Swap in Style: Twice is Nice

First off: if you don't already get DC Scout emails, sign yourself up now. The montly Style Events calendar emails are worth it, alone. This month, my pick for events-I-wish-I-could-make?


What: Twice is Nice
Where: The Textile Museum (another DC Style venue I'm embarrassed I've yet to visit), 2320 S Street, NW
When: Tuesday, September 6, 6-9pm
How much: $10 (members get 1 free drink)
Why: Well, their own blurb says it pretty well, so...

Celebrate everything loved twice! Don a vintage ensemble and visit The Textile Museum for a night of fashion, music and drinks in the charming garden.

Wear your best vintage outfit to win prizes in our best-dressed contest!

Have a special pre-loved piece? Trade it for something new-to-you! Trash Cats, D.C.’s own vintage clothing exchange experts, are coordinating a swap in our garden.

DC-based band Laughing Man will be playing in the garden, and DJ Baby Alcatraz will be spinning classic 45's in the galleries.

Pinkberry is back with their delicious frozen yogurt, and we welcome the talented bakers from Whisked! with their fabulous treats for sale. Explore the current exhibit, Second Lives: the Age-Old Art of Recycling Textiles, which sheds light on the different ways cultures around the world repurpose clothing and furnishings—and visit the popular exhibition Green: the Color and the Cause in its final week.

Presented in partnership with The Pink Line Project.

Breaking News: Work Gets in Way of Social Life (and Blog)

That whole federal contractor, saving the world, serving our country thing? Well, so not a fan today.

The Government decided to release an RFP we were awaiting - yesterday. Deadline end of May. Translation? MUCHO work for yours truly.

Now, I was waaaaaaaaaay behind on paper (it's all very cemented in my head, really!), and bossman and H (yup, we work together occasionally) would really like to see more progress. But I lost any chance I had of swinging my evening at the DC Scout B-day fest tonight when the Government actually did their job.

Pooey.

So I'll just have to settle for finally getting my hair cut (about 2 months overdue), getting to the doc (5 months overdue), and getting to Erwin (hmmm...probably pushing 6 months - at least).

Then I'll go home, all gussied up, with only my laptop and Big Binder o' Government Documents to keep me company.

Oh, and H. He'll be right next to me with his, though he won't be quite as pretty as I.

A little behind

on my personal grooming, I'm about 2 months overdue for a cut and, well, I can't remember the last time I saw Erwin. Literally. I know I've been since The Bean arrived, but life has gotten in the way and forced many a reschedule. I have no idea how I haven't made it onto the salon blacklist, except that I've been with both Jae and Erwin since, well, for a long time. Jae and I have known each other longer than I've known H.

My hand forced by an also overdue annual doc appointment, I'm taking the afternoon in two weeks to do Stuff I Have to Do.

We won't mention that I'll conveniently have been to the salon the afternoon of the DC Scout Bday Bash, where there might be pictures taken.

Now...off to the outfit planning. This might just call for a new one.

Style in Print: The Power of Style

I cannot tell a lie - this is cribbed directly from today's DC Scout newsletter - and it's one I wish I could attend...fascinating stuff...

What: Get a crash course on the power of style during a talk with Washington Post fashion critic Robin Givhan, Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth and author A'Lelia Bundles. The discussion will cover sartorial history from the time of Bundles's great-grandmother, Harlem Renaissance-era socialite A'Lelia Walker, to today's political power brokers.

When: Friday, 16 May, 7 p.m.

Where: Barnes & Noble, 3040 M St. NW. Free.

Happy Birthday, DC Scout

A year of tips, tricks, and scoops - where to go, where to buy, and how to wear it. DC Scout, the Post's style newsletter is a year old. The Posties celebrated in style and were nice enough to invite the Capitol Fashionista Bloggers along. We bloggers - Barbara of Babsie D, Betsy (aka Ms. Spinach) of Fashion is Spinach, Maria of Righteous (re)Style , and Rachel of Project Beltway - closed down the place (they literally had to kick us out).

I have to admit, I barely scoped out the store - I arrived late (Murphy's law, The Bean wouldn't go to sleep so Mommy couldn't leave - she's normally asleep by 6:30, but nooooooo, not that night), tired, and just glad to converse with the folks I knew. Bad Blogger.

So for an actual account of the event, check out the PB, Fashion is Spinach, or Righteous (re)Style versions.

What I will tell you is to be sure to stop by Tackle Box, Gtown's newest seafood joint. Just the right amount of rustic, grilled or fried fish or seafood (all sustainably fished), and loads of Southern sides (mmmm...hush puppies) for a reasonable price.

Style Scoop: DC Scout Birthday Party

'Cause I know you were waiting to hear...

yes, I did put the sweater in the drycleaning bag.

and...

I did manage to get out the door, allbeit in a completely different ensemble than the one planned.

More to follow, but it was lovely to meet the brains and style behind Fashion is Spinach, Project Beltway, and Righteous (re)Style, and to meet a couple of Post staffers and publicists I've only known online. "We met on the internet" is becoming quite the In Statement.

Return from the Abyss

Since back to work after The Bean's arrival, it's rare I spend much time thinking about What to Wear. More often than not, I pull whatever 1) doesn't smell, 2) is right in front of me, and 3) is the first thing I stumble across that actually "goes together." If I'm lucky, I think enough to accessorize with a scarf, but usually that's just when I haven't had a chance to wash my hair. Earrings (until this week, when The Bean decided, she, too, likes sparkly ear candy) have been the same, never coming out, diamamond studs.

So last night, for the first time in 100 years, I spent precious time rummaging through my closet in the dark (The Bean sleeps in our room, so it's lights out - reading lights come in handy) to find The Perfect Outfit for my Return from the Abyss at tonight's DC Scout Birthday Party. I've been off the DC style scene - in physical presence anyway - since The Bean's arrival, mostly because events are right at her bedtime, but tonight, H is coming home early so I can put her to bed, then scramble out the door.

Outfit's prepped (we hope), pieces of it out waiting (so I don't forget what I intended to wear - seriously! it happens), and all I have to do is put it on.

Cross your fingers it works. I haven't actually put it on all at the same time.

More on Style Dilemma: What Not to Miss

DC Scout (the Post's style email) reports that Carbon is throwing a summer sale 11-18 July.

Do you think a pair of Frye boots are a good "Thank you for giving birth" present?

Learn Style: Peter Som at the Corcoran

If I didn't desperately want to get my hair cut tomorrow (after cancelling my appointment last week on account of work), need to write my thesis proposal, and weren't panicking about not having The Bean's crib in place yet, I'd be there...

Peter Som, "rising star" of fashion, and arbiter of cool yet ladylike designs, speaks tomorrow night at the Corcoran.

Click here to order tickets. And, of course, if you go, check in...

*Thanks to DC Scout at washingtonpost.com for the tip.

**Photo courtesy of Som's own website - from his Fall 07 collection.