Vintage and antique items, outside of lucky finds at thrift stores, usually out-price shoppers on budgets. Libby Alexander and Katherine Raz—bloggers who met with a shared idea that vintage was just too pricey—are pooling their efforts to change that. The Vintage Bazaar, now with its second pop-up market, is bringing the idea of an urban flea market together with vintage and antique items.

“You can’t even find something to take away for twenty bucks sometimes, so we wanted to provide both ends of the spectrum and focus also on vendors who have not really done shows before, as well as veterans,” Alexander says.

Set in the vintage-friendly Congress Theater, the space is larger this time around, allowing for more vendors, increasing the list to sixty-five. Read the rest of this entry »

A luscious pink carpet is rolled out to show you into the door. Upon entering, a well-dressed woman leads you towards the raspberry sangria bar and tray of pastel-colored cupcakes, with an equally inviting bartendress at your service. You are not here to party the night away at your favorite club though—you are here to learn. As an unconventional way to glamify your post-work relaxation, Luxe a Salon is offering “Lessons in Luxe,” where founders Ella Fedorovich and Elizabeth King will demonstrate how the most coveted hairstyles can easily become DIYs. The duo decided to offer this series so they could show clients “how to approach the trend in a way they can work it that fits their own style,” Elizabeth says.

At their inaugural class, “Bust a Braid,” attendees were given tutorials on how to master a series of braided hairstyles. The classroom setting is a clean and contemporary room with four styling chairs, lucite seating and mint and orange walls to accent the stark white rooms. Though pleated skirts and starchy polos are not required, the closer you look to a J. Crew or Anthropologie catalogue model, the more you will fit in. With a drink in one hand and their lecture guide in the other, the stylish students watched intently, marveling at every seamless step necessary to executing the French braid, braid band, knotted bun and the ever-so-daunting fishtail. Some took notes in leather-bound pads, others gawked slightly agape, and a brave few tried it simultaneously on themselves. Read the rest of this entry »

By Rhianna Jones

Tall, stunning, happy, confident, cool: these are the words one would use to describe Behati Prinsloo at first glance. This is not, however, the image most of us would project working off of four hours of sleep the day after your best-friend’s wedding in a château in France, but so goes the life of a model. As a newly inducted Victoria’s Secret Angel, Behati is at the Victoria’s Secret Michigan Avenue store this June day, debuting the new VS Pink MLB line. She is joined by fellow Angel Candice Swanepoel, Sox player Gordon Beckham and Cubs player Randy Wells.

A host of prepubescent boys, overgrown boys, Pink-obsessed girls and Chicago sports fans impatiently wait to get a two-second snapshot with the gang. Behati wears a glittery Sox tank, whereas Candice sports a Cubs shirt and pink bat. By now, the Sox have officially shut down the Cubs 10-5 in the first game of the Crosstown Classic. And as a daylong fair-weather fan, Prinsloo is beaming with pride for her team. To most of these fans here, Behati is just another staggeringly gorgeous Victoria’s Secret model. To me, she is so much more inspiring. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier today, fashionistas fumed when blogger Audarshia Townshend tweeted, “OK, so it’s been brought to my attention that Chicago Fashion Week is NO LONGER. WTF?!” A reasonable premise given the recent demise of Gen Art, who traditionally produced the centerpiece show, and the exit of Melissa Gamble, the city’s fashion honcho, and the thundering silence about this year’s plans emanating from City Hall, which usually gets announced about now. (Last year, Tommy Hilfiger flew in to help announce the events on July 14.)

We asked the city to confirm or deny the report and this is the response from Kiran Advani, who does PR for the Chicago Office of Tourism:

“The Chicago Office of Tourism is denying the reports on Twitter and is confirming that there will be fashion shows taking place at Millennium Park in October. A press conference regarding more information about the City’s fashion initiatives and programming is tentatively planned for sometime in August.”

By Rhianna Jones

Ann Taylor is redefining itself. In order to get the word out that this long-esteablished staple for the well-dressed working woman is undergoing a discernible rejuvenation, Laura Pellegrini, the label’s VP Senior Designer, recently visited Chicago to preview its latest collection for select members of media and the city’s fashion circuit.

