Dress Code: The Good, Bad and Ugly

Welcome to the Dress Code, where we celebrate, critique, commend and (on occasion) condemn fashion trends, shows, designers, boutiques, events and everything in between. From the couturiers and costumers to the retail clothiers and quirky DIY crafters, fashion--good and bad--is everywhere. The Dress Code is where we wear our hearts on our sleeves and write about it all.

This week we explore some fashion highs and footwear lows.

The Good: Bellevue Fashion Week
We know what you’re thinking… We were wary too. Fashion shows sponsored by a shopping mall featuring ready to wear collections by large-scale national corporate retailers aren't normally our thing. Give us couture, give us local designers, give us art! Unless, of course, the most infuential fashion magazine on the planet is involved.

The retail giant powerhouse that is the Bellevue Collection (comprising Lincoln Square, Bellevue Square and Bellevue Place) is challenged by none, embraced by many, and since last year its big-business senses have procured the partnership of Vogue magazine. And where there is Vogue there is little to question or refute.

BFW’s Front Row Fashion Show gave Seattleites an opportunity to see Vogue's perspective on fall trends via commercial brands (Banana Republic, Nine West, GUESS?, etc.) offering some real insight and perspective-- fashion forecasting by the masters themselves. The show is done in a practical, accessible kind of way—perfect for the miscellaneous and ambivalent Seattle audience. Bellevue Fashion Week picks up where other fashion shows in this city often fail. Forget trendy clubs, random hip-hop promo performances and the absence of actual buyers and press—BFW is professional, fashion-focused and consequential. This show is about what is happening now and what is going to happen. And what we liked besides opulent ostrich feather skirts and vests, faux furs and animal prints were the repeat highlight of 2009: thigh-high boots. Over the knee boots were a major, standout theme in Fall 2009, as featured in the collections of Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and couture shoe designer, Christian Louboutin as well as in the September 2009 issue of Vogue.

See more photos from the Front Row Fashion Show at Brick House Photography.

Another “good” vote goes to the Manolo Blahnik Fall Collection Trunk Show, happening now through next Wednesday in the Ladies Shoe Salon at Neiman Marcus. To schedule an appointment, call (425) 452-3330.

And in keeping with our theme of footwear, we give you some fun finds on the streets of downtown Seattle: