L-A: Happy Monday y’all! Where’s the shoe porn? Je ne sais pas! Our inbox is empty. Next week I’ll have some photos of my updated collection. I wasn’t able to take photos today because I was at CupcakeCamp (first runner up! I’m proud of all 24 of my coffee crisp cupcakes: tasty alliteration). Ally has new shoes as well, but BabyG is under the weather, so no AllyTime today. But that’s okay, because we have a guest post today! Yay!
We sort of sucked at being bloggers this weekend and weren’t able to make it to Pretty Things Boutique’s Feminine and Fabulous Fashion Show that was held on Saturday night at the Olympic Centre, but reader Martina was there, wearing this fantastic dress (with wedges and a lot of blush):
She was lovely enough to take notes and report back to us. Is it any wonder we love our readers?
p.s. Martina tells me that all items at Pretty Things are tax-free this week. In case you needed another reason to go shopping.
Martina: Saturday night I attended the Feminine & Fabulous Fashion Show. 100% of the proceeds were donated to the Adsum house.
In case you live under a rock, or perhaps in Dartmouth (I grew up in Dartmouth, I’m allowed to make jokes about it.), Pretty Things is a local boutique specializing in vintage styles inspired by the 50s and 60s. Owned by Cadence Macmichael, the store has carries dresses, skirts, bathing suits and lingerie in sizes 2-26
We (the always pretty Britt and myself) arrived on time at the Olympic Centre and were immediately greeted with the best dressed line I’ve ever been a part of. Surrounding me was vintage inspired fashion, flawless makeup and the most adorable shoes. The entire wait consisted of women telling each other how pretty they looked. Or maybe it was just me telling other people how pretty they were, I can be a bit creepy that way, but I mean well.
The show started on time with Candy Palmater hosting. Witty and charming, she quickly won the audience over by making Spanx jokes and using “Candy’s favourites” to single out the most fantastically dressed ladies. After a few words about Adsum house, the fashion show started.
The clothing was to die for. Not being a fan of pants or current shapeless fashions, a show full of form fitting dresses and skirts is tailor made for me. Every category (swimsuits, casual dresses, cocktail dresses, separates) was represented in all sizes, from size 2-24. My favorites:
This bathing suit (full coverage but also adorable? I’m in):
A satin cocktail dress that made the audience say “Oooo” when the redheaded model stepped out in it:
[L-A: that dress is Mad Men Joan hot. And not just because it’s being worn by a redhead.]
And this sunhat – technically not in the fashion show but in the audience and I’m in love with it and need it right now because my pasty white skin does not like the sun:
The models were some of the best I’ve seen at an event like this. Strutting their stuff, playing with the audience and laughing the entire time, they were almost as fun as the clothing they wore.
Besides the fashion show, there was a silent auction, mini spa sessions by Jaspr Esthetics, mini makeup sessions by Vicki Martin MUA, glamour shots on a pink carpet and a table full of pink cupcakes. The event started on time and had few lulls.
The point of the evening, in my opinion, besides to promote the store and raise money/awareness for Adsum house was empowerment. Women of all sizes can look good. A dress that fits is a mere half of looking good, an attitude that makes you believe you’re awesome is the other half. The models didn’t just walk down the runway – they owned it.
My only complaints – which can easily be remedied next year, are as follows:
– The venue was too small. The event was oversold and some people had to stand the entire time to watch the show (not us, because I have young nieces and thus am awesome at musical chairs, I grabbed us seats without a problem, but I would have been highly disappointed if I had to stand). Once we were seated we weren’t able to move around.
– Speaking of the bar… the pink champagne ran out too fast. We were inside by 7:30pm and it was already sold out.
– I wish there had been clothing in the fashion show I hadn’t seen before. I love that Cadence updates her website and facebook page whenever new stock comes in, but it would have been nice to have the fashion show feature new items I hadn’t seen before. I understand that’s a pretty large request from such a tiny boutique, but if I knew that new clothing was going to be unveiled at the show I would be willing to pay more for the ticket.
Britt and I were unable to stay for the dance after the fashion show. I’ll say it was to go to another party and not because it was past 10pm and we were tired.
For the first year, I feel the event was a success. It was well organized, showcased the clothing in a way that made me want to buy it and made me feel good to be a woman. Cheesy? Perhaps. But I’ll gladly go again next year.
