Tag Archives: gala

Tips for Surviving and Conquering Gala Season

You may think of September as the harbinger of the school year, cooler weather and football season. That may all be true, except for the cooler weather in Texas, but in my life, fall is better known as gala season. Because of my day job (yep, I have one, and it’s not blogging!), I go to lots of events. And styling myself appropriately for each event is like an Olympic sport for me. Just this weekend I attended one brunch, one cocktail, and one black tie event. I thought I’d share my trade secrets, in no particular order.

Charlize Theron best red carpet looks

My red carpet wearing idol, Charlize Theron

PLAN EACH OUTFIT WITH A PROPER RUN-THROUGH
Don’t just pull a dress out of your closet two hours before the event and slap it on with some shoes. Yes, sometimes I’m working off a last minute invite, but typically I’m doing my dress selection at least a week in advance. I’ll try the dress on, decide on shoes and accessories – jewelry, handbag, and, if needed, a coat or wrap. And don’t forget to carefully select your undergarments (see my True Story below). The advance planning allows for adequate time to fill in any missing items. Continue reading

From the Archives: fête*ish, September 2009

In this (infrequent) series of posts, I’ll pull looks from past events and walk through my styling strategy, from hair to shoes.

Commonly looked at as the unofficial start of gala season in Austin, Ballet Austin’s Fête is one of the hottest events of the year. Historically a black tie, sit down dinner, in 2009 a committee was formed to put together a smaller-dollar ticketed cocktail after-party, cheekily dubbed fête*ish. That year, Fête and fête*ish were held in the then unfinished Austonian. And in fact, much of fête*ish took place on the ground floor of the high-rise, now better known as Second Bar + Kitchen (one of my faves!), Bar Congress, and Congress. The party played up it’s flirty namesake, complete with a burlesque singer, absinthe cockails and pole dancing. This was going to be fun.

Betsey Johnson hot pink cocktail dressTHE DRESS: With a party called “fête*ish”, I had the perfect opportunity to wear a dress that was ultra girly and playful. What better choice than a Betsey Johnson cocktail dress? I decided on this little number to the left – strapless, hot pink satin with black sequin trim and a very full black tulle petticoat. I found it on ebay and bought if for around $150, if memory serves me right. I don’t usually buy clothes online, but I had tried on similar style Betsey Johnson dresses and was fairly confident in which size to buy. Luckily, it was a perfect fit. Continue reading

From the Archives: Long Center Opening, March 2008

For this new series of posts, Jenn will pull looks from past events and walk through her styling strategy, from hair to shoes.

In March 28, 2008, Austin welcomed a new, world-class performing arts center, the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts.  A 10-year project, the Long Center opened to the public with an action-packed weekend of events, highlighted by a black-tie gala dinner and show. This was going to be a special night, and a special look was necessary. Continue reading