The cool atmosphere in a private room in Sunda restaurant perfectly complemented the modern sensibility emanating from the clothes on display. In addition to the various media, designers and fashion aficionados, several company representatives—dressed head to toe in Ann—made the rounds, perpetuating the sophistication and wearability of the brand. Read the rest of this entry »

“I am a happening!” Michael Hodesh proclaims as he surveys the antique-laden tables in front of his circa-1964 Airstream trailer. On the inside of the door, a sign reads “Dogs and Cats Prohibited” even though he has a regal pup parading around his goods; the outside sign reads “Bar’s Open Late,” but he doesn’t drink. Michael is definitely a character, and seemingly a man of quirky contradictions.

At present he is at the west end of the Randolph Street Market Festival, an antique fair and indie fashion market that graces Chicago one weekend per month in the summer. Hodesh has made the haul from his base in Cincinnati to this fair for years. While driving a truck with an attached trailer full of stuff roughly 300 miles might seem burdensome to some, for Hodesh it’s just part of the job. After being in the “history-selling business” for more than thirty-five years, his passport is just as weathered as the treasures on his table. Aluminum pigs from Mexico, a wooden stool from China, wooden pipe molds from Philadelphia, fashion posters from Paris and some classic Americana advertisements. He travels all over the world for these gems, and he plays no favorites. He is merely a temporary keeper, he says, selling the “story passing” rather than a mere tangible object. He collects these artifacts because he hopes it will be meaningful to the new “foster parent of history” or anyone else who listens to his exuberant tales. Read the rest of this entry »

Crain’s reported today that Chicago’s Director of Fashion Arts & Events, Melissa Gamble, has resigned. Gamble, the only person ever to hold this post, oversaw the City’s fall fashion week, known as “Fashion Focus Chicago.” Coming on the heels of the demise of Gen Art, who produced Fashion Focus’ marquee show, Fresh Faces in Fashion, Gamble’s departure has to be seen as a serious setback for the city’s fashion endeavors.

When I called the City to check the status of Fashion Focus, I was sent an ominously ambiguous statement, reprinted below. However, Chicago Office of Tourism spokesperson Karen Vaughn confirmed in a follow-up email that Fashion Focus will be going forward, with dates and details to be announced in its customary mid-summer press conference. (Brian Hieggelke)

Here’s the statement: Read the rest of this entry »

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Set amidst a French-inspired garden of perfectly trimmed hedges, sculpted foliage and bunches of soft, white blossoms, Borris Powell’s thirty-three-piece womenswear collection, inspired by the excitement of new love and the advent of spring, is both elegant and youthful in its Fashion Focus debut (October 24). Read the rest of this entry »

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Horacio Nieto’s Spring 2010 collections of menswear and womenswear draws inspiration from the past and future, creating two distinct lines that are cohesive on their own, and interestingly complementary together. An infrequent user of pattern, Nieto prefers to communicate his vision through silhouette and broad strokes of color, as exhibited during his fashion show on October 23. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the complete schedule for this week’s Fashion Focus Chicago, in unedited form from the city:

FASHION FOCUS CHICAGO 2009
OCTOBER 22 – 25 – FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Fashion Focus Chicago, a celebration of Chicago’s thriving fashion industry, returns for a fifth year in 2009. Running from Thursday, October 22 through Sunday, October 25 Fashion Focus Chicago showcases some of the city’s top designers, and features runway shows in Millennium Park and at various locations around the city as well as shopping events, and industry seminars.

For the first time this year, Fashion Focus has partnered with some of downtown Chicago’s most chic hotels to offer special shopping packages and exclusive Fashion Focus amenities. Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a personalized experience at one of these world-class hotels while immersing themselves in Chicago’s hip fashion scene.

For more information, including making reservations for Fashion Focus 2009 events or booking hotel accommodations, please visitwww.chicagofashionresource.com. Read the rest of this entry »