Sarah Sanaee

I have a clothing line I really love.  I opened an online store this year, but I wanted to go even bigger.  One day my good friend, Leah, was sifting through the racks of vintage clothing I have in my room when she was struck with a brilliant idea- ‘why don’t you have a fashion show?!’  I thought this was a great idea, and so we quickly began jotting down ideas of how to make it work and who we’d need to contact to make this happen.

Put on a Fashion Show

I thought it would be cool to share what I did to get my show off the ground.  This was a great experience for me, and I learned a lot.

1. We found “models.” We enlisted a group of about 10 of our girlfriends who were stylish in their own right and would be willing to strut their stuff down a runway.
2. We located a venue. Our local watering hole, Bluefoot Bar and Lounge, hosted a fashion show last year so we knew it would be the perfect venue.
3. We set a date. For me, music was important, so I worked my date around the music I wanted.  I knew I’d need good music to go with the 60s and 70s style fashions I was showcasing.  I really wanted to rock the house with Clean Cut DJ’s very own, Tyrone Taylor.  He DJs at the Bluefoot every 2^nd Wednesday of the month. So it was settled- I would have my fashion show on the 2^nd Wednesday of the next month (October 14^th, 2009).
4. We spent time deciding who should wear what. I think it’s important that each model feels comfortable in what they are wearing because it will show on their face if they don’t like the outfit. Conversely, I think they will look great (and make the clothing look great) if they are feeling confident and stylish! Leah and I went through the vintage pieces with each girl in mind and picked out the perfect garment for each girl.  We then had them come over for a fitting and were thrilled to find that each piece fit perfectly.
5. We used our connections. We were lucky enough to know the owners of The Bluefoot who were more than willing to help us by getting a runway and a drink sponsor, Three Olives Vodka.
6. We found a make-up artist. My friend Jessie is a makeup artist and was at our service to do hair and makeup for all the models.  This gave the models one less thing to worry about before they hit the runway.
7. We found people to photograph our show. Photographer Tim Hardy has shot many fashion shows and offered to help coach us on our runway walks.  He along with Anthony and Marissa of the Paul Burlingame Photography team were there to photograph the event. Having 3 photographers there allowed for various angles and shots!
8. We advertised our show. Leah wrote up a nice press release and sent it in to Citybeat, a local paper, who happily featured the event in their ‘City Week’ section.  We also printed posters & fliers and promoted the event all around town!
9. We made fun a priority on the big day! Having so many wonderful people helping out made this event run smoothly.  The bar was packed, the music was bumping and the models were excited. (Not to mention a little less nervous due to a pre-show champagne toast!)  The girls all looked beautiful and rocked the clothing like I knew they would!  The Love Street Vintage fashion show was a success.

To see a few of the threads that were on display at the show visit: www.lovestreetvintage.etsy.com, where you can find anything from a mod stewardess dress to a men’s rocker button up to a vintage 60s wedding dress!