Fashion Week: Betsey Johnson Spring 2012

One of the most anticipated shows of New York Fashion Week is Betsey Johnson’s show.  For those of you who weren’t there, here is the invite and program book.

It might just be me but I enjoy all these little details – must be the event planner in me.  Here is the inside to the program book which has a cute way of listing out the models, credits and sponsors.

Her press release described how this collection blended “modern elements with her signature vintage style and aesthetic.”  The Betsey team cites Brigit Bardot and 1940s burlesque dancers as the inspirations.  Take a look at this video highlight clip and you’ll see peekaboo lingerie, corseting, flirty and sometimes borderline slutty outfits paired with Bardot hair waves.  What do you think?

Personally, Betsey’s outfits are too over-the-top-girly even for me and these runway styles somewhat reminded me of what Pretty Woman might wear in 2012… not exactly what I want to be emulating.  But you’ve got to love Betsey’s shows even if just for the anticipation of her unique model finales and signature cartwheel.  Plus you can’t beat the energy and fun factor of a Betsey show which is always why it is one of the highlights of my fashion weeks.

What caused the most stir this year at Betsey’s show was the appearance of a blue wigged, Nicki Minaj.  In fact from what I hear, the whole show started late because of Nicki’s late appearance.  Sort of a black Lady Gaga, Nicki garners attention with her outlandish outfits.  I immediately felt sorry for the poor fashionista who would have to sit behind that giant mess of a hairdo because surely that is all she would get to see!

I never thought Nicki would be the type of celebrity that PR agencies would wrangle and secure for a front row fashion show seat – she isn’t exactly what I’d call the most fashionable.  Buzz-worthy yes but mostly for all the wrong reasons.  I gasped when I heard and saw that Nicki sat next to fashion icon, Anna Wintour during the Carolina Herrera show this year – what an odd sight that was!  Sort of fashion sacrilege in my book, if you ask me!

I imagine Anna must’ve been cringing underneath those dark shades.  With all the technicolors that Nicki was wearing beside her, it is no wonder she kept the shades on!  What a contradiction in style those two make!

To win the Betsey Johnson goody bag that I picked up at the fashion show, comment here and (any) 2 other entries (and leave your email so I can notify you if you win) !

And come back for further NY fashion week updates and another goody bag giveaway!

 

A Teddy Bear Tea Time with Bubble Fun

Where did summer go?  As summer’s last hurrah, I organized a last minute, mommy and me meetup and decided to theme it around a teddy bear tea time.  Each child was asked to bring in a favorite teddy bear and join us at our place for a posh play date filled with tea sets, bears and bubbles!  Thanks to Gazillion Bubbles, we were able to wow our guests with the most fun bubble makers the kids had ever seen.

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We started the play date outdoors by setting up a picnic area for Juliet, her friends, and their teddy bears.  A play tea set and felted desserts took center stage while the little ones playfully challenged one another to blow bigger and bigger bubbles.

This was possible thanks to the incredibubble wands, giant palm jugglers, giant bubble mill and giant power wand supplied to us by Funrise and Gazillion Bubbles.  They made bubble making (and bursting) a breeze even for these 4 year olds!  Even us jaded moms (and teddy bears) were seriously impressed.

After all that excitement, we went in for a little snack and toddler tea time with our teddies.

Snacks consisted of cranBEARy trail mix (with teddy grahams, pretzels, popcorn and rice cakes), mixed BEARies, mini cupcakes that Juliet made topped with Teddy graham cracker heads, and Nabisco teddy bear treats along with a selection of hot or cold teas and water.

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The moms enjoyed our own version of bubbly.  And each of our champagne glasses were filled with a special treat.

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Decor consisted of recycled, re-purposed Oh Joy for Target decor, wrapping paper and Target dollar bin fans that I featured at my ice cream socials this past summer and other parties.

For the activity, Juliet led storytime by singing “Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See.”

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I was so proud of my little hostess with the mostest!

Not only did she do a perfect job reciting the book from memory (1 of 5 books she has memorized word for word), but she was an absolute sweetheart sharing all her toys, helping get drinks and prepping for the party.

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Other unBEARably cute party details included the teddy bear face masks that I created by cutting a free printable I found online and then adding a chopstick and washi tape to the back.

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They doubled as party decor (each was placed at their table setting) and was also used as a photo prop.

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Teddy bears sat nearby to hang out and get fed and bear paw prints lined our front entrance and hallway floors leading everyone towards the PAWty.

I can’t believe summer vacation is already coming to a close. These buddies begin school next Thursday and have collected many fun memories to begin the school year with.  I hope you also enjoyed your summer vacation!

Tell me what you liked most about this bubbly teddy bear tea!

 

Special thanks to our product sponsor, Gazillion Bubbles and RenBeaniePR for helping us to celebrate the last bit of summer in such a memorable way!  To see these bubbles live in action see my IG story today or click here for a full demo.

 

 

 

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