STLFW Recap: Well Dressed Midwest VIP Blogger Lounge
Two Fridays ago, bloggers from across the Saint Louis region descended upon Scape American Bistro's upper level in the Central West End for the Well Dressed Midwest VIP Blogger Lounge. Over 25 brands were on hand to meet with approximately 100 Midwestern bloggers. This was my second time attending the Blogger Lounge, but the first time that it was associated with the newly established Well Dressed Midwest network. Exciting times for fashion fans in the Midwest!
The brands spanned fitness, fashion, and foodie options. Fitness fanatics stopped by the Dimvaloo booth to chat about yoga classes. Fashion was represented by local designer Suzanne Lay, Glik's, The Clover, amongst others. Footwear was showcased in fine style by Diba Imports and the brother-sister companies Crevo and Vogue, as well as vegan-friendly Lookie Lou. Shirt Kong, a definite Saint Louis favorite, was available to print T-shirts for you as you watched, and were handing out their own swag bags. Many more brands were out in their finest forms, but I had to whizz through conversations with many as I spent a lot of time hanging with my blogger babes!
I must say that the STLFW volunteers were definitely on their game this season. They were very friendly, and went above and beyond to offer any and all help. Right after I arrived, one volunteer offered to hang my coat in a private closet so that I did not have to carry it throughout the night. I wandered to the bar, snapped up a Skinnygirl Prosecco to sip as I perused the booths, and nibbled on appetizers from Scape's kitchen. I tried some toffee from Zettie's Confections and it definitely hit my sweet spot.
If you know me at ALL, you know that my first stop was absolutely, most definitely, for sure, Meero Mani Nails. The owner of the company was a sweetheart and chatted me up while I picked out an accent nail for each hand. Seeing as my current polish was and still is (yay good quality!) gold, I went with the black and gold accent nail on each middle finger. The nails apply with a sticky strip, and to remove them, you apply pressure and push them away from your nail bed. I have to say that for fake adhesive nails, I was VERY impressed. I didn't get them caught on anything throughout the night, such as my sweater or hair. I removed them later that evening after DJing, and although it took a little bit of work, and hurt just a bit from the pressure I had to apply, the nails came off completely clean, and left every last speck of my nail polish intact. That is a serious win in my book. Meero Mani Nails touts itself as the work hard play hard type of adhesive nail - maybe your office doesn't allow fun manicures, but you like to sport them on the weekends? These just might be your new best friend! If treated well, you can even reuse them. Find Meero Mani Nails on Facebook for more information.
Crevo Footwear and Vogue Footwear are both companies belonging to Elan Polo International, and are headquartered in Saint Louis. Mainly targeting the fashionable yet functional crowd, I've always loved the selection that I've seen from these two companies. I think the men's footwear is right on point with current trends supporting the sexy sneaker or city-fied boot looks. Vogue always has a variety of footwear, from office styles to ladies' night out styles.
Glik's was on hand to pass out temporary tattoos, and not just any temporary tattoos! These are beautiful, metallic designs that come in multiple sizes for various placements. You name it - you could have bedazzled rings, headbands, bracelets, whatever. I went with two geometric-inspired pieces, which looked super cool flashing on the back of my hand while DJing later that night! The tattoo lasted for quite a while, and I do mean that. I finally had to scrub mine off with nail polish remover on day four.
The Regional Arts Commission (RAC) was present and let me tell you, their booth was surrounded the entire evening. The RAC brought out local illustrator Noah MacMillan to draw the Lounge's attendees as if they were live models. What better way to snatch an outfit image than to have it rendered by an amazing artist?!
Photo: Adrian O. Walker
The brands spanned fitness, fashion, and foodie options. Fitness fanatics stopped by the Dimvaloo booth to chat about yoga classes. Fashion was represented by local designer Suzanne Lay, Glik's, The Clover, amongst others. Footwear was showcased in fine style by Diba Imports and the brother-sister companies Crevo and Vogue, as well as vegan-friendly Lookie Lou. Shirt Kong, a definite Saint Louis favorite, was available to print T-shirts for you as you watched, and were handing out their own swag bags. Many more brands were out in their finest forms, but I had to whizz through conversations with many as I spent a lot of time hanging with my blogger babes!
