I went to the White House for a holiday party and what can I say?! It was as gorgeous and special as you would hope, and truly an only-in-Washington experience. Our President and his Lady have such star power and were as gracious and funny and somber as you’d expect when they made their appearance, thanked everyone, and spoke about the meaning of the holiday season.

I loved this tree!! And look at this pretty food…

There were Bo-the-dogs everywhere! Also: I’m sitting in cool White House furniture. Fun!

Thanks, White House! See you next year?

I’m invited to a holiday party at the White House! With the POTUS and FLOTUS! What to wear, what to wear….!?!

In case you were wondering, it’s because of a partnership I’ve been working on between the House and our talented students at the Corcoran College of Art + Design, who created the illustrations for the annual White House guidebook both this year and last. Check out details and see a PDF of the guidebook here.

One of my favorite ladyfriends gets marrried (at the Corcoran, no less!) in just over a week, and it’s reminding me of the visit I paid to see Wedding Belles at the Hillwood Museum and Gardens over the summer. If you’ve never been to the estate, it’s absolutely worth a visit over one of the upcoming fall weekends. The grounds and home are beautiful, the cafe is great, and the special exhibition, nestled into what looks like a tiny cabin on the edge of the grounds, shows gorgeous weddings gowns from the 1870s through the 50s, worn by local society doyenne and Post cereal fortune heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, her mother and her daughters. Post was married four times: now there’s a surefire way to not look dated in your wedding dress!

There’s more to see in the house, which feels half glamorous house tour, half museum. Marjorie knew how to set the table for dinner….

Love the video at the end of the exhibition. Go! See!

There’s an amazing, relatively new art-decoish painted mural on the building that houses the Capitol Pool Checkers Club in Shaw. I’m not sure who painted it, but it was done this summer and is signed RTC.

It reminds me of black-and-white minimalism that always looks wonderful. Here, some similarly inspiring visuals seen streetside, snapped by Style.com’s Tommy Ton:

{For a great look at the Checkers Club, check out DeNeen Brown’s Washington Post article from last year.}

I’m honored to be part of rag + bone’s DIY Project and to reveal the images I shot for the campaign! A handful of Washingtonians were tapped to pick clothes from the Fall/Winter 2011 collection and photograph themselves in ways that represented them. I took my photos in my neighborhood, along 14th Street and against a fantastic art-covered alley wall behind the galleries Irvine Contemporary and transformer. rag + bone Designers David Neville and Marcus Wainwright were in town last night, fresh off their Spring 2012 presentation in NY, to celebrate the new store in Georgetown (our friends over at Revamp have some fab photos from the party). rag + bone’s expansion to our city is significant – it’s the line’s first store outside of NY.

I urge you to check out the store to see all of the photos, and to try on a pair of their jeans, which are the absolute-perfect fit (let’s just say that this ambassador thing is working out for them…). And special thanks to Lori at Redeem for loaning the gorgeous Maslo necklace I wore in the shoot. New-obsession-alert for this Virginia-based label!

Images courtesy Kyle Samperton.

Hu’s Wear & Hu’s Shoes is established in the hearts and minds of those of us who adore fashion in this city, but more likely than not, the wares have appeared in dreams as opposed to closets. But on FNO, this Thursday starting promptly at 6 pm, both Wear and Shoes will open the coffers of seasons-past designer goodies at a whopping 80% off from designers such as Alexander McQueen, Sonia Rykiel, D2Squared, Cacharel, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Sergio Rossi, Proenza Schouler. Racks and racks full, including at least an entire rack of jeans. Over the Labor Day weekend, we stopped in for an exclusive peek, just for you lovelies. Here’s the exclusive sneak peek.

Above, my one of my favorites:
S/S 2011 Martin Grant black and pink colorblock shift
Original: $1175
Sale: $235
Size: xs
Quantity: one

Early bird gets the worm.

OK…FNO this year is shaping up to be off-the-charts awesome. I have to say, the energy in this city for fashion and the fall event season is buzzing right now, and Georgetown’s work to bring FNO to Washington has been a big part of that excitement.

I’m honored to be a Host Committee member for FNO this year, and starting at 8:30 that night, I’ll be helping guests shop and doling out style advice at TARI. Voted Best Vintage Store in the Washington City Paper’s 2011 Best Of list, TARI stands out for designer vintage and consignment (men’s too!). The owners and event conceptualists Art Soiree have put together a night that will be both glamorous and see-and-be-seen and intimately private, thanks to their outside private lounge and event space, to be revealed that night.

You can shop for free of course, but $20 gets you admission to the outdoor event, complimentary antipasto, and Lambrusco. We’ll be playing La Dolce Vita on the big screen, encouraging playing dress-up and photographing you in your new outfits (oh, and if you end up purchasing something, you get in the event for free). Also, the 2012 Lamborghini Aventador will be onsite, which is just as exciting as it was for me to get to ride in one for my thirteenth birthday (it was ALL I WANTED at the time).

Check out event details and RSVP here. See you there, all you fabulous, sexy Washingtonians!

UPDATE: I’m giving away a pair of tickets to he TARI party! Enter to win by telling me something Italian that knocks your socks off: a particular dish, movie, designer, whatever. We’ll pick the lucky winner Wednesday, September 7 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!