Dianne Reeves glides through her set in a lovely fashion

The Gaillard Auditorium was glistening last night as renowned jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves took us though an unmistakable set of her fabulous talents.  She has been working with 2 guitar players as of recent and getting away from her standard instrumentation of either a jazz trio, big band or orchestra.

My first thought was how is she going to fill in all the gaps with just 2 guitars. Boy was I ever wrong.  Spoleto Festival is no stranger to Reeves either as she has performed on several occasions in town.

As expected from the minute go, she had the crowd in the palm of her hands. She focused  mostly on her original works that evening showcasing her many styles and sounds from around the globe. One heard everything from samba to blues and pretty much everything in between.

It is this reviewer's opinion that Dianne, has absolutely come into her own and is riding a wave of success as far as she can.

She has the unique quality of perfect pitch and a range the size of the stratosphere.  Her arrangements were wonderfully thought out and the pace of the show moved along in such a way that it really made you think that you were sitting in her living room one on one.

Bravo to all involved.

Lemon Anderson moves, astounds and leaves crowd wanting RAP!

My girl friend Ashley and I strolled in to the County of Kings show last night shortly before 7:00 at the Emmett Robinson Theater at the College of Charleston. I had the opportunity to interview Lemon earlier that afternoon. Even after the interview, I still was not exactly sure how he was going to be presenting his show. Much to my delight it was a combination of pros, poetry and hip hop music.

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His life growing up in urban Brooklyn nothing like anything any of the audience members can imagine. He spent from the ages of 16-20 in jail! He came out a better man and knew that he had to do something positive with his life. He has. By the time he was 27, he was on the stage at the Tony's accepting an award and he has never looked back since.

What's very interesting to me is that Lemon is a quiet guy. He isn't the thug guy that he grew up acting like at all. He jokes about how the hipsters and yuppies still can not stand each other in Brooklyn.

His show has this unique quality of ripping you right into the middle of his life just as it were happening right in front of you. You clearly know that there's this actor on stage, but the cleverly worded delivery has this way of transporting you to the very time and place of his choosing and thus making it oh that much more believable.

From the needle and belt overdosing of his mother on Heroine, to her death of AIDS, Lemon gets beyond personal and still finds a way to keep it way cool. Do not walk. . RUN to see this show. You will thank me!

An evening with Karrin Allyson

One of the magical parts of Spoleto for me is the opportunity to sit down with artists that have the most wonderful vibe about them. When I sat down with Karrin the other day, it was like playing an old fashioned game of catch up. You know. . .the norm of name dropping of industry players, venues in the city and beyond and the like. I have enjoyed Mrs. Allyson's music for quite some time.

 Her newest album entitled Round Midnight was just released this month. That marks her 13th album. After my interview with her, I was so excited about seeing her show at one of my favorite venues in the city;The College of Charleston Cistern. It truly is perfect. Sitting under the stars and being serenaded by fabulous jazz. It was however still quite hot and muggy and buggy!

Karrin entered the  stage and performed to a crowd of about 600 guests. The anticipation was about to kill me. She started singing and to be honest I am not sure if it was vocal fatigue or what, but her breath support just didn't seem to be there.

Her song selections leaned towards the slower side of jazz. However, with that said, quite witty choices. It is especially of note that  Karrin chooses her sets each night and no night is ever the same. She even threw in a Simon and Garfunkle tune last night.

She can be seen at the Cistern again this evening. tickets are available at the Gaillard Auditorium.

LR does SPOLETO

Charleston is known for many things. It is known for its rich history, its fabulous cuisine and dining scene and for 17 days it is known as the host for an international arts festival known as Spoleto.

 Now don't get me wrong: Charleston does have its year round arts agencies. Some quite fabulous. . while others. .well community theater is what it is. . and that's TERRIBLE. in any case: I have a spoilt eye and palate for the arts. I expect the best and demand it from all of our performers. It is by saying this one can clearly see why I adore this time of year and manage to stay out of my NYC offices for 3 whole weeks.

