Fashion Party: Calzatura Celebrates Its 10 Year

Calzatura has had just the right touch to make it last in Gainesville for the past 10 years, but the store has been improving exponentially in the last few months. The price points, which have always been affordable have gotten even lower; and the clothes, which have always been cute, even more stylish. And now with the addition of carrying local designers that no one else is carrying, Calzatura is setting itself apart in the fashion community.

This is all fitting considering the store's logo change. What was once "Calzatura Chic Boutique," is now changed to "Calzatura Boutique: Chic, Unique and Affordable." The new slogan encapsules all the changes we have seen the store undergo.

Thursday, the store will celebrate its 10-year anniversary with Calzatura Cocktail Night, an event that promises food, art and deep discounts for all attendees. The cocktail night kicks off at 7pm, with everything in the store going at 40 percent off. That is a huge discount for a store that has all its merchandise priced under $100.

To help guests get into the celebratory mood, Calzatura will have cupcakes by the new gourmet cupcake store in town, Yum Cakery (which is amazingly yummy), and champagne.
"It is very important for us to support the local community," says Meghan Van Joosten, Calzatura's PR director. "There is a lot of great talent in the area, which everyone deserves to know about."

Aside from hosting treats from local vendors, Calzatura's Cocktail Night will also feature displayed artwork by Sergio Castro, a local artist with a lot of urban flair. The biggest local focus though comes from Calzatura's launching of three local lines, BobbyK, Courtney Lee Designs and Sironna. The three lines which are surprisingly affordable, establish Calzatura as a safe-haven for up-and-coming designers.

The selection of these designers points to Calzatura's motto of uniqueness, not only will the lines only be available at Calzatura, but they are also highly varied from each other. BobbyK is womenswear (and now also menswear), Courtney Lee Designs is a jewelry line, while Sironna is a swimwear line.
"We really want to show that every girl is a Calzatura girl, whether you are looking for something for a night on the town, day, the beach or even a cute new accessory, we got it," Meghan says. "The best thing is, we have it all at really affordable prices."

Calzatura Cocktail Night is on Thursday (4/22) from 7-10pm at Calzatura, 201 SE 2nd Ave.

- SG

Check back tomorrow to get the scoop on the store's revampment. We might even score a giveaway for you!

Generous Spending

Last night (2/11), UF sororities teamed up with Henri Girl Boutique in Butler Plaza to benefit the Children's Medical Network's Dance Marathon.

             

The boutique opened its doors after hours to a friendly sorority competition. From 7 to 9pm, the girls were encouraged to "shop ‘til they drop" – for the cause. The sorority with the highest sales record received 10 percent of their total sales donated to the Children’s Miracle Network. “These children need the money so bad, and without this chance, they wouldn’t be able to live out their dreams,” says Ashley Delaney, a member of Dance Marathon’s marketing team.

In the short two hours, over 60 girls perused Henri Girl’s stylish yet affordable racks and purchased to make a difference. Which sorority shoppers came out on top with over $700 in sales? The ladies of Alpha Epsilon Phi. 

- Nhi Hoang

Shop the Shoot

Find out where to buy look-alikes for the gorgeous outfits featured in our December issue. Check out the story on our Web site!

Dahlia Holiday Bash & Vintage Jewelry Trunk Show

Visitors mingled, drank champagne, shopped the 20% off sale and browsed vintage couture at Dahlia on N.W. 43rd Street for the Dahlia Holiday Bash & Vintage Jewelry Trunk Show on Thursday evening (Dec. 10).

Christy Morgan, of Dahlia, says the initial idea for the event was to have a holiday party and to showcase Victoria Rohn’s vintage collection. The women decided to hold the event because people are looking for Christmas gifts for their daughters or girlfriends, and also because visitors are looking for dresses and other accessories to wear to holiday and New Year’s parties.

Thus, Rohn, who is new to town, brought some of her vintage pieces to Dahlia to showcase. She said she has a little of everything – from turn-of-the-century pieces to runway pieces to pieces that feature stones such as sapphires and diamonds.

“I have new couture, old couture, pieces from every single era and type,” she says. She said collecting and selling vintage pieces is her passion.

