IMA exhibit reminds us Spring is here

Florals have adorned out apparel and accessories since the beginning of time, it would seem. The ancient Greeks wore them in their hair, the Victorians used them consistently in prints (and the real thing to keep the stank off before there was deodorant), cowboys embroidered them on their shirts and somehow still kept them manly.

The IMA celebrates this age-old flower power April 4 with its "Fashion in Bloom" exhibit. All drawn from the museum's permanent collection, the exhibit consists of 25 pieces spanning 200 years. Some, i.e. Blass and Norell, even have roots in Indiana. The exhibit will stand through January 31, 2010.

above photos courtesy of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
(from left to right): 1.French or English silk dress c.1760 2.Silk taffeta evening dress by Norman Norell for Traina-Norell, b. Noblesville, Indiana 3.Silk satin dress and cotton velvet coat by Bill Blass, b. Fort Wayne, Indiana 4.: Silk velvet dress by Hanae Mori, b.1926, Japan

Michael Jackson to auction off his life

We all know Michael Jackson is broke.
We also know he has lots and lots of glittery clothes, gloves without a mate and other really, really weird stuff.

Come April 25 all that can be yours when he auctions off what seems to be everything he owns. And unlike celebrities who are well-liked or dead, Jackson's treasures don't seem to be worth that much.

A pair of socks covered in rhinestones that Jackson wore during the Triumph tour will only set you back an expected $600-$800. The catalog does not note whether they've been washed...ever. Gross. Same goes for the spandex leotards running $300-$500, that have actually been between Michael Jackson's legs.

There are enough life-sized wax figures to fill their own very frightening and enough epaulets to adorn an entire wardrobe of shoulders. All fashion faux pas aside, though, "Study for Field of Dreams" oil on canvas by David Nordahl is by far the most priceless item.

The painting depicts Jackson in a field wearing a red silk shirt, followed by hundreds of frolicking children. $3,000-$5,000? Oh dear.

View the entire, thrilling catalog, here.

Good-hearted fashion comes to Broad Ripple

There are a lot of ways shopping can make you feel good.
Got dumped? Shopping!
Hungry? Shopping!
Changed your hair color and now you can't wear any of your orange shirts? Shopping!
As my shopaholic refrigerator magnet so eloquently puts it, "of course it buys happiness." But at The Village Experience, opening at 6055 N. College Ave. April 4, it buys a whole lot more than that.

Kelly and Anne Campbell began their careers in fashion working for BCBG's public relations team in NYC after graduating with apparel merchandising and business degrees from IU. But soon the selfish, materialistic nature of the industry got the best of them and they returned to Indiana. That is, after Kelly spent a year backpacking around Africa while earning her masters degree in international relations from University of Indianapolis.

There she experienced impoverished villages with no economic relief in sight, since little of the population is equipped with any marketable skill. That's where she got the idea for The Village Experience, a fair trade boutique for the casual user and a hands-on adventure for those with guts and about $2,000 to spend.

Unlike other fair trade retail outfits like Global Gifts, who get their merchandise through a larger organization such as Ten Thousand Villages, Kelly and Anne insist on hand-picking their wares. Anyone who wants to go with, can! Next up is Thailand to visit former prostitutes who make intricate jewelry out of native crystals and shells. During an upcoming trip to Mwariki, an African village, the group will start a new handicraft project with the local women, teaching them to make beads from recycled paper.

Nothing in the store costs more than $60 and your purchase will help struggling women buy medicine, feed their families, go to school, you name it--talk about a good deal.

IMA EuroDesign exhibit opens tonight, stylish people need a place to sit, too

European Design since 1985: Shaping the new century doesn't include any clothing, but it represents the European Modernism and Postmodernism design movements, which later manifested itself in the apparel world. Those triangle-ish Alessi teapots all over Target? Oh yeah, his stuff should be there, too, along with some 250 other odd-ball pieces that make everyday tasks a tad less boring. i.e. the knife block that's actually a wooden head. Awesome.

