Bellevue Fashion Week

Since I missed most of Bellevue Fashion Week (BFW) due to being in Japan, I was only able to attend 2 events this year, Youa attended the rest so check out her blog for the recap of the other shows. The first being the Lululemon Athletica fashion show and the Vogue Front Row Fashion Show. This years events were held at the Hyatt and it turned out to be a great location - parking was free!!

Lululemon Athletica: This show was a bit different than any of the others I have attended in the past. It began with some belly dancers and then moved to 20 minutes of Allison Forsyth, owner of Lululemon Athletica, giving a motivational speech about her time in the Olympics and her mother's battle with cancer. Her story was well received and touching but it was quite a different format for a fashion show. After she was done talking they had 8 or so models come out on both sides of the runway and workout in their clothes. Then they would switch sides. It came down to about 8 different outfits but different workout routines (however they seemed to lean more towards yoga). I liked the clothing and even saw a pair of shorts I need to go buy for my hot yoga classes but the workouts kind of took my attention away from the clothing and more on what was going on... Not sure if that was the point. Each model/athlete was really good at what they were doing - some of the yoga moves were amazing! All in all it wasn't a bad show, just different from what I have experienced before... Here are the pictures from the evening.

Vogue Front Row: The Vogue fashion show was introduced by Anne Vincent, Vogue's merchandising expert. She told us that some of the models were flown in from LA and some were from Seattle. I will say I missed the models that I have seen in years past but this selection of models did a fine job showing off the clothes and strutting their stuff. The selection of clothing was well paired with the different themes of the show. The 80's section of the show reminded me of the color block spread they did in The September Issue (if you haven't seen it you need to!).

I think my favorite part of the entire show was when they flashed past photos from the magazine up before the segment would begin. As for the fashion, tights were the one thing that stood out the most to me - lots and lots of great tights. I will be stocking up on tights for sure, especially after seeing all the great patterns and colors.

Thanks Vogue for adding a new element to our fashion scene! I wonder if they will pair up with Vogue next year or go it alone. In my opinion, BFW doesn't need Vogue to put on a great fashion week. It's definitely a very cool element to have but they have some talented people on their staff and have for the last few years pulled off some amazing shows. So, if Vogue comes back that will be great but if not, no worries, BFW will still be an amazing week of events.

Lastly, thanks BFW for allowing the media to even get swag bags - that is ALWAYS a plus! (7 Salon free haircut, shoe shine kit, spa kit, gift cards and discounts, headband, and much more).

Check out my pictures from the event - I can't say they turned out as well as I had hoped since I was in the 2nd row and had a few heads in the way. You get the idea though. :)

Something New at UFN

Tonight I started a little social networking page and would love for you all to check it out and join us in cyber space. :) See you there!!

The Collective

Tonight was the final show of Bellevue Fashion Week, The Collective. Dawn was unable to attend so my co-worker Katelyn came with me. The Collective is a show consisting of collections of clothing from several of the Bellevue Square merchants. Participating merchants were: Aerosoles, Aritzia, Banana Republic, Cache, David Lawrence, gilt, GUESS?, JZ Rose, Louie Permelia, Macy's, MARQSMEN, Mercer, Oilily, Road, Sephora, Shoefly, and Voletta Couture.

We arrived at 6pm where we were greeted by Cheryl Engstrom of Engstrom PR, she has been such a huge help to us since we started with getting us into the Bellevue shows. Thank you Cheryl! We were then escorted to the runway before the guests so we could pick out our seats. I picked the right side front of the runway - no photographer heads in my shots this time! (YAY!)

After getting situated, we headed back out to join the rest of the fashion guests and had a few Hermosa Sunset cocktails and appetizers from Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill. At 7pm guests were let into the runway area, it was a mad rush for seats where gift bags were waiting for them. The show was opened up with a large check being presented to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Bellevue from 100% of ticket sales from the evening.

The runway segments were easy to follow with their cute titles, each one worked with the clothing perfectly (i.e. Updated School Girl). I labeled them in the photo album so you could see where they begin and the collection associated with it.

After the show we said our goodbyes and then headed to the main room for dessert - we were given some of the best coconut cream pie dessert with fresh fruit EVER... ohhhh... just thinking about it my mouth is watering.

To wrap it all up in a nice little bow, Bellevue Fashion Week gets better and better every year. It is always very organized and well planned out. Plus, the swag bags are always a plus. You don't hear anyone complaining about the great gifts and discounts they get for the week. If anything you could start your Christmas shopping that same week, the discounts they are-a-plenty! See you next year for BFW!!

