Nouveau event at Madewell!

After tea at the Ritz (more about that here) I headed over to Scottsdale Fashion Square to attend the ACI Nouveau event at the new Madewell store.  So much fun!  Lots of fun people, yummy cupcakes, and fabulous summer fashion ideas and inspiration from Courtney McEntire of Madewell and Nouveau's own Casey Hagerty and Celine Hacche.  Seeing their fabulous picks almost makes me ready for summer!...Almost.  A special thanks to all those who came out for the event and to Courtney and the whole Madewell team for making us feel so welcome.

Here are some of the pictures I took at the event.  Enjoy!

xx
Andrea

Courtney gives us her pics and tips.

Then it's Celine's turn.

And finally Casey shares her favorites.

(For more pics by Casey, see her blog Avant Girl here.)

Out with a bang! ACI 2nd Wednesday Finale "Tea at the Ritz"

This year has been an amazing year for programming with the ACI and we've had some incredible speakers come to give lectures as part of the 2nd Wednesday series at the museum.  However, every year for the last 2nd Wednesday we like to shake things up and take the party offsite.  This year we descended on the Tea Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton in Phoenix.  Members and guests in their finest and smartest suits and dresses (and fabulous hats!) arrived for the Royal Tea service at the Ritz, presented by none other than the tea master himself, Jeffrey Hattrick.  Champagne and tea flowed freely as the ladies and gentlemen present sat back for more than two hours of chatting and watching a fabulous informal fashion show presented by Neiman Marcus.

The event was a fabulous, sold-out success and as one of the organizers and ACI Programming Co-Chair I would like to add a personal thank you to ACI President Natalie Kaan, ACI Programming Co-Chair Helen Bobince, Jeffrey Hattrick and the Ritz-Carlton, and Neiman Marcus and Lisa Pagel for their help and support in putting together this fabulous event.

For those who weren't able to attend, I hope you enjoy these pictures.

xx
Andrea

President Natalie Kaan welcoming the guests

Jeffrey Hattrick getting the tea service started.

The fashion show was fabulous and so much fun!

Loving the poppy print on this dress.

Does it get any better than scones with Devonshire cream?  I think not.

From mini fruit tarts to Scottish shortbread, the Ritz has it all!

I've always loved carousels, so I fell in LOVE with this Judith Leiber bag! 

Posing with the incoming 2012-2013 ACI President Gail Adams.

2011-2012 ACI Programming Co-Chairs. Helen Bobince (left) and I!  Job done, we were happy to sit back and enjoy the tea.

Not to sound like I'm imitating Rachel Zoe, but I die for this dress.  Seriously.

Lois Alberts thanks Natalie for all her hard work this year as President of ACI. Thanks Natalie!  From all of us.

Jeffrey concludes the event by honoring and delighting us all with a song.

ACI Annual General Meeting, April 11th, 2012

Hello all!  I hope you all are surviving the summer temperatures that have arrived.  With summer arriving that means that the regular season of the Arizona Costume Institute is coming to an end.  Last month on April 11th, we had our Annual General Meeting.  If you've never attended I would encourage you to mark your calendars for April 10th of 2013 when our next AGM will be held, as always, at the Phoenix Art Museum.  For those members who are new to the ACI or those who are considering, the AGM is a great way to get to know the ACI a little better and get to know the incoming executive board that is elected into office on that day.  This year we welcomed:

Gail Adams - 2012-2013 President
Jan Herwick - 2013-2014 President Elect
Andrea Severson - 2014-2015 President Elect
Karen LeDonne - Recording Secretary
Lois Alberts - Corresponding Secretary
Donita Young - Treasurer
Natalie Kaan - Past President/Nominating Chair
Ronna Beeson - Member at Large
Eileen Sullivan - Member at Large

We're all very excited to keep the momentum going that 2011-2012 President Natalie Kaan and her Board of Directors started and make the coming season as wonderful and exciting for our members as this past season has been.  If you're not yet a member of ACI or ACI Nouveau this is a perfect time to join and we always welcome seeing new faces at our events.

The other fun part about the AGM is that we also get to hear from our fabulous curator, Dennita Sewell, on all the incredible things the Fashion Department achieved throughout the year.  This year we recapped the two exhibitions, Giorgio di Sant' Angelo (Sept 17, 2011-Feb 12, 2012) and The Sea (on display until July 15th).  Dennita also shared some of the wonderful new pieces the department was able to acquire for the collection.  For those who weren't in attendance, here's some pictures to show you what you missed.

xx
Andrea