Get ready to start your engines, Brides-to-be! The Hilton Rosemont is hosting a bridal expo on Sunday, January 22. The Bridal Sampler Wedding Expo is guaranteed to be an intimate affair that will bring you seats away from the hem of your perfect gown. Hosted by TBS Bridal, the Expo will feature a fashion show, several beautiful exhibits, tastings, live performances, and exciting prizes. This year’s Grand Prize winner will walk away with a trip to Mexico for two.

The Bridal Expo starts at noon and goes to 4pm, but be sure to get there early! The first 100 brides will receive a complimentary mini-champagne basket. Now that’s something I would get out of bed early for. The fashion show is scheduled to begin at 2:30pm. The Bridal Expo is sure to display many creative and original gown designs that will have you feeling confident in your dress purchase. The Bridal expo will introduce you to expert hair and make-up artists who can teach you the tricks of the trade, including the coveted Smokey Eyes Technique. The event is one day only, and you can get your first 4 tickets for free here!

TBS Bridal which also runs Event Planning and Retail is located in Oak Brook and offers bridal gowns, accessories, shoes, headpieces and veils. They carry many elegant bridal fashions including Impressions, DaVinci, Symphony, Enzoani, Jordan, Casablanca and many more. TBS allows you to try on and purchase not just bridal gowns, but also bridesmaid, mother of the bride, and flower girl dresses and rent tuxedos. The Bridal Sampler Wedding Expo more than just a fashion show and live music, it’s also an opportunity for you to make connections with wedding dance instructors, DJ’s, florists, honeymoon experts, cakes, candle and décor. TBS Bridal is dedicated to making your wedding experience the most beautiful, affordable and rewarding wedding it can be. Make sure you bring your mob of friends, family, and loving fiancé to the Bridal Sampler Wedding Expo on January 22^nd.

Good luck ladies!

Wanjiku Kairu

Join the fashion elite at the Chicago History Museum from now to mid-April and check out Chicago native Charles James Genius Deconstructed exhibit! Imagine yourself in these vintage gowns and take notice to the fine architecture and craftsmanship brought to you by Charles James.Born in 1906 James has astounded the fashion world by creating incredibly crafty and perfectly detailed garments. A young James taught himself everything he knows about creating garments, from fitting hats to glamorous gowns. With extreme ingenuity and the eye for fashion, James opened his first hat shop in Chicago at the age of 19. His garments are often adorned with ribbed corsets and fancy collars, and more often than not cascade down and outward. James has always had high profile celebrities like Coco Chanel pining after his creations. Marisa Tomei recently rocked out in a vintage gothic Charles James piece earlier this year at the Oscars, and Angelina Jolie wore an elegant gray tight fitted James dress in the Tourist shortly after.

Over 40 years after his death the History Museum is showcasing over a dozen beautiful designs. Sure to inspire you and drive your creativity, the exhibit will display gorgeous classic designs and appealing images. The museum staff went as far as to give a vintage dress a CT scan to see the interior design and architecture of the dress, and they discovered that he created his dresses the same way he created hats! The bodice was created as if it were the crown of the hat, while the skirt was from the brim. His ability to teach himself how to make the transition from hat to gown is astounding! Make sure you check out the deconstruction of Charles James garments, and learn from the very best about dress and fashion from one of the greatest. Lace up your Jimmy Choos, slip on your favorite Vera Wang and head over to the Chicago History Museum for your fashion fix.

See you there!

Charles James: Genius Deconstructed

Chicago History Museum, 1601 North Clark St

Open: Monday-Saturday 9:30am-4:30pm, Sundays 12noon-5pm

Tickets: $12-$14

For more information about the Charles James exhibit visit Genius Deconstructed or visit chicagohistory.org for information regarding the museum.

-Wanjiku Kairu

You know her from MTV’s The Hills and The City and while she’s certainly left a memorable mark on New York and LA, Whitney Port is coming to Chicago to share stories, give inspiration and answer all your burning questions! Whitney opens up about everything from her book True Whit covering fashion and beauty to romance and career. From backstabbing coworkers and bitchy bosses to long-distance boyfriends and a daring new career in fashion, Whitney managed to handle it all.  After Port speaks, have your phones ready as she’ll answer your questions submitted via Twitter!

