Have you always wanted to get an in-person, inside scoop on what makes some of Portland’s most beloved designers tick? Look no further than Meet the Designers: A Portland Fashion Tour presented by Fashion Collective Portland. Headed by longtime Portland fashion chronicler and former Mercury managing editor Marjorie Skinner, this tour will stop at five different boutiques: Haunt + Holly Stalder Designs, Six/Seven, Garnish, Amelia, and Altar. While all of these brands have seemingly different aesthetics and customers they all have one thing in common, they produce houselines, and more often than not they are designed and manufactured under the same roof as the boutique, so you can literally see a garment go from the preliminary design stage to its final destination on the sales floor. Light refreshments will be provided.
Tour begins at 811 E Burnside, Saturday September 24, 1-5 pm, $30
Taste of Style, an event that features creative and avant-garde make-up, hair, and fashion to raise money for Oregon Food Bank, will host their annual event. “Taste of Style is produced by a committed group of volunteers who are dedicated to fighting hunger. The event benefits Oregon Food Bank in support of its mission to eliminate hunger and its root causes—advocating for change, strengthening local food systems, and educating our community.” Participating salons include Utopia Salon and Day Spa, Studio B, and Cutloose Salon, and participating schools include Mt. Hood Community College of Cosmetology and Northwest College, as well The Art Institute of Portland.
District East, 2305 SE 9th, Saturday September 24, 5:30 pm, $25-$50
Portland’s seriously got game when it comes to the plus-size fashion scene, and the proof is Knock Out, a fashion show and pop-up event that is completely devoted to plus-size apparel. Check out the latest from Copper Union, Chubby Cartwheels, Amelia, Hubris Apparel, Re/Dress, Allihalla, Bombsheller, and Proud Mary Fashion, as well products from Chubstr, Archive Six, and State of Wellness. Also on the docket is guest speaker Jes Baker, author of the The Militant Baker blog as well as the book Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls.
Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, Sunday September 25, 12-4 pm, $10
Doug Fir is bringing back their Rock 'n' Roll Flea Market, and this time around they will not only have cool stuff in the downstairs lounge, they will ALSO have cool stuff on the patio. There is not a list of vendors available, but if it's anything like the last one it will be brimming with tons of awesome shit, so make sure to bring cash.
Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, Sunday September 25, 4-8 pm
And now for some news and other tidbits:
Sock it to Me is holding their 12th annual Design a Sock Contest now through September 30th. The company is inviting fans and artists from around the world to submit their own unique design for the chance to win $2000, a batch of Sock it to Me products, and to have their design manufactured for their 2017 collection. Those prizes are nothing to sneeze at so (sock)-hop to it!!!
Last week LOCAL, a company "founded by three photographers/marketing professionals focused on helping home-grown local businesses compete against the influx of well-financed and digitally savvy companies taking root in Portland," made their website live. The site’s homepage features photo galleries of people, products, and interiors from each business and will add at least two new businesses each week. Businesses currently on the site include Wildwood & Company, Wild Shaman, North End Barber Company, Modern Meet Vintage, Betsy & Iya
GreenHaus, Thicket, Norther Cycles, Sollabee Flowers & Botanicals, Kiriko Made, and OROX among others, and they plan to continue to add businesses that are centered around craftspeople, manufacturers, designers, retailers, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, wineries, breweries, and distillers. “It’s important to us that we exclusively choose businesses that truly inspire us,” says co-founder Sebastian Neri. “We don’t ever want to charge or accept money for this feature. We do it to connect with and support business owners that we respect and would feel honored to work with.”
Remember the Mercury issue that came out last week about how to navigate Portland if you're a newbie? Well, here's another great resource for ya, and non-newbies as well, of course.
And now some eye candy courtesy of Altar featuring items from their Fall collection. Altar always delivers beautiful lookbooks and this is no exception. Here are a few of my favorite photos, and you can view the whole thing here.