For those of you who may not know: Spoleto Festival was brought to Charleston back in 1975 by founder Gian Carlo Mennotti. It has had its ups and downs financially. These days, mainly ups!

It's energizing, it is exhilarating. . it is what the arts is supposed to be about. Some pieces just out there and spine tingling brilliant, while others. . make you ask what the hell did I just see.Either way, it is the talent that is showcased during the 17 days that just brings an entirely different energy to the city.

This year I am covering the festival for my nationally syndicated radio program The Sunday Morning Mimosa, ABC television both locally and nationally in some instances, I will also be giving you my readers reviews, an inside scoop on what's happening within the festival, festival fashion, festival gossip,pictures from back stage, admission into exclusive society events and more.

I will be starting with an overview of everything that we will be seeing this season. Each night you may expect that I will offer our own creative insight to each piece and then give you an idea of how I and whatever guest I took with me that particular evening thought about the piece.

Get ready. . It's going to be a fun 17 days. On your mark, get set. . . . SPOLETO!!!!!

Signature i-phone covers and designer converse for take away items? It's being done!!!

Ok, we all attended them at one point or another. It is coming of age thing for all kids. . either the Bar/Bat mitzvah party or the sweet 16. Clearly, it's not my first rodeo producing either of these events. What is the one thing that people look for from an event planner on these types of parties? How to keep the kids busy so they won't be "getting busy!"

Well I thought I would share a couple of cool trends for these parties. Obviously, budget is always a factor. However, I will show some really great ideas if budget was not an issue and for those a little more concerned with their budgets.

The Social Network:

What is the one thing that these kids all have in common? a face book and or twitter accounts. Create an I-pad zone where they can update their status right there and bring in a social media company to collect those status updates and tweets and project them on a wall somewhere within the event space. This will keep them busy for hours and they will love to see what each other is writing. Now of course our our social media producers will be watching for any non-airable material.

each tweet is projected on the screens around the room. thanks to Visual-Live

Customized Phone Cover Lounge:

The kids will go crazy over this one where they can make their own signature i-phone or blackberry phone cover.

 here's one done by Marc Jacobs!

If budget is no issue at all: get a bunch of Converse shoes and create your own look for a signature take away item. How cool to have your own child's logo and put it on a shoe for a take away item. Jeff Zucker  formerly from NBC Universal did just that for his son Andrew's bar mitzvah the other day.

Themed Weddings Are Back!

As I sit  here on the eve of the biggest wedding in the world, I thought I would share some of the latest trends for upcoming weddings. Theme weddings that had been on hiatus are back and bigger than ever!

I will showcase some fun examples of 3 or 4 thematically driven weddings. I will admit that I am a bit spoiled in having 2 offices. One in Charleston allows the beauty of the beach while the other in New York City allows for such theatrical and elegant back drops.

The Vintage Wedding

One of the biggest request that we have gotten out of both offices would be the Vintage Wedding.

The vintage wedding can be taken in so many fun directions. However one of the easiest ways to start is of course with your invitation. the key here is to find a lovely design element that can be held and carried throughout the wedding.

design elements

Then something fun to think about next would be your vintage table setting. I have seen this go a number of different ways. I fell in love with this look though.

 I think it's just the plain simplicity of it that I just adore.  Another fun option if you wish to go a little more exciting is:

 This I found right out of a catalogue and just love the candles at every table and how perfect they match the chivari chairs.

Vintage Cake:

 I love the ornate look this has. Colors that I have found that are hugely popular this year are more bold and brassy. Deep Purples, Royal Blues, Golds, Silvers.

Vintage has so many possibilities for the dress the bridesmaid dresses, I love the freedom to interpret through the bride's own vision of what she sees as vintage.

Napa/Vineyard inspired Wedding

 Unless this is a destination wedding in Napa, it is sometimes challenging to create. However, with some careful creativity, you can absolutely bring Napa to you. Some of the most fun ideas that I thought of when designing an event like this would be to feature wine bottle chandeliers.

