Asha Trunk Show

Posted on April 30, 2008
Filed Under Shopping Events & News | 3 Comments

Designer Ashley Dodgen-McCormick, who’s now 25, went to Georgetown but launched her line while in high school. Her stuff is some of the prettiest, most wearable jewelry I’ve seen in a long time. Pretty but not overly delicate. So pretty that when I popped into the store a few weeks back, I whipped out my camera and snapped a few shots (they’re on my home laptop so I might post them later).

She’ll be dropping in to the event, as will local designer Ruth Barzel, whose jewels are also lovely and also carried at Apres.

Asha has blown up over the past year (featured in Elle, NYT, on fabsugar etc) and is carried in a few other places but Apres Peau will have most of the collection for the trunk show and there will be special pricing….this is all just in time for Mother’s Day.

keep looking »

Prom Party People

Posted on April 30, 2008
Filed Under Around Town, Only in Washington | 8 Comments

Joel McHale!…wins the award for most fun.

NBC’s Courtney Hazlett in a Tibi pantsuit. One of my favorite looks from Tammy’s brunch.

Rosario Dawson wins for most personable famous person. I asked her what label she was wearing at Tammy Haddad’s brunch and she showed me the inside of her purse, which revealed a little sticker cheat sheet.

Then we laughed and talked and wouldn’t ya know, I never did end up finding out what she was wearing.

p.s…these are the shoes in question from yesterday’s comments.

keep looking »

Prom’s Best

Posted on April 29, 2008
Filed Under Events, Only in Washington, Women | 5 Comments

I’m thrilled to say that my vote for best-dressed at this year’s White House Correspondent’s Association dinner goes not to a Hollywood starlet but to Washington’s own Katherine Bradley. She was positively radiant in Carolina Herrera’s printed yellow silk chiffon gown.

Saturday’s pre-party at the Washington Hilton was packed with stars with year (and dozens of squealing 12 year-olds). Style-wise, I think everyone stepped it up a bit from last year (here and here). Men had a bit more fun with tuxedo dressing; Tracy Ullman’s plus-one Bruce Wagner looked good. Not a lot of pattered vest or cummerbunds like some did last year, thankgawd, and I noticed a ton of interesting eyewear on men. Liya Kebede, who no one seemed to know, wore a satin off-the-shoulder Derek Lam gown with a train, and Padma Lakshmi wore a gorgeous one-shoulder aqua gown. Pamela Anderson looked like…well, Pam Anderson.

I snapped for Washingtonian this year, so click on over to see all the photos.

keep looking »

Spring Fever! M Street

Posted on April 24, 2008
Filed Under On The Street, Women | 2 Comments

keep looking »

Shoshanna at Urban Chic on Thursday

Posted on April 21, 2008
Filed Under Shopping Events & News | 2 Comments

I’m looking forward to my interview with Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss (GW grad, bytheway) on Thursday. Clotheswise, she gets the whole “structure thing” and I think it’ll be interesting to talk to her about her success in the fashion industry (she made the career choice post-college with no formal education or training). Plus, Lonstein Gruss occasionally shows up on one of my favorite guilty-pleasure blogs, the NYC photo & gossip site Park Avenue Peerage. Interested to hear her take on all of that, too. If you all have any questions for her, let me know!

keep looking »

Listopad Vintage @ Marvin

Posted on April 21, 2008
Filed Under Around Town, Events, Men, Women | 6 Comments

I spent all day Saturday talking and sipping and eating nicoise salad and looking at clothes on the Marvin deck.

Needless to say, it was good.

keep looking »

Frill Seekers

Posted on April 18, 2008
Filed Under Everything Else, Women | 1 Comment

{Lovely Lanvin from style.com}

I want some cheap frills.

It’s Friday and I’m in a giddily happy mood, due in no small part to the copious amounts of caffeine I’ve consumed today (thank you BOTH illy and Dunkin’ Donuts) and the fact that it’s utterly gorgeous today. I’m daydreaming about whirling through the city in ruffly and bright candy-colored dresses a la Lanvin Spring 2008 (of course).

Lanvin had such a spot-on fling with Spring that it makes me grateful for the way fashion trends trickle down to affordable options at stores like Forever 21 and TopShop and Zara. Still, I’ve had two very tempting run-ins with Lanvin’s recent line: seeing the billowing “sail” dress everyone’s been talking about from the Steven-Meisel-photographed ad campaign in person at a store in Tysons (totally should have tried it on), and seeing Lindsey Drath in Elbaz’s ruffled purple stunner, above, on the Fashion for Paws runway last weekend. Since my camera crapped out early, read Chris Correa’s report for Express.

A girl can (day)dream…or she can scope the many iterations of ruffled Lanvinesque lovely online. It is Friday afternoon…are you really working at this point? Here are my picks, and if you dare share, leave links to your favorite ruffled Web discoveries in the comments.