and this fit is just amazing.

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Emma Stone in Lanvin

To be honest, I don’t really like this dress. So why did I pick this look for my best dressed picks? Because the drama it brings combined with the bold lips and statement earrings is just amazing. I had to look at this a few times to make sure I loved it, and although this will be a controversial one…I LOVE this look.

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Diane Kruger in Jason Wu

This is another look that brings the drama. A large slit is an easy way to pump up the drama, plus the hair and makeup really compliment the outfit. She is also working the HELL out of this look…which is always important when posing on the red carpet. The dress is gorgeous on it’s own but was meant to be worn by Miss Kruger.

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Demi Moore in Prabal Gurung

Another controversial look, most would see this and give a big WTF, but this was my absolute favorite dress from the Prabal Gurung Fall 2011 collection so I had to include it here.  I actually was hoping someone wore it to the Oscars, so when I saw it at the Met Gala I was beyond thrilled. Although the headpiece is a little much, this is the ONLY event you can get away with wearing a head-to-toe feathered look. My only comment, I wish she would have “worked it” like Diane, because the standard smile-and-pose does not work with a look like this.

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Gisele Bundchen in Alexander McQueen

This entire event was dedicated to the late Alexander McQueen, so I knew there would be quite a few McQueen dresses on the red carpet…although there were none like this. If you’ve read my red carpet commentary posts before, I rarely ever fall in love with a red dress (it’s my least favorite color…especially paired with the RED carpet). However, I literally gasped when I saw this photo. If anyone but Gisele wore this, my reaction would be completely different. But she BROUGHT IT in this dress and I am loving every bit of it.

Who were your best dressed picks? Let me know in the comments section below!

Photos: Tom & Lorenzo, Radar Online, The Cut