 These can totally be made and hung. They look amazing in the proper light.



Next I of course would do a fun paired wine dinner with several courses and several wines. How much fun would it be to have your very own sommelier at every guests' table. OK, now I may be dreaming., . . so if budget is an issue and you can't do that, you can absolutely have someone that knows your wines telling your guests about every single fun detail.

Now if a seated dinner is not what you would like to do and want to keep it as stations a fun thing to do would be to have a series of wine tastings set up throughout the room to compliment each food station. make sure to have placards designed that tell your guests about each wine they are trying.

A fun take away item for a theme like this would be to have us call one of our amazing vendors who will order a signature wine that has the bride and grooms name on it create a cool wine  gift bag and voila, the bride and groom have their own signature vintage,

Modern Weddings

More and more these days I get calls from brides who want a modern wedding. YET: and I say YET because there is always a caveat! Generally the bride wishes for a modern wedding and all the mother of the bride ever wanted was a simple chic and elegant classic wedding. Well how do I pull this one off? BRILLIANT question! Here are some ideas to enjoy a chic elegant modern wedding.

The Invite:

 OK, so here's the deal: the modern part is that it was printed on recycled paper  and of course the lay out. This was not one of my all time favorites. However THIS:

 I am ABSOLUTELY in love with! Look at the brilliant wrap on it. Loving the font choice and loving the elegance of it as well.

One of the things I think alot of people over do is florals. I have always thought that keeping it simple elegant and modern speaks wonders for the center piece. Here are some fun ideas for center pieces. Orchids Orchids Orchids. Love love love. You can totally make a beautiful installation piece without going over the top and it's just LOVELY.



What to do with the Cake? Here are some crazy fun examples of what has been done:

They call it the Donald Trump Cake

Elegant and Modern Marry well!

So no matter what style you want, take that theme and run with it baby. This is absolutely one of my favorite parts of the process. Finding out exactly what the bride has for her vision then getting creative and not cookie cutting anything and creating the magic that is her fairy tale.

Remember for all things entertaining style: keep up with me on facebook. Friend me at Lawson Roberts. You can also follow me on twitter @lawsonroberts.

Every Sunday from 11-1 you can enjoy my nationally syndicated radio show called The Sunday Morning Mimosa.

You can also catch me on ABC television as their official entertaining style contributor. Thanks so much for reading and until next time. . CHEERS!



Napa adventures, deals and must sees brought to you by The Sunday Morning Mimosa with Lawson Roberts

This post was written by The Sunday Morning Mimosa's Executive Producer Nathaniel Chamblin.
The Sunday Morning Mimosa with Lawson Roberts is our weekly syndicated radio show

An enjoyable trip to California’s wine country can be taken without being lavishly expensive. There are a few easy ways to save a lot of money when heading to the vineyards for tastings and tours. In this day and time we live it’s as simple as showing an offer on your phone to receive special discounts on tastings and tours, which I did over and over again.  I spent 4 days tasting in the Napa and surrounding areas with never once paying full price at any stop I made along the wine trail. When in the wine country you need to make a plan as to where you are going to head out each day. There are a 2 major roadways to travel when in Napa, the St Helena Highway and the Silverado Trail you will see wineries on your right and left one after another after another , some are big names you will recognize but many the average person wont ,don’t let the lack of recognition steer you away from stopping. I found that the best wine we tasted was at some of the smaller lesser known stops.  The tasting rooms open early, some as early as 9:30am, but most are open from 10:30 – 4:30 and a few are open ‘til 5:30. The one big tip I will give is make friends with person pouring your tastes ask about the winery , the wines,  the area, tips for places to dine, all this will form an interest with you and this person which will lead to extras …a taste from the reserve lists, a bigger pour, a recommendation to where else to visit, a name to drop at a restaurant or bar that will get you treated better than just the average tourista, all things that will benefit your trip.   

