When I saw the flyer for the MANGO/Marie Claire event on Fashion School Daily, I had to pop in to take a peek. Who turns down a shopping party?

I LOVE Scarlett as the Spring 2010 face of Mango!

I was especially excited to see the party started at 5 p.m. It gave me plenty of time to make it to my other evening activities (half of which ironically got canceled) – but
when I popped in at 5:45, the DJ was still setting up and the refreshment table wasn’t quite functioning either.

I stopped back in at 6:30 to see if the store was more party-like.

Not really – but I took the chance to look around a bit. I was surprised. How have I never realized that Mango has cute stuff?

Then I noticed another phenomenon. Unlike any retail party I’ve been to, people were shopping. Customers were filling their arms up with clothes instead of just mingling over free champagne. The sales associates were busy starting fitting rooms. And best of all, people were heading to the cash wrap. Maybe it was the 30% off sale, or maybe it was a lift in spirits from Dow hovering on the verge of 11,000.

The shoppers were contagious – I want to shop too. I’m perusing the Mango website as I write this. Navy strapless dress with oversize bow? Or draped red kimono print? Red quilted handbag? Or sky blue business card holder?

Oh, choices are tough.

Written by: Kalla Vieaux

Click here For more of ‘The Kalla Chronicles’

I always worry that I’ll meet Prince Charming…and he’ll be wearing flip-flops. So when I heard that San Francisco men’s brand Alley was having a trunk show at Rolo Market, I decided I better go brush up on my menswear knowledge – just in case I ever have to rescue any princes in dress distress. From what I read on Yelp, Rolo Market sounded a little bit snappy so I donned a Ted Baker dress and blazer for the trek to the Castro.

I overdid it.

I entered the store to see a handful of people drinking Heineken and listening to “Gypsy” by Fleetwood Mac. I felt a little bit like Don Draper in the episode of the first season of Mad Men where he shows up in a suit and tie to find a full-blown stoner party taking place at his bohemian mistress’s lair.

Spring/Summer 2010 Alley Collection

Regardless, the associates immediately made sure I had a drink in my hand. The designers introduced themselves and made me promise to ask if I had any questions. I immediately felt at home – even though I was surrounded by men’s clothes.

The price tags were borderline posh (as Yelp had described), but I found myself a little bedfuddled at the actual pieces. The collection was displayed next to G-Star and consisted of pieces that looked like Dickies – but with a tuxedo stripe. Shirts boasted nuts and bolts in lieu of cufflinks. I felt confused. Maybe menswear should be left to men.

Written by: Kalla Vieaux

For more of ‘The Kalla Chronicles’ click here

Being from Wisconsin (the land of bratwurst) and of half German descent, I love me some sausage! So when I heard that a new salcisseria, The Dogfather, opened in North Beach, I was first in line. Well, not quite, but it did make my “Spring Break To-Do List.” To get in the mood, I tossed on a shirt with ketchup-colored stripes.

I wandered in to find Ke$ha tunes blasting from a boombox on the counter and a set of moose antlers on the wall.

Not quite what I expected.

I examined the menu, which was full of more inventive hot dog topping combinations than I knew existed. Finally, I settled on the ‘Little P’ which featured an Italian sausage on a gourmet looking bun with onions, chili, cheese, and bacon.

I settled at a table and realized I was the only person in the place. I was excited to see they had a table top PacMan game – which was out of order. The arcade machine at my table was out of order too. And the one at the next table had a jammed quarter slot. No game, but here comes my sausage!

The ingredients seemed super fresh, but on the whole, the ‘Little P’ seemed a little blah. However, there are loads of other sausage sandwich combos to try, so I think the place is worth visiting if you find yourself in North Beach at 2 a.m. Except, I forgot to check and see if the place is open at 2 a.m. – but I know Golden Boy Pizza next door is open late!

Written by: Kalla Vieaux

For more of ‘The Kalla Chronicles’ click here

Last week I went to visit Barry Barsamian’s Hollywood memorabilia collection at the Metreon in San Francisco.

