Wear What When Blog

Bellevue Fashion Week

Slideshow: Zebra Club Fashion Show at Piano Bash

What Zebra Club has to say about fall fashion.

Posted by: Allie Oosta on Oct 04, 2011 at 01:00PM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

SLIDESHOW: The point of view for fall as presented by Zebra Club during the recent Bellevue Fashion Week. Ladies, get a bow tie.

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If you were in Bellevue last Friday night (September 30), you might have felt like you had landed in a transcontinental time warp where grunge-era outerwear was in a mashup with African safari colors and ‘80s abstract designs with prep references. If you had been wondering what to wear in Seattle this fall, the Zebra Club runway show during Bellevue Fashion Week would have pointed you toward Seattle staples (plaid shirts—mix ’em with stripes!—and big cozy sweaters), animal and camo prints, oversized metallic jewelry, and bowties (we’re talking to you, ladies).

Held inside the Eastside’s piano bar, Piano Bash, the show was soundtracked by different performers, including Seattle-based hip-hop trio The Physics, which gave the evening an urban lounge vibe with moments of otherworldly nightclub madness. At one point one of the performance duos, Don’t Talk to the Cops, danced for so long on stage that the models couldn’t get on to the runway.

The slideshow here puts you next to us in the media section. Be sure to check the details: shirts buttoned all the way to the top (’80s nerd chic, for men and women), earthy textiles and ethnic prints mixed with nighttime moods and apparel, fishtail braids (7 Salon did the hair), statement-making necklaces, and lots of plaid.

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Tags: Bellevue, Seattle Fashion Show, Fall Fashion 2011

Runway and More

Bellevue Fashion Week

The three events you need to know about, and how to fill in the rest of the picture.

Posted by: Seattle Met Staff on Sep 19, 2011 at 07:30AM Speech Bubble 1 Comments

Bellevue Fashion Week at the Bellevue Collection starts on September 28 and runs through October 2.

Like fashion weeks in New York, London, Paris, Milan, Sydney, and wherever else (okay, maybe not exactly like, since those events are built around debuting collections for the next big season), Bellevue Fashion Week is a tangle of shopping events, trunk shows, styling opportunities, runway events, and more.

Here, we’re breaking out the three things you most need to know about, and leaving you to access the Bellevue Fashion Week listings to figure out what else suits your interests and availability. (Don’t miss the complementary in-store events—scroll all the way thru the previous link—if you want in on the action, but are hoping to put all your dough toward your own wardrobe. Hey, it’s understandable.)

1. Wednesday September 28; Girl Power Hour’s Fourth Anniversary
Each year during BFW, the networkers and good time gals of Girl Power Hour throw a birthday bash. And they invite the dudes. This year’s festivities include a live fashion presentation, a try-it-on beauty bar, swag bags, and lots of meeting and greeting. Ladies and gentlemen, you may get your tickets via the GPH website.

2. Thursday September 29; Nordstrom’s Fall Fashion Show
Missed Designer Preview? Don’t miss this. The BFW Nordstrom show puts fall fashion on the runway, and then in post-show boutiques for easy and immediate access. This show benefits the Detlef Schrempf Foundation; grab tickets via their site.

3. Saturday Oct. 1; the main event: Front Row Fashion presented by Vogue
The magazine you love to love brings fall trends from the shops to the runway. Get inspired and see how to style all the looks you’ve got your eyes on. Proceeds benefit the Moyer Foundation; there are two ticket price levels; “all access” or VIP comes with special offers at stores like Aritzia and Zebra Club. Go to Brown Paper tickets to purchase them.

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Tags: Bellevue, Seattle Fashion Show, Fall Fashion 2011

Dress Code: Fashion’s Night Out

A group response to those who wrote in asking what to wear on Thursday September 8 to FNO.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Sep 06, 2011 at 08:00AM Speech Bubble 1 Comments

FNO: Not super dressy; no one’s getting married. Not too casual; this isn’t a random Saturday stroll through the mall. Maybe you can borrow Lauren Santo Domingo’s perfect cigarette pants and slightly sheer nude top? If you talk her out of that choker, you can leave probably leave your jacket at home, too.

Throughout the long weekend, after I posted my game plan for FNO, I got hit with several queries about what to wear this Thursday. I figured I’d frame my reply here; if I haven’t answered your message, consider this it.

Fashion is pageantry. We know this. Ancient civilizations, tribal communities, and pockets of specialized modern societies dress up to celebrate, recognize, show reverence, or otherwise parade beauty for the good of the clan, the climate, the culture, the harvest, the trade. The reasons are many, the results are the same: we put on our best, most vibrant, most immediately relevant and we go out into the world to appreciate the best, most vibrant, and immediately vibrant in others.

Fashion’s Night Out is pageantry too. It started in New York in 2009 as a way of revitalizing the retail community. Vogue headed up the campaign to shop and socialize in the name of the economy, the designers, and the industry, and the whole world caught on. So, in essence, Fashion’s Night Out in Downtown Seattle is not unlike, oh, say, Bumbershoot. Instead of standing in front of the bands we love, we’re wearing the designers and styles we admire and commune with like-minded spirits.