The first day we enjoyed the tasting rooms in downtown Napa. There are more than a few tasting rooms downtown but for me the best was Vintner’s Collective. This tasting room offers selections from 18 different amazing small lesser known wineries. The tasting is $25 for 6 different wines, with the 2 for 1 tasting from the smartphone this is a steal. I tasted some incredible wines with a very knowledgeable staff in a wonderful setting of an old stone house. The star was the Showket  “Asante Sana “ a super Tuscan blend that was beautifully balanced and a true joy to drink. From there a short walk of a few blocks and you will see the Bounty Hunter Wine Bar, where we enjoyed another 2 for 1 deal from the smartphone, with a wine flight and accompanied that with an incredible cheese plate.  This is a place to stay for awhile and enjoy a few wine flights. The Bounty Hunter Wine bar became a stop we made almost  every day. This is a true highlight, a cool enjoyable atmosphere, a great knowledgeable staff and great wine and food. A must stop for anyone in Napa. The dining for the evening was a casual stop at the Hopmonk Tavern, a very busy place so reservations are suggested, good house brews and tavern fare, nice end to a good first day.

The second day we decided to drive the Silverado Trail, one of the main roads to travel Napa where wineries are one after another on either side of the road traveling through some of Napa’s well known districts. There are so many stops along the way it really doesn’t matter where you visit. Most of the vineyards have some sort of discount available via your smartphone.  We started with brunch in downtown Napa at locals favorite Downtown Joes, they not only boast an all natural menu it is also a brew pub that uses all natural organic products, good start to what would be a great day. The first stop we made was at Darioush a winery that mixes old world style with modern technology. This is where I met Frank ,who gave me a wonderful recommendation for a tasting room in Sonoma, which we went to on our final day. Travelling a little further north toward Howell Mountain we stopped at two of the more beautiful vineyards first the Silverado Vineyards that sits back from the road up on a hill overlooking the vineyards, this is worth stopping just for the views. The next stop was the Rutherford Hill , which sits high up on a hill giving another great view of the valley and again a great selection of wines in the tasting. This was a good stop and they have a great tour available, mostly known for merlot but feature some great surprises in their portfolio. Conn Creek was good stop for wine tasting not much on atmosphere or personality at the tasting bar. A little lesser known stop was Black Stallion wine was a nice surprise ending to a day of tasting. All in all with using the smartphone for discounts we went to 5 vineyards and tasted on average 5 wines  and spent  $65 a great deal for a day of tasting and also got some great recommendations for dining.  Day 2 tasting ended with another stop in downtown Napa at the Bounty Hunter Wine Bar with wine flights and a charcuterie plate. We also realized that a quick nap after tastings when you’ve made 5 stops will turn into a missed dinner reservation. So we headed to downtown Napa looking for a place to dine. Little did we know that Napa truly is not a late - nite hot spot. The sidewalks seem to get rolled up early beginning about 9:30. I came to find out that most places kitchens are closing by 9pm and last call happens at 10pm for most. We found a pizza place, Azzurrocali -style pizza.

