Dossier Item: Fashion in Detroit Pre-Party

Sigh. I sometimes grow weary of reading about awesome fashion events in my home tizzle that I can't attend. But if anyone can get away, this will be worth your time. Fashion in Detroit has gotten national attention. And remember Joe Faris? He was on Project Runway and made that oven mitt dress? He's a big guy with this organizations. Their website kicks butt, non?

Oh, you didn't go there yet?
Do it.

Two options for Thursday: food or T-shirts

Whether you're a foodie, a granola or a runway show denizen, there's something cool going on tomorrow night. I wish I could hit them all...

Option A. runway denizen

T.Party Launch

What: Kaitlin Wise, featured in the latest column by yours truly, is officially opening the "doors" to her custom screen printing business.
When: 7-10 p.m.
Where:Blu Martini

4705 E. 96th St.

Option B. Granola

An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert

What: "Two chefs. Two unlikely friends. Two very different careers and philosophies. Hear them share stories and muse on the place of food in our personal, community and global life. It's an evening of storytelling and observation providing frank and provocative insight into what really goes on behind the kitchen doors."
When: 7 p.m
Where: Clowes Memorial Hall
4602 Sunset Ave.




P.S.

The North Face store at the Fashion Mall is opening this weekend.
See the comment below for deets.

A Glimpse at Travis McGuire's senior line

To complement my most recent column on Indianapolis fashion students, I thought I'd bring your attention to Travis McGuire senior collection.

A student at the Art Institute, I first met McGuire at a Simon Malls event last Spring where I was a judge. He draped some ugly cotton on a mannequin to look like a wearable garment.

This time, he's making real clothes, and the one pictured to the right? Yeah, I'd wear that. (With my vintage pink pumps and a lot less eye makeup.)

Stay tuned for his official showing date.
In the mean time you can receive his style advice at Faith Boutique.

Click here to view the whole collection.

Sign up for Shop It To Me, it does a body good.

I am not a morning person, which is why I welcome any workday warm up I can find.

For example, when my alarm goes off in the morning, I hit snooze and browse my emails--ok, and watch the Today Show--until the alarm goes off again.

I find that knowing what tasks lay directly ahead of me helps to motivate that initial throwing off of the covers; the sweet, warm covers.

Once arriving at the office, I rapidly scroll through the ol' Google reader, which is really like a personalized newspaper, while listening to voice mails from those who wake up earlier than I.
By about 20 after 9, I'm infused with enough fashion news to plug through the rest of the morning.

But Shop It To Me Daily Sale Mail, an extra treat, drops in around 10:30 a.m.

It comes from a site that allows me to select which brands I like and what size I wear. These people then send me a daily email letting me know which items are on sale at my selected brands and it only shows me those items available in my size.

It's like I get to browse 20 sale racks, every day, from my humble little cubicle. Yes, it's changed my life.

It makes up for its inherent danger of gobbling up all expendable income by making all gift shopping a breeze. Insert your husband's, boyfriend's, mom's, brother's, etc. sizes and brands into your profile and bam! You'll never have to physically enter a mall on behalf of Father's Day again.

The Shop It To Me magic elves can work for you, too.
All you have to do is follow this LINK.

This weekend I became a Shop It To Me Trendsetter, which pretty much just means my logo is on their site here.

It's the small victories that see us through. :)

The lazy/busy girl bun and its dominance over my hairdo repertoire

Many times when men are caught not owning a certain tool or attending a ballet they are asked to hand over their "man card."

I nearly always laugh at such jokes, which is why I regretfully admit I have reason to surrender my "woman card." Sigh, sorry mom. I don't have the patience nor the ability to wake up early enough to properly do my hair in the morning.

That's how I end up with the above hair style on most work days, which I've dubbed the lazy/busy girl bun (because when I'm not one, I tend to be the other). It involves hopping out of the shower and flipping my head of wet hair upside down. I then twirl said wet mane into a bun perched atop my head and secure with as many bobby pins/barrettes/pencils as necessary to keep it there.

That fact is a constant source of exasperation for Philip, my hair stylist, whom I pay handsomely to sculpt my hair into a lovely style. He spends an hour creating a masterpiece only to see it twisted up in the same bun 60 days later when I come back for a trim.

"You're such a dirty hippy, Gabrielle," he scolds.

"That's why I need you, dear Philip, to keep me presentable," I say in return.

I can't, however, take credit for the l/b bun because I copied it from a fellow l/b girl who wears the style more often than myself. Her bun is larger because she has more hair then me, but oh well.

I've never asked her whether she snagged the l/b bun from another hardworking lass or coined it herself, but I'm betting you all have a go-to hair solution for those days when holding a blow dryer for 12-30 minutes is just too much to bear.

Of course, I'd love to hear about them. Better yet, show me!

Dossier Item: Etcetera Fall and Holiday Show

I feel like it's been forever since I posted, or since I slept for more than 5 consecutive hours or even since I had enough time to blow dry my hair. Point 1 for me: I have been showering.

But I've emerged from my deadline fury to share with you the Etcetera 2010 Holiday Show.

Etcetera is a high-end line of women's clothing out of New York that's sold exclusively through individual consultants. Think Avon, but with way cooler clothes and no old lady makeup.

The company puts out four collections each year, one for each season.

Elizabeth Urbanski, an Indianapolis Etcetera consultant, has been selling for 7 years and has amassed such a collection she's started a blog to show off her purely Etcetera outfits.

Like what you see?
Make an appointment with Elizabeth to view what's new at the following dates and times.

Oct. 1-9
6434 N. College Ave., Suite C

Oct. 10-12
Villaggio Condominiums
435 Virginia Ave.

Make your appointment by Sept. 13gh and be entered into a drawing for $75 gift certificate


Elizabeth Urbanski
(317) 446-4688
eurbanski@att.net

Polina Osherov took my picture

So last week Polina Osherov, Misty Al-Eryani and I headed out to a corn field to take some pictures. One of the above nine shots will become my new profile pic for the blog and perhaps occupy a side bar.

Since I'm pretty lousy at making decisions, I'm gonna put it up to a vote. Please vote below for your favorite photo. Placement is as follows:

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