SFBayStyle

Cartier and America: Sparkle and Shine

The 4Cs of diamonds were drilled in my head during school: Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat. The 5th C when it comes to diamonds on my list is Cartier. Now showing through May 9th at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco is Cartier and America. If you want a little extra twinkle in your eye, put this show on your must-see list. I wandered in amazement through the museum taking in every gorgeous gem accompanied by the audio tour. Make sure to allow yourself enough time to see the entire exhibit since the collection is vast and extremely diverse.

On display are sketches from the design process showing different jeweled options for clients and the multiple edits required to create the perfect piece. During a video presentation showing the making of a necklace, a young patron exclaimed "It takes all that work for just one piece of that necklace? That must be expensive!"

The Fashion Event of the Year - Discarded to Divine

One of the most popular Bay Area fashion events of the year, Discarded to Divine is coming up this Thursday, April 29 at Saint Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco. Guest designer is Project Runway contestant, Jay Nicolas Sario.

A major fundraiser for the San Francisco St. Vincent De Paul, Discarded to Divine invites local designers and fashion design students to reconstruct discarded clothing into one-of-a-kind pieces for fashion and home decor worthy of bringing in big bucks. This year's lineup of designers includes East Bay artist Anandamayi Arnold. Ms. Arnold usually works with paper, creating paper dresses and small paper sculptures available in the Berkeley store, Tail of the Yak. For this year's Discarded to Divine, Ms. Arnold is working with her mother, a professional dressmaker. The mother-daughter team are keeping their design top secret until the day of the event, but word is it will include handmade ribbon pansies.

Discarded to Divine, Thursday April 29, Saint Mary's Cathedral, 1111 Gough Street, SF. VIP reception at 5pm. General reception and silent auction at 6pm. Live auction and runway show at 8pm. For more information call 415-977-1270.

Save the Date - Meet Actress Tippi Hedren and Support The Roar Foundation

Join Hollywood memorabilia collector Barry Barsamian in welcoming actress Tippi Hedren to San Francisco's Metreon on Thursday, April 29, 6pm. Ms. Hedren will attend the exhibit Hollywood Legends: The Barry Barsamian Collection and unveil from her own personal wardrobe an original Edith Head gown.

View Barry's collection of some of the most famous fashions from motion pictures and the personal wardrobes of the worlds greatest stars, including:

Judy Garland
Audrey Hepburn
Elizabeth Taylor
Marilyn Monroe
Clark Gable
Cary Grant

Meet Ms. Hedren and view her fabulous Edith Head original gown up close.

Enjoy special performances by Linda Bulgo as Judy Garland
and Doug Wilson, the Singing Cop.

(A Portion of the Proceeds Will Benefit The Roar Foundation through Barry Barsamian)

Thursday, April 29th, 2010
6:00 - 8:30 pm
Champagne and Appetizers

Metreon
101 Fourth Street, Ground Level
San Francisco, CA 94103

$60.00 Movie Star
$100.00 Silent Film Star
$150.00 Academy Award Winner

Please make your check payable to: Barry Barsamian & mail to:
4326 Detroit Avenue,
Oakland, CA 94619
All checks must be mailed by April 25th, 2010

 

 

 

 

Fashion and Student Trends Host Spring Fashion Show at UC Berkeley

Berkeley is not known for its sense of high fashion. But that is of no consequence to 100 UC Berkeley students who belong to the campus fashion club, Fashion and Student Trends (FAST). By producing a fashion show each semester, FAST offers interested students hands-on experience in many aspects of the fashion industry from design to photography to promotion. Currently the UC Berkeley fashionistas are busy bees getting ready for the spring 2010 fashion show coming up this Sunday, April 25. 

FAST co-president Helene Truong says the club is completely student run and in their fifth year, they are growing in popularity. UC Berkeley has no fashion design or merchandising program, so club members come from various unrelated disciplines. “FAST gives students an opportunity to explore fashion as a hobby,” says Ms. Truong, “and an entrance to a possible future career.” Ms. Truong, a junior majoring in Media Studies, is in her third year working with FAST. She explains that students interested in fashion design present their ideas to a committee and if chosen to present in the semester-end fashion show, they must commit to designing 5-7 pieces each. The progress of the designers is monitored with various deadlines and meetings. Students wanting to model are given training sessions and throughout the semester FAST sponsors various workshops and guests speakers on all aspects of the industry. Other club members volunteer for photographing the show, mixing the music, promoting, backstage managing and all the other necessary tasks of putting on a fashion show. The club also works with local fashion industry businesses, like Paul Mitchell Beauty School who provide some of their students to style hair for the show.

Raphael House Gala Roars with the Twenties

Saturday night, the Bimbo's 365 Club came to life in North Beach, transporting guests back in time with its gorgeous nightclub atmosphere, a big band, lounge singers and loads of once prohibited bubbly. Celebrating 39 years as what many call the best shelter for families in San Francisco, the gala aimed to continue successes of previous years, raising nearly 20% of the funds for Raphael House's annual budget.

Entering the main hall, guests were greeted with a glistening presentation by the Richard Olson Orchestra - including a horns section, three singers and a grand piano. With a dress code of "flapper and dapper," men sported fedoras with their tuxes, and ladies came in roaring twenties fringed frocks, complete with pearls, headbands, furs and feathers. The silent auction included a vast array of packages from eco friendly children's items to expensive vacations.

