Last weekend I visited State House to attend a charity fundraiser. First and foremost, it is not only an honour to get a chance to be in the compound, but also an appropriate time to get dolled up. We often complain that there is nowhere to go to and get decked out for. So when the chance of attending events at noble locations with some hint of fashion comes around we should snap it up like a pair of Christian Louboutins on sale on The Outnet. But I was left appalled at the way some of the patrons were dressed.
To my right there was a lady with a ‘Gravity Nights’ club dress on. Now I get that everyone wants to be sexy and look more appealing, 
but there is a time and place for everything and for that event that was obviously not the place.
Moving along, as the fashion segment of the tea party fundraiser began, I began to see that I could not actually blame some patrons for dressing inappropriately. You would think that for a fashion show held at State House the invited designers would at least buck up their game to impress the President and First Lady. You would have wasted that thought.
It was hard to digest every piece of clothing because of the setup of stage, the seating arrangement and lighting available as it got darker. There was a mix of imported fashion ‘fast/diffused’ lines with local emerging designers. As much as I know there is a need to have content in our productions sometimes the content we choose hampers long-term development. We have gotten so accustomed to just throwing stuff together as opposed to wholesomely thinking about it.
We desperately need to add screening panels before designers are being allowed to show at any public venue. This sort of free for all allowance is exactly why designers are not being taken seriously, coupled with the fact that they show on the same platform with their own competitors’ ‘imported fashion’. We desperately need to pay attention to finer details as it impinges on the way events are perceived.
For the first time, I got to see some of the girls from Traits Model Agency and they too need a bit of finesse to their overall stage presence. You would expect after seeing all the hype going about their regional and international gigs, that they would be able in proper shoes. Come on let’s do better if we could we can.
I often tell my friends that the Caribbean Fashion Industry is a bubble. A bubble usually looks nice on the outside but when you examine the inside it’s actually really empty. We have a lot of persons who are interested in fashion and are trying to create something out of limited resources; which by all means is commendable but still not relevant for long-term growth. We need to look beyond just having our work featured and look at the long-term goals. Is it worth the while? Can I use this as a marketing ploy? And so on. If the persons who showcased really thought they did well they need to think again. Their work on display is not only for charity but also for them to market themselves. We need to have stricter regulations when it comes to deciding what we put out especially if we are going to do it at State House. I understand it’s a charitable event but that shouldn’t keep us from having standards. Let’s not be like the girl in the ‘Gravity Nights’ dress.
Tips for Tea Part dressing:
Use patterns and florals
Don’t wear flip flops
Look for styles that are conservative and chic.
www.online-runway.com
http://instagram.com/theonlinerunway
