Month: February 2013

Oscar Night 2013

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k150_19heel iconOscar night is always a big night – whether you stay home in your PJs or head to a swanky party.  Being a big movie goer, I had my picks for the winners and I had a fancy dress that was perfect for a big Oscar party at the Egyptian Theatre that I was invited to by my pal Margot. It’s not every day you get to watch TV on a big movie screen and seeing the stars in this way certainly makes it a special event. Margot invited a group of friends for a private party to watch the show right across the street from the big event itself! I invited along my pals Dave and Sabino of Clever Vintage Clothing to Tweet along with me about the fashions and winner reactions.

Some thoughts on fashions:

Best: Jennifer Lawrence, Nicole Kidman, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Amy Adams and of course, Helen Hunt for wearing an affordable, eco-friendly H&M gown.

Worst: Barbra Streisand channeling Cher, Jane Fonda – too ’80s and George Clooney going Kris Kringle with his grey beard.

Some thoughts on the wins:

I couldn’t not have been happier that Argo won for best picture! Period.

And now some pix from our Oscar night:

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With Margot

kiltA “Brave” Fan

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With Dave and Sabino of Clever Vintage

tuxA tux is always a good choice

brianSabinoPhotographer Brian Boskind with Sabino

Special thanks to Margot for a fun evening!

A golden night,
Kastle

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Month: February 2013

London Calling: TopShop Comes to LA

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k150_17heel iconWhenever I’m in London, I make a point to hit TopShop. I’ve been known to do some serious damage to my credit card in that store, stuffing my suitcase with their unique, fun styles. I’ve longed for the day it didn’t take an international flight to shop there. So I was especially excited to hear they were opening in Los Angeles.  Last weekend, I ventured over to the Grove — early in the morning to avoid the crowds — to check out the newly opened TopShop/TopMan LA.  I found plenty of eye candy from bold print skirts and tops, comic book graphic splashed skirts, vintage-looking, beaded party dresses and a wall of shoes I could have easily filled my closet with.

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I headed for the fitting room with an armful of skirts and dresses and emerged with some purchases. However, not without discovering many of the sizes run small and most of the skirts in the store did not come in sizes larger than an 6 or 8, so there wasn’t an option to buy a larger size to avoid everything being ultra skin tight. I overheard other people commenting in the dressing room that everything was running small on them as well. Buyer be warned.  A few skirts I really wanted I just had to put back on the rack. Sorry, the stuffed sausage look isn’t my thing!

To make up for my disappointment, I headed for the accessories and found some super cute checkered and houndstooth print ankle socks and a Peter Pan collar-style necklace made out of faux pearls. I was able to put them together for an awesome ‘60s style outfit for club Spin Out that night. See pix below.

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And check out the video of TopShop’s opening celebration:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rvg-ZckH95c]

See a slideshow peek inside the store HERE.

TopShop at the Grove in West Hollywood for a little bit of English style!

It’s tops!
Kastle

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Month: February 2013

Socializing Over Social Media and Art

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k150_17heel iconIt was one of those California days when the sunshine made the city sparkle, bright and full of promise. It was the perfect setting to gather at the Getty, with its spectacular hilltop views across Los Angeles, and meet a group of social media enthusiasts to share ideas, tips and Twitter handles, take in some amazing art exhibits – and of course have unlimited Instagram moments. They came to be social about social, meet people face to face, and see what unfolds when as life imitates Tweets. This was the Getty Social.

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Kastle at the Getty @StilettoCity

Put together by:

This unique “Tweetup” didn’t have a set agenda other than to meet like-minded Socialistas and revel in our current engaging and ever-changing social culture. It was an in-person and online mix of stimulus as people talked and pecked away on their smart phones simultaneously.

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Beverly Macy @Beverly Macy

The highlight of the event was a keynote speech by Nic Adler (son of music producer Lou Adler and actress Britt Ekland), a band manager, promoter, and restauranteur and owner of the Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip, best known to this group as the man who got the Sunset Strip to go social with by taking the Roxy venue’s social media strategy into the stratosphere.

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Nic Adler @NicAdler

Some highlights of Adler’s talk included the story of how the Roxy really started listening to what their customers were saying about the venue on social media and how making little changes and becoming engaged with the community lead to building a large and loyal following.

He then encouraged us all to turn and snap a photo of the person sitting next to us and share it. So here’s a pic of my pal Jon, social superstar in his own right, who I know from attending UCLA’s Social Media Marketing class.

