Recap: Bon La Vu Fashion Show and Launch Party

What is Bon La Vu?

Honestly this is a question that I couldn't find many answers to last Sunday night.  Even though there were many local designers involved in this shindig, the majority of them seemed pretty unaware of what the whole thing was about.  I got more answers by just going to the Bon La Vu website.  However, the website is "member exclusive" which means you have to enter in your email even to browse the site.  Bleh.  I'm not a fan of sites where you have to sign in just to look at anything.   

But anyway, the point of the website Bon La Vu is this: Every day they feature a different outfit made up of pieces by local designers and/or local boutiques.  You can buy any piece separately, OR you can buy the whole outfit.  If you buy the entire outfit then you get a discount.  Sounds kinda awesome, right?



Unfortunately, how much of a discount you get is unclear.  The first outfit they featured on Monday was priced at $465.  Yikes!  That outfit is not discounted because the proceeds are going to Breast Cancer Research.  I think Ross Bennett's Little Pink Dress Campaign is a fun and unique way of getting attention and money for Breast Cancer Research.  But, doesn't it seem silly to launch a website that's concept is to sell an outfit at a discounted price, and then have the initial outfit NOT discounted?  FAIL.
The outfit for today is not up on the site yet.  I am interested to see how much that one will be priced and how much of a discount you will get if you buy it.


I did some perusing of the Bon La Vu website in order to see how the website works.  This is a small complaint, and maybe most people wouldn't even notice something like this.  But when your shopping cart is empty, a message displays that says "Your cart is empty.  Fill it with happiness!"  Now, this is an advertising technique that America loves.  Buy more stuff, it will make you HAPPY.  But usually, they at least try to disguise it in some sort of almost clever way.  I'll admit, clothes do at times make me happy.  Shopping for clothes even makes me happy.  But, actually buying clothes is not where my happiness lies (luckily!).   Filling my shopping cart will not make me happy.  I'm already full of happiness on my own.  Sorry, Bon La Vu.

Although I am a little skeptical that Austinites will actually go to the Bon La Vu site in order to purchase something (especially since you have to pay for shipping), I do believe people will go to the site to view the styling.  When I style outfits for my photo shoots I love to mix and match pieces from different local stores and designers.   So, I was really excited to see the fashion show on Sunday night.  


I thought the show was fabulous.  I really enjoyed the styling a lot.  I liked how they found a way to tie together all the looks even though they were dealing with different designers with different aesthetics.  Through makeup, hair, and accessories they were able to make the show fairly cohesive.  Although, some of the hair pieces worked better than others.  Those straight front colored bangs are pretty yuck even for a fashion show.  Here are some of my shots of the runway show:

Bangs here = yuck

Bangs here = pretty cool

Uh oh.  They didn't pay attention to this Fashion FAIL from last year.  Should have tested the flash on this outfit.  Or at least had that model wear dark underwear!

It might just be due to my current obsession with black and white, but, I loved this dress.

I was kind of afraid that purse (which looks like it's made of felt) was too heavy for that model.  I think her arms were about to snap off.

Love the back of this dress.

Studded leather leggings.  One of the most interesting pieces of the night!

So cute!

Those are the polka dotted shorts that I wanted to try on when I went to Dog and Pony.  I wonder if those are a small!  I almost stole them off the model.

Tag showing.  Fashion Show FAIL.

This top is the painted tank from Dog and Pony that I talked about recently.  See how it really does look like a preschool art project?

I wish I knew which pieces went with what designers.  They should have had flyers or pamphlets with at least the designers and boutique names and a little explanation of what Bon La Vu is.

While this post was full of snark, I still have hope for Bon La Vu.  It would be nice to see outfits with a lower price tag.  When I think of Austin fashion, I think of mixing lower priced items with higher priced items.  I call this casual chic.  I don't see why an outfit should have to cost 500 dollars.  It shouldn't.  Especially in Austin.  No one ever needs to dress up that much or spend that much money on clothes here.


I think I might start freelancing as a personal stylist for those who don't want to waste a month's rent on an outfit.  Good idea?




Joanna
keep austin stylish