https://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2012-05-25/after-a-fashion/
Imagine gently listing to dance music inside a Greek temple – bathed in colored lights and overlooking Lake Austin, high above the city. That is definitely one of the ways I could spend the rest of my life. Fortunately, I got a little taste of that last week at a masked ball of sorts, put on by an event company called By Mojo (www.bymojoaustin.com). I've been to a By Mojo event before – their debut party at Palazzo Lavaca – and I have to say that my friends and I gaped at the location, and the luxurious touches: food, service, etc. Party No. 2? Bigger, grander – a (dare I say it?) Dallas-type party (in a $5,000,000 mansion), but not nearly so stuck-up. A benefit for Emancipet, I was shocked at how many people I knew when I walked in (Lance Morgan, Tyler Sieswerda, Patrick Keel, and Jason Schubert, among others), all resplendent in gorgeous masks in this fabricated fantasyland. I asked By Mojo's Jonathan Tieken how their mission differed from that of other event companies. "We feel that Austin is a world-class city that should be able to support world-class events," he said. "We want to raise the bar and rethink the possibilities of entertaining in Austin." Mission accomplished.
Well, chickens, Fashion Star is over for the season, with the phenomenally talented and very out lesbian Kara Laricks being appointed America's Fashion Star. Yay! Kara, you have a true gift, and we'll be waiting to see your name everywhere. Congratulations to Austin's Ross Bennett, who made it through eight weeks before being eliminated. Ross stayed true to his own style, often disregarding the advice of the pros. This may have come across as arrogant, but really – ultimately – I think Ross will be fine with his Texas client base which is ready for, as Ross says, "this conservative Republican from Texas in their stores." Again, I'll say Ross leans too heavily on that routine, and could be more of a diplomat ... but that's not required. He did sell $220,000 in clothes to Macy's and H&M, after all.
We've come across some clever little insoles for summer shoes, called Summer Soles (www. summersoles.com) direct to you from Frisco, Texas. These lightweight, soft suede absorbent liners can be cut to fit any shoe or sandal and come in fun florals for women and a range of solid colors for men. They retail for less than $10 and are available at the always fabulous Breed & Co. (www.breedandco.com).
If it has always been your dream to be known as the world's most creative sewer (as in "sewing," not a fetid, waterlogged waste facility), then Pfaff – longtime manufacturer of some of the finest home and industrial sewing equipment – is having its 150th anniversary celebration which includes a Sewer of the Month award, all leading up to the grand title of the World's Most Creative Sewer. Start your engines, and go to www.pfaff150anniversary.com.
It seems like it's always Fashion Week in Austin. We have shows across the calendar – often two or more a week. Saturday, June 2, 6:30-9:30pm, at the Cedar Street Courtyard (208 W. Fourth), American YouthWorks – the school with the big heart – presents a fashion show fund-raiser benefit with a runway show by designer Roberto Valentin, who will be unveiling his newest collections. Following the show is a reception featuring the legendary Spazmatics, a New Wave Eighties band. See www.americanyouthworks.org for more... On the subject of fashion shows, a fashionable little birdie tells me to expect a "major high-end show with several designers." Stay tuned. We wait with bated breath.
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