Columbia Style Week 2012: Finale

Saturday night was the finale for CSW!

This MayaQoba dress was my favorite piece in the entire show! I was breathless when I saw it and squealed to Mikelle who was sitting next to me! I REALLY need it!

Both of these Lauren Devaughn designs were also among my favorites. I liked everything in this material really. They were great pieces that I loved!

This Luis Machicao set has my name all over it. That coral liner was such a fun pop of color and I was just thinking how much I want a white work-appropriate shift dress. Adorable!

This was another LM dress that I really liked! the ruffle was cute and that hidden color was fabulous!

There aren't many photos of me at the Finale event, but you can see me and the crew I was lucky enough to hang out with right there!

I loved Mikelle's Instagram caption of "Carolina Fabulous"!

I had a wonderful time being a part of Columbia Style Week 2012 and I look forward to working again with them in 2013 if I'm still in the area! A huge thanks to all volunteers, organizers, models, designers, VIPs, and everyone who attended CSW2012 and made it such a fun week for people like me!

xxKatie

Columbia Style Week 2012: Wedding 101

Wedding 101 was held on Saturday morning and I left work for about an hour to make it! I love all things wedding and figured this would be IDEAL for yours truly. After interning at Bayside Bride last year, I felt like I learned SO much, so I really knew what to keep my eyes out for!

Wedding 101 was also held at Tapp's and converted into wedding wonderland!

The showcase itself was presented by Weddings 101, a local wedding planning service. They did a wonderful job showing us all some great designs! (Minus the clamps used to secure dresses! I wish they found a different way to make them work because they were a teensy bit distracting!)

We got a chance to see designs for the Mother of the Bride, Bridesmaids, Brides, Grooms, Groomsmen, and even a ring bearer! My favorite options were the bridal dresses we saw!

This boatneck dress was my FAAAAAVORITE of all the dresses we saw--LBP loves a boatneck wedding style!

The white dinner jacket look was my pick among all the groom looks! This guy ROCKED it too!

In front of me, so technologically savvy, was The Fat and Skinny on Fashion--a blogger I was lucky enough to meet because of CSW! She's totally a local fashion blogger worth checking out. I also got to meet Josh Ratliff, a stylist who's gotten the chance to work in a TON of places and Mike Kelton, one of the US Weekly fashion police! I was lucky enough to get the chance to hang out with these guys for all of the events on Saturday!

Wedding 101 was a great event and I had a blast yet again getting to cover Columbia Style Week!

xxKatie

Columbia Style Week 2012: Kick Off & Beautiful People Party!

The first night of Columbia Style Week was a kick off and "Beautiful People Party"! The night's events included a panel of industry experts which was one of the highlights of the entire week for me!

Left to right: Katie Kern, Sonya Barnes, Anthony Simmons, Sonia Hendrix, and Alicia Zeigler (who organized the entire week!)

Some of the panel highlights included:

Alicia: "I like to make other people feel fabulous..."

Sonya: "An educated consumer is best.", "Net-work equals net worth!", "Great brands are built on trust, [it becomes] whether you build a great brand yourself or [risk an] image by default..."

Katie: "INTERN! Make sure you secure internships.", "Be professional at all times.", "YOU SHOULD GET PAID!"

What I enjoyed most about the panel was that most of the experts had to say was very business oriented. It wasn't all about fashion or all about the fashion industry but more about their business and entrepreneurial what-I-wish-I-knew kind of advice. I learned SO much at this panel and was excited to be able to network with these individuals and hear what they had to say! 

The venue was Tapp's Art Center which I had never been to and was excited to see!

There was a pre-panel meet-and-greet where everyone could socialize and schmooze. It was enjoyable--I got time to see the different rooms of Tapp's and what artists they were featuring. After social hour, we all headed into the room for the panel and announcement of the 25 Most Stylish People of Columbia awards!

I wore this one shoulder dress and crazy shoes to the first night! I was comfortable and definitely among the preppier attendees at the event--gotta show my preppy pride!

I wanted to thank all of the panel members for their advice and time to chat, I hope they enjoyed the night as much as I did!

Tomorrow's post is all about "Wedding 101" which was one of the Saturday events!

xxKatie

Outfits of the Days: Columbia Style Week

Today begins the first post of a few recapping Columbia Style Week!

I had a wonderful time with all the folks who attended the first CSW! I'll have the first run-down of this series of posts about CSW events posting tomorrow--get excited!

June 5 by letsbepreppy featuring a one shoulder long sleeve dress

This was the first night of CSW! It was a kick-off party and crowned Columbia's Top 25 Most Stylish People! I had a blast and even got to network a little with the panel of industry experts. I don't want to give much away, but the industry expert night was DEFINITELY a highlight for me! I, of course, had to wear Lilly since I was representing the preppy population of Columbia!

June 9 by letsbepreppy featuring kenneth jay lane earrings

The second event I went to was called "Wedding 101" hosted by a local wedding planning company--Wedding 101--on behalf of CSW. It was really fun and the crowd was a bit different than the usual CWS event crowd. I got a chance to meet a few bloggers whose blogs I've been reading for awhile and was a bit starstruck when I met them! It was a blast!

June 9 by letsbepreppy featuring print dresses

For the finale event, I wore this dress that I've been lusting over! I added a pink crossbody for both events on the 9th and it was great! I didn't have to hold a purse and could still take tons of photos so easily! I snapped 100's of photos and even a few videos to put together for everyone to see! It was a wonderful night and I was able to hang out with the same crowd from Wedding 101! 

