Envision

Jessica and I recently attended the Envision fashion show at the Graves 601 Hotel. I decided to take my Mother-in-law who is an artist in Door County and is in town for a craft show. A few days after, and here is my wrap-up:
Tickets were $25, not unheard of in any way, but normally one might expect to get more than just a show for that price - food, a good sway bag, some extra entertainment, etc. Not so much.
I purchased my tickets about a week before the event, printed them off and brought them with. We were running pretty late, so I figured we'd be able to walk right in without having to stand in a long line. Nope. We were in line for a good 20 minutes. At least it was good people watching! When we finally get to the ticket table, I figured it would be easy - scan my print-outs and walk right in! Nope. Apparently when you buy a ticket online, they put your name on an envelope and stick your ticket in there to give you when you arrive. OK, but problem was - they couldn't find mine. They didn't even seem to be in alphabetical order!! After searching for few minutes, they just let us in. Then another 5-10 minutes to wait for an elevator to take us up to the show.
Then we got our rather sad sway bags, complete with tanning lotion and tanning coupon, which I guess is great if you are into that! I was also disappointed that there wasn't a take-away of any kind. It would have been nice to have a little more information about each designer, sponsor, etc.
The show itself was actually pretty well run. The space was beautiful, and I loved the lighting! Most of the space was taken up with VIP seating though. Being a short person, I hate standing when the stage isn't elevated enough. Jessica, Mary Ellen and I are all short!
The first part of the show was all about hair and makeup. I was very impressed with this portion. Then, some of the local boutiques presented. After a short break, there were lines from various local designers. There were a few that really stuck out - Peloria was one of them. Korrin Lohmann's looks had some great colors and surprisingly mod cut-out details. Russell Bourienne was another favorite. Mary Ellen loved his jackets and pants, but wanted them for herself! I always appreciate how well-made his pieces are, so much so that you can see it from the runway. Impressive. There were also a few adorable cocktail dresses. I think they were from Jenny Carle. They looked like they would be great on short people :)
Overall, though, I thought the show lacked color. More than half of the looks were rather bland, neutral colors. It's spring, isn't it?? The models were from Minnesota, so it's not like they were super tan either. Otherwise, these outfits might have looked better.
To wrap-up (sorry, loooong post), I'm not sure that I will be back for the next show. It would be worth it if I were a VIP, but I don't think I want to shell out for that . . . sorry for the negativity, people, just wanted to be honest!
Peace,
Christina