Event: Sweet and Spark Party

Curated vintage jewelry company, Sweet & Spark is having a trunk show later this month with Philly Blog Love.  On September 29th from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the Rittenhouse area, attendees will be able to shop an exclusive vintage jewelry (aka spark) collection while sipping bubbly and chatting with fellow shoppers.  Everyone who attends the Spark Party will have an opportunity to receive an instant 10% off their purchases and be entered into a $50 Spark card giveaway. 

Take a peak at the lovely jewelry Sweet & Spark offers on their website.   Credit cards, cash or check will be accepted at the party. To participate in the Spark Party conversation on social media use the hashtag #sharethespark.  Be sure to follow @sweetnspark and @phillybloglove for fun coverage of the party.

You can view ticket details here. 

Summery White

Dress: Marshall's; Shoes: Loft; Clutch: Francesca's; Watch: Francesca's; 
Necklace: Eastern Market vendor (Washington, DC) 

 It's unofficially summer and nothing feels more like summer than wearing a white dress. Last week, I attended an all-white party hosted by Jessie Holeva.  Other members of Philly FABB were in attendance as well.  The party celebrated the grand opening of Deneen Marcel Lashes located at 525 S. 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147.

It was a lovely event and white was the perfect color to wear since it took place during the steamy heatwave Philly experienced last week.

Let's make this week a great one!

Photos by Chaucee Stillman of Streets and Stripes

Event: Gilt City Philadelphia Warehouse Sale

I love a good shopping deal, so I was excited to hear that on Friday, April 19th (at 3500 Scotts Lane), shoppers will be able to attend the Gilt City Philadelphia Warehouse.  Purchase your tickets for the event here.  Attendees should find racks stocked with fashionable shoes, jewelry, suits, jackets, denim, tops and outerwear for men, women and children. You can can expect to see items from top brands and up-and-coming designers.  For the home, expect to see bedding, kitchen and bath accessories, decorative pieces, and more. Refreshments and snacks will be available to attendees.

Here are photos from previous Gilt City Warehouse events so 

you can get an idea of what to expect.

If you are a Philly local or will be in town on April 19th, grab your ticket. 

Hope to see you there!

Fashion Events: Earth Day Eco-Fashion Show

Last Friday I attended an Earth Day inspired fashion show featuring eco-designer, Aurelis who showcased her Spring 2011 line in Washington, DC at Carbon, a boutique that offers sustainable shoes, clothing and accessories from companies that implemenet social responsibility practices to create their wares.  Carbon is located in the Woodley Park section of Washington, DC.

Attendees were able to sip wine and munch on food while they browsed around in the store until the fashion show began.  I really enjoyed perusing Carbon before the show started.  Here are a few things that caught my eye.

My little point and shoot camera didn't capture the clothing very well, but there were some nice clothing options that an eco-focused fashionista or fashionisto (is that a word?) might consider purchasing.  

I wish that there had been more items from the collection modeled during the fashion show, but the items I saw seemed practical and easily accessorized with a dash of color. If I were to wear some of the items, I'd add some of the colorful jewelry that Carbon offered.  Overall it was a nice event!

Kate Spade: Women for Women Bags and Jewelry

Last week while I was in New York for my birthday, I went to the Kate Spade New York store in Soho to view the Kate Spade collection of bags and jewelry crafted by women in Rwanda.  The bags  crafted by women in Rwanda were created using traditional skills passed down from generations in Africa.

According to the Women for Women's website, "since 2005, Kate Spade New York and Women for Women International have been working together to promote micro-enterprises for women in the still-recovering communities throughout Bosnia & Herzegovina. In the past year, nearly 400 jobs were created in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo and Rwanda." 

I love accessories created and inspired by Africa (and other countries around the world) that are fairly traded and created.  Though most of Kate Spade's items are beyond my current spending price-point, I enjoyed viewing the collection.

 

When I first saw pictures in the bags in the March issue of Marie Claire, I immediately thought of the bags crafted in the Gullah tradition in a few southern states, which I guess makes sense, because the Gullah tradition of crafting baskets was a retention of blacks from Africa.  The photos of the bags piqued my interest, so I decided to attend the viewing at Kate Spade which was very nice.  The store was brightly colorful and there was champagne for guests. 

Some of the woven bags were in the bright colors which are expected from Kate Spade accessories and can be worn with a variety of looks from casual to dressy occasions.   Check out Kate Spade's website to see more from the collection.

Sources: Kate Spade, Women for Women International

National Swap Day - Jan 22nd

It has been brought to my attention that January 22nd is National Swap Day and swapaholics all over the country are scheduling swaps to share the contents of each other closets! National Swap Day is right on time for me personally because as I mentioned previously, I’d love to refresh my wardrobe but am trying to limit actual money I spend on clothing for the next few months. January is a great time to reevaluate what you’d like to keep and get rid of through out your entire house, not just your closet. Many people spend so much time plotting goals for other aspects of their lives in January, why not put energy into purging your closet as well? I plan to attend this swap in Washington DC hosted by Quarter Life, hope to see you there if you're local, or if you aren't, look out (or plan) for a swap in your area!

Photo via

DC's Fashion Night Out-fit

On Friday I made a brief visit to Georgetown DC's Fashion Night Out. I didn't stay all that long, mainly because I'm pooling my money toward savings these days (and not shopping) and I had a midterm on Saturday I wasn't finish preparing for. DC isn't usually though of as a fashionable city, so I was happy to see that there was an event like this in the city. I kept my outfit simple and wore jeans. I really do wear jeans more than it would appear that I do on this blog, I just don't always manage to get picture evidence when I do wear them.

I didn't actually buy anything at DC Fashion Night Out, but I came pretty close to purchasing a dress in the Bestsey Johnson store. I'll spare you the blurry iPhone photos of myself trying on the dress; just take my word for it, that it was awesome. I have to go to a formal event in the fall and I tried on a gold strapless dress that fit like a dream and wouldn't need any alteration which is rare for me because I am a shortie. I put it on hold for 24 hours and managed to talk myself out of purchasing it because it would have put me over my shopping budget for the month. But I'm feeling a little regretful about it. Have you ever felt regretful about not purchasing an item? I'm very familiar with that feeling, not sure if it's a Pisces thing or just a Shen Dove thing. Oh well...if it was meant to be, I'll see the dress again, or something better.

Blazer: Gap
Jeans: Urban Outfitters
Sequined Tank: Charlotte Russe
Bracelet: gifted from Nigeria
Earrings: H&M
Shoes: Nine West via Zappos

Georgetown DC's Fashion Night Out - September 10th

In an effort to meet my personal goal of attending more fashion-related events in my (current) city and to network more in general, I've decided that I will stop by Georgetown DC's Fashion Night Out on September 10th. I'm so happy there is a local option since it's not really convenient for me to drop everything and head up to New York City for their Fashion Night Out events. We'll see how much shopping I can actually do at Fashion Night Out because I am a girl on a budget, but regardless of that, it seems like it will be fun. If you are in the DC area and plan to attend, let me know!