Fashion Ambrosia

An Evening of Cool Vibes and Style in the Gaslamp

Imagine a night of drinking cosmos while shopping for the latest designer fashions at half the price. Who could ask for more? With cocktails in hand, last month bargain shoppers of San Diego hunted for the latest fashions at discounted prices in the Gaslamp Quarter. Fashion Bash, a sample sales event, was held at Stingaree—one of downtown’s hottest local restaurant/nightclubs.

“With many nightclubs becoming more and more lifestyle-oriented,” says Christia Gordon, publicist for the event, “it makes sense that fashion would fit right in.”

Organized by Sassy City Chicks and sponsored by Too Faced Cosmetics and Fredericks of Hollywood, this event gathered retailers and designers selling clothes and accessories at incredible prices.

Heaven for any fashionista, Stingaree was filled with racks of everything from stylish dresses to more casual wear, with tables covered in innumerable accessories such as beautiful hand-crafted jewelry and unique handbags. Designers, retailers and bargain shoppers filled two stories of the club. One of the more prominent designers at the event was Kudra Studios, whose accessories are worn by Tyra Banks. Its leather bags sold for an affordable $60 (down from $200).

Even more popular among celebrities such as Jessica Simpson, Gabrielle Union, Nelly Furtado and Hilary Duff are amykathryn handbags. For new moms, the amykathryn line also includes a weekender/diaper bag (which even comes with a diaper changing pad upon request). Who says moms cannot be fashionable?

The bags, usually priced from $30 to $110, were sold for only $30 to $55. These same bags, similar to the styles of her current collection, will be available to the rest of the public this summer on her Web site, amykathryn.com. Amykathryn handbags can also be found here in San Diego at Madison Leather & Luggage in Carlsbad.

Handbags beautifully designed with Italian floral, baroque style prints were also sold by designer Amy Hall. Designs range from cute little clutches, shoulder bags and day totes to even bigger duffle bags, enabling any girl to travel in style! Hall was recently signed by Target to design handbags for the Los Angeles Film Festival in July.

Peaceriot, which supports a nonprofit organization, was also at Fashion Bash. The brand creates unique T-shirts, tanks, hoodies, and accessories and donates 10 percent of its sales to CIVIC—an organization helping victims of war. One standout, a soft grey T-shirt with a black outline of a dove filled with the word “peace” written in both English and Arabic, is perfect to wear for running errands on a weekend. More designs can be found and purchased at peaceriot.org.

With clothing and accessories both covered, what else is needed to make a fashion event complete? Makeup, of course. Sponsor Too Faced Cosmetics also sold its products at bargain prices. Packs of lip glosses, duo eye shadows, eyeliners, its signature Beauty Balm and palette kits from the Quickie Chronicles line (which includes coordinating shadows and glosses) were priced between $1 and $20. Who knew makeup that cheap could be bought outside a drug store?

With a night of searching through racks full of clothes, perusing through accessories, waiting in line for a fitting room and drinking cocktails now complete, ladies of San Diego went home satisfied. After discovering designer 7 For All Mankind jeans for less than $100 or donating to a charity by merely buying a T-shirt, the only thing left to make the night even more fulfilling was perhaps some sleep.

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