Miniskirt-wearing redhead’s view from front row

…And the STLFW adventure continues! Check out the pre-party, blogger’s brunch and Saks lunch details, too!

After a solid day of fashionable indulgences, the STLFW VIP Blogger’s Weekend limo bus (I know!) headed downtown to the MX building for the Hazel2Blue happy hour (more details about this adorable family-owned fashion e-store to come soon) and Canopi dinner at Robust Wine Bar, then the STLFW finale GLOW: Go Local before party, fashion show and after party. I heard about the MX building a few months back– I wrote about it for the college paper, I think…– but had never been. As a loft-liver and -lover I adored the industrial architecture and high-ceilings mixed with walking art, also known as the painfully fashionable guests, throughout the building. It was like experiencing last year’s YSL fashion exhibit from the point of view of the mannequins; it didn’t hurt that Comic Con was simultaneously happening, which meant the hispter-thirfties and designer-addicts were surrounded by the futuristic, steampunk, cosplay-engulfed masses.

Thanks again, Best Transportation and Canopi. My typical Saturday involves Mi Ranchito, the dog park, pajamas, Target and/or Netflix, not champagne and Peroni in a limo bus. And food + drinks at Robust? Perfect choice, Hazel2Blue and Canopi. My at-home appetizer spreads look pathetic in comparison. And no, that isn’t that signature gin cocktail talking (but I am seriously amazed at how Robust bartenders made that orange peel twirl into that perfect, lengthy spring. Someone, enlighten me please.)

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First taste of Peroni on the way to GLOW.
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Dress, Dillards | Jacket, Urban Outfitters | Belt, vintage | Boots, Steve Madden | Tights, Francesca’s | Bag, Coach | Watch, Anne Klein | Bracelets, vintage + Jacobs by Marc Jacobs | Photo by Katherine of Style Tab
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Floral arrangement at the Hazel2Blue and Canopi.me happy hour and dinner at Robust Wine Bar before STLFW GLOW: Go Local.
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Amethyst studs, gift | Sunglasses, freebie | Photo by Katherine of Style Tab
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Cheese and meats during the Hazel2Blue happy hour at Robust Wine Bar.
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STL Bloggers & the ladies of Canopi.me | Photo from ALIVE
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Necklaces, DIY + vintage | Photo by Katherine of Style Tab

GLOW: Go Local’s before party housed small tables topped with Peroni and Pinnacle Vodka beneath the high, unfinished beams of the MX ceiling. The show was focused on local stores and local designers– ahem, please note the name, if you didn’t read it beforehand– including my personal favorite STL shopping venue, Devil City. Home to the greatest pin-up and psychobilly-inspired outfits, Devil City supplies St. Louis with enough décolletage-enhancing dresses to distract the entire 314. As a loyal shopper of the store, I was thrilled to see their runway collection, which included my favorite look of the night, the circle skirt + tight crop top combination. Other impressive, blog-worthy trends (shown by locals Blush, 10 Denza, KayOss Designs, Michael Drummond and Paulie Gibson) include boxy tee-dresses, pattern clashing, asymmetrical hems, slinky shapes and deeply-textured fabrics. I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite looks below.

10 Denza (1) - ALIVE Mag
10 Denza | Photo from ALIVE
Blush 1 - ALIVE Mag
Blush | Photo from ALIVE
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Devil City | Photo from ALIVE
KayOss Designs 1 - ALIVE Mag
KayOss Designs | Photo from ALIVE
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Michael Drummond | ALIVE Mag
Paulie Gibson - ALIVE Mag
Paulie Gibson | Photo from ALIVE

I wouldn’t define myself as the front row kind of gal. I make it there, occasionally, when I use my size to my advantage and weave throw the pit to find the front of the stage. But that’s at shows at shitty dives and dirty venues, and it sort of stopped when I got old enough for an elbow to the face to really hurt.

I sat front row once before. I was covering STLFW and was stopping by the powder room before heading to the press pit (which is, amazingly, more horrifying than the aforementioned moshing variety) when I saw it– a front row ticket sitting next to the sink. It was face-up and centimeters from the puddle near the soap, and it was waiting. My conscious got the best of me and I brought it to the door. “I found this in the ladies room,” I explained. “We don’t have a master list here,” the man said. “I’m going to sell it at face value.” I was nineteen, maybe,  and the press pit was daunting. “So,” the man said, smirking, “did you find a ticket?” … “No.” And that was that. I sat between someone who funded one line and someone who designer another, and I didn’t say a word. I wasn’t as loud at nineteen– a little more nervous. A once in a lifetime experience, I thought then. Perhaps that explains my excitement when, several years later, I found out it would happen again.

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Bloggers front row at GLOW | Photo by Psyche of Economy of Style

The after party went on who knows how long; I heard rumors about an after-after party and a hangover party the next morning. We darted out sometime around 11 p.m. because the 36 straight hours of fashion was starting to catch up with me (and my aching feet) and were awoken with damn near a foot of spring snow.

The greatest ending? Learning that next season’s STLFW will be even longer. Mark your calendars, dolls, because you know where you’ll want to be September 25 through October 5, 2013.

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