Aside from Whitney’s words of wisdom, Dime Worldwide, CS Magazine & Platinum Events set the stage to let you get the jump on Black Friday weekend shopping by giving you the opportunity to see and save on the latest from local design boutiques Pink Label & Akiliam Studio, snag a pair of designer frames or shades from River North boutique Wear Eyewear, get hair and beauty tips from George the Salon, ask fitness experts from Barre Bee Fit the best ways to stay in shape for the working woman, test drive Google’s latest Chicago mobile application Google Places all the while enjoying food, delectable treats from Lovely Bake Shop and sipping autumn inspired Stoli cocktails mixed up by Femme de Coupe.  After all is said and done, leave with tips on designing a life of style, beauty and fun, grab a loaded gift bag and hold on to your wristband for entrance to exclusive after-parties!  For more info and tickets, visit http://designyourlifechicago.com

Chris Mahlmann

Now that the 7^th annual Chicago Fashion Focus has come to an end, this is the perfect time to reflect on the city’s initiative to cultivate local talent. Having just seen a parade of various trades, be it designers, producers, stylists, models, photographers and more, it’s comforting to know that the city is trying to help these emerging artists find a voice. Chicago definitely has been and still is a launching pad for many careers.

The locally based high fashion, boutique, modeling agency Factor Women is no stranger to developing talent and launching them into the world of high fashion. As a matter of fact, the Spring Summer 2012 show season was dominated by some of Factor’s Chicago models.

-Katrina Hoernig, 19 year old,  Whom you may have seen this week at the Millennium Park Tent, has just returned from fashion week, where she was featured by Marc Jacobs, Jeremy Scott, Charlotte Ronson and many more.

-Brittany Burke, 16 years old, spent several weeks traveling from New York to Paris and Milan. She was booked for one of the most coveted shows of the season –a Calvin Klein exclusive. She also walked in shows such as Rochas, Ungaro, Cacharel to name a few.  She is back in the Midwest now, finishing high school.

-Ava Smith, the 22 year old Chicago native ended up booking shows such as DKNY, Helmut Lang, Mugler and many more. She was also featured in a show by the uber talented Chicago grown and New York based, design duo, Creatures of the Wind, as was the aforementioned Katrina.

-Maria Bradley, who is 17 years old, started her first show season with a bang, booked by her stellar agent straight from Chicago. She opened the much talked about Alexander Wang show. Ashley Brokaw proclaimed Maria one of top three new comers on Style.com. Maria was then also featured in Proenza Schouler, Tommy Hilfiger, an exclusive show for Versace and their other line Versus, as well as an exclusive show for Balenciaga in Paris. New York Magazine then featured Maria, three times, including an exclusive interview, as did WWD, Models.com and countless fashion blogs.

It’s exciting to know that all of these talented individuals started here in Chicago and that every year, there will be many more successes like these. As a matter of fact, many new models debuted this year in Factor’s exclusive shows during Chicago Fashion Focus, as well as many other emerging talents.

- Kasia Koniar, Guest Blogger

As one of the headlining shows during Fashion Focus Chicago, Conscious Living TV presents Vert Couture. This runway show is ready to wow the crowd and make fashionistas fall in love with the fashions of 2012. This Thursday, October 20^th, prepare to get your green on with this 3^rd annual event. Vert Couture is unlike any other fashion show out there- it focuses on Chicago’s sustainable fair trade fashion movement and the runway takes place on one of the largest green roofs in the Unites States! It was created by Michael and Bianca Alexander, founders of Conscious Planet Media, an Emmy award-winning green television, video and film productions company. Billy is on the host committee and thrilled to be a part of this earth-friendly evening of fashion.

You can attend this event and see the featured looks of spring and summer 2012 collections from Chicago’s most talented designers. What’s so different about these designer fabrics is that they are using renewable fabrics and vintage materials. The pieces that are being shown are the “best in luxury eco-haute couture” and feature designs from Brenda Abdullah, Richard Dayhoff, Dollparts, Heart, Victoria Larkin, Lauren Lein, Rosina-Mae, Silk Utopia and more.

This carbon-neutral event is taking place under the tents of Millennium Park and benefits Keep Chicago Beautiful – an environmental nonproft that offers governmental, corporate and community education programs to help beautify Chicagoland. Definitely get a move on purchasing tickets to Vert Couture, VIP tickets are $95 and General Admission is just $35 – get your tickets and more info at www.VertCouture.com.

