Chanel - opening look

The 25th Annual Nordstrom Designer Preview was held at Pier 91 in Seattle on Thursday night. This event is breathlessly anticipated by the most fabulous women in Seattle – those who support and love the art and fashion – and the art in fashion. The beneficiary of the event is SAM (Seattle Art Museum). SAMS is a group of women that has broadened the patronage for SAM. This collaboration is by far one of the most exciting events in this town. Nordstrom Designer Preview is a cocktail event and Designer Fashion Show, followed by boutique shopping. It showcases the top tier American and European collections, including Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Celine, Marc Jacobs, Versace, Stella McCartney, Dries Van Noten, Michael Kors, Burberry Prorsum, Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Gucci, and Lanvin.

Having previously worked for Nordstrom for about three years, first selling in Couture then working in Designer Marketing, I’ve been involved with the event from the retail/marketing side – working with the fashion houses on securing samples for the show. It’s a high level event and takes months to prepare by everyone on the designer event teams. Showing up on Thursday as a guest/press was a total treat. I felt honoured to be there and observe what looked so effortless, glamorous, exciting and, of course, had that Nordstrom classiness.

I had just flown in from the desert in California where I was on location – acting in a short film. The last thing I wanted to do was put heels on and socialize, but once I got there the energy got me right in. It was fun to mingle with all of those beautiful Seattle women. It’s priceless to see the strong women from our community all in one place – dressed to be seen. The show was more intimate than in previous years, but just as beautiful. Very clean. Very chic. Lanvin is always my drug of choice and the scene Nordstom presented down the runway didn’t disappoint; dark khaki draped jersey gown, black lame beaded bow dress with embroidery, plum satin draped shoulder gown, and gorgeous sleeveless draped silk dresses.

The show opened with Chanel – the first look: beige mohair cardigan with fantasy fur. A what fur? Oh Karl, no you didn’t. Chanel has gone PC – in other words, PETA-proofed. Hm? Not sure what to do with that information other than to embrace – right? We don’t need a massacre to look stunning in our fur coats and boots.

Celine was sharp, chic and clean – and we did see some of the leather bodice that we’ve been obsessed with since it came down the runway in Paris. There was a beautiful navy fitted double wool peacoat paired with double woven wide-leg Billy pant. Another favorite scene of mine was Stella McCartney – lots of mid-grey and black.

Even though the event was women-oriented, there were a handful of men in the crowd and on the runway. A blond handsome boy model walked down with a red striped scarf, black blazer, white button down, paired with beige cuffed pant, by Dries Van Noten. The Gucci scene was strong and the Oscar de la Renta was romantically stunning.

Another aspect that I cherished about the event was the location. There’s something so urban and fabulous about attending a fashion event at the Pier. Thank you Nordstrom for continuing to present us your love for the art of fashion. The collaboration of Nordstrom and SAM reminds us of the artists behind the collections that came down the runway. The reason for loving fashion – there’s an artist’s mind, talent and story behind each collection that makes you fall in love. C’est très magnifique! (see images below – and more to come…).

Celine

Lanvin

Stella McCartney

Versace

Oscar de la Renta

Gucci

Dries Van Noten

Brush Upon

There’s no need to spend $100 on a single make-up brush when you can shop the ultra-soft I.T. brush collection from Sephora – ranges from $18-$40.

Nars Muse

The fabulous Daphne Guinness unites with François Nars again as the Fall Collection makeup muse.

Carry On

The ultimate travel set you can carry-on with your own skin care and toiletries–in clear.

Scent of Balenciaga

The sexy mysterious, but fragile scent of demure violet with airy blossoms and delicate peppery notes – Balenciaga Paris Eau de Parfum, (my number one beauty craving today).

Dirty Hair?

I can’t deal with the slickness of clean hair – rubbing out the grease with Ojon gives my hair volume, a life of its own and a yummy powdery scent.

