As an English girl on this side of the pond, two things came to mind amidst the hullabaloo over the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge: first, vicious jealousy because Kate stole my favorite prince and, second, how on earth was one to properly celebrate in America?

Over here, just a hop, skip and transatlantic flight from Buckingham Palace, local “wedding guests” gathered a few hours after the very early morning nuptials for an afternoon tea. The Four Seasons Hotel hosted “Crumpets and Couture: A Royal Wedding Fashion Tea” to celebrate the happy couple and give us an occasion to dress up, in our hats, just like the Brits.

The seventh-floor Seasons restaurant was filled to the brim as Royal Wedding footage streamed on two flat-screen televisions beneath the chandeliers, beautifully clothed women (and three very nice men) sat at little tables and sipped rosé champagne, tea and ate delicacies inspired by Will and Kate’s palates. Petite scones, sticky toffee tea bread, smoked salmon and caviar sandwiches, toasted crumpets and chocolate petits fours were nestled among other hors d’oeuvres on white china stands. Fit for a King, eh? Read the rest of this entry »

Rows and rows of artisans line the walls of a local rock club on a sun-drenched Saturday afternoon at the craft market series known as Urban Folk Circuit. It’s a labyrinth of creativity filled with rings made out of buttons, hand-painted china, jewelry made from beer bottles, knitted purses and scarves, photography, prints, soap, paper goods and much more.

Local artist Mary Lee Banie makes handmade classic purses out of vintage fabrics she finds at thrift stores. Banie says today is a slow day for her but she still manages to hand out a lot of business cards to people perusing the market. “Compared to the [craft markets] I’ve done in the past, this is a much younger crowd, which is good for me and I know a lot of the vendors here are saying the same thing,” Banie says.

Jess Duff and Kelli Wefenstette, old hands in the independent craft community, initiated this year-round craft market series. Duff says the idea for Urban Folk Circuit came about last summer when she and Wefenstette were doing summer shows. “Those summer shows are so long and it lasts all weekend. We wanted something shorter and easier that could go on throughout the year.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Nicole Briese

Monday marks the beginning of local fashion mavens’ favorite time of the year: Fashion Focus Chicago. While the Second City’s version of fashion week may not boast the allure of similarly dedicated weeks in New York, Paris or Milan, Chicago’s efforts to bring fashion to the forefront of the community have definitely become a highlight in recent years. Exciting shows from known and up-and-coming designers alike combined with shopping events and seminars designed to celebrate the industry have given us something to look forward to mid-October for the last five years running.

But changes wrought by the economy and even bigger uncertainty about the city’s future political lineup beg the question: what will become of Chicago’s fashion scene? With the demise of Gen Art in May, along with the city’s well-publicized economic woes, rumors started circulating that Fashion Focus Chicago might not even take place this year. After all, Gen Art sponsored one of the event’s most anticipated shows with Fresh Faces in Fashion Chicago; who would be there to take their place in the lineup? The rumor mill churned again when Chicago’s first and only director of Fashion Arts & Events, Melissa Gamble stepped down not long after. But the city’s fashion imperative has been a pet project of Mayor Daley, so when he surprised everyone by announcing that his current term, ending in 2011, would be his last, questions about the future came into stark relief. And what about the loss of some of the city’s most renowned names in retail and design? The doors to high-profile gems like Maria Pinto, Ultimo and Jake began to close as economic casualties in the last year, leaving in their wake the question: was Chicago’s nascent fashion industry fashion doomed before it could ever reach its full potential? Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the press release from the city with the complete FFC schedule for this fall.

FASHION FOCUS CHICAGO 2010

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18 THROUGH SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24

FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Fashion Focus Chicago, a celebration of Chicago’s thriving fashion industry, returns for a sixth year in 2010. Running from Monday, October 18 through Sunday, October 24 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, shopping events, and industry seminars. To make a reservation for an event or for general information, please visit www.chicagofashionresource.com.

This year, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs is expanding its partnership with the industry to help market and produce the runway shows taking place in MillenniumPark. Fashion Focus Chicago 2010 is a collaboration with the headlining show producers: Macy’s and the Chicago Fashion Incubator; Mario Tricoci; StyleChicago.com; and the city’s four fashion design schools: Columbia College Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, the International Academy of Design & Technology Chicago, and the School of the Art Institute Chicago.

“Fashion in Chicago is evolving and it is exciting to see a wide range of businesses involved with the industry—from a national department store along with a local nonprofit, major beauty brand, the four fashion design schools, and an on-line media outlet—more invested and involved in the City’s efforts to support the local designers and independent boutiques in Chicago,” stated Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Below, please find a full schedule of events taking place Monday, October 18 through Sunday, October 24, 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

The city issued a save-the-date right before the Labor Day weekend (and last than a week before the Mayor’s announcement that this would be his last FFC, among other things), announcing the dates, but no event details, for Fashion Focus Chicago 2010: October 18-24. Stay tuned for details.

By Rhianna Jones

It has long been a great debate as to whether or not New York or Paris is the fashion capital of the world. The biannual mash-up of runway shows known as “fashion month” is comprised of globally renowned designers showcasing their infectious creations starting in New York, followed by London, down to Milan and ending in Paris. These four cities would thus be described by the chicest coterie as the hotspots for style, with others like Berlin and Sydney growing a discernable presence as well.

Chicago, on the other hand, would most likely not be one of the big mode metropolises. With the city losing some of its most notable footholds in the industry, like the closing of Michelle Obama’s favorite line Maria Pinto and the end of Melissa Gamble’s reign as “fashion czar,” Chicago’s state as a fashion-oriented city seems rather precarious these days. But then, as a little reminder that Chicagoans still do have some allure towards the more fanciful side of life, Macy’s Glamorama comes around to the Chicago Theater. Read the rest of this entry »

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.”