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Jon Burk @MrJonBurk

After, we were turned loose on the Getty to take in some of the exhibits and spectacular views. I enjoyed the “Farewell to Surrealism” exhibit, soaked up the gorgeous black and white photography of Robert Mapplethrope, and was particularly moved by the city scene compositions of photographer Ray K. Metzker. My how photography has changed with phone pix and Instagram as we capture real life moments more than ever!

Check out some of the photos and tweets of the day by looking up #GettySocial on Twitter and Instagram.

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View at the Getty @GettyMuseum

Tweet up people!
Kastle

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Month: February 2013

Backbeat: The Beatles Backstory

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k150_17heel iconEvery famous story has a backstory and the Beatles were no exception. Before they were the Fab Four, they were the rowdy five, with the addition of one Stuart Sutcliffe, roommate of John Lennon’s, a painter who John talked into being in his band as they went from Liverpool to play dive bars in Hamburg, Germany.

While many know the Beatles’ music, they may not know of this gifted artist, who played the bass like a brooding James Dean, fell in love with a cute-as-pixie German photographer and saw an untimely demise from an undetected brain tumor. But this is the Beatles’ roots, when they were a scrappy band of greasers playing bluesy rock ‘n’ roll covers and polishing their chops to become the most famous band in the world.

 

“Backbeat the Musical,” based on the 1994 film of the same name, is as artfully done as one of Astrid Kirchherr’s  photos, starting with a burst of rock that doesn’t let up. You feel like you’re part of those heady club days as the Beatles face the drama of a young band starting out. (Trust me, I’ve hung around enough bands to know!) Many kudos should be given to the actors for their perfect-pitch English accents, singing voices (particularly Daniel Healy as Paul McCartney) and spot-on art direction for capturing the era, which my boyfriend pointed out, had period-correct guitars.

I saw the film a few years back and I dare to say, I enjoyed this is even more. “Backbeat” is only at the Ahmanson Theatre for a short run through March 1, if you’re a fan of the Beatles, the ‘60s era or just rock ‘n’ roll, you won’t want to miss it!

Some pix from the night:

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Ready for the show!

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Audience members workin’ some vintage style

Check out the trailer for the musical:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ58OxhIV18&w=560&h=315]

And a scene from the movie:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-rg2fznk8g&w=420&h=315]

See more of Astrid Kirchherr’s photos on the Stiletto City Pinterest Board HERE

Love me do,
Kastle

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Month: February 2013

FabCounsel: Connecting with Style

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k150_17heel iconAt a recent networking party, I met Mary Vallarta, a petite dynamo in the fashion industry who has a passion for what’s trending in style, a head for business and a special social skill for connecting people. Having a background as a buyer and plenty of experience in the fashion biz, she decided to put her know-how to and connections to good use. She founded the FabCounsel to help people succeed in the fashion industry.

FabCounsel provides a wealth of resouces on how to break into the industry on its online site and Mary (pictured here) hosts events around town to give people interested in the industry the opportunity to meet and learn from each other. I recently attended her event “How To IMG_5811.jpgSell Your Fashion Line to Buyers and Retailers,” which took place downtown at chic boutique Brigade. A roomful of fashionistas filled the room to hear from esteemed panelists that  included: Alicia Allen, Director of Men’s Apparel for HauteLook, who spoke from her work in the corporate retail world, Kuo Yang, owner & founder of Brigade sharing his perspective as a small boutique owner and what he looks for in buying people’s lines to carry in his store, and Vanessa Lee, an experienced sales executive who’s worked with companies including Eight Sixty, Collective Concepts, Creative Commune, Daniel Rainn. She shared her knowledge in the art of selling, how to approach buyers, what to prep for before a sales meeting, what to bring to the meetings, how to follow up.

Some notes:

  • You have 15-20 seconds to make your pitch – know how to sell what you’re offering.
  • Know your target – where you fit in the market and the void that you fill.
  • Build your contacts – people want to do business with people they know.
  • Incentivize – offer something to get you in, a partial commission or something creative.
  • Build great collateral – line sheets and a look book that shows your designs. Get press clippings.
  • This is LA, go after celebrities and gift them items. While New York and Paris have the big fashion shows, we have red carpets. Those are our fashion shows.

Afterwards there was plenty of mingling, shopping and of course, checking out each other’s outfits! Here are the party pix:

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Just fab!
Kastle

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