Celine Fall 2010

Are you flirting with the idea of shopping Fall 2010 runway? Tis the season to do so! Trunk shows are happening all over the country in April and May. And in some cases you might be in luck of meeting your favorite designer; Rodarte sisters at Nordstrom, Seattle on Thursday April 27th, and Phoebe Philo for Celine at Barneys New York, Madison Ave on May 3rd. Before you go to your event of choice decide what you’re after – it can be damaging for the wallet to shop hungry. Trunk Shows are brilliant and exhilarating. You will work with your salesperson or a representative from applicable fashion house on ordering pieces from the runway.  If you are having lunch before, don’t have too much wine – whatever you order you will be charged for and the pieces will arrive. Have fun!

Click below for event listings near you

Barneys Trunk Shows Fall 2010

Nordstrom Trunk Shows Fall 2010

Neiman Marcus Trunk Shows Fall 2010

I hope you have a delicious weekend planned ahead. I would love to hear what your plans are. It’s been cold and crappy here in Seattle lately and I’m anticipating spring more now than I did when I lived in Iceland – where it sometimes snows in May. I do enjoy cold winters – purely for the wardrobe enjoyment of wearing cashmere and vintage fur coats. As of today, I couldn’t be more ready for spring – I can’t take this bloody wind anymore. I mean really – what the hell is going on around here?

Not that I need good weather to do any outdoor activities – I’m not outdoorsy at all (a.k.a. I don’t do stuff). I just happen to live in the Northwest, but I don’t bike, hike, run or climb. I do however, take walks in my beautiful neighbourhood, Queen Anne. And sometimes I walk to downtown – to go shopping (of course). Another outdoor activity that I adore is drinking white sangrias outside at the Pink Door at Pike Place Market (always a classic). This weekend, my activities are purely indoors – this evening I’m going to dinner at Umi (a delicious sushi place in Belltown) and then to the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), to see Alexander Calder before it closes and to visit the SAM shop.

The rest of the weekend is hot yoga and writing, writing, writing (I’m on a deadline for a very exciting project I cannot yet talk about). For those of you who are spending some time this weekend surfing the web-globe – I’ve pulled a couple of fun articles/posts and some fabulous shopping options. Enjoy!

Read Dear Sugar on The Rumpus.net

Shop romantic pastel pieces on Outnet.com

View the launch of Derek Blasberg’s first book, Classy and check-out the book tour schedule, on Starworks.com

Get the Winter Kate ‘Hudson’ Suede Vest at Nordstrom.com

Visit Delinlee Delovely to view her cool photographs of different characters and cultural influences

Get the ”Lucky Me” clover necklace from Patricia Field and feel extra lucky all the time!

Dressing for a cocktail party is like getting a present – dressing for daily life is more like a punishment. I’ve have been going through a drastic re-build of my daily dressing. Being an artist, I tend to purchase clothes that excite me in a dramatic way – not what is realistic for daily life. I actually despise that word “realistic” (what is realistic about an artist’s life?), it’s a bit mundane. Let’s use the word “pragmatic”. What to shop for that is more pragmatic? As a playwright and Fabwick writer, I work from home and am getting comfortable with it. Catch it? Comfortable. Aka (in my situation) eurotrash and it’s not very sexy.

When I’m working on an acting project, there are costumes. When I audition for a role, I wear something applicable to the role. When I’m writing from home, I wear ugly leggings and slips that I slept in – See? Eurotrash. Then I feel even worse when I look at my fashion inspiration: the girl in the picture. It is an image I pulled from The Sartorialist that inspired me. This is the look I’m after – a fearless badass, not an ass-sagging leggings wearer with her hair in a bun.

A few days ago, I decided that I couldn’t have this sad behavioral dress code. I went through my closet and realized that I need basic clothes to wear at home. I barely have T-shirts (but I do have dozens of designer gowns. Twist.). I immediately called a dear friend of mine who works at Nordstrom and almost cried on the phone, “I need T-shirts and pants that aren’t dressy – I’m sick of jeans. I want pants”. The next day, she got me into Via C at the Bellevue store and had pulled a roomful of exciting basics, i.e. cropped rolled-hem pants, knitted T-shirts by Alexander Wang, and short cotton skirts to layer with boyfriend tanks and tees. In short, she kicked my formerly ass-sagging ugly leggings into rolled-hem badass pants and delicious knit tees. When running an errand, I’ll throw on a leather jacket and wedges or boots. Voila – semi badass!