“I love this,” she says. “You can have a plain dress, but when you put on a piece of vintage, it changes everything.”
For the Dahlia event, she picked out pieces that she thought would compliment the clothing sold at the store. She brought purples and golds and pinks, among others, so visitors could match up her accessories with Dahlia’s clothing.

Victoria said she can acquire the rare vintage pieces that she has because she has good contacts, not because she buys them from stores or finds them on eBay. She travels once a month to find and collect authentic, unusual and hard-to-find pieces from those she is connected with, and then she brings them back to Gainesville to sell at a reduced price. For example, she said one of her necklaces might sell for $2,400 on the market, but she might be able to offer it for $300.

If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind piece (for yourself or a gift), contact Victoria at 352-225-3958. “Call me and tell me what you’re looking for, and if I have it, I will come to you and show you what I have,” she says. “And if I don’t have it, I can get it for you.”

—Sarah Hsu

Dahlia Vintage Jewelry Trunk Show

The holiday shopping season is well under way, but if you're still looking for a special gift or an accessory to finish off your holiday party outfits, check out Dahlia this Thursday (Dec. 10). From 6 to 9pm, this fantastic local boutique will be hosting a vintage jewelry trunk show.

There are sparkly beauties in every price range: from costume jewels, to real designer pieces from Chanel, YSL and more. Enjoy 20 percent discounts and champagne, and welcome personal shopper and stylist Victoria Rohn, who will show off her beautiful assortment of vintage jewelry and clothing. You can even purchase pieces from her collection! What a great way to make your holiday wardrobe a bit more special.

Check out the Dahlia facebook page for more information.

The Weekend Roundup: Stuff to Do

Whether you are staying in town or going to Atlanta for the SEC game, there will be nothing dull about this pre-finals weekend. Just to make sure you don't miss out on your much-deserved kicks, we've compiled of a list of the thunderstorm of entertainment taking over Gainesville this weekend.

First thing is first: have you checked out our Kid Cudi and Common show. Popular among the hip-hop and indie communities you can expect a wild, widely ranged crowd and lots of superstar hype. Did we mention it's free?

We hear Rue Bar is proceeding the show with a Winter Wonderland party complete with a sno-cone machine. Yum. Before Rue Bar and after Common, make your way over to Common Grounds to continue on your live music high. With the Shoddy Beatles and Morningbell rocking CGs its sure to be a good old kickback-to-the-60s time.

Make your rounds around the Gator Stompin' venues for some free/super cheap drinks, and a chance to help Toys for Tots. If you don't have your Gator Stompin' pass, make like Santa and lug around a bag of gifts tonight, many of the venues will offer free cover with the donation of a free unwrapped gift.

Ok, now drink lots of water, take a power nap and prepare for Saturday. Wake up early for the Craft Festival 2009 starting at 10am at the O'Connell Center. With over 300 vendors, it's a great chance to get your holiday shopping out of the way.

The game's at 4pm, so you know your friends are going to start gearing up early. Many of the bars around town will be offering drink specials for the game. We recommend Stubbies and Steins for its dense menu of specialty beers.

If you can pull yourself together after an afternoon of game-cheering and beer drinking, check out the Thomas Center for the annual tree lighting ceremony at 7pm. Before and after the tree lighting, Duckpond will be offering up horse-and-wagon tours of the area's luminaries, a super sweet way to precede a romantic date.

Now it's back to Common Grounds for Umoja Orchestra's first show since April, the latin-infused band of unity is reuniting for a widely awaited and much-appreciated show.

Sunday's the day for rest, so go ahead and sleep in. Try to be up by 3pm for the Bela Fleck and the Flecktones show though. The award-winning "blu-pop" band will bring its Holiday Tour special to the Phillips Center.

The day of cultural reckoning continues with the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre's hosting of "An Evening with William Shakespeare: Or I'm in the Mood for Love," a performance of some of Shakespeare's greatest love scenes at 8pm.

To take the energy back up again, the 90s Omaha, Neb., indie-rock band Cursive is making a stop in Gainesville as part of its tour. With its progressive, instrumental arrangements Common Grounds is in for great show Sunday.