P.S. Do any of you loyal readers recognize the male model in the first picture? It's adorable Jesse Taylor, my male model mini crush... (no worries, the hubby knows... and I think Jesse may as well... HAHA!).

What's-a-Happenin'-Hot-Stuff?

Tonight is a great night to get out and soak up the Seattle fashion scene. There are so many fun events going on!!

It was a tough one for us at UFN as Bellevue Fashion Week is going on, Girl Power Hour is turning 1, Macy's is having a Fall fashion show, H&M is officially opened and Local Bounce in Queen Anne is going on tonight... So many options and not enough time.

Dawn and I decided on Macy's Fall fashion show as we haven't really done a lot with them in the past. We felt it was a good opportunity to mingle with the Macy's crowd and meet some new peeps. I'm really looking forward to it as I love a good runway show! (I'll be taking photos!)

If there is time I may try and swing by the GPH Birthday Party to show my support for them and Darnell. It may be cutting it close so we'll see how the night goes. Either way, Happy Birthday Girl Power Hour!!!

And so it begins....

Tonight Nordstrom kicked off Bellevue Fashion Week with a bang! On the agenda was a shopping preview and a runway show of several high end designer pieces.

Some of my favorite items were the L.A.M.B shoes - they were so pretty. Like little pieces of art on your tootsies... I need them!

We arrived for the 6:30pm VIP reception where we snapped pictures of the bags and shoes displayed for the guests to peruse. The drink of the night was this yummy pink concoction called the Fashionista. The appetizers were being passed by super friendly wait staff - who we found out were not only nice to look at but some were actually models too. (Hi Matthew from TN and Denise who came with her roommate - you guys were so nice to chat with! Thanks for hooking us up so many times with yummy appetizers!)

While sitting and noshing, we met some lovely ladies and chatted with them until it was time to go in for the show at 8pm. I had taken a bunch of images pre-show but the runway show was what I was most anxious about - time to test out the new camera! I'm still learning the new camera so bear with me. I don't claim to be a "photographer" but I try my best to get photos that will let you, the reader, feel like you were there. Check them out here!

Dawn will give you her notes on the highlights of what went down the runway, click on over to her blog and check it out.

Stay tuned as we'll be blogging all weekend and next week on what is happening over on the East side for Bellevue Fashion Week (BFW)!

The David Lawrence Fashion Show & Brunch

On Saturday evening Regina, Dawn and myself made our last Fashion Week trip to Bellevue for the David Lawrence show. All the money from ticket sales went to help Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer research. (LOVE that!!)

This setup was a little different than the other events we have attended. They had cocktails but no appetizers... The Cosmopolitan I had was one of the best Cosmos I have had in awhile - just the right amount of everything!

The 3 of us headed into the main room to get seats for the runway show. I had told myself that I wasn't going to take as many pictures this time, but, I did... I took picture of the WHOLE show - it's like an addiction.

It was such a high energy show - the music was loud, very upbeat, the models looked amazing, (there were some HOT guys!!) oh and I really enjoyed the clothes... Fashion shows have such an energy about them and this one definitely had a high level of pizazz! (Regina and Dawn will go more in depth of the show itself... check out their blogs!)

After the show, David Blackham came out and thanked everyone, had the models come back out and then invited us back to their shop for appetizers and wine...

We headed over, making a few small stops at places, and then attended the party. The party wasn't my favorite part of the evening. There were to many people in the store, it was very crowded, getting wine was really hard to do and there were no appetizers that we say... I did get a piece of chocolate, however, it's still resting in my purse. I don't like being crammed into places, especially when people are pushy. We found a more spacious space to stand in and then decided to just go stand outside the store.

While out there we realized that one of the male models, Jesse, was one of the models from the last few years of DIFFA parties. Dawn took the lead and introduced us (I was feeling shy). He informed us he'll be at the Party at the Mansion yet again... There is a reason to attend the party, if anything!!

Check out the fashion show pictures!!

On Sunday we were invited to La Rousse for an A-List Brunch - We felt so honored for the invite!!

Regina and I went and checked out the new merchandise, had a delicious Bloody Mary and some extremely yummy food! Thanks Amanda for inviting us and being so supportive of what we do!

I, of course, took pictures!!

Bellevue Fashion Week continues...

