TAKE IT TO THE STREETS

In case you hadn’t heard… on Friday, April 22nd, The Crest Theatre will be premiering

Bill Cunningham New York!

SUPER exciting. I’ve been waiting to see this movie for months!

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At the event (which benefits the Verge Center for the Arts) there will also be a Trunk Show in the Crest Theatre lobby featuring local boutiques and designers including Bows and Arrows, Modaspia, Crimson & Clover, Thunderhorse, and Babyfloss!

After the movie, there will be a panel discussion with local fashion bloggers RQ Bella & Kerry Dolan of Sac Street Style, Lorena Beightler of Sac Cycle Chic and our very own Kari Shipman of Juniper James. Basically, it is almost going to be too much awesomeness to be contained in just one night. {Visit the FB Event page to RSVP. }

In case you’re not entirely sure what Bill Cunningham New York is all about,
here is a short synopsis and the trailer:

“The ‘Bill’ in question is 80+ New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. For decades, this Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist has been obsessively and inventively chronicling fashion trends and high society charity soirées for the Times Style section in his columns “On the Street” and “Evening Hours.” Documenting uptown fixtures (Wintour, Tom Wolfe, Brooke Astor, David Rockefeller—who all appear in the film out of their love for Bill), downtown eccentrics and everyone in between, Cunningham’s enormous body of work is more reliable than any catwalk as an expression of time, place and individual flair. In turn, Bill Cunningham New York is a delicate, funny and often poignant portrait of a dedicated artist whose only wealth is his own humanity and unassuming grace.”

After I saw this trailer, I had two realizations:

1. Bill Cunningham is totally boss and basically my hero.

2. Street fashion is AMAZING and so important in society.

Bill says that the greatest fashion show is on the street, and by golly, I do believe he is right. I’ve started to become much more aware of street fashion as of late. Lookbook.nu is now a daily must for me. It’s so incredible to see people’s street styles from all over the world in one place.

Cecil Beaton said: “Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”

Some people think, “What’s the point? Fashion is just materialistic garbage that everyone buys into it.” But the fact  is, everyone wears clothes everyday… unless you belong to a nudist colony.

Like the man in the beginning of the trailer said, we are all blank canvasses when we get up in the morning, and we all paint ourselves. Some of us choose to paint ourselves to blend in. Some of us don’t really care what we wear. But whether you’re spending hours perfecting your outfit every day of just throwing on jeans and a T-shirt, you ARE a part of the fashion scene and you do have personal style.

Bill was quoted in the trailer saying: “The wider world that perceives fashion as a frivolity that should be done away with–the point is that fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. I don’t think you could do away with it. It would be like doing away with civilization.”

I couldn’t agree with this more. Can you imagine how boring life would be without fashion. I am so thankful that there is someone like Bill Cunningham documenting and preserving such an integral part of our culture. I can’t WAIT to see the whole movie. I hope to see all of you there!

The trunk show starts at 6:30. The movie will start at 8:00.
Tickets are $15 general, $12 for seniors and students. For more info, click here.

And you know, just because we’re not in NY, doesn’t mean we don’t have awesome street style here, too. For great street fashion right here in Sac, be sure to check out Sacramento’s own street style blog.

And feel free to also drop by my personal blog: Let It Reign!

Be chic, be unique. Skylar