SF Ballet Presents Exclusive Michael Kors Fashion Show Next Week

A handful of fashion shows in the Bay Area make the list of the best every year. Sitting at the top of the list is the San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary Fashion Show. Partnered with Saks Fifth Avenue, they always showcase a fall designer collection fresh from the New York runway. This year, Michael Kors was selected.

Wednesday the 28th, the fashion show, previously a luncheon event, will move to cocktail hour at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square. Beginning at 5:30pm, cocktails, live auction and the fashion show (featuring professional models) will show items in the Michael Kors collection that are available for purchase for fall/winter 2010.

In terms of philanthropic bang for your fashion show buck, this is one of the best deals around. Tickets start at $175 and $100 of that is deductible, going straight to the SF Ballet. Limited seats are still available.

Special Jimmy Choo Launch for a Cause

Thursday evening, our friends at Vivanista and Saks Fifth Avenue are hosting a fabulous shopping event with Wine, Women and Shoes. Featuring the new Choo 24:7 collection by Jimmy Choo, a percentage of purchases from the evening's purchases will go to Children of Shelters, a San Francisco based community organization.

Let's be clear: this isn't just any other shoe shopping event. Wine, Women and Shoes was founded by Napa Valley vintner, Elaine Honig with the express purpose of showcasing unique designer collections paired with exquisite wines. Their special events have collectively raised over $4 Million in funds for women's and children's charities.

It's okay to browse too! Just RSVP to events(at)vivanista.com.

Raphael House is Puttin’ on the Ritz: One Home, Many Hearts 2010 Benefit Gala

The Raphael House One Home, Many Hearts 2010 Benefit Gala is set for April 17 and promises to be the cat’s pajamas with a 1920s themed affair at San Francisco’s historic Bimbo's 365 Club in North Beach. Since 1971 Raphael House has been helping at risk families find stable housing and achieve financial independence. In the past 39 years of service to the San Francisco community, Raphael House has sheltered more than 17,000 children and their parents with help and support from foundations, corporations, businesses, civic groups, churches and synagogues, and individuals like you.

“Now more than ever, there will be a need to support our families in crisis and we hope to continue to successfully raise the vital funds in order to do just that,” says Claudia Ross, Chairman of the Board. “The Gala is our single most important fund-raiser for the year – the revenue generated from this event is critical to our programs and services for our families.”

Included in this year’s swanky Gala are gambling tables, plenty of hooch, dinner prepared by Taste Catering, tunes provided by The Richard Olsen Orchestra and some swell vocals by jazz singer and former Raphael House resident Amanda King. A silent auction and a live auction will offer ample opportunities to part with your dough - for a good cause. And this is no baloney - complimentary valet parking for your jalopy.

So get a wiggle on and plan your flapper and dapper glad rags (black tie) for Raphael House One Home, Many Hearts 2010 Benefit Gala, Saturday, April 17, 2010, 6PM, Bimbo’s 365 Club, 1025 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco. For tickets contact Flavia Henrique, fhenrique@raphaelhouse.org or 415.345.7262

Hollywood Legends: The Barry Barsamian Collection at the Metreon

 

Click here to see images of the exhibit

Back in the day, Easter for most kids meant a visit from The Bunny, colored hard boiled eggs and perhaps a basket of jelly beans. But for Hollywood memorabilia collector Barry Barsamian, Easter was the one opportunity he had to watch his favorite movie on television – The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland. “There were no videos or DVDs in those days,” Barry explains. Every year he watched the 1938 classic film, every year becoming more and more intrigued with Hollywood, movies and movie stars. When in 1976 Barry had the chance to purchase one of the dresses Judy Garland wore in the film, he jumped right on it and he’s been collecting Hollywood memorabilia ever since. Now through May, Barry has opened up his collection of over 100 items for a public exhibit at the Metreon in San Francisco.

Among Barry’s Hollywood treasures are:

• Fur trimmed coat belonging to Marilyn Monroe circa 1950s.
• Youthful dress worn by Judy Garland in a dance scene with Fred Astaire in the 1947 film Easter Parade.
• Joan Crawford’s costume jewelry and Lucy Ball’s dyed wig from the movie Yours Mine and Ours.
• One-of-a-kind Donna Karan black dress specially made for Barbra Streisand.
• Blue chiffon dress worn by Elizabeth Taylor.
• Phyllis Diller’s 1960s chandelier dress.

One Kings Lane Launches Exclusive Sales With Top Interior Designers

Just across from Washington Square Park sits an elegant pink building that houses some of the best views of San Francisco you could ever see. The fourth floor flat with an $8.5 Million price tag served as an ideal location to host the anniversary celebration and Tastemaker Tag Sales launch party for One Kings Lane. The guest list matched the exclusive sound of the program, but in reality, the idea is to appeal to a broad audience of home owners and connoisseurs.

As founder Alison Pincus put it, "the customers are excited to have access to truly unique pieces you wouldn't find in your neighborhood" and the designers are thrilled to be able to move items that perhaps didn't fit in their homes or that they no longer need. (Pincus, pictured left with Ken Fulk and cofounder Susan Feldman.)

To celebrate the new launch, guests were welcomed by bagpipes, cocktails and luxurious decor. Cocktail chic doesn't even begin to describe this crowd. Beginning April 10, they - and the rest of us - will be able to shop online ever weekend for hand-picked items selected by designers and collectors such as Nathan Turner, Ann Getty, Kimberly Ayers, Suzanne Tucker and Kendall Wilkinson.

Finally, it doesn't cost anything to join. This is a sale not to be missed. There's no harm browsing, right?

...

(Photos by Drew Altizer, Sarah Granger)