- Rhea Drougas

Collaboraction presents “Fashion Mash”, an evening showcasing Chicago talent in all different and creative ways. Join in on a fun night with fashion, visual art, and live music at the Flat Iron Arts Building on Saturday, October 8th.There will be tons of local designers, bands, and DJs that will be together under one roof showing off their talents. When it comes to the music line up expect to shake it the music of DJ Shelly Ruin, DJ TOPKEY, DJ Tanner and Uncle Jesse, Notebook Noise, Isis Rose and the Blah Blah Blahs. Along with various pieces of art there will be a full runway with a massive catwalk and it is only $10.00 for admission.

-Rhea Drougas

October 6th will see the 85^th annual fashion show presented by the Women’s Board of Rush University, but even though the event has been going on for 8 decades, it definitely shows no signs of old age. In fact, this year’s show “LAYERS” presents a decidedly modern take on fashion. A “who’s who” of volunteer models will walk down the runway wearing designs from some of the best names in fashion including: Frances Heffernan, The Lake Forest Shop, Loro Piana, Luca Luca, Neapolitan, p.45, Penny’s From Heaven, Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tory Burch and Valentino.

There is also an incredible live auction! So far great items have been announced like a private dinner with famed chef Art Smith and a Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week package.

With all this plus a great show space at the Palmer House in downtown Chicago and tons of tasty cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, the Women’s Board Fashion Show is aiming to combine the future of fashion with the rich history of the show itself.

For more information and to get tickets visit www.thefashionshow.org

-Dave Lauer

Keeping up with the latest fashion could really be a full-time job! Styles come and go with the seasons and beauty trends never really last. I’m a jeans and a tshirt kind of guy, but if I had to say there is one thing that never goes out of style, it would be quality time with friends and loved ones.

So ladies, grab your gal pals and head out to Shecky’s Girls Night Out, this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct 4 & 5! Come out to the Great Hall at Union Station for an evening of cocktails, fall fashions and relaxing spa treatments! And I hear there is a killer goodie bag – it’s a win-win event!

Click here for details: http://www.sheckys.com/events/6489/girls-night-out-chicago-fall-2011/ and definitely check in on my Facebook and Twitter as I’ll be giving away tickets to the event this week!

Want to see some of the best new fashion from awesome Chicago-based store AKIRA? Well, you could try sneaking into their stock room late at night, but a better, more legal option would be going to the AKIRA Fall Runway show this Sunday.

This year’s show is being held at Grossinger City Autoplex (1500 North Dayton Street) which will provide an industrial-chic backdrop to compliment AKIRA’s newest crop of metallic mini-dresses, shiny blazers, and textured blouses. And even better, proceeds from the show go to Imerman Angels, a Chicago based cancer support organization.

Tickets for one of the best Chicago fashion events of the year are only $15 which guarantees you access to the runway show, pop-up shops, live entertainment, and a cash bar plus you’ll have an opportunity to sample food and get complimentary admission to the after party. $125 gets you VIP access which allows you entrance to a special lounge and unlimited free food and drinks all night. But also look out because our CEO, Billy Dec, is giving away tickets on twitter & facebook.

To purchase tickets visit: http://www.shopakira.com/categories/AKIRA-Events

-Dave Lauer

Calling all Fashionista’s! Come and enjoy a night out on the town filled with “fame, fashion, and flavor”! There are plenty of festivities to participate in throughout the night. Hosting this ultimate party is Bravo TV’s Brad Goreski (you may know him from “The Rachel Zoe Project“), CS Magazine, and Gilt City. This is the perfect thing to do with a group of friends for some flirty fun. Taking place on September 8th, celebrate style by attending 900 North Michigan Shops from 6pm-9pm.

You may want to get started at the beauty bazaar! Here, you can get pampered with complimentary services. There are so many different things you can get done from mini manicures to lash extensions. With all that glitz and glam you are sure to work up an appetite, but no worries- Gilt City is providing delicious food from Chicago’s top restaurants. And what’s dinner without a show? Check out fall’s hottest looks with Flash Fashion Show.

In case all the pampering and celeb style makes you want to be a star you get the chance to act like one! Set up at the venue will be Glam Photo Booth! All you need is you, your friends, and your dazzling good looks for a red carper photo opp.

For more info on this event just go to http://www.shop900.com/fno/

Rhea Drougas, Intern