A Fashionable Outing

The chilly, rainy weather on October 7 did not minimize the excitement of the Hamline Fashion Club (HFC) as they made their way to the New & Now Fall Fashion Show held at Herberger’s in Rosedale Mall.

On September 24 an email was sent out to members announcing and detailing the event.

“Your ticket will include a $10 Herberger gift card, 30% off shopping pass, free makeovers and a chance to win grand prizes,” stated the email sent out by president of the HFC, junior Alisha Bowen.

Upon arrival Hamline students were greeted by Herberger’s staff and handed envelopes containing a $10 Herberger’s gift card, a 30% off shopping pass that was good for the weekend only and information about the various outfits and designers including Calvin Klein, Marc Fisher, Tommy Hilfiger and Ivanka Trump. They were also informed about the option to have beauty makeovers and the option to enter in drawings for a bouquet of flowers or shoes. After grabbing some complimentary breakfast consisting of mini cinnamon rolls, coffee and other goodies, Hamline students headed to their seats in anticipation.

The show began promptly at 9 a.m. with manager Michel Toussaint introducing the host of the show Allison Kaplan, style editor for the Mlps. St. Paul Magazine.

As stated in the program each round of models in the show had outfits with different themes. This included Embroidered Edit which featured outfits that showcased embroidered denim, dresses and leather jackets. The featured one of Donahue’s favorite outfits: a Calvin Klein sleeveless embroidered dress in black, paired with a black Vince Camuto faux fur wrap and footwear from Teddi by Jessica Simpson.

Other themes were Something More Comfortable, Animal Kingdom and Luxe Life.

For some attendees, the fashion show met certain expectations and not others.

“I expected the show to be pretty much what it was,” first-year Sophie Donahue said, “though there were more looks than I had guessed there would be.”

Bowen had her own expectations, some of which were met, some not.

“I definitely expected the show to not be super professional, since it’s at a department store,” Bowens said. “ [I also] expected this fashion show to appeal to the consumer and it definitely came out that way.”

Certain aspects of the show stood out more than others, and not in a bad way. The diversity in the models was one of them. For Donahue, this was something she appreciated.

“[My favorite part was] watching the show, and observing that the store chose to pick real women for models, making the clothes much more realistic and healthy looking,” said Donahue.

Donahue wasn’t the only one who took notice.

“The expectation when you go to fashion events is mostly women,” said Bowen, referring to the fact that the show had one male model, “I [also] like how they had diversity, in different age groups and body types. You don’t get to see that at like new york fashion shows.”

New York fashion show or not, the event was well enjoyed by members of the HFC.

As it’s second year as an organization, the HFC is still building its foundation and is open to new members. If you’re interested, the HFC meets every other Wednesday 2-3 p.m. in GLC 104E. If you can’t make it to the meetings, but still want more information, you can email them at fashionclub@hamline.edu.