Three Tribe Members at Borris Powell’s Show: Nicole, Corri, and Jena
The Style Tribe is Chicago’s newest favorite personal style blog. The website is a hybrid between a street style and a personal style blog and features one of the five women each day of the week; my good friend and ChiCityFashion blogger Jena Gambaccini, local entrepreneur Corri McFadden, Nicole, Erin, and Bridget. I love the concept for including a group of women. In my opinion, personal style blogs can get a little stale because it’s always the same person. So including a group of fashionable women, each of whom posts once a week, avoids that blogging pitfall.
I mentioned The Style Tribe earlier this week in my post about the Gilt City Chicago warehouse sale, but these ladies looked so fashionable at Borris Powell’s show tonight that I had to give them their own post!
Erin Gordon for Sarca
Alexis Cozzini, Lesley Prizant Goodman, and Carol McKinnon
This past Saturday I attended my second
Erin Gordon trunk show at
Sarca hosted by Lesley Prizant Goodman. Erin Gordon’s bracelets have gone viral within the Chicago fashion set, helped in no small part by her recent features in Time Out Chicago, Chicago Social (CS Magazine) and on Refinery29. In fact, I was wearing one of her bracelets to a VIP event at
Shrine Haberdashery and a woman came up to me to ask if my bracelet was by Erin Gordon. Make sure to stop by Sarca to check out her Spring 2011 collection. Click below to continue reading.
Sarca manager Siera Seedman (left) next to Brooke Hollingsworth (middle)
Sarca client Molly Hamilton arrived early to create her own custom set of Erin Gordon bracelets. Alexis, Siera, Erin, and her assistant Brooke all worked together to make sure Molly received the perfect combination of colors and charms. The bracelets are available with a wide variety of beads and charms, including handcuffs, pistols, skulls, feathers, Buddhas, and elephants, to name a few. There are also a wide variety of semi-precious stone beads, including jade, labradorite, quartz, lapis lazuli, turquoise, along with many more. After much debate over the combination of colors and charms, Molly was a happy customer and left with a wrist full of Erin Gordon bracelets!
Customer Molly Hamilton trying on bracelets
Building Molly’s perfect set of bracelets
I picked up a jade bracelet with a large skull bead – perfect for balancing out my sometimes overly-sweet personality. I realized it’s time to add some edge to my wardrobe and Erin Gordon is there to help!
My new Erin Gordon bracelet
Sarca is located at 710 North Wabash.
Visit
ShopSarca.com or call 312-255-0900 for more information.
Models backstage before the runway show
Chicago Fashion Foundation
On March 3, 2011, the Chicago Fashion Foundation hosted the fourth annual Scholarship Event at the Chicago History Museum. Nine local fashion students presented their original designs to compete for the grand prize of a $5,000 scholarship. Project Runway alum Peach Carr served as the evening’s host, and she also presented her line of tennis inspired sportswear.
Peach Carr and Me backstage before the show
Chicago’s leading social blogger Candace Jordan, 24/7 Chicago Host Catie Keogh, local designer Lara Miller, and Giorgio Armani’s Amanda Monteiro served as the competition’s judges.
From Left to Right: Amanda Monteiro, Candace Jordan, Lara Miller, Catie Keogh
Please click here to continue reading
I fortuitously captured a photograph of the winner, Ana Leon, presenting her favorite look to the judging panel. The competition was actually scored ahead of time to allow the judges a closer look at the garments. This photo was taken in the middle of the judging process.
Competitor Ana Leon presenting her collection
I caught the judging panel debating the merits of each collection in between the designer presentations and the runway shows. My lips are sealed, girls!
Judges debating who should win
In between the designer presentations (which took place before people began entering the event) and the runway show, guests had the opportunity to mingle, drink, and dine on hors d’oeuvres. I photographed a few of the attendees and Chicago Fashion Foundation team members socializing below:
After spending over an hour socializing with guests and other members of the press corps, I was ready for the runway show to start. I was pleasantly surprised at how long this show was. When I saw the Tibi show in New York, it flew by in under 10 minutes whereas this show was over half an hour. A runway show like this is geared towards the general public for entertainment and social purposes, whereas the New York shows are geared towards buyers and the fashion industry elite.
Ana Leon’s winning look during the runway show
Peach’s first look
Peach’s tennis inspired sportswear collection was showcased about half-way through. It was adorably athletic and showcased her trademark cuteness. I really enjoyed seeing the sartorial creativity expressed by Chicago’s young designers. My hope for the future is that Americans will become more comfortable using fashion and style as a vehicle of self-expression and individualism, rather than a tool of conformity. A paradigm shift towards supporting independent designers will not only benefit local economies, but it will leader to a richer and more diverse popular culture. My generation is far more comfortable with fashion as a form of differentiation – helped in part by Lady Gaga, no doubt – so let’s keep our fingers crossed that some day Americans across the country will be dressing for street style photographers like New Yorkers, Parisians, and now Chicagoans already do!
And most importantly, congratulations to the winner Ana Leon!
Ana Leon with the CFF team and her $5000 check!