I must say that the STLFW volunteers were definitely on their game this season. They were very friendly, and went above and beyond to offer any and all help. Right after I arrived, one volunteer offered to hang my coat in a private closet so that I did not have to carry it throughout the night. I wandered to the bar, snapped up a Skinnygirl Prosecco to sip as I perused the booths, and nibbled on appetizers from Scape's kitchen. I tried some toffee from Zettie's Confections and it definitely hit my sweet spot.
If you know me at ALL, you know that my first stop was absolutely, most definitely, for sure, Meero Mani Nails. The owner of the company was a sweetheart and chatted me up while I picked out an accent nail for each hand. Seeing as my current polish was and still is (yay good quality!) gold, I went with the black and gold accent nail on each middle finger. The nails apply with a sticky strip, and to remove them, you apply pressure and push them away from your nail bed. I have to say that for fake adhesive nails, I was VERY impressed. I didn't get them caught on anything throughout the night, such as my sweater or hair. I removed them later that evening after DJing, and although it took a little bit of work, and hurt just a bit from the pressure I had to apply, the nails came off completely clean, and left every last speck of my nail polish intact. That is a serious win in my book. Meero Mani Nails touts itself as the work hard play hard type of adhesive nail - maybe your office doesn't allow fun manicures, but you like to sport them on the weekends? These just might be your new best friend! If treated well, you can even reuse them. Find Meero Mani Nails on Facebook for more information.
Crevo Footwear and Vogue Footwear are both companies belonging to Elan Polo International, and are headquartered in Saint Louis. Mainly targeting the fashionable yet functional crowd, I've always loved the selection that I've seen from these two companies. I think the men's footwear is right on point with current trends supporting the sexy sneaker or city-fied boot looks. Vogue always has a variety of footwear, from office styles to ladies' night out styles.
Glik's was on hand to pass out temporary tattoos, and not just any temporary tattoos! These are beautiful, metallic designs that come in multiple sizes for various placements. You name it - you could have bedazzled rings, headbands, bracelets, whatever. I went with two geometric-inspired pieces, which looked super cool flashing on the back of my hand while DJing later that night! The tattoo lasted for quite a while, and I do mean that. I finally had to scrub mine off with nail polish remover on day four.
The Regional Arts Commission (RAC) was present and let me tell you, their booth was surrounded the entire evening. The RAC brought out local illustrator Noah MacMillan to draw the Lounge's attendees as if they were live models. What better way to snatch an outfit image than to have it rendered by an amazing artist?!
Lookie Lou was on the scene showcasing their vegan-friendly footwear during the evening. I was immediately drawn to these low heeled, smoking-style shoes. I'm a sucker for sparkles, and the subtle yet eye-catching brown shimmer is definitely up my alley. They were running a hashtag contest for a coupon to use on their site, or another coupon to use at a vegan restaurant, I believe. I hashtagged a cute photo of me that Ann from the booth took, and I found out a few days ago I won the coupon to use at Lookie Lou! Oh my, guys, there are a lot of cute things on their site! Thanks, Lookie Lou!
As for my outfit, I'm wearing a super mish-mash of all sorts of things! My awesome hat was a find at Strange Folk Festival, from the ladies at Vintage 159 out of Glen Carbon, IL. My denim shirt and necklace are thrifted, and my weird leather patchwork purse is a gift from my mom. My tights are from Nordstrom, my thigh highs are from SockDreams.com, and my shorts are from Urban Outfitters. The cream heeled boots that are visible in the drawing Noah did of me are from Leopard Boutique.
I'm so grateful to be a part of the local blogging community and can't wait to see what the spring season has in store!!!