Dallas Rocks Cocktail Party for Russell Simmons

As I'm sure you all know, I adore cocktail parties and have hosted quite a few at my home, but it's not every day that I have an opportunity to entertain Hip-Hop royalty. Russell Simmons came to Dallas to launch his inaugural event, Dallas Rocks, which benefited his beloved charity, the Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF). Russell founded DEF in 2007 with a mission to raise money to support education initiatives that empower economically disadvantaged people in Africa where diamonds are a natural resource. I was honored when asked if The Fashionistas would serve as a sponsor to help get the word out and I was thrilled to throw a party for Russell and his team. Naturally, the event was a media extravaganza complete with NBC 5's Meredith Land on hand to film the festivities. Dallas A- listers were out in full force including Emmitt Smith and his gorgeous wife, Pat, former two-time Super Bowl champion and Denver Bronco's cornerback, Ray Crockett, Schlegel/Woy's Kirby Schlegel & Matt Nordgren, and Fashionistas Connie Dieb, Elizabeth Norton, Keith Livingston, Joyce Goss and Ana Pettus. Russell couldn't have been more convivial-graciously greeting as many people as humanly possible. The following evening was the Dallas Rocks gala which featured a green carpet complete with paparazzi and on-camera interviews by TV host Roxy Manning and a V.I.P "swag" room.

What better way to kick off our F!D Luxe Presents the Fashionistas Lecture Series than with one of America’s true arbiters of style, John Loring, Design Director for Tiffany and author of his latest tome, Tiffany Style: 170 Years of Design.

In a sea of LBD’s and glossy white pearls – think Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s – The Fashionistas came out in full force to toast Loring and his latest Tiffany tale, sipping on Piper Heidsich champagne and noshing on nibbles from The Food Company. Tiffany execs Dorothy Mason and Heather Pujats couldn’t have been happier as this was clearly a Tiffany-loving crowd. We spotted Tina Craig, blog baroness, aka the Bag Snob, talking Tiffany with Heidi Dillon, Fashionistas CEO and founder; Fashionistas prez Suzanne Bock bubbling with pre-wedding excitement; Fashionista’s Limelight leader, Kirby Allison putting his tech savvy to work unclogging the cranky slide projector; and FD Luxe editor, Tracy Hayes and writer Jason Scheeler scoping out the best-dressed crowd. Studio 1019, with its stunning wall fountain anchoring a very green swath of lawn and surrounding paint-splashed canvases, provided the perfect venue for Loring’s lecture. Wide-eyed design students clung close to mentor Jan Strimple, and the effervescent Art Institute prof and sculptor, Karen Garrett—absolutely dazzling in a Tiffany blue strapless dress of her own design. Get ready for more high-style fashion lectures and events through ‘09 -thanks to the generosity of Fashionistas Lecture Series sponsor F!D Luxe - Heidi promised, as a result of The Fashionistas’ liaison with NYC’s renowned Costume Museum at FIT. Pencil in April for Valerie Steele, FIT’s incomparable Costume Museum curator, author, and costume historian.

Jane Aldridge

The self-described "fashion obsessive", Jane Aldridge is quite the sight in Trophy Club Texas. She and her mother, Judy, can be seen running around town in head-to-toe designer garb - not the usual attire for small-town girls. But, there's nothing small town about these two. At 16, Jane has been featured in French Glamour, D Magazine, and Teen Vogue - all because of her love of shoes and her wildly popular blog, seaofshoes.com. Jane has been hard at work writing her style blog for the past year and it has provided her with the perfect outlet to pursue her love of fashion. Jane also spends her after school hours writing shoe features for Vice magazine's fashion blog. Together she and her mother have amassed an incredible collection of vintage clothing - and of course , shoes.