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: 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

USCFW12: It's a Wrap!

I can't explain how much fun USC Fashion Week 2012 was! I hardly ever consider myself a "fashion blogger" in the traditional sense, but it was fun to network and meet a lot of Columbia's student fashionistas and fashionistos! I'm sure it was extremely stressful for the organizers (major props to Melissa K. and Mikelle S. as well as all the student designers themselves!) but I'd call it a huge success! There were so many moving parts that went into this week, I'm so excited to be considered a part of it!

The first night was the student designer competition! There are tons of photos online, but if you'd like to see all the collections in their entireties, check out The Fat and Skinny on Fashion's videos:

Student Designers:

Sponsor Showcase:

I wore a few different looks for all the week's events! 

The first night, Tuesday, I was lucky enough to be part of two student designers, James Matthew Teague and Jessica Argoe:

James Matthew Teague

Jessica Argoe 

It looks like I was a little tired, huh?! Jessica was being interviewed at this point--and my look was her featured design! Also, look at the fun decorations, they were whimsical and fun and I loved walking through it!

The second night, Thursday, we wore ensembles from local sponsors! I wore LaRoque and Bohemian, both local women's boutiques in Columbia.

LaRoque

This outfit was two pieces: a quintessentially LaRoque silk wrap top with a huge bow and long hostess skirt! (I'm trying to find some pictures without watermarks, but thanks to Cinhte Mag for snagging some photos!) Here's a better view of my awesome LaRoque skirt:

(via facebook)

Bohemian

By nature of the name, this store had fun, trendy pieces in it! I couldn't believe how much of a departure from my normal style this outfit was! That sweater was like full length and I had this crazy cool pink leather wrap watch!

What was especially fun was being able to share this week with one of my closest friends, Aly, who was also in the show! Here's a cool behind-the-scenes photo of her getting ready! (RMS, right Miss Aly?)

All in all, USC Fashion Week 2012 was an absolute blast to be a part of and I'm already looking forward to next year! The organizers will have big shoes to fill and I can't thank Fashion Board at USC enough for including me in everything!!

xxKatie

USCFW12

Monday kicked off USC Fashion Week 2012! I'm excited to tell y'all that I'm a part of it this year and couldn't be more excited! Since Columbia has gotten a little bit more of it's own "fashion scene" this year, it's exciting to be a part of such a fun week on campus!

Last night was the student-designer competition! The above photo is from the designer's personal Instagram account. He did ALL OF THOSE designs! They're even more incredible in person. I'm all the way on the far left, and my dress was constructed in less than a week if you could EVER believe that! He scrapped my original look citing, "I just ended up hating it!" and opted for this second dressier look. 

More designers included Ashlyn of Southern Beaus, we had a giveaway with her, and Emma Mahon of Emma Graham Designs, another LBP fave! It was such an action-packed night of hair, makeup, and designer fashion! You can see the fabulous designs and judges' table! That's Emma on the far left!

Thursday is the next night of events that I'm involved with and is the night of sponsor designs! Big on the blogger scene, I'll be wearing an AMAZING LaRoque look that may or may not include the coolest hostess skirt and ruffle top combo that y'all will FLIP over! The above look is one of my most recent favorites from the LaRoque storefront!

I'll be sure to keep everyone updated with USCFW12 happenings!

xxKatie

Through the Looking Glass

As much as I complain about my phone, I was thinking how funny the compilation of the pictures on it is. Think of your phone photos: snapped quickly, usually under silly conditions, or maybe in a funny place. Here are a few of my last phone photos:

My favorite study snack...you can see all my econ notes and econ textbook opened to Cobb-Douglas Productinon Functions and Other Examples of Technology (Chapter 18 for anyone in my class...).

My little baby Little smushed between two big trucks in my parking garage!

My first fashion show outfit!! 

My first USC baseball game! How do you like my pink Hunters on their second day out?

...More studying!

Showing off my bowtie-tying skills at work! A must during Carolina Cup season!

I couldn't help but share my fortune cookie a few days before I went home for Spring Break!! TOO cool!!

MMMMM, the pecan squares before being cut...still gooey and cooling! I'll be sure to post this recipe soon, so easy and so good!

What do your most recent uploads say about you? Clearly I've been snacking and studying a good bit of my time!!

xxKatie