So the short answer is: Wear what you love. Wear what you’ll feel good trekking all over downtown Seattle in. Wear what makes you feel individual or wear what makes you feel a part of the whole. I know, I know, you wanted something more specific. Considering the season (so, is this summer?), the timing (let’s put the Night in FNO, shall we?), and the logistics (FNO is basically a pub crawl with boutiques and department stores) we can get specific with these three elements:

1. Shoes So here we are a day past the bookend of summer and the forecast calls for a week of sandal weather. Now, it’s a controversial move, and certainly not for everyone, but I’m fully in support of socks with strappy heels. It’s a look that’s been on runways and style sites for years now; Miu Miu even made a bootie out of it. Not into it? Fair enough. I’d recommend something dressier and less day-centric than your everyday flats and less precious than your prettiest heels. Unless you want to hike the pavement in four inches of python-covered Prada.

2. Outerwear In Seattle, it’s all about that outer layer—even when the weatherman says it’s going to be 83. It cools off right quickly come nightfall, have you noticed? The jackets and outer layers I’m most into right now are little bomber-style shorties (maybe over a knee-length dress), denim shirts over just about anything, well-cut gorgeously colored suit jackets, ambitiously designed military jackets and long, 70s-feeling cardigans. But, really, I’m with you: Let’s hope it’s super warm that night and accessories alone can cut it. In that case, stack on some bracelets and bangles and a scarf or weighted necklace, and head on out.

3. Color There sure are a lot of really gorgeous reds, oranges, greens, and yellows for fall. My favorites are deep evergreen shades and that weird tomato red that isn’t true red, isn’t at all orange but something in between. But don’t forget what’s really making color work in the most exciting runways and on whatever street style blogs you follow is the totally inspired, often wanton, and sometimes non-sensical way in which they are paired, mixed, ‘matched,’ and riffed on. From tone-on-tone color blocking to brights and neons with neutrals and all-out pattern free-for-alls, there’s a lot of fun to be had and FNO—wedged in this space that is not summer and not fall—feels like the time to do it.

So maybe some late-summer additions to a long summer dress Little leather shorts with a great jacket and top? Trouser-like jeans with a white blazer? But only trouser-like jeans or otherwise special denim, okay? This isn’t a cocktail attire affair, but it’s no time to phone it in, either.

If all else fails, remember: Wear what you love.

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Tags: Fashion's Night Out '11, Fall Fashion 2011, Lizzie Parker

Fall Fashion

Slideshow: Fall Fashion Inspiration

Get a behind the scenes look at how our fall fashion editorial is coming together.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Aug 25, 2011 at 06:00AM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

Slideshow: Images that help us visualize, execute, and plan our upcoming fall fashion spread.

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Today a cast and crew of Seattle Met’ers, including local photographer Alvin Nguyen, will board an early ferry for Southworth where we’ll spend the day shooting our fall fashion editorial on a private estate.

Sourced from local stores and local designers, the wardrobe was inspired and informed by the idea of a couple who left the city behind for a luxe life out in the wilderness. What if instead of getting dressed up and going to the opera you just got dressed up, and bundled up, and went for a walk in the woods?

Part of the process of prepping for the shoot is pulling inspiration images to share with the team. We figured we’d share them with you, also—though I don’t want to give too much away. The slideshow here won’t spoil the real deal, and it’s no September Issue, but it should get your imagination going and shed some light on what happens before editorial images are actually editorial images.

So go behind the scenes now, and then check back in October to see what transpires.

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Tags: Fall Fashion 2011

Fashion Show

Fashion First

Get your tickets for Seattle’s fall fashion boutique event.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Aug 18, 2011 at 09:30AM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

Photo: Fashion First

Tickets are on sale now for Fashion First on September 15 at Showbox Sodo.

It’s that time of year again.

Each fall, for eight years now, Fashion First gathers local shoppers and puts them in front of a runway decked out with newly arrived fall fashion from local boutiques and/or designers. At the same time, via ticket prices and an auction, the show raises money for worthwhile local charities. On the runway for 2011: La Ree, Baby and Co., Ragamoffyn’s, and more.

This year’s celebration is Thursday, September 15; doors open at the Showbox in SoDo at 7. Tickets start at $50 and can be purchased via the Fashion First website.

Here, three questions for Fashion First’s Joan Kelly.

WWW: What was your original goal in starting the show and how has it morphed into more or become exactly what you wanted it to be?

JK: The original goal was to create a marketing platform for independent retailers and designers. Since then it’s grown and we are able to offer the participants a ton of marketing with all the changes in the industry. Issaquah-based designer Lizzie Parker handles all the back-end. She is all over the boutique owner’s visions, making each set truly display the individual branding. She has a very sophisticated taste level and she is always pushing it to the next level. She brings a show that won’t disappoint. It is going to be the best we have ever seen in this area.

Helping make up the Fashion First crowd that Joan Kelly says is the best in Seattle and the Eastside, Sway and Cake owner Tamara Donaghy.

As the ultimate insider at FF, what’s your favorite part: Seeing things come together backstage? Watching the front row revelers? The after party?

Watching the crowd deliver. They can BRING IT. Not only their donations to Rise n’ Shine but also their outfits. The best crowd in Seattle—or the Eastside. It’s a party. As my Grandmother always said, “Eat before you drink.” Good words to live by.

Most importantly, what are you wearing?

There are so many great shops involved in Fashion First, I would have to change my outfit several times that night to showcase the best of them. So I’m still deciding. For now, just the YSL Tributes in olive brown (they rock, BTW ) and perhaps the robe I wear to water aerobics.

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Tags: Seattle Fashion Show, New for Fall, Baby and Co., Fall Fashion 2011