Factory Direct Tradeshow in Downtown LA fashion District

I am at Factory Direct Tradeshow in the LA Fashion District this week during LA textile week. Factory Direct is the first curated sourcing tradeshow in LA. Fashion designers throughout LA come out to Factory Direct to start their fashion business. It is a great place for trend spotting in the industry and I'll be doing a recap at the end of this week on trends to look out for in 2016. There is even a fashion show happening later today at 4pm with emerging designers form Los Angeles. The show will have everything from sophisticated business wear to California swimwear designs. I will be updating this post later today with pics from the show so stay tuned! I am giving a seminar tomorrow at 1:30pm on the Digital Marketing Landscape for Fashion in 2016 and I will be talking about new trends in fashion blogging and social media! If you are interested in attending you can register here! Hope to see you there!
Factory Direct tradeshow Emerging Designer showcase Fashion Next
The Fashion next runway show produced by Parris Harris was a huge success and showcased many local talented designers.
The opening show was Vegas couture an eveningwear brand with many satin gowns and beautiful silhouettes.

Rare Jenny was one of my favorites a flirty women's line with a 1940s era influence and fun color palette. Vintage chic is definitely going to be a popular trend this fall.

Lumahai swimwear was another great line and this was the first ever Lumahai runway appearance. The line was especially fun because the twin sister designers were only 16 years old. Their line is sold online and they are hoping to start selling in stores soon. They were inspired to design swimwear by their love of the ocean and their passion for keeping the oceans clean. These young designers are very talented and are sure to be around for awhile.

Another one of my favorite collections was this activewear collection inspired by the California surfer lifestyle. I loved the bright colors and sporty styles of Pacific Ranch brand. The designs were unique because they could be layered with pants swim shorts and wetsuits. The colellection had several pieces with cutouts which will be a big trend for activewear this Fall.

There was this cute childrenswear line and the crowd fell in love with the cute little models who gave adorable poses at the end of the runway. The fun and colorful clothes looked like something any little girl would love.

This show had everything including accessories and I loved these fun designs from JT carpet bags. The bags were made from colorful material and were made in all styles. My favorite was this cute fringe bucket bag. Fringe is definitely going to be big this Fall so this is th perfect addition to my collection of bags!

Another one of my favorite collections was the Courtney Allegra collection which featured fun retro styles  for menswear and womenswear. One of my favorites was this color blocking set.

The show closed with a live performance of a cellist on the stage as the beautiful gowns from evening wear line sfcouture.

On the last day of Factory Direct one of the exhibitors Katmandu Inc. gave out free scarves and I am loving my new accessory! The show was definitely a success and I am looking forward to coming back next year!

Fashion Bloggers night in: Kasai Hair Salon in Manhattan Beach California

On Thursday night I headed over to the Kasai Hair Salon in Manhattan Beach California for their first Fashion blogger event. Beauty and fashion bloggers from all over LA came out to the fun event. As I walked in I was greeted at the door and asked what I would like to have done. I was offered a style consultation, blow dry, or color consultation. I opted for a style consultation as I've been playing with the idea of a new style for awhile. Kasai himself, the expert hair stylist who has worked under Frederick Fekkai in Beverly Hills (one of my all time favorite hair product brands) and styled celelbrities, came over to my chair and we talked about different style options. Kasai was able to come up with the perfect cut for me since I was interested in something low maintenance that I could style different ways. Next, I go tot speak with Amy the color consultant who gave me some fun and creative ideas for coloring my hair! Then Kasai asked me if I would like to do the cut tonight. I was not about to turn down the opportunity for a Kasai cut so I agreed. We headed over to the shampoo station and then back to my chair.

After Kasai had finshed Amy gave me a bouncy blow dry and showed me how to style my bangs different ways. I enjoyed a s'more flavored dessert in a cup while Amy finished my hair. I love my new look and can't wait to debut it at Fashion Week LA in a few weeks!

I enjoyed mingling with the other bloggers and tasted the delicious cupcakes and appetizers.

Amy handed me a goody bag on my way out and I can't wait to try out all the new fun products inside! I would definitely recommend the Kasai treadtement for anyone unsure of what style they are looking for.

Before and After!

Travel Review: Art in Aix en Provence

Aix-en-Provence is a little town located near the Southern coast of France. It may not look like much from afar, but this charming Provencal town will have you falling in love when you get there. I took a guided walking tour of the whole city and learned a great deal about the history of the town.