Last night I headed to Bellevue after work to attend the Shoot In Style men's event for Bellevue Fashion Week. I really thought I would stand out like a sore thumb since I am in fact not a man... However, I did not - I was in fact part of the majority. There were ALOT of woman there... among the cute fashionable men I must add. Ladies and men, if you're single this would have been a great place to meet.

Let me just start off by saying this event was well put together. They had free pool, yummy food, drinks, manicures and services, an air guitar contest (Guitar Hero on Xbox), a DJ and a fashion show... There were things to do which made it all the more entertaining. Check out the pictures here! Sadly I had to leave before the fashion show to attend the Women's Classic Fashion Show down at Fashion AXIS. Before I left though I was able to get a gift bag for my husband and wow, those "gift bags" were pretty nice! They had a Helly Hansen hat, a shot glass, a notebook and a pouch thingy, a leather key chain, some serious coupons, and it all came in a nice silver tin. My hubby was impressed and actually drove over to Bellevue today to use those coupons... (for those who know him I can imagine they are shocked and now believe me that he liked the items...)

Regina met me for the Classic's show - we headed in, got our passes, had a few drinks (the signature drink was the Moscow Mule - it was yummy!!), ate some food and then headed in to watch the runway show. Regina will do a write up about the actual runway show as I took a ton of picts.

The women's gift bag had some great coupons, a shoe shining kit, a bath loofah, jewelry cleaner, bottle of smart water and much more. I must say, they really have put some effort into the gift bags - thank you to Deb for the Posh Party and Classic's show gift bag. Check out the pictures!

WOW, what a weekend!!

(get ready to read a bit...) This weekend we hit so many shows... Friday night after work we headed to Bellevue to kick off fashion week with the Nordstrom Fashion show - that was a fun show - so many cool new clothes. Check out Dawn's blog, she has all the details. I even took some video and will post that shortly...

Saturday I started my day with Bouncing Wall's 1 yr Anniversary Party then headed down to Belltown to check out the Punk Rock Flea Market.

Let me just say that Bouncing Wall is such a cute shop - they have so many amazing local designers. I purchased a cute top from SuzaBelle (I left and then returned to buy it b/c I couldn't get it off my mind!) and purchased a grey t-shirt with blue headphones on it for my husband from Carmacazzi. When I arrived I was greeted by Kim with a fabulous goodie bag and a mimosa - my favorite way to be greeted I must say! Kim and staff are amazing and super friendly. I put my name in their drawing and just so happened to be 1 of 7 winners - what a great day!! (Funny thing, I won another Carmacazzi shirt, my husband will be decked out in their gear now!) :)

The Punk Rock Flea Market was pretty cool, so many different styles of vendors. I saw several I knew (KneLow Cosmetics, Anna Perrone, Florid Designs ...) and met some new ones to add to the site. I made sure to meet Josh, the show creator, he was really nice and I definitely hope to work with him sometime soon!

Later that evening Dawn and I headed to Bellevue for the Posh party and VIP shopping event. We got our press passes and wandered the event taking pictures and mingling. Once the runway show started I took a place in the back so I could get some shots of the clothes. I definitely need a professional quality camera as some of my shots looked like poo... Sorry... I did get alot though, hope you enjoy them! We weren't planning on getting a goodie bag but Deb (one of the show organizers) was so nice that she gave us both one as we were leaving. Thanks Deb! What an amazing goodie bag!! After the show we headed over to the mall for the VIP Shopping event. We went from shop to shop checking out their discounts. Origins gave us samples, Road gave us free boxers (another gift for hubby), $7 off at InSpa, Coldwater Creek had a free bracelet, Lulumon had free panties, etc... I ended up using the $20 gift card they gave us at Lucy's - I bought a super soft hoodie which I got another 20% off of... Score! Around 9:30pm we headed home...

This morning I woke up and headed to Thread Show in Fremont. I stood in line for about 45 min for yet another goodie bag. Once inside, Dawn and I met tons of new designers and met several we have been emailing with. It's always great to put a face with a name. That show was great - so many shoppers and designers. They all seemed to be pretty pleased with the turnout and the credit card line wasn't short so people were buying! I found the most fabulous Suzabelle brown velvet and pink coat for $30... yes, I said $30!! I also bought a pink shirt for myself from Carmacazzi... I think I am their best customer for the last 2 days... 3 shirts I now have from them. Everyone was so nice, thank you all for taking the time to chat with me and let me fill ya in on what it is we do.

I left the show around 1:20 and now I am home... Phew... I think I am officially off the clock now and I'm going to go enjoy some relaxation time.

Happy Shopping!