Another thing I’ve been doing is down dressing and badass shaping my designer wear with the basics I just got. I’ve never been the girl who matches things. Trashing my designer wear – it’s so très très cool. I feel oh so very rebellious. I love how many pragmatic outfits I’m getting out of the handful of basics just by playing and creating re-births. Don’t get me wrong – I’ll still wear my Oscar de la Renta silk faille dresses for the right events (or for no reason at all – just to shake a martini at home on a Wednesday night). But ugly leggings be gone – I have now become much closer to the badass girl I want to be.

Love,
Moi

Nicole Richie at Nordstrom

Nicole Richie was at Nordstrom in downtown Seattle today, launching her clothing line Winter Kate – and signing autographs. I was très curious to view the collection, see her cute little frame and see what her fanbase looks like. I’ve always had my eye on Nicole Richie. She’s a bit wicked and seems to create her own path without caring what others think.

The Winter Kate collection (the middle names of Nicole’s daughter, Harlow) is cute; it is bohemian and effortless – very flowy, vintage-e, and Richie-infused. Lots of florals, paisley and kimono flair in vests, tunics, and maxi dresses. The vests come in different lengths and are chic over a strapless sheath, or a t-shirt paired with jeans. I’m always in favor of a maxi dress in the summertime – a romantic choice for all day-into-the-night dressing: from running errands to lunch to meeting up with friends. The Winter Kate vintage silk maxi is an effortless and beautiful pick. Though I’m more of a button-down man-shirt than a tunic kind of a girl, I did appreciate the kimono-esque open tunics for accessible layering options.

The line inside Nordstrom for getting to meet and greet Richie was hefty, filled with high-school girls, chic moms,

Models in Winter Kate

twenty-something girls, bloggers and boys. The pieces were flying off the racks. Nicole looked glowingly cute with a prankster grin in her eyes. It’s a common idea for a fashion-loving celebrity to start a clothing line. But oh so few have been able to execute their visions. Visit nordstrom.com to shop Winter Kate

It was a good afternoon – now off to see the local band Macklemore play at the Showbox… xoxo have a Fabwick weekend!

images by Fabwick.com

Nordstrom's Employee in a Winter Kate kimono piece

Images by Jon Cottam for Fabwick.

Sisley Masque Eclat Express

Over the weekend I had three goals for myself and my skin: relax, refresh and rehydrate. Being the beauty product lover that I am, I look to the latest and greatest to achieve my goals (on top of eating right, exercising and, of course, sleep). So on Saturday, feeling tired, blah, and sick of cleaning, I decided to venture down to Nordstrom to see what the “counters” had to offer. Maybe I could get my makeup done too… I walk in, and the place is hopping. Chairs lined all around, there’s a DJ, and lots and lots of people. It was my lucky day. Counter Managers were actively seeking patrons to be seated in their chairs for a make-up application, and free gifts with purchase were flying out the door. I walked right up to Sisley–my favorite counter in the store.

The first is a Radiant Glow Express Mask with red clay: I applied the mask thinking it would have a chalky consistency, given that most masks that “lift impurities” feel that way. To my surprise, the mask was smooth like silk, and felt like lotion in application. I could have left the mask on all day feeling like this. The beautiful part is this is an express mask. If I were feeling impure the same morning I were in a rush, I could reach for this product. Five minutes later, I rinsed the mask off and my skin instantly felt smoother and gave off a more even appeal.

Sisley Gel Express Aux Fleurs

On to the next mask, the Express Flower Gel Mask: This is the product that makes your skin feel supple and dewy the second you rub it in, and keeps it that way after you rinse it off. It feels so good to smooth onto your skin that you do not not want to stop. And even though this is also an express mask, you can leave it on as long as you like–all night if you like. The best part is, your skin feels smoother when you remove it.

I woke up this morning relaxed, refreshed and re-hydrated and my skin did too.