Fall Event List + Giveaway: Twice is Nice at the Textile Museum

Posted on August 31, 2011
Filed Under Events, Giveaways | 7 Comments

Next Wednesday, September 7, I’ll be hosting/guest-judging at Twice is Nice at the beautiful Textile Museum! If you’ve never been to the Museum, this event is your excuse to not only go and check out their Green show before it closes as well as Second Lives AND dress up AND score some new clothes. Here are the details:

Celebrate everything loved twice! Don a vintage ensemble (or anything you found at a thrift store!) and visit The Textile Museum for a night of fashion, music and drinks in the charming garden.

Prizes for best vintage outfit! (Start buttering me up now)
Clothing Swap – bring your old duds and swap them for new-to-you ones! (Clothing for swap need not be vintage.)
Food by Whisked! and Pinkberry, drinks from Nude Vodka and Honest Tea!
Live music by Laughing Man in the gardens; DJ Alcatraz spinning in the galleries

$10 (members receive 1 complimentary drink)
Tickets here.
…BUT YOU CAN GET IN FOR FREE: We’re giving away TWO PAIRS OF TICKETS for the event. So leave a comment telling us what you plan to wear, your favorite vintage score or favorite local thrift/vintage shop for a chance to win. We’ll draw the winners Friday at noon. Good luck!

Just another DC Party

Posted on August 26, 2011
Filed Under Events, Only in Washington | 1 Comment

Last Saturday night I found myself at Wonderbox for Mighty Aphrodite. There was a firebreather.

The b-thrifty challenge

Posted on August 23, 2011
Filed Under Shopping Events & News | Leave a Comment

Jackie has a serious talent for pattern mixing!

On Saturday, my friend Jackie and I woke up early to head out to the grand opening of the first b-thrifty chain to open in the area. The kind folks at b-thrifty gave us $100 each to spend so we could share just how much great stuff you can score. How much great stuff can you get, exactly? On my end: 4 dresses, 2 jackets/blazers, 2 skirts, 3 bags, a pair of earrings and a bunch of pretty housewares including a ceramic dish that would look at home on One Kings Lane.

One of my dresses is a forties polka-dot number that I can’t wait to wear early fall; I also scored a sporty-minimalist neon Byblos dress that I can’t wait to wear with black turtleneck and leggings. My new teal blazer will look really graphic with my new rag + bone cobalt cords.

A few tips for the novice thrift-shopper:
* Most thrift chains do not have dressing rooms (b-thrifty does, though), so wear a form-fitting first layer so you can slip things on and check them out in the mirrors at the end of the aisles.
* Don’t spend too much time trying to decide if the item is a keeper; throw it all into the cart and edit later!
* Sorry if this grosses anyone out, but smell the garment! If something is very musty, you’ll need to weigh whether it’s worth risking a purchase if the smell doesn’t come out with a washing.
* As with any shopping experience, check the washcare instructions! If it’s dry clean only, factor that time and money into the decision.

Happy shopping!

B-Thrifty
13412 Jefferson Davis Highway
Woodbridge, VA 22191-1211

GUESS What’s Under Here

Posted on August 17, 2011
Filed Under Everything Else | 4 Comments

There’s a newish GUESS store on F Street near Metro Center, which somehow didn’t blip on my radar til I walked past the other day. Whenever I come across the brand, I always think back to the time when, as a fashion-starved teenager growing up in Southwest Virginia, I was shopping at Sam’s Club with my parents, and showed my mom a t-shirt I wanted – black, with the brand-name “GUESS” embroidered across the chest (I know, I know). “Guess?” she said, “As in, ‘guess what’s under here?’” That was the end of that conversation.

Fashion Steps Out in Georgetown

Posted on August 11, 2011
Filed Under Around Town, Events, Only in Washington, Shopping Events & News | 1 Comment

Last night I donned my Favorite Black Wrap Dress (thank you, Mango a few years ago!) and cabbed over to CUSP Georgetown to join my fellow Hosts to celebrate the countdown to Fashion’s Night Out on September 8 in Georgetown. With the stamp of approval from Conde Nast and a bunch of great shopping + events planned (hint: hot air balloon!), the event has me super-excited for the fall season. Last year I left a red-carpet party on the waterfront, hopped a (free!) pedi-cab up to the now-shuttered Proper Topper, and hosted what has become one of my favorite events in the city – an intimate, candlelit fashion chat with Jenn Barger and Katherine Boyle from FW/Express and the dashing and wise Walker Lamond. We were joined by a wonderful group of fashion enthusiasts and a few curious and wonderful neighbors and their dogs. I can’t wait for this year!