First up: tonight, local designer Dana Ayanna Greaves hosts a fashion party at the Shaw Library (styling by fellow rag+bone DIY Ambassador Brooke Kao). Right now I’m crushing on her magazine tote and this necklace.

Monday night is the District Sample Sale, and if you haven’t ever been, you’re missing out. There are scores to be scord, so don’t sleep on snagging a ticket. What I bought last time: Loeffler Randall wool/silk dress shorts from Hysteria and a Trina Turk raw silk pencil skirt from Sherman Pickey.

Images courtesy Kyle Samperton.

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!

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!

Carla from The President Wears Prada shows off cute accessories (love the red plastic bow belt).

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Banana Republic event last Thursday! I had a blast meeting new blogger friends, playing dress-up and gossiping and bonding over fit in the dressing rooms. I ended up buying shorts in the process (eek).

When I arrived, I had my own special little dressing room.

I was wearing my boots and I tried on this lovely jersey gown with them. We declared the look very Ralph Lauren.

Here are some pics from the event, including some swatches of fabric I loved. Thanks again, BR, for making this happen!

Thursday*: screening of the Bill Cunningham documentary you loved, saw and now want to see again (for free!) Prepare to be photographed (obviously)! Also, there will be vintage bicycles because that’s how Bill rolls!
*Go to this if you’re not coming to my event in Tysons. Look at you, so many parties to attend, so few physical bodies to attend them in!

Friday:
5 pm book signing and appearance by Kelly Cutrone, who just wrote Normal Will Get You Nowhere. I confess to having never seen her show (I know I know) but I of course know of her, and she strikes me as smart, inspiring, funny and frightening all at once. I am getting this book and possibly her previous tome, If You Have to Cry, Go Outside. And as a nice girl from the South, probably taking much of both to heart.
7:30 fashion show

Saturday:
“Chic Children on the Row” events, including beignet-making and building fashion capitals from Legos, both of which sound awesome for just about anyone.

On Monday, I attended an intimate dinner in honor CFDA Award-winning designers David Neville and Marcus Wainright of rag & bone. The dinner celebrated the opening of their first store outside of New York City – right here in lil ol’ Washington, in Georgetown (click it over to Urban Daddy for the scoop and pix). I am excited to announce that I have been chosen as a Rag & Bone “DIY Project” Ambassador. The marketing campaign features a small, hand-selected group of DC’s influential and stylish, and will focus on personal style. Each member will offer their interpretation on how to wear pieces from the Fall/Winter 2011 collection. Here are pictures from the event at Chef Fabio Trabocchi’s delicious (anything seafood is particularly insanely amazing) new Penn Quarter restaurant, Fiola.

I wore blue silk Ralph Lauren palazzo pants and my red Bibas.

Aureta in a tophat from Pretty People

Brooke Kao in a cool floppy hat and TopShop shoes

{photo courtesy Revamp}

At this moment, Karl and Tori and Kanye are partying with the Annas (della Russo, Wintour) at the Met Ball. On Friday, I had my own bit of glamour at the 56th annual (!!) Corcoran Ball, to which I wore my beloved Mischen (RIP, so upsetting) thirties-esque color-block silk gown.

Many others went out and partied at the White House Correspondents Dinner and parties on Saturday, but I opted to stay home and read Eleanor Dwight’s biography on Diana Vreeland. I’m barely into it, and already I’m certain Dee-Ahhhna would have a permanent seat on my ultimate dinner table guest list.

The Corcoran Ball is so elegant! Everything, from the flowers to the custom linens and chair cushions and amazing table settings to the location in the galleries is so special. I mean, speaking of the ultimate dinner table… **UPDATE: I got a few email questions about the decor, etc…that’s the collaborative work of Occasions Caterers and Jack Lucky Floral Designs – who both go beyond what their names say and go into full-on event-planning/conceptualization.

NEXT at the Corcoran: BFA Class of 2011 is up, and I loved the playful relationship between the art and the decor in some of those galleries; this one in particular. This is one of Forest Allread’s paintings, the background is this lovely white fuzzy fur. It’s whimsical and wonderful.

The Women’s Committee of the Corcoran orchestrates the event each year. One member, Jeannette, wore a custom dress that she has had for years. She had it made so that the bottom third of the skirt can be removed via discreet buttons, for a cocktail dress. I love this thoughtful, old-school approach to building a wardrobe. And that elegant drape of crystal beads cascading down her back – fantastic!