The plan for day three was to drive St. Helena highway. We drove to the famed gourmet grocer, Dean & Deluca, where we began our day with lunch we grabbed from their grocery café. Not worth all the hype, it was fair… nothing special. After lunch we headed out armed with our smartphone to take advantage of tasting discounts.  The first stop was at Freemark Abbey, one of the oldest wineries in California, they have been making wine since the late 1800’s. Freemark is also one of my favorites for cabernet. We had a 2 for 1 tasting offer for their basic tasting, after a quick conversation expressing my love for their wine we were extended the reserve tasting for the same 2 for 1 offer. This was a fabulous start of the day, a seated private tasting of 4 reserve wines overlooking the winery. After enjoying the Freemark tasting we stopped by Trinchero not great wine but did get a recommendation to stop at a tasting room that turned out to be the best stop of the day. We left Trinchero and headed to the Frank Family Vineyards, a highly recomennede stop, wine was good but didn’t really see what all the rave was about. By this time we were wanting to head back toward the hotel having now driven all the way to Calistoga. Our next stop, which is a must see, was a tasting room in St Helena, A Dozen Vintners. We tasted about 7 wines all being fabulous. A wine house I was very familiar with,  Krupp Brothers, is just some that we were able to taste here. Though there wasn’t any discount offer to be had, by mentioning I was sent from a guy at Trinchero all we were charged for the tasting was $10 each, a steal for the amount of quality wine we were given the chance to taste. This is a place I will be purchasing some cases from for my personal cellar in the near future. Heading back down St Helena highway we stopped by V.Sattui a winery tasting room that is very commercialized with a market deli and huge vast wine store. Here we tasted some Italian style wines that were very drinkable and had a very knowledgeable and friendly staff pouring for us. Again we were able to utilize the smart phone with a 2 for 1 tasting, another great bargain. From here we headed back toward the hotel making one more stop along the way at the Folie A Deux/Napa Cellars tasting room, a nice stop but probably one to many stops for the day, not sure my palate wasn’t already overworked. All in all with using the smartphone for discounts we went to 6 vineyards and tasted on average 5 wines and spent  $75, a great deal for a day of tasting, another day well spent. Now back to hotel to nap and get ready for dinner reservations.  After a little sobering nap we left for dinner at 9pm. We were going to go to Michael Chiarellos but had been warned about it being a little bit of a tourist trap, so we switched our reservations to Bistro Don Giavonni a highly recommended locals favorite. We arrived at 9pm to a full restaurant on a Monday, I knew then we had definitely made the right choice. The wine list was reasonable and menu prices were very fair. Since it was later in the evening we decided to share a five course dinner: Antipasti – Carpaccio, Insalate - Insalata Verde, Primi -   Risotto, Secondi- Braised Lamb Shank and Dolce- Bostini Trifle and Top Shelf Butterscotch Pudding. We started with a glass of rose and enjoyed a bottle of Dolcetto d’Alba. This was the best dining of the week, a bistro that I would highly recommend.

For our fourth and last day we headed to Sonoma highway, about a 35 minute drive travelling through Carneros on the way. We made our first stop in Kenwod at the VJB Tasting room. This was the recommendation we received from Frank at Darioush on our second day. The best of the day was this our first stop, they use old world Italian style wine making with a California terroir focused approach. These wines were simply delicious. We tasted 5 different varietals and finished with 2 ports. The ports were a nice change of pace. If you don’t make this a stop you are truly missing out. We then started back from Kenwood and made a few stops along the. The Kunde Estate, described as a favorite tasting room in many magazines and papers, was not worth the stop. It was a free tasting via the smartphone but it was like tasting with a grumpy old grandpa. “here this is semillion. Here's a chardonnay. Here's a merlot.” Not friendly no info given seemed as though we were keeping him from a nap or something. From here we stopped for lunch, not a great idea to mix wine tasting with cocktails over lunch, but I’m never one to pass on a few Hangar One vodka drinks. Lunch was soso but the hangar cocktails were wonderful. After lunch we stopped by at Ravenswood for some zin tasting and soon figured out our day was done. The final day of tastings was only 3 stops but each had 5 or 6 wines for us to try, with deals via the smartphone and recommendations we spent $20 another day of great bargain tasting. It was time to head back and rest ( sober up is more like it) for dinner reservations later that evening. We had plans to dine on our final night at Morimoto’s in downtown Napa, thinking this would be a great end to a great week. So very wrong. Morimotos was a total disappointment. Food was very pretty, but 3 apps,1 entrée  and 2 small carafes of sake $170 and we left sober, hungry and not at all impressed. We again seeing that Napa was closing up early headed for a last visit to the Bounty Hunter Winebar a few good beers and a wine flight later we were enjoying some kobe sliders and starting to rue leaving in the morning.

