Fashion's Night Out 2012

After experiencing some intensity last month, I am ready to start September and my favorite season (Fall!) off with some glamour. I think it's Samantha on SATC who says she needs "some glamour" in her life. And that's definitely how I felt in the weeks leading up to last night. I knew it would be good and just what I needed and well....I got my just desserts.

Thank you Anna Wintour, for encouraging us to go shopping while stores serve us food, drinks and play music. It's hard to go back to normal shopping after Fashion's Night Out. FNO is meant to encourage consumers to go out and spend money; it's about investing in the fashion industry. Not to mention, FNO kicks off Fashion Week in New York and begins the Domino effect of fashion weeks around the world (Milan, London, Paris). Fall collections (as previewed in the September issues of fashion magazines) debut in stores just in time for FNO. So in my book FNO marks the official end of summer, the time to start buying for fall (or begin Christmas shopping), while the fashion shows you see start you thinking about Spring. The whole of the year in terms of fashion truly eclipses in September.

This is definitely my favorite shopping holiday (Black Friday being my second). I chose to head out to Fashion Island in Newport Beach, because that's where I attended the first FNO three years ago and remembered it being amazing. I'm blanking on what got in the way last year, but it felt good to be back and helping the economy. I purchased the most amazing top at Juicy Couture, incorporating the embellished trend. It has rhinestones and spikes all over it. They have it in black too, so I am thinking I may have to head back for a duplicate in the coming weeks. Especially since I scored an awesome coupon last night that is good for the rest of the year (thanks Juicy!). This was the only piece I bought though, because I am going on vacation next week. And vacation requires $$$.

Well, that isn't entirely true. I was going to resist Casey's Cupcakes but they made the cutest ones for FNO. They were red velvet with pink frosting and topped off with a glittery shoe. I have said many times that I could eat a shoe I love it so much, but this time it felt good to actually eat a shoe that tasted as divine as it looked. Even the cupcake place participated in FNO and gave me a free mini cupcake for purchasing the special edition one. I also made a stop at the new Lette Macarons and indulged salted caramel and dark chocolate wonderfulness. Oh soooo good!!

Other fashionable stops for the evening included Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus (though they didn't seem to have any festivities); Kate Spade had super cute displays and their salespeople were kind as always serving up lemonade and cookies; it was all about bikinis and martinis at Trina Turk. They served up sparkling wine and a signature pink cocktail. I loved all the prints, colors, and sparkly shoes at that store. By far the most festive FNO party at Fashion Island! Jonathan Adler didn't have much of a party, but I loved the Union Jack coasters (of course). But the people at Juicy Couture are just hard to beat. They served champagne and were friendly as ever. There was also a giant catwalk and mini fashion show right outside.

And since the evening was all about glamour and presentation, I thought it was an occasion that warranted dressing up. I wore some happy color combos including a yellow Jill Stuart , orange Kate Spade clutch, rainbow shoes and jewels from Kate Spade, while stacking my arms with vintage gold and rhinestones along with local favorite Gorjana-Griffin. I got my toes pedicured yesterday and I liked that they matched my clutch. The other color on my hands is really cool too (Bikini so Teeny from Essie). And you know what they say, the happier the colors and you are with your outfit, the happier you will feel. And that couldn't have been truer than last night.

Happy (fall) shopping!!