Stylecon. 2016
A place where Orange County personifies individual aesthetic for all ages is Stylecon. Just a few month ago, I saw a post from a blogger, and fellow Cal Poly graduate, Heather Norgord. She posted about her attendance at last year's Stylecon and how she would be attending the event this year. I did not think much about it until I realized that the only "fashion-esc" events I would be attending this year are the Agenda and Magic trade shows. If you do not know, these are trade shows for buyers to connect with brands and ultimately become business partners via purchase orders. It has its fun aspects, such as the seminars, events, and of course photo booths, but it is mainly for buyers to sell their next season's collection. So, Stylecon 2016 was thus added to my fashion event list.
Stylecon 2016 was located in Orange County, CA within the OC fairgrounds. Tickets are sold by "Styletote" value. I chose the $39, Style Fan ticket in theory that I would be attending Stylecon in the future and purchasing the next level of "Styletote" tier every year. Also, I was not too sure how much I would love Stylecon, so I purchased the lowest ticket price so I would not feel like my money went to waste if I did not like the event. I brought my travel size camera with me (Cannon EOS Rebel T5i) and took some pictures and video of booths, as well as some fashionable ladies.
I truly loved these two girl's fits because of a specific piece they were wearing. Michelle (left) wore a tangelo, thin-strapped, velvet dress with fishnets, boots, and accessorized with a choker and cross earrings. I would title her style as 90's feminine punk, for its grunge feel from the fishnets and femininity of the velvet dress. I am loving the embroidery trend, so when I saw this embellished denim jacket, I had to take a shot. Ironically, I had to try and take a picture of this jacket multiple times because I could never catch up to the girl wearing it. What are yuh gonna do?
The most interesting aspect of this conference was meeting the owner of TEADORA, Valerie Cole. TEADORA is a company that promotes beauty through products that are created with sustainable ingredients from the rainforest. She was truly passionate about her brand and what it stands for. Refinery29 wrote about this company as well. I HIGHLY recommend reading up on this brand and its positive impacts.
The leading vendor at Stylecon was Topshop. They brought great fall pieces, their private brand collection, and a little piece of Beyonce through Ivy Park. Zero UV was one of the many vendors there and had sunglasses on sale for $5 EACH! STEAL! My favorite aspect of the event was the tote bag. I love MOST of everything inside of it, but every piece can for sure be used by someone.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Although it was my first time at Stylecon, I think there could be a few things that could enhance the stylish experience. I think adding other fashion inept vendors, or more vendors in general, would make Stylecon even better. Having a bigger room would assist with limiting the tote bag smacking while traveling through the conference. The panelists were a great idea, but I wish there was a meet and greet portion of the event where a person could truly talk to the "Influencer" of their choice. Lastly, being that I am a chatty cathy, promoting socializing between the attendees would greatly help the Stylecon growth. I saw a lot of stylish girls, women, and men that would barely look at each other but once they passed a person, they would quietly tell the person they came with "I loved her outfit." Being that we all have a sense of style and views on aesthetics, I think we can only help each other grow by communicating with each other. So, maybe next time someone's style catches your eye, tell them. I hope someone would do the same to you.
