RVA Grooves: Chrisette Michele

 Last Friday kicked off the start of this Summers RVA Grooves concert series, Ms. Chrisette Michele was the first artist to grace The Hippodrome Stage, all I can say is that this woman put on a hell of a show! Of course I was already a fan of her music, the unique tone of her voice is simply beautiful! Her energy and aura are absolutely amazing, she has such a personable demeanor, which is one of the things I love about her. She sang lots of her classic hits like "Girlfriend", a snippet of "Aston Martin Music" and lots of other material from her previous albums. Throughout her entire set she interacted with the audience, told a few personal stories, and right when we thought the show was over she came back to the stage and began singing classic Jazz melodies like "God Bless the Child" then she began scatting, which at that point she blew me away! Chrisette Michele puts on such a great live show, this woman can truly sang, yes sang! The ambiance of The Hippodrome (which is one of RVA's most popular and historic theater's) makes it the perfect venue to host artist such as her, its intimate feel and classic vibe provide a great backdrop for musicians like Chrisette. Folks if you live in the Richmond area or surrounding cities please make sure you come out this Summer and support the RVA Grooves concert series! Artist such as El Dabarge, Raekwon of the Wu- Tang Clan, and Kelly Price will also be gracing The Hippodrome Stage. So come out enjoy some great food, a cocktail, and unwind its the perfect way to kick start your weekend.

Yours truly! 

Photos by: David Lowell

For more info on the RVA Grooves concert series check out rvagrooves.com

RVAFW Recap!

Now that I had the chance to share my looks from RVA Fashion Week with you guys, I'm now going to actually do a little recap of all that went down. My friend/ photographer David Lowell arrived just in time to capture some great moments from last Friday nights show at The Broadberry, I must say out of all of the events I attended that was probably my favorite! I cant say this enough the energy in that room during the Designer Showcase was absolutely amazing, the host for the evening was Ms. Kelli Lemon a fellow Richmonder who is well known for hosting lots of events around town, she was a perfect fit for this event. Saturday nights Boutique Showcase at The National was great as well I loved being able to see what pieces local boutiques are carrying this season, and Sundays City Skyline Trunk Show at City Hall Observation Deck closed out the week. Its always great to be around so many like minded creative individuals, I really enjoy being able to network and build relationships with fellow bloggers and lovers of fashion. I love the fact that Richmond is really making a name for itself when it comes to art and creative individuals putting life back into this city. So many galleries, boutiques, and fresh new designers have emerged over the past few years and I find it to be so refreshing! To all my Richmonders please make sure you're coming out to support local businesses, designers, galleries etc. so that it can continue to flourish!

The Designer Showcase at The Broadberry

Boutique Showcase at The National

Love this dress!

Bike races were also going on the same weekend as RVAFW, great back drop for a photo : )

City Skyline Trunk Show at City Hall Observation Deck

A little glimpse of the races..

RVA!

My looks from RVA Fashion Week!

So, as you most likely already know if you're one of my regular readers, or you follow my Instagram I had the honor on being on board this year as one of RVA Fashion Week's badged bloggers. This gave me VIP access to all of the events that were being held all week long. Unfortunately with my busy schedule I wasn't able to attend my first event until Friday night, which was the Designer Showcase which was held at a new venue called The Broadberry! The energy in that room was absolutely amazing the show including designs from Chilalay, Abigail Mpofu, and lots of other wonderful local designers! When I arrived to the venue the line was already halfway down the sidewalk, so I knew this was going to be a pretty dope evening! I had access to a lovely VIP lounge that was lined with white sofas, I sat down for a few minutes but with a good DJ, drinks, and a room full of energetic souls I ended up standing for most of the night. My look for that night was something fun and light I ended up going with my leopard dress and faux leather vest, which I actually wore to VA Fashion Week last year. Yes, I'm definitely a repeat offender, I mean why buy something if your only going to wear it once or twice, its so funny because I have friends that are like "I cant wear that again I've already posted pictures on Insta with me in this outfit", I am definitely not that girl! If anything I love showing how to create various looks utilizing the same pieces. So, anyway I paired it with my Timbs, which were perfect being that I was on my feet all night. I went with a bit more dressier looks for that other events I attended over the weekend which were the Boutique Fashion Show, which was held at The National and the City Skyline Trunk Show at City Hall Observation Deck. On Saturday night I went with my white crochet H&M dress, wooden cut- out LuLu's platforms, and my favorite yellow clutch from Anne Taylor, and on Sunday I decided to go with my vintage yellow beaded top I purchased from Fan Tastic Thrift, high-waisted pip- lined black pants from H&M, and my ASOS heels! Here are some amazing shoots captured my my good friend and photographer David Lowell!

Designer Showcase at The Broadberry

Boutique Showcase at The National

As soon as I walked up to the venue I saw my Dress Twin and fellow blogger from River City Uprising! She looked so pretty and was really sweet so of course we had to take some pics together!

My bracelet was actually hooked on to my dress at this point lol!

Excuse my wind blown expression its super windy atop 20 stories, I did the best I could : )

I ended up running into an old co worker/ friend of mine whom I've known for many years and fell in love with her super edgy cut!

This is when I actually took advantage of the wind per the direction of my friend/ photographer it made for some really dope shots. 

Stay tuned for more to come on my experiences at RVAFW coming later this week, have a wonderful week folks!