"A university town is only as strong as its independent bookstores.  They assist in the exchange of intellectual thoughts." - Kim Tanzer                 "The independent bookstore - you know we're almost dinosaurs." - Carl Kroch                It was a beautiful morning.  My girlfriend Jess and I decided to take a bike ride around the neighborhood.  We didn't have any particular place to go, so we went down to Butch and Nellie's, our local coffee shop, to grab a cup of joe and discuss the nature of our ride.  My first thought was the California Railroad Museum, but the little woman wasn't feeling that.  Thus ended the charade that our ultimate destination would be anything besides lunc

By: JayCanter.com Influenced by legendary fashion houses, Drop a House introduced some up and coming talent to Sacramento’s runway Saturday night. Drop a House presented designers: Benzo Couture, Richard Hallmarq, the Vittore Brothers, and Lauren Oto. Bobby Trendy, who is best known as the late Anna Nicole Smith’s stylist, will be making a special appearance and showcasing his new line. There was two shows as there were so many people who wanted to come to see these fantastic designers show their latest works there was not enough room in the Guild Theatre in Oak Park to allow it to all be done in one show.  Each show was about 35 minutes long and had some known fashion celebrities invol

Jessica Summers-Miller is the owner of Loft 1513, a very chic clothing boutique located in San Francisco. Originally from Sacramento and Hiram Johnson High School graduate, doing a fashion show and sale in Sacramento was an easy choice for Jessica. Jessica also happened to be long time friends with Marcus and Kolea Marquez, who own L Wine Lounge, which was the venue for the night. The show came together in a very short period of time as they elected to do much more than just the typical fashion show. Proceeds from the sale portion of the fashion show as well as the bar tab would be donated to the Red Cross for Haiti earthquake relief. Jessica said she always wanted to do a s

Fashion shows in Sacramento have typically barred teens since the majority of the shows are held inside night clubs.  But with prom season just around the corner, one local retailer has decided change things up a bit and give teens something to shout about with her own fashion show tailord for teens and their parents.  The event, titled, "A Tale of an Edgy Cinderella," and will feature top designers, some of whom have shown at red carpet events in Hollywood. Immediately following the show, guests are invited to the “After Party” located at Tres Chic Boutique on the corner of 23rd and J Street. The evening will continue with fine pastries, coffee, champagne and non-alcoholic beverages. Sp

On Thursday, as part of the Sheraton Grand's New Year's Eve bash, six local designers showed off their clothing lines to start off the evening. There were three rooms playing music all night. One played mashups of Bollywood and Indian music. The other two rooms played top 40, hip hop, house and dance music. 1,500 tickets were presold for the event, but there seemed to be a lack of security for the number of people who showed up. Below is a photo essay of the runway that night. See the story titled "A glimpse at NYE inside the Sheraton Grand" for the rest of the photos.   Jay Canter Photography

Midtown's Lucky Lefty’s recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. Despite the skepticism of nay-saying college career counselors, who called the venture a "stupid idea," and the uncertainty of Californian economic prospects, the clothing shop is thriving. Co-owner Brennan Williams says, growing up, he and his friends’ interest in clothing brands stemmed from a fascination with the subcultures they represented. Williams noticed that other young people who shared his interest tended to resort to travel or the Internet to explore emergent brands, instead of investing in Sacramento’s own scene.  Inspired by skate stores like FTC Sacramento and PLA Folsom, Williams and his friends -now pa

What: Review of Blow Up, a music and fashion show. Where: Clubhouse 24. Punchline: Pay no attention to the timid man behind the curtain. It was raining Saturday night in Midtown. Not drizzling, raining. It was coming down so hard that any heads of hair not beneath an umbrella or the hood of a raincoat had that fresh-from-the-shower look. Meanwhile, on the sidewalk outside Clubhouse 24, a newly opened party space at 24th and J Street, there was some kind of sculpture/assemblage in the form of a tree. Christmas tree bulbs the size of disco balls decorated its branches, and it was on fire. Well, more accurately, it had been rigged with a large propane tank so that flames shot out of metal