The trip to California’s wine country is a trip we will make again soon, there are so many vineyards to try and plenty to enjoy. Without much effort you can find so many deals to make this trip on a small amount of spending. Below is a few links to Napa must sees and savings.

Sites with discounts, applications and all info you will need about the wine country:

                http://napavalley.org/                                                

         http://www.econcierges.com/

Wineries, Tasting Rooms and Restaurants :

http://www.bountyhunterwinebar.com/WordPress/

             http://vjbcellars.com/

    http://www.vintnerscollective.com/

          http://www.darioush.com/

            http://adozenvintners.com/

                 http://www.bistrodongiovanni.com/

Frat Parties at FASHION WEEK? What the HELL? Back stage perspectives and parties galore!

Friday afternoon started off with a cocktail party honoring the opening of K. Cooper Ray's Social Primer pop up shop downtown at Billy Reid.

Ok, so as I pulled up, there was a line around the block to get in. Everyone was wearing bow ties in true Cooper fashion. As I got closer though, the guys in line looked more like a bus group from the Carolina Cup. I mean 19 years old at best and straight out of the frat houses.

I ran into Leah Jerden (Cooper's PR Rep) and I asked what was with the really young demo and she told me that Cooper had partnered with 2 College of Charleston frat boys who also acted as hosts and invited the boys from the frat houses apparently.

You could totally tell that the owners of Billy Reid were less than pleased to have all the kids in their store. However, in my opinion if it equates out to sales for Social Primer then all is good with the world. So just to hammer my point: the only 2 options to drink were Heineken and Bourbon. Again, so frat-tastic it wasn't funny.

 HUSK had catered the food and it was a combination of smoked sausages, domestic local cheeses, and artisanal breads. It was legit so packed in there, you could not move. I left and headed over to HUSK where I would not be one of the oldest people in the room.

As I walked in ordering my favorite Rose Cava, I looked at the bar staff and they asked if I had been to Billy Reid. I said you mean the Frat Party? they laughed and said they had heard the same thing.

I headed down to the tents with excitement to see Noula and the Sucker Jeans show.

 It was due to be the opening line Friday night. I popped back stage and dropped a cocktail off for Noula, and ended up staying and styling several Ascots for the models.  It was so much fun. It was at that point that a whole new perspective of what happens for any fashion week is realized. The machine that runs the front of the house is met by an even bigger machine that runs the over 100+ models each night backstage. This is not mentioning the hair and make up artists.

I had some great conversations with the models and then promptly went to take my seat to watch the Sucker show. It did not disappoint at all. AMAZING to be exact. Just the right amount of social elegance with modern flair!

At the end of that show, I went backstage again and that is where I stayed for the remainder of the show up until intermission. I ran into veteran vocalist Quiana Parler and it was so nice to catch up with her. She had been out on tour with Clay Aiken in support of his new album. Ironically, I had no idea that he had even been in the studio. She said the schedule, because of the weather, was brutal!

On the break, I ran into Bubba Bryant from Army Wives and discussed what he had been up to. I even got the inside scoop on tonight's episode. I clearly can't tell you who dies. However, it will be a shocker and tear jerker for sure!

The 2 after parties that evening were to be at Halls and Barsa.

I was a bit confused as to why anyone would have scheduled an after party at Halls on a normally busy Friday night. It seems to me that the night to do Halls would have been early in the week. I told Billy  Hall to expect a shit show and sure enough it came. You couldn't move in there. Great night for them. Not user friendly at all. I found Jessica Reid my partner in crime and ended up going across the street to O-KU. They were packed but still could manage it. That turned into Dudleys and somehow heading to Pantheon. I gave Jessica a unique perspective of the show from backstage. That's always a unique experience who doesn't know how all of "that" works.

The evening ended well with a champagne toast to the last day of CFW coming up tomorrow. Almost done almost done almost done!!!!! Stay tuned. We'll take you behind the scenes of the finale party tomorrow.

