I must have been inspired by that rainbow I saw, because this rainbow-striped sweater and bright skirt was the first thing I reached for. I toned it down a bit with a black jacket–hey, we can’t be ALL happiness and sunshine, right?

 Triple-drop star earrings, $90 | Pea Jacket, $275| Striped knit dress, $81 | Yarn Plumes Skirt, $118

Also, if you’re not too busy Friday evening, you should hit Mariemont for the opening of One Mode!

Champagne + fashion + a cupcake shop within walking distance = I’M THERE.

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Confession: I have never been able to properly pull off a red lip. Pink, purple, burgundy, even orange, I’ve managed to (mostly) master. But red? I look like a naughty toddler playing in mommy’s makeup. It just never seems to look rose-blossom right.

Until…Amy of Cincy Chic invited me and a few other lady-bloggers to The Bridal Studio to have our makeup–including the Perfect Red Lip–done by pros Mollie and Nancy of FACEing.

Reds, reds everywhere…

Gettin’ my makeup did

Marsha and Brock of Style Edit

Photographer April Smith was there to record the transformation, and Brock and Marsha, Kate, Amy, Julie and I posed and preened for the camera like pros.

 This is how you give good glam, bitches

You can show off by posting a picture of yourself wearing your Perfect Red Lip on Cincy Chic’s Facebook page! When you do, you’ll be entered to win two tickets to the sold-out Go Red event on February 3rd, a $50 gift certificate to Stone Creek, and a personalized FACEing makeup class gift certificate. Bonus entry if you make your Red Lip Pic your profile picture!

I made Mollie and Nancy of FACEing and photographer April Smith take a turn in front of the camera

Mollie used a combination of Revlon Crimson and Laura Mercier’s Neutral Brown liner on me (plus false eyelashes–my first time wearing them!). What shade(s) do you use for a red lip?

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I went to see Tim Gunn speak at Smart Talk Women last night (big thanks to Erin for hooking up the tickets!) and was extremely impressed by how down-to-earth and funny he was as he talked about his books, Project Runway, and all sorts of, um…entertaining stories involving Anna, Andre, Heidi, et al.

He shared so many funny stories and such good advice that I couldn’t tweet it all, but I gave it a shot!

Zach and I chatted while waiting in line to meet Tim (I called him Mr. Gunn and he immediately insisted I call him Tim), and he was just as lovely and accommodating up close. I seriously want to shrink him down and carry him around with me all day so he can tell me amusing anecdotes about the over-the-top behavior of fashion industry folks. Make it work!

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A few days ago, a group of Cincinnati style bloggers and friends got together at Neon’s for our (perhaps annual?) Holiday Style Bash! We had a great time awarding each other silly superlatives, taking pictures of our respective “assignments” (see below), and just having a plain ol’ good time mingling with shop owners, PRs, designers, and each other.

Tiffany’s donated a beautiful reversible bag to raffle off (thanks, Darcy!), and jewelry designer Megan Fenno donated a lovely pair of earrings. Both winners were NOT ME, so whatevs.

My assignment for the evening was Accessories, so bags, belts, and jewelry were of extreme importance and worthy of extra attention:

Leopard and leather and shine, oh my!

Attendees left with a gift bag that included a free FULL SIZED Olay product (thanks, Kasmira!) and the new issue of A-Line magazine. We wound up with bags of clothes to donate to Dress For Success, plenty of business cards, and several invitations to do it again.  Trust me, we will–and I hope to see you there!

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The Cincy Style Bloggers group (and plenty of fashionable guests) had a blast at last night’s Holiday Style Bash! Thanks to all my lovely blogging buddies for their help planning the event–more pics to follow!

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It’s been a “few” years since I could credibly claim even attending any sort of school, let alone wearing a uniform. As much as I’ve always loved clothes, I would’ve killed for a Gossip Girl-style uniform back in junior high and high school–and sometimes I still like to pretend.

Colin Stuart blazer; thrifted blouse, skirt, and boots

Also, there’s a Jenni Kayne pop-up shop at The Wardrobe starting today, with a portion of proceeds going to benefit Lighthouse Youth Services. The prices are usually a bit rich for my blood, but I love pulling from there because they carry great labels and have fabulous stuff.

Have a great weekend!

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On Saturday evening, Ashlee, Marsha and I hit the road and headed to Indianapolis for the Midwest Fashion Week finale.

Outfit pics! I have no idea why I look so surprised.

I took a picture of Ashlee taking pictures of Marsha. How meta is that?

Photographers in the pit

Designs by Marlene Thomas, Melissa Tabor, and Cincinnati’s own Amy Kirchen

Of course, being fashion bloggers, we took outfit pictures, enjoyed cocktails and wine, and stuffed ourselves with Mickey D’s on the way home. All I did was mention ice cream and everyone was all in!

How was your weekend?

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Fun times at the PopShop + vitaminwater uncapped event last night:

Sometimes I forget how many awesome people I know here. Last night was a good reminder.

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Last night I took my getting-sick self to the vitaminwater uncapped LIVE kickoff event to take some pictures and whatnot for A-Line‘s website.

I’d hoped to get my hands on some of that yummy-looking mac and cheese, but I waited too long–by the time I took the first round of photos, it was gone. Note to self: Eat as soon as you see the food. Looking greedy is inconsequential because YOU ARE GREEDY.

Glow On

Speaking of vitaminwater unplugged LIVE, this month we’re holding PopShop at the Show Us Your Glow fashion event on Tuesday 9/20 instead of Final Friday, so be sure to stop by and say hi. We have 17 vendors signed up, so there’ll be plenty of crafty goodies to choose from!

Fashion Bash

If you’re available Tuesday afternoon, you should definitely go to the Dress For Success Fashion Bash luncheon. I went last year and had a great time, and this year my friend Susi is chairing the event so I KNOW it will be fantastic!

Restore Yourself

Continue your do-gooder streak on Saturday 9/24 at RESTORE, an evening of fashion, art, and music at organized by my friend Emily of Stop Traffick Fashion. Proceeds from the event benefit Hagar International, an organization dedicated to helping women and children who have been rescued from slavery.

So mark your calendars, have a great weekend, and I’ll see you out and about next week!

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Whew! I’m still recovering from last night’s activities, but I thought I’d share some pictures of the fun/mayhem:

FNO Cincy

At Saks pre-Fashion’s Night Out. First, how cute are the ladies working there? Second, how badly do I need (yes, NEED) this feathered bag?

My friend, photographer Ann Van Epps hung out at FNO Cincy and took great pics of the stylish women there. I didn’t realize the store itself would be such a gorgeous backdrop…

The beautiful girls of Style Edit (remember my interview with them here?) and a guest wearing my favorite–black and white stripes–and gorgeous Missoni (?) heels.

Don’t forget about the guys! Given my love of menswear, a lot of my style inspiration comes from dudes anyway.

Blog buddies (well, what am I supposed to call them?) Marsha and Brock of Style Edit and Zach of The Fagazine with a friend. Cuteness!

Thanks to Ann for the wonderful pictures!

The Fashion Event

There was a lot of crazy hair backstage at the fashion show for A-Line, but Ashlee of amellostyle styled our Stop Traffick Fashion tees to a…well, to a T!

Waiting to walk the runway at the fashion show…

It was fun. I’m exhausted. Have a great weekend!

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