Feel like a Sunday showing? Go the the Reitz Cinema for a free screening of "500 Days of Summer," at 8 and 10:30pm. This quirky romance comedy is much better than Zoey Dechanel's earlier attempt this year at a quirky romance comedy with Jim Carrey in "Yes Man." At least in "500 Days of Summer," her character is not asked to ignore the fact she's having a carefree tryst with a man old enough to be her grandfather.

-Stephanie Granada

A GLAM-orous weekend

GLAM, Gainesville’s Local Art Mart, set up shop at the Thelma Boltin Center yesterday (Nov. 22). Kim Taylor, the director of the event (and blogger The Sassy Crafter), said that she wanted to create a venue where local artists—like herself—could share their work with the community.

There were more than 30 artisans displaying and selling their work, which created a nice alternative to shopping at the mall. Shoppers could try some of the handmade makeup or eyeliner at one of the tables. Other vendors had a variety of items including handmade perfumes and soaps, home decorations, clothing, accessories, gifts and food.

For most of the artists, crafting is a hobby and not a full time job. Each piece of art had a story behind it, and one of the nicest things about GLAM was that all of the artists were at their tables to answer questions about their work.
A very nice added touch to GLAM was the live music playing while people were browsing. For shoppers, GLAM was a wonderful way to spend a lightly soggy afternoon looking for fun and unique items that also make great gifts. For artisans, it was a great way to showcase their work and engage the public in a relaxed and enjoyable setting. To join GLAM’s mailing list, send an e-mail to sassycrafter@gmail.com.

—Story and Photos by Timothy Carswell

Get GLAM-ed Up

(pictured above: Gainesville's craftiest blogger The Sassy Crafter, Kim Taylor.)

Eager to purchase holiday gifts for a tiny price? Look no further than GLAM. The Gainesville Local Art Mart, GLAM, is preparing for its second Annual Handmade Holiday Bazaar arts and crafts show, dated for Sunday, Nov. 22, from 2 to 6pm.

“My co-organizer and I wanted to provide an alternative to the traditional holiday shopping venues and at the same time, help give a leg up to budding local artists,” says GLAM co-organizer Kim Taylor.

Local artists, jewelers and designers will congregate at the Thelma Boltin Center, 516 NE 2nd Ave., to sell their individual handmade crafts. Customers will be able to shop 'til they drop with a variety of unusual items to choose from at bargain prices. Local bands and food vendors will be on site providing snacks and entertainment.

“We have an incredible array of vendors who'll be selling everything from handmade baby bibs to bicycle wheel chandeliers,” Kim says.

Other items include jewelry, screen printed T-shirts, reusable lunch bags and sandwich wraps, handbags, and fitness hoops.

Some of the vendors to be featured this year's event include: Michala Designs, Joffe Creations, Waldo Wildlife Collective and Sandhill Arts.

Aside from being an excellent, early holiday shopping opportunity, GLAM is also an opportunity to help those in need - a portion of the money raised will be donated to charity. “We'd like to have some of the proceeds go to a non-profit like we did last year when we donated part of the proceeds of the Handmade Holiday Bazaar to Peaceful Paths,“ Kim says.

Admission to the one-day event is free and open to the community.

--Alisha Kinman

Dahlia Fall Fashion Event

Last night, we attended a fun fall fashion event at Dahlia, a 3-year-old boutique in Thornebrook Village. The quickly cooling night air played perfect host to the warm atmosphere inside—fueled, in part, by the (pink) bubbly and 20-percent discount. With DJ Thomas (who regularly works the Lux/Atlantic/Alcove circuit) spinning groovy tunes, shoppers and friends clogged the dressing rooms as we managed to have a quick chat with owner Christy Morgan (who was wearing a great navy Rebecca Taylor fringe dress).

This season, Christy says she’s really excited about bringing fringe, feathers and zippers into the mix. Case in point: her favorite look in the store (and the favorite of many others) was a black Madison Marcus cowl-neck silk dress with—get this—ostrich feathers on the tiered skirt (above). We usually try to talk ourselves out of black dresses, but this was really a standout.

We stuck to our guns, however, and ended up walking out with an “orchid” Rory Beca silk zipper blouse and an Ali Ro belted dress in “wildberry”—not without saying “hi” to our friends from The Tonnish Touch, Salon La Di Da and the Fashion Notebook.