Remember to keep with us on all things entertaining style. the website is http://www.lawsonroberts.com/. Friend me on facebook @lawsonroberts or follow me on twitter as well. www.twitter.com/lawsonroberts

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

L.

Charleston Fashion Week: Fabulous Fashionista Fun WED/THURS

Well here I sit with a romping headache. You may ask why. Well those of you that know me do not need to ask why. I was up till the wee hours of 1:30am Thursday night dancing to 80's music at a kick ass after party at O-KU. So it's time to recap the last couple of days on and off the runway.

Photo by Andrew Cebulka

I have partnered up with Charleston Bliss' Jessica Reid

Jessica Reid

to allow 2 perspectives of Fashion Week. So we grabbed lunch at Monza downtown  yesterday to chat about just how we were going to cover the shows and the after parties. I have to tell you their pizza is hands down the best that you can find in Charleston. Having been up in the city so much lately with work, I have kind of become a pizza snob.  Monza does it right every time.

Jessica and I put our plans together for the afternoon and off we went. A quick stop over to the press lounge lent itself to running into a really great photographer Matthew Accetta.

Matthew Accetta

Check his work out on his website. www.matthewaccetta.com  I may be a bit partial as he not only shoots well. . but he absolutely could be in front of the camera as well. Great looking guy and the women know it. I have decided not only can he take an incredible picture, he sure knows how to shake it on the dance floor. I t was fun watching him dance with his camera on his person and girls at the same time!!!

 Well officially,the evening started at a benefit for Run Buddies a new project from Louie's Kids.

 It was at the Old South  Barber Spa. I must admit that I am quite guilty of never  darkening their doors prior. It is a beautiful space.

Old South Barber Salon

 Mccrady's had done the catering and while I did not eat the standard fun fare was being offered including truffled deviled eggs, charcuterie etc. Master Mixologist Matt Anderson came into town to lend support from his award winning EG Vodka.  As expected the signature cocktail was delicious. I left there and headed right to the tents.

Upon arrival, I was  met with a flurry of excited people waiting to get in their seats. The was an amazing energy under the tents. I came to my seat to find the dapper dressed Austin Walker from Dunes  Properties sitting in  my seat next to Jessica Reid.  Austin  quickly joined K. Cooper Ray of Social Primer fame,

K. Cooper Ray

 and Ayoka Lucas on the front row across from us and  before you knew it the show had begun.

In the first show done by V2V, there was this sort of underlying Wonder Woman theme with the head bands they had the women models wearing. I'll let you judge for yourselves.

The next wonder woman

We left a bit early Thursday night to do some cocktailing. That turned into a bit of a crazy night. We started at O-KU Sushi where the place was hopping! Danny Seltzer was spinning amazing 80s beats and the crowd looked beautiful. The other after party took place at the Music Farm.  Conveniently Dudley's is right in the middle. As you might deduct, that sort of created a very dangerous triangle. We literally went back and forth all night.

Dancing progressed as did the cocktail consumption and before you knew it, it was 1:30 in the morning and I headed home after a very festive and fun night. Coming up on the next installment, K. Cooper Ray's "frat Party", backstage coverage, model styling and more. This next one will be quite fun!!!

Until then, for all things entertaining style, check out the website at www.lawsonroberts.com. I would love to have you as a friend on face book. You can friend me @lawson roberts, or follow me on twitter. Those tweets get interesting. I'm @lawsonroberts.

Behind the Cat Walk Charleston Fashion Week: oh the glama!!!!

When I was approached to cover Charleston Fashion Week by our producers, my initial thought was I love going to the shows so why not. Then I had this horrible fear roll over my entire body. Just what the hell do I know about female fashion? How am I to report accurately and give you my readers the inside scoop. Then it me. I will totally take it from a different perspective. I will totally take you behind the catwalk and let you see just how these kind of shows are produced and take place. I will give you the details from fabulous to fanatical.

I started getting my press credentials and ran into Vail Duggan who is in charge of wrangling all of us media types. Her first comment was do I need any help with interviews. I quickly thanked her and said. . I think we've got this.

