Beyond Boston Chic

It has been a whirl-wind weekend. The exhibit is up!! Whoo hoo! A great big shout out to my darling Honey who was instrumental in making the whole thing happen, to my business coach Erna who helped me see it all through from that first idea two years ago to carrying it all out, to my friend Deborah who wrote the original press release and to my sister who helped get the word out. I can’t forget all the people who got my “back” through Kickstarter.

If you’re near Boston City Hall, check out the 2nd and 8th floor to see ALL the photos (at last count there were 65).  Sorry for the photo, it was taken with my phone.  More street-style photos to come.  I have to say, this month has been extremely busy with assignments and work.  We’ll get back to our regular scheduled program this week.

September 8th is Fashion’s Night out! Here’s a round up of what’s happening around town. Now, please know that these are events that have come across my desk. As you head out for a night of revelry, no doubt you’ll happen on more FNO events.  For a more extensive list, check out FNO’s Boston website.  Most events go from 6-8pm

Crush Boutique
131 Charles Street

Rockport
218 Newbury Street

Featuring some fabulous Boston bloggers, Erin Gates and Katie Rodgers.

Saks Fifth Avenue
Prudential Mall

Neiman Marcus
Copley Mall

DVF
73 Newbury St
RSVP to d.murphy@dvf.com

Copley Place Mall
Center court

Heritage on the Garden
Hermes
• Enjoy complimentary champagne, water and sparkling water
• Find your new look for fall during scarf tying demonstrations

Bistro du Midi
• Enjoy a special fashion-inspired prix-fixe menu, available for dinner, and fashion-inspired cocktail available at the bar
• Complimentary gift bag of home-made marshmallows for those who order from the special menu

Escada
• Enjoy complimentary champagne and a special gift upon purchase

St. John
• Nibble on hors d’oeuvres and enjoy complimentary champagne as models showcase the season’s latest fashions
• Receive $395 off purchases of $1,295

Jacadi
• For the fashion-inspired tikes, juice, balloons and gift bag with purchase

Exhale Spa
• Receive 20% retail discount in the boutique*
• Enjoy complimentary chair massages in the lobby, and Blue Print Cleanse juice samples
*Some restrictions may apply

Sonia Rykiel

• Enjoy complimentary champagne and gift with purchase

Skinner Auction House
• Peruse the gallery on a walk with a Skinner Paintings specialist at 6:30pm and receive a preview of upcoming sales
• Enjoy a special exhibit of some of the exquisite jewelry to be auctioned off on September 13

Christofle
• Enjoy complimentary champagne and a gift with purchase
• Shoppers will receive a special discount on jewelry

Via Matta
• Take a break from shopping to indulge in a special Fashion’s Night Out menu

Anne Fontaine
• Baroque & Roll at Anne Fontaine and shop to the sounds of a with DJ with Glam Rock influence
• Enjoy a Barock’n Roll signature cocktail and a variety of sweets
• Receive a vintage-inspired Fashion’s Night Out tee-shirt with any purchase over $250, and enter to win one of three amazing raffle prizes

The first time I ran into Logan was at Fashion Night Out 2010. What a lovely night that was.  My girlfriends and I bopped from one shop to another before ending up the evening at 28 Newbury for late night laughter.

What are your plans for FNO?  There are quite a few events happening around town.  I’ll try to compile a list for you.  Off to finally check our basement to see what (if any surprises) Hurricane Irene left for us.

Do you know about Kickstarter?  I found out about them very recently, and it would seem that I learned about this wonderful website just in the nick of time.  “Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world.” Basically, people like you and me, pledge money towards projects in the arts, publishing, design…you name it.

Given that I have an upcoming exhibit, “Look at you, Boston!” at Boston City Hall featuring a select group of photos from the blog over the past few years, I thought that I would give Kickstarter a try. 

This exhibit will open on September 19th and will run for 6 weeks.  The major costs with putting this exhibit on revolves around the printing and framing of the 60 photos I’ve identified for the exhibit.  I’ve turned to Kickstarter to turn my dream of the exhibit into reality. *Tini does a quick dance as she is super duuuupppppeeeerrr excited about this exhibit*

Now, I know that you may live far, far, from Boston and might not be able to check out the exhibit, but no worries, you can still be a Look at you, Boston! backer and receive some cool thank you gifts for giving. And, we’ll have some dedicated pages on the BBC site for you to enjoy the exhibit from afar. If you have time, please take a look and give. There are many levels of support.

As a heads up, Kickstarter operates from an Amazon.com platform to accept donations.

This summer, I’ve learned a few lessons about tanning. I have a natural tan, as such, I’ve never felt compelled to learn the art of tanning.  Last month, a friend was complaining about how red she was. I said (and this made sense to me at the time). “Well, if you’re sunburned, why don’t go back into the sun, that way, whatever is red, can turn brown?” She looked at me as if I were a half-witted.  Like I said, I don’t know much about tanning.

This past week, I learned another lesson about beach-wear.  We decided to go to Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA. We packed our bathers (Aussie for swimsuits), the night before. So when it came time to leave, I was surprised to see Honey dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. A frown formed on my forehead. “Why are you dressed as if you’re going to the office on casual Friday?”

“I’ll be able to control how much sun I get. If I get too hot, I roll up the sleeves, or I can take the shirt off. If I’m getting too much sun, I can roll down the sleeves and pop the collar.”

Not knowing what to say, I said, “Hmmm….” I had no idea how handy the long sleeved shirt can be on a beach. But since Honey is an Aussie. I assume he knows how to properly prepare for the beach.  As does Claire apparently.  Notice her popped collar too!  Yup, I have a lot to learn.