"Oh god, this is gonna be a long night," said radio personality Jack Armstrong as he and Joe Getty kicked off the 11th annual Best of Sacramento party on Thursday. The party, a benefit for the March of Dimes, was full of Sacramento Magazine's notion of the best of what Sacramento has to offer, everything from food and drinks to local media and entertainment. "It's really a huge honor, it's a reflection of the station I work for," said 'Best TV Reporter Team' winner Edie Lambert. "It's a big compliment to quality journalism." Booths filled the Convention Center, and lines wrapped around the exhibit hall as attendees took full advantage of the free food, services and other goodies. Expre

Sacramento's First Global Online Resource Center. VISAO - The portuguese word for vision. Visao Media is a unique operation. We have been involved in electronic music for over 10 years and are thrilled to combine elements on a new and inspiring level and bring to Sacramento something raw in electronic music. Our electronic music department focuses on artist spotlights, house & techno, DJ mixes and video animations. From Paris to London to New York and to the beaches of Ibiza, we're bringing you cutting age entertainment. We are heavily affiliated with creative groups around the globe and promote the past, present and future of electronic music. We also include a variety of product des

Leigh Grogan, a writer for the Sacramento Bee, is reporting that, "The first Capital Fashion Awards show Friday night at the Park Ultra Lounge in Sacramento gave local designers and hairstylists something to shoot for - a spot in next year's event." Yet interestingly enough, many of this years nominees are vowing to never return. Voting procedures for the event are still unclear. One nominee for Best Fashion Photographer was confided in by two sources that the link on the online voting ballot that was supposed to go to his website and online portfolio actually went to a Bible study website. Exactly who was given the opportunity to vote is also unclear. Richard Hallmarq (creator/planner o

Sacramentans were given a taste of glamor and high fashion rarely seen in our city on Friday night. The 2009 Capital Fashion Awards were held at The Park Ultra Lounge, where the nightclub was transformed into a runway showing off fall collections for Sacramento's top designers. "There are so many other events for different genres but not any for fashion ... so we decided to do something different," said Richard Hallmarq, a local designer who coordinated the event along with six others from the local beauty and fashion industries. The group got together and chose 13 judges that work in the local fashion, beauty and media industries. The judges were given paper ballots with each category

Sacramento, CA – September 4, 2009 – ILL FAM and Club Fugu Lounge will be hosting a special promotion party on September 11, 2009 for Victor Louis’ charity fashion show “One Night in Paris”, which will be showcased at DAY ONE of Sacramento Fashion Week. Victor Louis’ collection “Amour de la Robe” is one of the anticipated couture lines being shown on DAY ONE of Sacramento Fashion Week. Sacramento Fashion Week is a high fashion event produced by Magnum Opus Enterprises and includes music, entertainment, and upcoming designers from Northern California. It will run from September 17th to September 19th. Come and join the designer before Fashion Week for an evening packed with fashion, mus

 What made TwinSoup's Stiletto Crawl different from its fellow pub crawls? "No men!" "It's prettier." "I don't think I have seen a single pair of flip-flops." Last Wednesday three Sacramento hot-spots got hit with 75 well-heeled ladies courtesy of the Stiletto Crawl. The traditional beer-and-batter-drenched pub crawls were disbanded--participants sipped champagne and white wine as they were chauffeured by Luxury Limousines from destination to destination. TwinSoup.com is a local lifestyle guide with daily tips about fashion, events, hot-spots and culture in Sacramento. Sarah Campbell, who co-founded TwinSoup with sister Rachel, said the initial idea for the event was born when TwinS

