May 23, 2013

Check out the Locals: Polyvore Live NYFW Bloggers Announced

Bay Area-based Polyvore, home of thousands upon thousands of visually delectable fashion collages, is pushing at traditional fashion industry boundaries in more ways than one. Not only will the company become the first online community to hold a fashion show during New York Fashion Week, but it’s also skirting norms by choosing prominent fashion bloggers – and not models – for its runway show. Read on for the Polyvore Live lineup. Bet you’ll recognize a few of the faces.

Among the 23 fashion bloggers chosen to walk the runway during Monday’s show are East Bay-er Erin Hagstrom of Calivintage and until-not-so-long-ago-locals Alicia Lund of Cheetah is the New Black and Aimee Song of Song of Style. They’ll don looks from Fashion Institute of Technology alumni Lauren Bagliore, Vengsarkar Budhu, Sergio Guadarrama, and Dana-Maxx Pomerantz.

Catch the show live on Monday at 3:30 p.m. PST here.

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Spotted (SF Street Style): Fancy Fine’s Ashley Ording

Ashley Ording

Ashley Ording

Ashley Ording

A fan of all things fine and fancy, as well as “ruffly, lacey, chiffon and feminine” and a long time San Francisco resident, fashion blogger Ashley Ording loves vintage, yet has an updated sense of style that you’ll spot in no time on her blog Fancy Fine. I recently met up with Ording for fashion talk and a delicious blueberry muffin in the Mission. Read on for more on Ashley’s shopping secrets, her love of karaoke bars and the best place for a burger from this self-described burger connoisseur.

How did you get inspired to start your fashion blog?

I was reading a lot of amazing style blogs, and I almost talked myself out of starting it. I thought maybe I’d be just another drop in the bucket because there are so many fashion blogs. But I was getting so much inspiration from other people, and I have this crazy, always-growing collection of vintage clothes that I thought I might as well share it. And I’m glad I did. 

How do you describe your aesthetic?

It’s all kind of revolving around vintage and sort of celebrating femininity anything lace, ruffle, girly, sweet – I love old things.

Where is your favorite place to find one-of-a kind clothes in the Bay Area?

I love the Alameda flea market. Oh man, it’s dangerous. I pretty much never walk out without a giant bag filled with things. The dealers knows me now. One of them calls me “the lace girl” and it’s good because it helps me work with them to find things for my etsy shop (Fancy Fine Vintage). 

What inspires you most?

Probably friends of mine, girls I know, whose names you maybe wouldn’t know. But they find their entire wardrobe at thrift stores and only wear what they love even if it looks kind of goofy or off in some way. Girls like that inspire me, more so than actresses or models. And street style photos, when it’s just photos of random folks. That’s always inspiring to me, too. 

If someone handed you a free plane ticket, where would you travel to and why?

I would want to go to Tokyo. I’ve never been, and I just felt like I would love it and want to live there. It’s so colorful and beautiful and vibrant. I feel like I might never come back. The karaoke, the food, the culture….

Wait. You’re into karaoke?!

Oh yea, obsessed. I do it all the time. Encore Karaoke in Nob Hill is the best. I’m even having a karaoke party tonight. I also consider myself an expert in a good burger, too. Pearl’s Deluxe (as she writes it down for me) is really good and in my neighborhood. 

Favorite winter trend at the moment?

I’m not very trend-driven, but I guess for me, anything pleated or chiffon. Definitely keeping my eye out for nice vintage coats ones that have a nice swing shape to them or big collar or nice buttons. And tights, I never wear pants. I need to have tights in every color. My sock and tights collection is ridiculous. 

Lastly, who are you wearing today?

All labeless, but…my vintage 60s dress from Afterlife. Vintage coat from the 50s. I’ve had forever. I got it at Haute Couture in Santa Rosa, an amazing vintage store I’ve been shopping at since I was 15. It’s been there forever, and they have great stuff. And my trusty vintage Ferragamos. 

Follow Ashley’s vintage style on Fancy Fine.

Photography by Sara Iravani

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4 Reasons for Locals to Love New York Fashion Week

Once again Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is fast approaching and come February 9, the usual slew of designers will showcase their fall collections in New York at the Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park. Even if you’re not one of the many Bay Area-ites jet-setting over to New York, keep some champagne on hand, as several local companies are live-streaming fashion week events. Here are 4 reasons San Franciscans can start getting excited for the fury that is NYFW:

1. Independent Fashion Blogger Conference, February 8, 2012 at Milk Studios, NYC

IFB Conference 2012

IFB Con 2012 takes places on Feb. 8 in New York

For evidence that fashion bloggers have become a marketing force to be reckoned with, watch the IFB Conference live. You’ll spot some of the fashion industry’s best and brightest personalities come together to discuss issues, challenges and  trends facing fashion bloggers and the brands they work with, as well as the changing the landscape of fashion and social media today.