I was surprised to find it especially quiet – because it was opening day. Despite that, I was thrilled to have the place to myself. I was greeted by a perky woman in a Dorothy (from Oz of course) costume and a man in a red ringleader-like jacket who excitedly explained that the collection boasted not only the original Judy Garland Wizard of Oz costume, but also a dress from Barabara Streisand. I made an innocent joke and said that Barbara sells her entire personal wardrobe on Ebay.

The man looked at me in disdain. “MY Streisand piece came from an auction house,” he corrected. Oops. Nice to meet you, Barry.

I contemplated trying to redeem myself by identifying myself as a fellow collector. I wanted to tell Barry that every Halloween I pull one of Carol Kane’s costumes from the movie Ishtar out of my closet (never mind that I have never seen or heard of the movie.) I decided it against it and went on to admire the collection.

I was a bit turned off by a demon-like, doll-size replica of Lucille Ball, but so enchanted with Lana Turner’s intricate smoking accessories that I was tempted to pick up my first pack of Camels. Of course, the most crass looking wardrobe bits (and retro-brown home office telephone) came from Phyllis Diller.

Barry has been adding to his collection for over 30 years, and owns over 200 pieces. Though I was secretly hoping to spy Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra wardrobe (sorry, not there) the collection does boast pieces from the personal wardrobes of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Jayne Mansfield.

It seemed as though Barry wasn’t too offended by my Streisand comment. He has kindly offered to extend a reduced admission fee of $10 to anyone with a current Academy of Art University ID.

Photography at the exhibit is prohibited, but I was able to snag a cool postcard:

Details on the exhibit:
Hollywood Legends
Metreon Ground level
101 4th Street at Mission
Exhibit is open Wed-Sun 12-8 p.m.

Written by: Kalla Vieaux

For more of ‘The Kalla Chronicles’ click here

Please welcome another blogger to the FSD family: Kalla Vieaux. She’s currently in her last semester at the Academy of Art University as a Fashion Journalism major and she is more than happy to give us her musings about local events and her life as a student in the city.

A couple of weeks ago, while a bunch of my friends were glued to their Macs in a pre-midterm anxiety, I decided to take a break from it all and see what was going on in the art world.

I threw on a black Karen Millen dress, some gold pumps, and my new favorite 24-hour accessory (the recently released Chanel Rouge in Gabrielle) and was ready to do some art crawling!

First I headed to the alumni and faculty photography auction reception at the Academy of Art University gallery. Of course, I was amazed at the diversity of style the pieces had to offer, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how much interest the community had in the artists and their pieces—many of the artists were constantly surrounded by curious guests.

Even though there was barely room to shuffle through the crowd, I managed to catch up with photography alum Rebecca Daniels (pictured below, far right) who captured a unique and hauntingly sculptural photograph of Gaudi’s architecture in Barcelona, which was going to be auctioned off later
that weekend.

There seems to be something a little funky going on with my camera… or maybe I’m just not born for photography :/….

I decided to continue my art crawl and go on to the opening reception for Kate Eric at the Frey Norris Gallery. When I got there, I was surprised to see that it was a “young and hip” crowd. The exhibition, entitled Bug War Over Two Blue Mountain, had an ironically aquatic influence – and is definitely worth a visit.

I felt that I had procrastinated enough. It was time for some late-night college food (a McChicken followed by half a pizza) and back to homework with the rest of the student population.

Sigh.

Written by: Kalla Vieaux

For more of ‘The Kalla Chronicles’ click here

In the latest issue of One Eighty, journalism student, Kalla Vieaux penned the article “The Cult of Walter” which features a band of merry men who adore the designer (who is 1/6th of the Antwerp Six) – one of them being merchandising student Jefery Jones.

Now when I say that Jefery adores Walter, I am serious. Very serious. If Walter was a religion, Jefery would probably be the pope. He has 50 pieces from Walter’s past collections and he tries to wear at least one piece a day.

“Wearing Walter makes me feel like a magic symbol-wielding shaman,” Jefery told Kalla. “I feel expressive and just plain happy.”

Unfortunately we weren’t able to fit any pictures of Jefery’s Walter wardrobe homage in the mag, but thanks to the Internet, we can fit all of them on our blog!

Follow the jump to view a slideshow of all of Jefery’s Walter looks. Read more…