Thursday, Sept. 9, promises to be a great night of fashion, as Effie Loukas — owner of Lotus boutique — and Butter bring you their edition of Fashion’s Night Out. A worldwide initiative to support and celebrate fashion, this local endeavor will bring together more than 10 locally owned boutiques, a bunch of salons, stylists and fashion-conscious people for an outdoor fashion showcase.
For reservations and general event information, please contact Butter NC at 704-295-1565 or e-mail viptables@buttercharlotte.com.
Twenty-five exquisite male models with chiseled bodies, wearing nothing but underwear? Ladies, we’ve hit the jackpot.
In a world where a lingerie and swimsuit fashion show usually means women paraded down a runway, advertising sexy and alluring, finally, the gods have smiled down upon us and brought Brief!: A Fete for Fashion back again for the second year in a row.
On Saturday, Oct. 2, Brief!, an underwear fashion show benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, will take place at Extravaganza Depot. And the excitement is already building.
“People are coming out of the woodwork wanting to be a part of this event,” says Dan Mauney, who came up with the idea for the chic event. “Models, vendors, suppliers, marketing companies — it’s crazy.”
Mauney, who is co-owner of Sloan and Step by Sloan boutiques, was inspired to help raise awareness of Cystic Fibrosis after he learned that Oliver, the son of friend and business partner Jill Pleune, was born with the life-threatening genetic disease. And so Brief! was born.
“It’s men and underwear, it’s for cystic fibrosis and we’re back for the second year,” Mauney gushes.
Want to make a statement with your outfit? Just flip the switch on those LED lights. Welcome to, technology meets your wardrobe.
I recently stumbled across CuteCircuit, a fashion company in London that designs “wearable technology.” From their website: “CuteCircuit products are innovative intelligent clothing that integrate new functionalities into fashion through the use of smart textiles and micro electronics.”
Here’s one of their products: The Kinetic Dress, a Victorian-inspired evening gown that’s black when you’re still and lights up when you move. Watch the short video.
Another one of CuteCircuit’s products (on sale soon) is the M Dress, which also functions as a mobile phone. Weird, right? Insert your SIM card beneath the label of the silk jersey dress. When the dress rings, bring your hand to the ear to answer the call, and when done talking, lower the arm downward to close the call. The perfect solution to finding a place to put your phone when you go out on the town.
But what if you go out dancing? Should you restrain from putting your arms up so you don’t accidentally dial out?
Sparrow Boutique owner Tracy Luttrell and her associate, Terra Cass (along with associate Rachel Barker) travel all over the country to find unique pieces of jewelry to offer to their customers. With their different tastes and styles, they have created an eclectic collection of handpicked items without that nasty boutique price tag. Even better, with their selection (they never buy in bulk) chances are you’ll never have an awkward run-in with someone wearing the same necklace as you.
Creative Loafing: What inspired you to create Sparrow Boutique? (Terra Cass): Our inspiration starting Sparrow stemmed from a concept. We wanted to start a boutique that truly carried unique, one-of-a-kind pieces, but keep the prices low enough that if one of our customers falls in love with it, they can afford to buy. We are very fashion-forward and ahead of the trend. We research and are constantly looking at where the trends are heading. Also, our inspiration comes from our love of fashion. It’s fun, constantly changing and is truly a desire of ours. Lastly, we are inspired by pieces that make a statement. Most of our pieces can be worn alone, with no other accessory and make a statement. Accessories truly make an outfit, and they tell everyone who you are.
Where would you like to take Sparrow in the future? (Tracy Luttrell): Our ultimate goal is to have an actual storefront boutique. We are currently online, but since we only carry one or two of the pieces we buy to keep them one of kind, we cannot keep up with inventory online. Customers can see what we get in by looking online, but they cannot actually buy the pieces there since our inventory goes so quickly. We do red carpet events, charity events, private trunk shows and festivals at this time. We want to brand Sparrow and the products we carry. If someone sees one of our pieces, our definitive goal is for them to know right away that it came from our store.
What is your motto? (Luttrell): Fashion-forward, unique, beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces at an affordable “one-of-a-kind” price. We want to be known as the boutique that has the million dollar pieces without the “boutique” price tag.
If you’re lucky enough to have been asked those four cherished words coveted by so many single women, Belk wants to help you celebrate. Join certified bridal consultants and other brides-to-be for an evening of fun, food, festivities, and prizes as Belk hosts engagement parties at their SouthPark, Northlake, and Carolina Place Mall locations. Couples will be entertained and work directly with a consultant to create a personal registry of all the items they could ever dream of for their new home. This special event is sure to ease those pre-wedding day jitters. Free, tonight. 5:30-8:30 p.m.
The Charlotte-based style show Speaking Fashionese, hosted by Style Mayvin, is back for the second of two new episodes. (Watch last week’s new episode here.) This time around, the show visits Lavish Hair Spa & Boutique. Enjoy!
In May 2009, I wrote about bevello, an online-only boutique that had just opened up in the Raleigh area. Now, it seems in that year-and-a-half time span, bevello has blown up, with four retail locations, two of them in our area: Blakeney and Birkdale Village.
The stores feature designers such as William Rast, Citizens, Rock & Republic, Max & Cleo, Aryn K., Theme, RYU, Dolce Vita, TOMS, and much more.
In case you’re curious, the name bevello is derived from “bella,” the Italian word for “beautiful,” mixed with a little “love.”
bevello at Blakeney
9830 Rea Rd. Charlotte NC 28277 (across from Encore)
(704) 542-0504 blakeney@bevello.com
bevello at Birkdale Village
16805 Birkdale Comns Pkwy, Huntersville NC 28078 (next to Victoria’s Secret)
(704) 896-1329 birkdale@bevello.com
• Save 30 percent on all summer stock! Sale includes Miss Me Denim and a great selection of jewelry, hats, handbags, shoes and more.
• Join them for Sip, Shop and Socialize Parties this Friday and Saturday night. They’ll supply wine and champagne starting at noon.
• Make your way to The Promenade Shopping Center for Clearance Tent Sale deals of a lifetime. Summer items will be at clearance prices, from 50-75 percent off.
Sparrow Boutique owner Tracy Luttrell and her associate, Terra Cass (along with associate Rachel Barker) travel all over the country to find unique pieces of jewelry to offer to their customers. With their different tastes and styles, they have created an eclectic collection of handpicked items without that nasty boutique price tag. Even better, with their selection (they never buy in bulk) chances are you’ll never have an awkward run-in with someone wearing the same necklace as you.
