Fashion Seen

On a breezy, beautiful evening last week, a few hundred people descended upon the relatively new Aloft Hotel Downtown for Life 3, a benefit fashion show for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin. Invited by my friends at Falcon, a fabulous boutique in the Third Ward, I brought along my 83-year-old mother, Audrey, for the evening’s festivities. For a $50 donation, we received VIP treatment with front row seats, a private bar and a goodie bag! The fashionably modern hotel patio itself was a perfect fit for the event and reminded me of a chic Los Angeles venue, right here…

As Milwaukee’s summer weather heats up, all of us at one point or another reach for a tank top to help us beat the heat and look cool, too. I’ve always liked the rock ‘n’ roll sleeveless look and usually wear them for summer events as well as everyday wear. About a month ago, my dear gal pal Carol lent me her copy of Generation T: 108 ways to transform a T-shirt by Megan Nicolay. I was pleased that someone had done something so well-researched yet so simple. As I paged through the book, I found it jam-packed with illustrations,…

On a gorgeous summer morning, I headed down to Lake Michigan to get a firsthand look of what city dwellers qualify as swimwear or beach attire. This time of year, there are countless articles telling you to choose a swimsuit wisely or risk being a fashion disaster. This fixation is almost mythic in the way it’s presented as an enormous challenge. There is actually a “Swimwear Fashion Week” that is quite successful! Held in Miami, it has been presenting the looks of top designers for quite a few seasons. Swimsuits have entered the fabulous realm of designer clothing. (Check out…

With our country’s birthday around the corner and the local beaches on Lake Michigan pulling capacity crowds after a long and weary winter, I gave thought to how seasonal some fashion trends are no matter where you live. The nautical look would definitely fall into this category. This seems to transcend a certain time or place and is usually referred to as a fashion classic. Given that our summers here in Milwaukee often revolve around our events and activities at our gorgeous lakefront, I thought I might clue you in to this theme that appears over and over again on…

Growing up on a farm just 65 or so miles from Milwaukee, fashion wasn’t a huge consideration in daily life, especially for my hard-working dad. His usual daily attire was bib overalls and a button-down shirt. Flannel in the winter and fall, and cotton short-sleeved ones in the spring and summer. On Sundays, he would “dude up” in a button-down shirt, tie, slacks of some sort and dress shoes for church. Practicality ruled his sartorial experience, and that was just fine by him. Thirteen years older than my mom, he was a WWII veteran and a no-nonsense kind of guy.…

Take one unrented warehouse space just outside the Third Ward, add in equal parts art, music, fashion and, yes, even indoors skateboarding, let stand for two days, and you have Milwaukee Odyssey, organized by M.A.R.S. – Milwaukee Art Reform Syndicate at the Pritzlaff building last weekend. Located just west of Water and St. Paul, this magnificent building was a perfect backdrop for the exchange of ideas that helped to create an unforgettable art-fashion hybrid. Bree Rose Bower, co-owner of “indie fashion” store Project M Boutique in Riverwest contacted me about creating hair and makeup for her contribution to the event,…

On May 24, stars from all around the world gathered at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall for the premiere of the highly anticipated film Sex and the City 2. Since the debut of Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte 12 years ago, fashion and style became the driving force of the series as well as the subsequent films. Here in Milwaukee, three nights later at the Marcus North Shore Cinema, fans and local celebrities alike also congregated to watch and discuss the filmic fashion fest. Organizer of the VIP screening, Impressions Salon Owner Kitty Tierney provided about 375 of…

The Dress for Less store at 25th and Vliet streets isn’t by any stretch of the imagination anything more than another resale clothing shop. It’s in a storefront along an otherwise nearly vacant block in a hardscrabble and seemingly forgotten neighborhood. But once you meet the proprietors, Belinda Pittman-McGee and her husband, Corthal, you start to realize that this store is more than just retail; it’s a beacon of hope to the community and to the other residents in this block-long building that also houses the Nia Imani Family Center, Inc., which Pittman-McGee founded. The center is a transitional housing…

I recently had the pleasure of attending the 76th-annual fashion presentation of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Considered one of the most influential art and design schools in the country, one could expect nothing less than a thrilling presentation from the fashion design department. Of course, they didn’t disappoint. Held at Griffin Court in the institute’s Modern Wing, the two shows that day featured designs of students attending the prestigious school. Sophomores showed one garment, juniors were allowed three, and seniors presented mini collections of five pieces to capacity crowds. Alumni include artists such as Georgia O’Keefe,…

The ’80s movie Working Girl comes to mind when I think of women in business. I mean that in both a good and bad way. Sigourney Weaver’s dragon lady boss, in designer suits and gigantic shoulder pads, was a cartoon caricature of the toughness required for a woman to succeed in a “man’s world.” The title character played by Melanie Griffith, on the other hand, was symbolic of the "nice girl” who is into frizzy perms, pantyhose with socks and trainers for the commute, and over-the-top makeup. In order for her to make it in the business world, she is…