Sad you missed it? Don’t worry—Christy promised us she’d be getting in even more holiday cocktail dresses and gifts (we suggest some of her great vintage bags and jewelry) and items at varying price points. To make sure you stay in the loop, join Dahlia’s Facebook group.

Photos by Sean Kelly

Fall Fashion Event at Dahlia tomorrow

Loved what you saw at the Dahlia fashion show? We did too.

Tomorrow night (Nov. 12) at Dahlia, celebrate fall fashion with the boutique's best event yet. From 6 to 9pm, enjoy champagne, sweets, a live DJ and shopping the best holiday fashion and gifts at up to 20 percent off. Plus, get access to Dahlia's newest arrivals from Rebecca Taylor, Madison Marcus, Karina Grimaldi, Blaque Label and mingle with the editors of INsite. Last week, the owner promised us tons of great holiday party dresses—think "feathers, fringe, sequins and lace!"

Dahlia is located at 2441 NW 43rd St., suite #22. Check out their Facebook event for more info!

GFW '09: Fashion's Night Out Diary

Armed with $3 tickets that provided us access to more than 20 local store discounts and goodies, we pranced around downtown Gainesville yesterday to celebrate Fashion's Night Out, a global celebration of fashion that was occurring last night in all the metropolitan cities. Check out our details of our night of living lux in Gainesville on a buck ... or three.

6: 51 Start at Scissors salon. It's free bang trims for some, and treats, drinks and product samples for the rest of us. Special nod to the yummy and inventive oniony baked goods.

7:23 Quick stop at Volta for a free shot of iced mochas. Delicious and invigorating, we're officially ready for some shopping.

7:35 American Apparel. 25 percent off entire store. Enough said. No, but really the mega discount inspires us to stock up on basics and even a few extras (I love my new nylon and mesh navy dress!)

7:58 Walk the three blocks over to Calzatura. High heels and cobblestone streets make it extra fun.

8:07 At Calzatura, Maghan tries on our "must-have peacock jumpsuit" we saw in the fashion show Tuesday. We still love it, but the fit is a bit off. Robert tells us the look was ordered by mistake and ended up being a big hit. What a beautiful mistake! Browsing the store, we fall back in love with all the minis from the show and strongly fight the urge to buy them all. At 20 percent off, we can hardly resist.

8:26 Three stores over we stumble into Persona. Owner Nava Ottenberg set out wine, pink lemonade and cheese and crackers. The goat cheese is to die for. We eat about half. Close to the entrance two quirkily-dressed models entertain us. Swept up by the store's eclectic and fun mood, INsite photographer Sean Kelly buys a nose-modeled sharpener. Another 20 percent off. Sweet!

8:45 We head back west toward Gelato Company, where it is finally time for dinner. We split sandwiches and show our Fashion's Night Out ticket for a 25 percent discount. We walk out with a free gelato. If you haven't tried this gelato yet, add it to your list. You'll love it forever.

9:30 Quick stop at Alcove for a beer and wine break. It's my favorite bar in Gainesville. Sean, Maghan and Sarah get to enjoy it for the first time. The atmosphere is intimate and the beer and wine selection bountiful. Also add this one to your list of must-visit places in G-ville. I have the bartender's red wine recommendation, everyone else orders an exotic beer; we all get happy hour discounts.

10:00 Stop at Wolfgang, the store sponsoring the event. Maghan turns in her thoroughly punched ticket as proof that she visited all the above listed establishments. The person with the most places visited gets a prize, and Maghan is in it to win it. We browse the store's selection, the Wolfgang fashion show still fresh in our minds. We want about 75 percent of what's in the store, but we're on a budget for the night, so we restrain.

10:14 Stop at Karma Cream, next door, where Maghan gets vegan ice cream (chocolate and cookie dough combo) and Sean gets regular burnt carmel ice cream. Love that they always play Muse, and that they're now open 24 hours. Ogle at the cupcakes.

10:30 Take a quick breather back at home and recharge our batteries for....

11:30 Fashion's Night Out after-party at Lux Bar. We run into some people we saw at the stores, plus some fresh faces. Designer-inspired drinks are delicious and we especially loved the Karl Lagerfeld gin martinis. The rest, my friends, you'll just have to catch next Fashion's Night Out to find out about.

—Stephanie Granada

Photos: Sarah Hsu