Andy Cohen brings the mazel to Bethesda's Front Row

Bravo's Andy Cohen's new book,
Most Talkative

The 411 on Bethesda’s Front Row fashion show:
Bravo’s Andy Cohen will be the three-day event’s VIP guest
It’s official: The date’s been set for Bethesda’s fourth annual Front Row fashion event—Thursday through Friday, May 19-21. And this year, Fashion show Friday's VIP guest is reality show master Andy Cohen, an executive producer at Bravo TV in charge of all of those Real Housewives as well as host of the network’s offbeat talk show, Watch What Happens Live. Front Row VIPs in previous years include publicist and author Kelly Cutrone and fashion designer Christian Siriano.

The Front Row kicks off Thursday, May 19, with the Washington premiere of God Save My Shoes, an appropriately fashionable documentary exploring the enigmatic relationship between women and their footwear. The eclectic cast includes celebrities as well as design luminaries Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik. Friday night is a live runway fashion show including Bethesda Row boutiques Ginger, Luna, Wear It Well, Sassanova and Urban Chic.

Saturday, May 21 brings style to the kiddies with their own special fashion event. All three days will be filled with sales, trunk shows and special events. Though this is what’s on tap so far, there may be more in the works. Please check the website www.bethesdarow.com for updates.  All events are free and open to the public, though some may require RSVPs.

This Equinox is hot!

Confidence! Balance! So are the terms redefined by fashion photographer Terry Richardson in Equinox gym's new ad campaign. When new Chief Marketing Officer Cie Nicholson came on, Terry Richardson's "gritty" fashion shots entered the scene. The press release says "...the goal of the new 'By Equinox' campaign was to blur the lines between fashion, fitness and lifestyle by capturing intimate moments that reveal the benefits of fitness without overtly focusing on the act itself." Um, yeah, those benefits ultimately do accrue. Really, folks! Hot doesn't happen in a flash (excuse the pun). But strong does have its rewards. Richardson has shot for icons like Gucci, Lagerfeld, Miu Miu and Chloe and his fashion savvy makes it clear that sweating it out in the gym can have a more glam counterpart.

Designer Robin Brouillette at Julia Farr--tonight

Get a jump on the holiday and gala season. Join Julia Farr from 5:30 - 8:30 in her new boutique to meet designer Robin Brouillette and enjoy champagne, hors d'oeuvres and a trunk show of her lovely evening gowns.

Anthropologie & Austin

Ok, so I just got back from Albuquerque and Santa Fe, I know. And while I'm trying to adjust to the buckets of rain falling from our Washington skies, I get hit with this--the latest Anthropologie catalog shot partly in Austin, Texas, another fave city dear to my heart (and the capital city of the state in which I was born). What is it about Austin--the outrageously good music, the fantastic restaurants, funky architecture-- that makes good fashion sense come so easily to its real-life residents? And the catalog makers here got it just right. Culture + color = real life clothes that meld seamlessly into their surroundings--Deep Eddy, Alamo Drafthouse, Guero's Taco Bar. What better style statement is there? I'm going to hit up Anthro in Rockville today and see if I can bring a little of that Texas ease into my Bethesda burbs. I know, I know it's not Texas, it's just a store, but they got me feeling it. And that's the mark of a job well done.