All in all, Columbia Style Week was a BLAST, and I hope y'all are looking forward to the rest of the detailed posts--you're in for a treat! 

xxKatie

My Summer Grind

My summer seems to have a decent pattern as of these last few weeks! My current summer essentials are:

Costa Del Mar Isabela: My absolute go-to pair of sunglasses

Lilly Pulitzer Agenda: I mistakenly thought that summer meant less plans. Nope!

Pinch: Our favorite place to hang out, Wednesdays are my fave!

CeraVe lotion: This is SAVING my skin from all my new acne medicine! I would recommend it if you have dry skin--it's TOTALLY worth every penny!

Wedges: What if I'm as tall as my dad? I've been all about the wedges and don't even care if they make me like 6'4''. That rules!

Pink Nail Polish: "Off the Shoulder" will be my next color! I bought it and I know I'm already going to like it. Wanna know how? When I got that pedicure, I got it in OTS! I tested the color out and it's a 100% match. Talk about a stylish subconscious! 

While it's a motley crew of summer staples, this is what I'm living off of these days! What are your summer must-haves?

xxKatie

P.S.: If anyone is heading to Columbia Style Week events tonight, I'd love to meet up--tonight is a meet and greet anyway! Snap a few photos for the facebook page ;) Send me an email (katie AT letsbepreppy DOT com) or tweet @letsbepreppy and let me know!!! I know some of my Columbia readers are in town and it's gonna be an awesome week of festivities!

Outfit of the Day: Out & About

People often ask if my Polyvore outfits are what I really wear! I just wanted to say that yes, they sure are! I document what I wear to work, class, events out, everything! I talked about that Posh and Panache event from a few weeks ago, and the photographer there was able to snap a few photos of us!

Earlier that day I was deciding what I was going to wear and I Polyvore-ed what I decided on:

February 11 by letsbepreppy featuring monogrammed travel bags

I try my best to make my Polyvore sets as accurate and close to the real thing as possible! Pretty close right?

I've been all over these days and my OOTD's range from my workout gear from Dance Marathon:

February 25 by letsbepreppy featuring NIKE

To dressier outfits for work:

February 24 by letsbepreppy featuring monogrammed bags

Do you like to Polyvore a lot? Do you do fun outfits or what you really wear? Fill me in!!

xxKatie

Posh & Panache

A few weeks ago, I was invited to Posh & Panache, one of the media events for Columbia Style Week! CSW is in it's inaugural year and is doing a great job to get the word out for the events happening June 5-9. We had a blast and it was at a beautiful boutique in Columbia's Vista district. 

There was an awesome fashion show!

The owner, Carissa, was happy to speak to everyone who came! We even got a minute to chat and we learned all about her business. She offers and AWESOME shopping experience if you want to attend after hours with a group of friends! As long as you spend a minimum amount (~$100) you all get 20% off! 

M2 Boutique is a lot like a store most of you will be familiar with--Francesca's Collection--but imagine it with all the top of the line pieces and a RIDICULOUS selection of designer jeans. Add that with a posh space and you've got M2.

Carissa started from her living room years ago and her fabulous friends encouraged her to get a storefront! She first went to Atlanta and then packed up and moved to Columbia and is really helping out our major lack of shopping in the city. 

I got to snap a photo with her and we had a great time!

I spent most of the night with Julia, a model and senior editor for our student magazine Garnet and Black, and Hallie, of Garnet and Blog! See her take on the night there too!

xxKatie

Weekly Gratitude

1. I am thankful for my family and their welcoming me with open arms at home!

2. I am thankful for my close friends who I was able to reconnect with if only for a few days!

3. I am thankful for my FAB new bracelet! It's kind of an identity bracelet but not the typical kind: it's pink AND a giraffe...talk about my identity! I'm a big Fornash fan!

4. I am thankful for the ease and speed of traveling in and out of Charleston. It was a breeze and really makes a HUGE difference in traveling back home.

5. I am thankful for my new phone battery (did I say this last week?) because it's making a huge difference. Now if the Blackberry system could catch up with patching the holes!

6. I am thankful that I got to spend time with my Grandparents. Our snowbirds were on their way from outside Augusta, Maine down to  Zephyrhills, Florida!

7. I am thankful that Annapolis is the best haven for clearing my mind. Fall break seems to always give me a new perspective and allow me to wrap up the semester with a better attitude. 

8. I am thankful that I'm back in Columbia and very luckily have no tests this week! What a great feeling.

9. I am thankful for everyone's kind words yesterday and this entire time with all my big news! Y'all are the best.

10. I am thankful that I'm past the midpoint of the semester, as are most of my college followers! Here's to ringing in the rest of the tests, quizzes, projects and everything else we tackle during the rest of the semester!

xxKatie

Big News!

So awhile ago, I tweeted about a big chance I had taken. I didn't know where it would be going and I think my tweet startled a lot of people (including my Mom and sister Grace). I promised y'all that it was a good thing but didn't spill any deets besides that!

I didn't really tell anyone what I was doing, I just asked for a few extra prayers and good thoughts on my behalf! I must say thank you to everyone who said me friendly tweets and even inquired about what I was doing! Your happiness was contagious and I'm SO excited to finally tell you!

I  have officially booked my first runway show, working with Columbia Style Week in June! This was a two-part deal though too. I also applied to walk in the runway shows affiliated with Charleston Fashion Week. I made it through the application round and will be going to the audition in a few weeks!

I won't know about Charleston Fashion Week for a few more weeks but I was so excited to have made it to the second round! I applied for both of these totally on a lark and had zero expectations of what could happen! Never in a million years did I think I'd book one and get to the second round of another!

I just wanted to thank everyone including ALL my Twitter followers, Bayside Bride, Natalie Franke Photography, good friends and family, and all you lovely readers for all your encouragement and excitement for me! Here's to a VERY exciting couple of weeks!!

xxKatie