Wandering through the ochre streets with flowers sticking out of the windowsills you might start to feel like you're in Beauty and the Beast. The flower market attracts artists and tourists alike and the smell of lavender, the Provencal flower, wafts through the air. As you walk along the Promenade, where the people of the middle ages would parade along the street at night to meet and talk to one another, there is an inviting gelato shoppe to stop at and get a delicious scoop of refreshing cream. Then at the end of the street stop and look at the beautiful fountain ornately decorated with 18th century figurines - Number 22 of over 40 fountains throughout the city. Nicknamed the city of a thousand fountains Aix en Provence has fountains from the 18th and 19th centuries scattered throughout the town. My favorite was the dolphin fountain with beautiful dolphin sculptures spouting the water out their heads. The architecture on the promenade is interesting because it seems as though half of the giant mansion that faces the street was built in a different style and color then the other half. The guide explains that the house was in fact built in two different time periods started before the great plague and finished after in the 18th century style. Around the corner you come to the giant medieval church with its beautiful and intricate architecture in the Gothic style. The imposing black metal doors, the guide explained, saved the townspeople when  they locked themselves in the church during a siege on the village and not even the soldiers could break through. As you enter the imposing church the dark interior is lit by candles throughout he hallway. In the corner of the church there is a hole cut into the floor exposing an ancient roman road that ran through the Provence from Italy. The history in this town is several layers deep. As we exit the church we head over to a different part of town; here we learn about the famous post-impressionist painter, Cezanne, who grew up in Aix and had his studio here. He went to Paris to study art but was rejected from the Academie des Beaux Arts and he became a lawyer like his father wished. But he didn't give up painting. Cezanne's favorite spot to paint was a perch in some rocks looking over the Provence. He later gained fame for his works made while living and painting in Aix. The Provence had been inspiring artists for hundreds of years and you can feel the artsy vibes throughout the city.
After the tour ended I headed towards the city center where many traditional provencal French restaurants are located.  I walked along the tiny, narrow streets towards the sound of music and laughter. The town comes alive at night and everyone was out sitting in the little cafes crammed into the street. Even though I got a late start to dinner after driving around the giant fountain in the center of town several times, becasue many streets were closed off for the Tour de France, the restaurants were still packed. Traditional French dinner starts at 7 or 8 at night I actually ended up being right on time. I chose a cafe with a lovely outdoor patio and was seated underneath a canopy of lights.Everyone that we were dining with seemed to be settling in for quite awhile.  I enjoyed the fresh French bread and Orangina, however my dinner choice was not quite what I expected.  Scallop tartar is a very distinctly flavored minced scallop dish which was not something I will try again. I made up for it with my desserts however, and tasted many delicious chocolate flavored creations. The same people that were eating when I arrived were still there by the time I was finished and everyone was just sitting around laughing talking and smoking. As I soon found out dinner lasts for many hours in France and you have to ask for the check if you are ready to leave.
After dinner i headed back to my hotel. Which was actually a Castle converted into bungalows. It was a really neat place to stay called the hotel du Roi Rene. Or hotel of King Rene. It was filled with beautiful fountains and the rooms were nice and spacious with a loft and a little patio out front and a kitchenette.
I loved Aix en Provence and I would definitely go back again. To read more about my travels in Southern France to hilltop cities and the port city of Avignon click here.

Spotlight: CdM goes to Cordon Bleu

While on a trip to the city of lights and fashion I decided to be adventurous and try a cooking class at the famous Culinary school and Julia Child's alma mater Cordon Bleu Paris! Inspired by Julia and Julia the movie I signed up for a class called Desserts en verres or Deserts in a glass. On the website this class was labeled for amateurs. It looked fun and interesting especially because I have an insatiable sweet tooth when it comes to French desserts. Well I was in for a big surprise when I got to the famous French school. The class was taught by a French speaking chef who moved a mile a minute and was translated by a young British trainee chef. Needless to say the instructions that were being thrown out left and right at break neck speed were a little hard to understand and keep up with. None the less we were handed our signature Cordon Bleu aprons, which I still use today, and pens and notebooks like real culinary students and sent off to the kitchen. We all stood around along stainless steel table surrounded by state of the art kitchen utensils most of which I had never seen before. Let's just say I'm not fond of making home cooked meals at my house. Since we were not given a recipe we had to rely solely on the instructions from the chef and his translator. Luckily I also managed to take some notes and brought the recipe home with me so I can recreate it anytime I choose. Although I don't know when I'll be up to hand whipping homemade cream again but just in case! After a long day of crushing pistachios and making homemade Savoyard biscuits we finally finished with twelve glasses full of delicious pistachio and strawberry cream desserts and coconut and cookie treats. The rest of the class was mostly American as well and when we finished everyone passed around the leftover Malibu and let out a sigh of relief. Like a scene from Sabrina the chef went around inspecting our work and, I thought I would never make it through, but at least I know I earned that certificate of completion. It was a really fun and interesting experience that has really helped me understand french cooking and culture better. If you are looking for something to do on your vacation a great thing to try is learn something new!