2. Polyvore LIVE presented by CoverGirl , February 13, 2012 at La. Venue, NYC

Polyvore LIVE

Polyvore LIVE is being billed as the world's first fashion show by an online fashion community.

Polyvore, an online community that promotes the “democracy of fashion,” is showcasing four alumni collections by graduates of the Fashion Institute of Technology. Instead of a flurry of fashion models strutting down the catwalk, the collections will be modeled by a select group of fashion bloggers, who will be announced one week prior to the show on polyvore.com.

3. Academy of Art MFA Fashion Show,  February 10, 2012 at The Lincoln Center.

AAU MFA fashion show

Models & Designers backstage at 2011 show.

On Feb. 10, San Francisco’s own Academy of Art showcases the collections of its best M.F.A. fashion design graduates. It is the only fashion school to show at NYFW, and, last year, three students took home Council of Fashion Designers of America scholarships. Make sure not to miss these talented up-and-coming designers: the Academy of Art Fashion Show livestream starts at 5 p.m. on Feb. 10.

4. BlacMéra by Yuliana Candra at Couture Fashion Week, February 17, 2012 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. 

http://blacmera.com/

Designers displaying the highest level of American craftsmanship in apparel showcase at Couture Fashion Week, and we are absolutely thrilled that San Francisco based designer Yuliana Candra is showing her brand, BlacMéra. A sight to behold, Candra’s gowns impress with hand embroidery, beading and crystal work, while her silk tunics are hand-painted, layer by layer, with depictions of images Candra’s shot on her travels around the world. While this is the only event on our list that is not streamed live, couture fans can view images from the web that are sure to be uploaded by the fleet of smart phones in attendance.

Now you have something more to look forward to than the usual online blow out of models, celebs and socialites running from show to show in designer duds. Happy #NYFW, San Francisco!

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Spotted (SF Street Style): Cuffington’s Catie N.

San Francisco fashion blogger Catie Neinaber, who pens the always-good-for-a-read Cuffington blog and never fails to impress with her vintage-inspired looks, caught up with us outside her Lower Haight office looking as stylish as ever and ready for the rain. Read on for her favorite shops, outfit inspirations and time-killers in the city that surrounds us.

What is your favorite place to shop in the city?

Ver Unica in Hayes Valley, it’s in my neighborhood. The owner is really nice and everyone that works there is full of sunshine. I cannot walk in there without buying something, it’s so well done. It’s the kind of vintage that is more 70’s and 80’s or vintage that would mix seamlessly with modern clothing.

What inspired your outfit today and who are you wearing?

I was cold, so I wore my Wellington boots to work. I was feeling really wintery today, so I choose to look textured with my vintage tweed pants and vintage sweater. I wanted to wear easy shoes so I wore my Lanvin flats. My coat is Burberry and bag Chloe.  

Who are your current style influences?

In my mental mood board, right now, I have two people. Dita Von Teese and Ashley Olsen. They are both five feet tall, but they dress really well for their body type and are very daring. Dita isn’t afraid of color. Ashley could wear anything, and it would make sense. She’s also a bit more buttoned up, and I tend to be buttoned up.

What’s your favorite neighborhood to kill time in the city?

I used to live in Pacific Heights, and I really like it there because the architecture is really beautiful and when I walk down the streets, I feel like I should be singing a song from My Fair Lady. There’s a lot of history there, and it’s just really kind of romantic.

For more, keep up with Catie on Cuffington.

Photography by Sara Iravani

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FashFilmFest Gets Funded, Will Take Place in April

Good news came yesterday for the San Francisco Fashion Film Festival (a.k.a. FashFilmFest): the startup film festival effort from local style bloggers Adelle McElveen, Kim Mitchell Stokes and Annie Wilson exceeded its $6,000 funding goal via a Kickstarter campaign. What’s more, we hear the festival is slated to take place over two days in April (7&8).

With screenings planned for the Roxie Theatre in San Francisco, the inaugural festival featuring both new, documentary and classic works exploring the intersection of fashion and film is still accepting submissions. If you’d like to submit work, you can do so here.

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Photo: Marlene Dietrich in Der Blaue Engel (“The Blue Angel”)