[ ♡ ] Fresh Traditions Fashion Show 2010 – 11/7/10

This post is long overdue but I’ve been having wireless problems and working odd hours so I haven’t been able to post pictures from the show. The show was about a week ago on Sunday. I was going to look for an outfit earlier (as in weeks before) because I take every chance I get to dress up (lol) but I didn’t have much time so I didn’t look for an outfit until earlier that day. I combed through my closet and came up with this: The dress is a dress I got a few months ago from JCP’s that I haven’t worn. It’s much longer than I usually do so I pulled it up with a little orange belt from Target. I topped that off with a blazer from F21 and some nude pumps. This is what it looked like with my whole look pulled together: I just darkened my makeup a bit, added a pink lipstick and pulled my hair to the side. The hair didn’t turn out like the vision I had in mind but it worked lol, besides, I didn’t have time to change it. Christi and I hopped in with my aunt and uncle at Destiny Café and we thought were going to be late because the doors opened at 6 and it was almost 6:30 already. When Kay gave me the google directions I realized it was going to be in Dinkytown and inwardly groaned because if you’ve been to Dinkytown, you know parking is a pain in the butt! I knew it was in MPLS but I was thinking more like over the river lol. Anyways luckily for everyone, my general knowledge of the area is awesome! We parked in a lot about a block from the Varsity theater where the show was held. When we got there they ID’ed us (because it was an 18+ show) and Michelle’s dad inisisted on paying all of our $20 covers (he’s awesome!) We got these little wristbands lol: The theater was really cute and exuded kind of an intimate atmosphere even though it was big enough to hold a small concert there. It has sort of an old alternate rock, whole in the wall chamber feel. As you can see, our $20 only got us standing room. I didn’t really care but I guess my uncle did because next you know, he’s secured us seats. The seats were lining the two walls by the stage and we sat on the left in the set closest to the stage: We also got this second wristband for buying seats (which, my uncle paid for again!) The show didn’t start until 7 so we explored the bathroom upstairs and it was even cooler than the rooms downstairs! Also we met up with Ta & them and took some pictures (of course lol!) Xti, being the ultimate fangirl she is, found Pagnia Xiong and asked to take a picture with her: Then we went to sit down and I took some more pictures: ^me and my aunt When the show did finally start (late as expected,) we, the people paid for seats realized that it was freaken rip off because the seats were not next to the stage and so as people crowded around the runway, you can only see half of the models when they walk down. I mean, what the hell is that? Why charge more for seats if you’re not going to clear the area (which is what I thought they were going to do) so that the people who paid extra can actually see the damn show! This little Hmong chick next to me was so upset, she complained and the bouncers sort of tried to clear the area but didn’t really enforce it so as the show went on, more and more people started to filter back in. Due to my bad view, my pictures are zoomed and therefore grainy and not great. If you want to see better pictures, you can check chat’s website but here are some of mine. I started out taking a lot of pictures but realized it wasn’t going to work in the long run because there was like 5 designers so I just shot some pictures of the individual models and then did a video of the final walk from each designer. I’ll upload those on youtube and embed it when I have a chance. The following are some shots, I have more but some of them were not great so I’m just posting a few. I knew two models in the show. ^from the first designer Chong Moua whose line was classic comfort staple urban wear pieces with Hmong fabrics and color schemes. Here’s her profile from the look book: The next designer was Khamphian Vang whose lined I really liked. Her line was influenced by the bird motif and in my opninion had the most cohesiveness and best models. All her models looked professional and walked well. Her collection consisted of dark, modern 2 piece sets and heavy jewelry. Here are some snapshots and her lookbook profile: The next designer was Seela Vachon whose line centered around corsets. I thought her corsets were incredibly constructed with boning and everything but her line was the least versatile and appealing to me. I mean, I wouldn’t wear corsets day in and day out so not much there for me. She said it was inspired by some periods past but basically it’s corsets on top of any dress you can think of. Here are some snapshots and her profile: ^I thought this one was funny ^here is her main piece which sort of has that corset theme too. Next is Xee Vang, a fashion photographer whose line was also very cohesive. She had the best styling overall because the makeup and hair fit perfectly with the clothes. It reminded me of 1940’s Shanghai but the clothes were cute and wearable. Think Gaga toned down. Here is her profile and pictures: Next is Nonmala Xiong whose line is basically vintage inspired clothes from the 40’s and 50’s. I didn’t take many pictures of her line because it was basically clothes you can find in any store. Here is her profile: Last is Lylena Yang who is also the designer my cousin modeled for. Michelle wore her feature design! I feel like her clothes were the most fitting for the show because it had a lot of hmong influences both in fabrics and colors. She had a variety of dresses, some cute, some not wearable but overall fitting. The best part of her show was her music choice. It was sanscript song called “alive” by Sa Ding Ding. The odd thing though, was how her models worked the runway. She must have told them to be dramatic because they were practically dancing and gliding along to the song. Their poses were also a little over the top. ^this is what my view looks like ^I really liked this one. ^my cousin! After the show, we were given the chance to chat and take pictures with the models and designers. Here is Michelle with her designer: I also took some random pictures: ^I just thought this was so cute! ^I took a picture of these ladies taking pictures because they walked around with airs, laughing, flipping their hair like they had a glass of champagne and like they do this kind of thing so often flaunting their fake fur and lv bags lol but it was completely over the top, especially for their age. Seriously, they all wore some sort of fur. It’s like they youtubed what the real housewives of Beverly Hills wear to events and did their own take. I don’t know, sounds harsh but it’s too overdone for me and makes them look older. I feel like they were trying to look rich? Lol, I can’t explain it, you just have to be there. Overall, the show was nice and I would definitely go again next year! ♡ PaNhia

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