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.

THE 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 →