Unveiling

You know you're in for a special treat when you see a Tess dress box!

Tess Dress: Spring Collection

I'm so excited that Tess' spring collection is finally out!  There are some gorgeous blouses and pencil skirts for work and lovely dresses for play.  I wish I had spring/summer weddings to go to, because the Judy and Sarah are perfect choices: 

Judy

Sarah

The Audrey in Gingham is top on my list and I can't wait to try it on.  Tess dresses always have amazing attention to detail and fit and the quality is superb.  Will report back soon!

Tess trunk show at Etcetera

Will be stopping by tonight after work to see some of my favorite people, eat a cookie (or four), and ogle the black/white checked dress in person--I have plans to make it my "welcome spring!" dress!

Tess Dress

Here's an outfit from last week during our hunt.gather.style mini holiday pop up shop at Link Coworking. The Tess Margaret is one of my favorites, with a slim bodice and full skirt. Thank you Sydney for the picture!

Outfit details
Sweater jacket: Jcrew

Dress: Tess Dress

Shoes: Nine West

Accessories: Jcrew necklace

vintage kissing mice belt and bracelets

Tess + Sikara event

Last Friday evening, Grechen, Sydney and I attended 

a lovely event at Sikara featuring the new Tess Dress holiday collection. 

The space at Sikara is gorgeous and filled to the brim with beautiful jewelry and gemstones.

Here Sydney tries on the coolest silver cage ring, one of my favorites of the evening

Theresa's holiday line of cocktail dresses feature her trademark fit and attention to details and 

are done up in beautiful silk dupioni in vibrant colors.  You can check out the entire line here 

and also a fun feature on how to style the dresses here (I love Sydney's choices!)

We had a lot of fun trying on all the gorgeous jewelry and 

here's the gemstone ring Sydney went home with that night!

It was a lovely evening of fashion and friends--thank you Tess and Sikara!

Group picture

Had a great time at the 499 dresses charity dress sale yesterday.  We helped some stylish ladies pick out dresses, chatted about fashion and spent time with good friends.  I ended up with a couple of items, including a dress with a scandalous past (see Andrea's post about it here).  Pictured in the group outfit of the day is Sydney looking fabulous as usual in bold colors and Theresa in a maternity creation that she just whipped up again.  This woman is seriously talented!

Outfit details

Dress: vintage/thrifted

Shoes: Nina Z

Accessories: vintage belt and bracelets

499 dresses event tonight

I'll be volunteering at this charity dress event tonight so I hope to see you there!  More info here

Pictures from Austin Fashion Week

A few fun pictures have surfaced from AFW, the above taken by Peter Tung at By Jeannie's party and below taken by David Mitchell at Tess's party!

What do you think of my wonderful new header?  It was created by the multi-talented Linda from Little Tin Soldier!

Big sales today!

The lovely Theresa from Tess Dress is sponsoring this charity event.  I can't wait to rummage for treasures!

Yay!  The day has finally arrived!  See you there!

Austin Fashion Week parties (Wednesday)

Grechen and I attempted 3 parties in one evening, Grechen just fresh from a root canal procedure, and me, cross-eyed from a crazy week at work.  It's no wonder that the quality of my pictures dwindled as the night (and alcohol) wore on.  From party #1: above are some delicious treats by the Sweet Pop Shop at the Underwear/By Jeannie party.  Jeannie's line of jewelry was gorgeous and I especially loved this lace cuff:

In silver as well

Party #2: Tess dress at Touch of Sass.  This party was a blast--the yummy burgers and fries from Terra Burger and apple pie from Tootie Pie were delicious.  This was also the party with the strong drinks (thanks for mixing those margaritas Andrea!).  I wish I had taken more pictures of the jukebox, original coke machine and all the other wonderful touches they added to this party.  There was a short fashion show and here are the models with Theresa and Andrea.

Hanging out with Cathy

Grechen and D'Andra in the Tess USO dress

Party #3: Moss and Margot Wolf.  Sorry, I think my head exploded at this point from the heat and margaritas so no pictures.  This party was hopping and Margot's jewelry was amazing and even better in person.  The food was pretty good though I did have a moment when I discovered that the sushi had no rice in in (sacrilege!).  Sydney showed up a bit for this so the party became an epic win.  All in all it was a fun evening and I'm hoping that better pictures will surface soon from the other attendees!

Austin Fashion Week: Tess Party

The Tess party at Touch of Sass is the one event of Austin Fashion Week that I am most excited about.  You know my love for Tess Dress and Touch of Sass is amazing as well--we had a wonderful time when they hosted us for our first pop up shop.  So back to this party, which not only will have amazing dresses and jewelry and fun people, but also burgers, fries and pies.  Did you hear me?  Burgers, fries and pies!  Hope to see you there!

Exclusive with Tess Dress

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet up with some wonderful bloggers for happy hour and a tour of the Tess headquarters located in the gorgeous Scarbrough building downtown.  This historic building was built in 1910 and then later remodeled in the Art Deco style.  I cannot think of a more perfect place to house Tess designs!

Theresa is the designer of Tess and truly exemplifies the Tess woman--gracious, thoughtful, creative, and articulate along with the smarts and courage to face anything.  Her dresses are inspired by the 50s and 60s and the ladylike women of that era.

Here's a peek into Theresa's linen inspiration closet and her gorgeous mid century office full of party frocks

I adore the visual mood board (her fall collection!) and the luminous silk shantung fabrics

Theresa takes us through the fit process - there is a more detailed explanation here - it is well worth the read.  I truly admire her attention to detail and sense of responsibility in creating a quality product.

Here, Theresa shows us the Sabrina and points out special details including the silk lining and specially stitched hems - remarkable attention to details that result in a dress that fits and flatters the figure and will wear well through the years!  Theresa takes special pride that her dresses are all made in the US--and in Texas no less!  That certainly is a rarity in the fashion world today.

Tess dress collection in feminine prints along with her separates collection

 

Other fashionistas in attendance: Andrea, Theresa, Cathy, Joyce and D'Andra

Theresa with Joyce and Grechen with Andrea.  Huge thank you to Grechen for coordinating this event!

Enjoying the yummy snacks and each others company

 We were all itching to try on some of Theresa's creations.  Here the lovely Andrea is wearing a top and skirt from the separates collection, I'm in the Margaret dress (love), and D'Andra looks stunning in the Margot.  The blue was so fabulous with her coloring and can you tell she just looked so radiant in that dress?  It's true -- a good dress can transform your mood!

Here we all are all decked out in Tess: Andrea in the Marlene, Theresa in a maternity dress she just happened to whip up the night before (seriously is she amazing or what?), Joyce in the Eloise skirt and I'm in the Audrey in the sweetest poppy print.

If you've read this blog, you know that I'm crazy for 50s and 60s dresses already.  What I love most about Theresa's line Tess is that not only is she recreating these silhouettes (she's bringing ladylike back) but she is also focused on an attention to details, like the fit and measurement for the modern woman, fine (and local) craftsmanship as evidenced in the silk linings and hand stitched hems, and overall ease of wear-ability found in the soft and luxurious fabrics in vintage prints and bold saturated colors that are easy to wear and wash. In a world of fast fashion, it's definitely worth the time to slow down and enjoy a classic and quality piece that can be worn for many occasions both simple and elegant and be treasured by the next generation as well.  I wish Theresa and all at Tess the best and can't wait to see what great things are waiting in store for them around the corner!

Preview of Tess

Here's a little sneak peek of a blog post I'm planning on writing this weekend!

(after I take at least 2 good naps)

Happy weekend everyone!