The Faces of Boston #Fashion

The Lily & Migs show at Boston Fashion Week

This week, I gasped for breath while wearing my favorite Moschino belt, and joined Boston’s best dressed (and those that made a valiant effort) to celebrate Boston Fashion Week. The event, which in the past has garnered much scoffing and many a dramatic eye roll, suddenly has everyone paying attention. Why this year?

You won’t find flashy names like Marc Jacobs or Tory Burch showing their collections at BFW. Instead, you’ll find established Boston designers like Michael DePaulo, Daniela Corte, Carter Smith and rising stars like Lily & Migs and Emily Muller.

One big addition to BFW ‘11 that has everyone jazzed: The TENT. One can certainly see why. The tent provides a central location, reminds us of New York Fashion Week and most importantly, sets the tone for exclusivity (cool kids only). If a front row is involved, people want to sit in it. There’s just something about getting past a velvet rope.

I was lucky enough to be on a few invite lists, and attended the Lily & Migs show in the tent. I figured a showing of fresh and young designs would be the perfect place to feel the pulse of fashion in the Hub.

The Faces of Boston Fashion

I don’t care about the boring Boston “celebrities” who married well and gained a permanent position on the Names page or the InsideTrack. These people are not Boston fashion.

So who is Boston fashion? They’re the gals and guys that get dressed with a purpose in this town. They’re blogging their brains out, sashaying through the South End, here for art school, makeup artists by day, bartenders by night, creating fashion in their dorm rooms, and bringing fashion into Boston’s board rooms. These clotheshorses are spending their hard-earned cash in Boston’s small boutiques, and primping for hours to show off their fab finds while hitting the Hub’s hotspots.

What makes this new class of Boston dwelling fashion lovers so different? Two words, one phenomenon: social media.

Much of Boston’s fashion community has come together through FB, Twitter, online invites and blogging. In a town where the big pubs are focusing on the Red Sox and local politics, fashion lovers here have taken it upon themselves to make fashion relevant.



The fabulous Aishah and Na’imah, co-owners of Heiress Boutique

 They’re tweeting out the latest fashion news, blogging on what they covet (Walking in Heels, Covetous Creatures) , capturing the good (TrendyDwarf) (beyondbostonchic) and the bad (BostonMo) of Boston street style, posting about their parties, setting up their cameras and documenting their daily outfits (Stylish Year, Orchid Grey).

Some even take it a bit further – these entrepreneurial types are launching start-ups, building I-phone apps, selling fashion out of trucks & trailers (Haberdash & The Fashion Truck), opening boutiques (Heiress Boston), cleaning out their closets and then swapping (Swapaholics) the old for the new.

And, I confidently believe all of the aforementioned individuals are hating on anyone involved in that stupid GQ article. So next time you find yourself defending Boston fashion, don’t even bother, these individuals must be stuck home on a Friday night sans internet connection.

Things I love this week

Girl Crush: Kendi Everyday, now I’m sure Kendi’s last name isn’t “Everyday” but I don’t really care what her last name is, I just like her outfits and her sense of humor.  I sometimes find personal style blogs to be nauseating and narcissistic but Kendi’s blog strikes a balance between “look at me, look at me” and “I love clothes and happen to wear them everyday”.  If I was a person who liked making new friends, I might even consider her, so, do check her out at http://kendieveryday.blogspot.com/. 

Love on the Street: You can’t make this stuff up.  Photo bloggers Scott Schuman and Garance Dore are in love. Who? Ever hear of The Sartorialist? Yeah, well that’s Scott. His lover Garance Dore, is the author of the French equivalent of the Sartorialist, her eponymous blog Garance Dore.   This is old news, I realize this, but you can’t catch everything on the internets!

Red Jeans:  Not to be confused with Nantucket reds, entirely different animal altogether.  Now, you know there are certain warnings about trends, whereas some magazine editors may hint that not everyone may be able to pull it off.  Given my thigh situation I should probably heed these warnings when it comes to red jeans, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take. And, if Khloe Kardashian can do it, then so can I.

Emmy Fashion: I was obsessed with Lena Headey’s look. The Game of Thrones actress killed it an ensemble reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn.  I refuse to acknowledge the Gwyneth two piece crocheted bit.  I guess I’m addressing it, I HATED IT.  Now, some of you may know the Gwyneth rubs me the wrong way. Are you an actress, a chef, a food critic, a singer, or an eco-friendly blogger? Pick one!

Coco and Dali:  Love this photo of Coco Chanel and Salvador Dali. I know cigarettes kill, but this picture is straight up dope fashion.

Things I do not like this (or last) week:

Missoni for Target: Marketing, hype and more marketing and hype.  I didn’t see anything in that collection that I would want to dress my cat in.  And, I’m honestly dying to dress my cat in something.

Fly and Fresh at FNO Boston

Last night, my Canon Rebel and I hit FNO Boston.  Below, a few of my favorite pics from the scene on Newbury Street.  

The Pru looked pretty in pink.

Herb Chambers, the night’s big sponsor, brought some of his favorite cars from his collection to line Newbury Street and entertain the hetero males in attendance.  My favorite was Doc’s DeLorean above.  Relax; I know it’s not really a DeLorean.  But, if it were, a couple of the brutally dressed FNO participants could’ve maybe jumped into it and gone back to a time when their clothes were fashionable. I kid, I kid.  

A few well-heeled Bostonians.

Models strike a pose on the runway in front of Stephanie's on Newbury.

Mayor Menino came and made a few jokes. City Councilor Mike Ross also made his way to the podium to say a few words as every female in the crowd silently agreed in unison that he wasn't too bad to look at.  Maybe politics isn't the show business for ugly people anymore?

Bombay Bicycle Club play an acoustic set at All Saints Spitalfields before their sold-out show at Royale.

Tonight!

Buy this Dress

Ummm…the size six was falling off of me. You must get your butt to J.Crew and buy this dress. Apparently, there must have been some sort of major malfunction at the J.Crew factory because the "Winnie" dress is running super big. Jordan, the friendly J.Crew associate even said so.  I walked out of the store with a size 4 and a spring in my step.  I can tell you for certain that due to my part-time gig slinging pasta and my slight cabernet habit that I have not lost weight.  So what if it’s not on sale yet, if you’re as vain as me you’ll pay $138 for a dress that puts you two notches below your normal dress size.