ItâÄôs that time of the year again, when Minnesota welcomes its precious cool weather with wide-open arms. The leaves begin to change and as you walk to class you notice a prevalence of girls shuffling alongside the cobblestone streets with their feet (and âÄúU of MâÄù sweatpants) shoved into Ugg boots. Wait, what? DonâÄôt they know itâÄôs September? And donâÄôt they know that though the sheepskin boots are a necessity come DecemberâÄôs cold bite, they sure arenâÄôt fashionable when the weather is agreeable? Ladies, itâÄôs your sartorial duty to dust off those high heels, slip into something a bit more stylish than sweats, and attend a few of the events created just for you by MNFashion , those fashionable folks behind Voltage: Fashion Amplified. Yes, itâÄôs Minnesota Fall Fashion Weekend once again, and to make life a little easier for you, weâÄôve compiled a day-to-day schedule of the chicest events of the weekend, so perhaps between trips to Walter Library and the Library bar you can get a fashion fix and a dose of design. Thursday, Sept. 18 Make sure to grab a copy of vita.mn today, because jewelry design house Ferociter (http://www.myspace.com/ferociterstyle) has its first scavenger hunt clue within those hipper-than-thou pages. Somewhere within the Twin Cities lies the treasure, a totally unique Fall âÄô08 Ferociter necklace âÄî but youâÄôve gotta stay on your well-shod toes. Also likely to be a treat is âÄúSCENEaSOTA.âÄù Ignore the name; thereâÄôll be no swoopy, orange-colored teen angst bangs here, but instead a fashion show packed to the brim with looks from MinnesotaâÄôs most talented designers. ItâÄôs a 21-plus event, but if you find something you like, youâÄôll be able to purchase it at Cliché boutique the very next day! WHAT: SCENEaSOTA
WHERE: 331 Club, 331 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis
WHEN: 9 pm, 21+ Friday, Sept. 19 The place to be on Friday night is not Downtime or the Dinkytowner, but at downtown tapas bar Solera from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. All the beautiful people will be at Envision: Fall 2008, a runway show featuring designs from the hippest, chicest boutiques in the area: Cliché, Local Motion, Drama, as well as pieces from Niki English and Re-evolution by Sarah Holm. Tickets are $25 the day of the show, but itâÄôs a small price to pay to both support local fashion and contribute to the Young Survival Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to young women whoâÄôve faced breast cancer. Fashion and do-gooding sure do go hand-in-hand. If youâÄôre not so sure youâÄôd like to go gallivanting downtown, you can hail the Campus Shuttle and attend an informative exhibit at McNeal HallâÄôs very own Goldstein Museum of Design. This will prove to be especially helpful if you yourself are a fledgling designer or if youâÄôve got even the slightest interest in the life of a designer, from the inspiration process to the conception and execution of a design. What really sounds delicious for Friday is âÄúMETROâÄù and âÄúlâÄôetoileâÄùâÄôs SUGAR event, a drinking, dancing delight at the new Aloft Hotel downtown. The models will not only be promoting designers of both fashion and graphics, but will be serving lots of candy-coated goodies to satisfy the sweetest of teeth. WHAT: Envision: Fall 2008 WHERE: Solera 3rd Floor WHEN: 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., $25 WHAT: Goldstein Museum of Design: A Resource for Designers WHERE: Goldstein Museum of Design, 333 McNeal, 1985 Buford Ave, St. Paul WHEN: 6 to 7 p.m. âÄ¢ Party and reception 7 to 9 p.m. WHAT: Sugar by Metro & lâÄôetoile WHERE: Aloft Hotel, 900 Washington Ave. SE WHEN: 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Sept. 20 Stop in at Uptown boutique ViaâÄôs Vintage for a look-see at designs from Re-evolution by Sarah Holm, which will also be available at a discounted price in case a piece tells you it belongs in your closet. ViaâÄôs is the only place you can purchase the line, and while youâÄôre there you can check out their superb collection of vintage pieces from the Victorian era to the 1980s. (WeâÄôve got our eye on a 1960s mink coat.) Where weâÄôll really want to be Saturday night is at Thunderball, held at the Annex from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. For $15, proceeds of which will go directly to your gentle hosts MNFashion, you can sip a rainbow of martinis at the mod-themed event. Dress as âÄò60s as you can, because clips of old James Bond movies will be playing alongside the swinginâÄô tunes of that oh-so-chic decade. Three live bands will present their take on classic Bond themes, and did we mention thereâÄôs a best dressed contest, and that Eclecticoiffeur will be styling models into those sexy Bond girls? Dress to impress âĦ or perhaps, in staying with the 007-centric theme, dress to kill! Because we know that Sundays are usually for a) nursing hangovers and b) hitting the books, weâÄôll leave SundayâÄôs events up to you, but you can check them out at MNfashion.org, as well as a complete list of all the fabulous happenings. Even if you attend just one, youâÄôre sure to find something that inspires you to trade up Ugg boots for Frye boots, or sweatshirts for silk. (WeâÄôre hoping!) WHAT: Re-evolution Meet & Greet WHERE: ViaâÄôs Vintage, Uptown Minneapolis WHEN: 7 to 9 p.m. WHAT: Thunderball WHERE: The Annex, 509 1st Ave. NE WHEN: 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., $15