This Thursday attendees will get a preview of back-to-school looks during Fresh Dispenser, a fashion show event whose proceeds will go to Invisible Children, a non-profit organization devoted to ending institutions of cruelty and subjugation in Uganda. The idea for the event was birthed about eight months ago by local event-planning group First Dirt, said Tim Morales, one of the group's founders and event coordinators. The group wanted to promote the business of local clothing stores that they know and love, Morales said. "We've [First Dirt has] been involved in planning events for local underground hip-hop for the past four years." Morales said. "We wanted to do something different, lik

The second installment of the six week, 12 salon hair competition "Hair Wars" took place last Thursday with runway performances from Allure and Canvas Salon. Each week two Sacramento salons go head-to-head, showcasing their best in avant-garde hair styling. The runway, constructed specifically for the event, stood in the middle of the Park Ultra Lounge's outdoor patio. Approximately 200 people piled on top of benches and stood on chairs to get a glimpse of the action. Allure was one of the finalists in last year's Hair Wars. Owner Missy O'Daniel said the competition offers her stylists an outlet by which they can show not only their patrons, but also the community as a whole, what they a

Contributed by Jenn Walker At age 19 and 20, Sacramento City College students Diana Byrd and Elena Gallegos are discovering the business world firsthand with the growth of their online business Meshugga Chic. Meshugga Chic, casually referred to as just Meshugga (not to be confused with the Swedish death metal band Meshuggah), is the duo's online vintage clothing store, catering to men and women with a unique fashion sense around the world. Their merchandise is an array of color, fun and the unusual. Items like high-waist purple parachute pants, a billowy bright pink and purple windbreaker or an acid wash jumper scream '80s. Anything funky goes. The two launched their site around a year

Fashion Shows have been evolving in Sacramento for quite some time now. Fashion designers have been creating their pieces of art in Sacramento for a reason, and models seem to have a desire and reason for "starting out" in Sacramento. Who, what, when, where and why did this ultimate need of fashion in Sacramento start? I decided to do some research to see where it all started. One of the first fashion shows was created in a parking garage off of 28th and S Streets by fashion designers Olivia Coelho, owner of Bows & Arrows Boutique, and Amy Hemmenes, designer of Naicfur, in 2003. Noelle Tavares, fashion show creator and fashion designer, established Faedrah Clothing Company in 2004. Nicole

Sacramento, CA - August 3, 2009 - Magnum Opus Enterprises, the producers of Sacramento Fashion Week, will open the show with the latest Victor Louis Couture collection on September 17th 2009. The main collection “Amour de la Robe”, which translates into “Love of the Dress”, is a 1930s Paris inspired collection by Victor Louis. “I’ve never been to Paris,” says Louis. “So I wanted to create the beauty of the land in my designs and bring Paris to Sacramento for one magical evening.” Louis has been inspired by design since early childhood and hopes to make women feel beautiful through his designs. His latest collection features feminine, sexy, and chic couture. Sacramento Fashion Week ex

Krazy Mary's Boutique is bringing fashion and philanthropy together this weekend. This Saturday, Aug. 1, from 3 until 8 p.m. the ladies of the trendy boutique and its sister store Sugar Shack will be hosting an awareness and pre-sale event to help bring attention to the popular eco-friendly shoe line's charitable efforts. Started in 2006, the TOMS footwear line began when founder Blake Mycoskie visited Argentina and was struck by the amount of people who didn't have something that many people take for granted: shoes. He decided to redesign the "alpargatas," the flat moccasin-like shoes typically worn by locals, and started his "One for One" program that donates one pair of shoes to a chi

Vhcle Magazine set the mood for their Launch Design and Music festival with a swanky location and a variety of tunes Saturday evening at the Greens Hotel on Del Paso Boulevard. The festival was a celebration of design and the arts, as well as a way for Vhcle to brand itself in the Sacramento community, according to Michael Hargis, an architectural designer and coordinator of the event. The Greens hotel is mother nature-meets-urban design. Hargis described the hotel as “1950s mid-century modern.” Upon entering the hotel, brown and green hues meet the eyes and lights hang from the ceiling. Walking through the bar and lounge area, it was possible to see local vendors set up shop. A door le