2013 Virginia Tech Fashion Show... Best in Show

Last Thursday was a lot of fun. I brought a guest, so my opinionated inner thoughts had a listening ear this time, as well as a second pair of eyes to point out things I normally wouldn't catch. As always with Student designers, I tend to look for good fabric choices, clean finishing, shape and fit versus a collection of wow pieces.

I felt like I saw a lot of pieces that I would call "Friday night out on the town for the post-grad aged (so not too inappropriate in the hem lines). This is my third year going to the show at Virginia Tech, and I think in general I'd like to see more floor length garments from the designers since the shows are always dress heavy, but all and all I was again very impressed with the work by the designers.

So in no particular order, here are my top picks.

Any garment with stripes is tricky, the brain can process uneven and unconnected lines very quickly without the need of a reference point (measuring tape, or a bubble level). The angled vertical stripes gave a nice cinching effect in the waistline and horizontal stripes on top finished creating the "hourglass" figure of this mini. The sheer fabric at the top of the dress was a nice touch, giving just enough of an illusion that the dress could be strapless, but not really. You'll notice in the photos I picked, the pearl neckline was a accruing theme all night. (design by Amelia & Michelle)

This dress was definitely "fierce" which I think was the theme of the night. I liked the contrast in fabrics, matte black, black leather, and that taupe with black polka dots were a great combo. The horizontal layering of leather on the side of the skirt added a lot of interest, and the darting in the bust kept this dress from looking flat and added quite a bit of "sexy" to the design. I think you could go with or without the leather collar, I'm curious how much that would tame this dress. (design by Kelsy Dominick)

This was probably the simplest out of the three dresses I picked for best in show, however I liked the fabric for being simple and chic. I think what I liked the most, with white cotton/linen type material, I could see the stitch work easily. All the lines were super clean, great tapers and curve gave this pearl neck, A-line dress such a clean feminine feel. (Now where can I buy this dress is the question.)

For the most part, this is really just a big ass shirt. A super bright, colorful and fun, big ass shirt. I feel like you can't just roll into the fabric shop and find tulle pre-dyed in rad colors, so some work was to be had (I hope). I do feel the designer could have spent a bit more time cleaning up the layers at the bottom, but I know tulle can be a pain in to work with. Even if they cheated and found this tulle "pre-made in awesome colors," the skirt is too cute. (Another garment I want to buy - design by Kris Kern)

Well done.