I went downstairs and ran right into CFW founder Ayoka Lucas and had a delightful conversation with her for the radio show. I really MUST say: this is a woman who has got it going on! Her creative dream 6 years ago on how to make Charleston come alive with fashion is now celebrating its 5th year. It is entirely a tribute to her. It is well beyond my scope as to why she is still in Charleston. She belongs in a huge market doing huge things. However, from the vantage point of all fashion people in Charleston, I know they are thrilled that she remains at the helm of the fashion world in SC.

Ayoka Lucas founder of CFW

My Tuesday continued interviewing 3 female models for the radio show. Robin Lee was kind enough to arrange the sit down at last moment for me. Unexpectedly, there was a documentary being shot of me conducting my interview. . .kind of odd. . but fun none the less.

Okay enough with that. .let's get down to the fun stuff! it's show time baby. The style lounge this year was again designed by Gathering. I will go on record stating that it was VERY understated. A red and white color scheme that transpired throughout the tent. Red is the appropriate color as it had to have been 80 degrees in the style lounge. Charleston is known for its crazy weather this time of year. Either freezing or scorching. . ever heard of spring?

One of the first people I run into in the style lounge is Andrew Peterson from the Cos Bar. He was holding a microphone and interviewing a CBS affiliate reporter Nicole Johnson. I found it odd. However, after seeing the produced product online today, it was kind of fun! Andrew always wears fun clothing and you bet your ass his makeup looks good all the time.

Andrew chatting and getting set for another fun interview. Look out Bill Sharpe!

So as sweat was pouring off the forehead, my cohort in crime from Charleston Bliss;Jessica Reid and I grabbed a cocktail and proceeded to stand around in front of the tents chatting it up with all kinds of fun people. We ran into Bubba Bryant from Army Wives just at the most perfect time.

Bubba Bryant

 A lovely real life army wife came up to him thanking for what the show does and how they portray real life AW. It was really sweet. As it turned out, Bubba and I sat across the run way from each other and a fun texting session proceeded to happen during the show. I was asking him, what is the proper look that you have on your face during the shows, especially if you don't really like an outfit. He commented back to just look intrigued and that would get us out of the dog house!

Quiana Parler opened the show in her alto fabulousness! She is always a show stopper and last night was no exception.

Quiana Parler wearing She She NY

Designers included: rapport, Copper Penny, 4 emerging designers and a crowd that was dressed impeccably.

I will totally admit that the hot flashes and sweat from the tents got to me and I ended up heading to HUSK for some rose cava before heading to Social for the first of 2 after parties with my other partner in crime Justin Edgar. 3 glasses later, we were ready to hit up Social Wine Bar and they had one hell of a party in store. It was absolutely everything bubbles. Owner, Brad Ball's infatuation with bubbles is right up my alley.

Justin and I stayed for one before heading over to Torch.

Brad Ball

We walked into to Torch having been met by Dr. Matt who was dressed up as the mad hatter. the theme of the event was somewhat Alice in Wonderland and a crazy hat theme. Sadly, besides some employees, no one took that theme anywhere. It was Tuesday night after all. They did have the back opened up with tent and lounge furnishings from Boris over at Event Dr's. It was quite the chic look. Their entertainment onstage inside the bar was very cool. DJ meets keyboard meets vocalist and percussion.  After midnight it got even  crazier.

Justin and I headed to The Belmont for a night cap and that was evening number 1.

As we continue this week, look out for our tragically dressed list plus insider scoop on hair and make up design. Did you know these models arrive at 3:00 PM for a 7:00 show and go through hours of hair and make up daily? We'll chat with some models through out the week as well. We will also keep you in the loop on all after parties. Thanks for reading and enjoying Behind the Catwalk.

Remember for all things entertaining style: check out my website: http://www.lawsonroberts.com/  also friend me on face book @lawsonroberts or follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/lawsonroberts

L.