Tickets are available at the door for tonight's cocktail event, $40 for members, $60 for the public. A chair resembling part of the Grand Canyon always makes more sense with a cocktail in hand, but if you can't make it tonight the exhibit will be on display though June 21.

McQ Alexander McQueen for Target, for Indy too?

Alexander McQueen's long-awaited Target diffusion line hits stores today. Although I opted not to take the morning off hunting for it, like I did when H&M's Comme des Garçons was released. "There's no audience for that type of thing here," I was told.

It's a good thing I didn't, too, since Target's Web site lists the Fishers store at 11750 Commercial Drive as the only Indiana location to carry the goods.

McQueen told the Cut last month, "The idea of increasing my visibility in the U.S. for McQ was appealing to me--I liked the idea of someone in the Midwest buying a piece of McQ and taking a bit of London home with them. I like the idea of infiltrating an area that is not really exposed to me and my work."

Um, hey!
(raises hand and jumps up and down)
That's us! Over here! In Indiana!

Glendale Target said they "anticipate" getting the line eventually, but they don't know when.
Translation: they'll get all the stuff the fancier New York stores don't want.
The other four area locations (Eagle Creek, Avon, Nora and Southport Road) either didn't know anything about it or left the phone to "go find out" and never returned.

Sigh, the prospects aren't good, I'm afraid.
My inside sources tell me Chicago stores are setting the collection today, but is it worth spending $50 in gas to go get a $30 tank top?

Duh. It's McQ, people, of course it's worth it.

A sneak peek of the collection can be found here.
Shop the looks here.

Mass Ave suit shop throws grand opening party

J. Benzal, the new Mass Ave designer men's suiting boutique, will host a "fashion opener" this Friday from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.

Don't worry, I don't know what "fashion opener" means either, but I'm just guessing it's a more stylish way to say grand opening. That's plausible, I suppose, since they've only been open for a smidge more than a month.

Hors D'oeurves are in there somewhere, too, plus an after party at Forty Five.

I don't have any more details than that...yet.

Anyone?

At any rate, I'll bet there will be male models wandering around...isn't that motivation enough?

Catou Shows at Women Empowerment Series

The day-long event at the Murat this Saturday will end with a fashion show by Catou Couture.

Toccara, third cycle America's Next Top Model contestant will host. For those of you who don't watch ANTM, which I know you're few, she was one of the fist plus-sized girls on the show and also one of the most gorgeous.

Local designer Bernie Martin will be showing his Spring 2009 collection, which he says was inspired by "a mix of military and conservativeness of the people from Zimbabwe."

The Colonel Sanders-esque tie shown at the right, I'm guessing, is not from the military end of that statement.

Jennifer Hudson will be performing right before the Catou show. She was a Vogue cover girl, remember, so you know she'll be wearing something fabulous.

The lovely and talented Lauren Oosterlinck will be photographing once again.

Conrad wedding event shows classic feminine lines, if you can see around the center pieces

About 160 people showed up at the Platinum Wedding Gala at the Conrad last Friday, but most of them were there to plan a wedding.

Duh.

I, on the other hand, just wanted to see the dresses...and eat the wedding cake samples.

My fave picks from the night are in the slide show above, the latest from Chicago bridal boutique Belle Vie and Vera Wang bridal couture. Obviously I'm a sucker for a simple white strapless bodice and an exaggerated A-line skirt. That deconstructed tulle train is to die for. Thank goodness the mermaid silhouette seems to be out of the aisle, since it was butchered on the red carpet at the Oscars. Yes, Beyonce, I mean you.

I only wish the runway had been longer, so the models could have worked more angles. Instead of the traditional rows of chairs for the audience (there were only two of those) everyone sat at wedding reception-like round tables. Yes, the twinkling Center Pieces were beautiful, and had me involuntarily gearing up for the chicken dance, but instead they amounted to sitting behind a woman with really big hair at a movie theater. Circle City Planners, your table settings were beautiful, and if I needed to decorate a reception hall, I think I would have been more into them, but a nice votive arrangement would have worked just as well. yeah?

Photos by Lauren Oosterlinck, laisallyouneed.com