If you’ve been following me for a while now, you know every October you’re going to see a shot of me, in front of the Tobin, wearing a ball gown that’s far outside my norm of yoga pants and mom jeans. This is the fourth year for the San Antonio Fashion Awards (!!) and my glam squad came through this go around as always. Although, this year I hired an up and coming stylist named Cora Mendez-Valdez to help me select my dress. 😉 See how she did and find out all the details leading up to San Antonio’s most glamorous night.
My first stop was to my all-time favorite dress shop in town, Gautier Dresses. The owner Grace is always finding the most exquisite gowns that don’t feel like the standard prom dresses EVERYONE has seen before. She’s located in La Cantera, so Cora and I buzzed over there one day after school to pick something up. Cora wanted EVERYTHING in the store as well, so I think Grace should start carrying youth sizes as well! 😉 This was the dress that ALMOST made the cut. I was seriously torn, but then realized since I wasn’t presenting an award or nominated this year, I’d rather wear something manageable and practical from a wearability standpoint. But I absolutely LOVED the back detail and felt like a constellation with all the shimmer and shine. Luckily Grace herself ended up wearing a similar design to the awards, so the gorgeous example of her aesthetic still had a chance to shine on the red carpet!
Next up, the afternoon of the awards I headed to Blo Dominion Ridge for hair and makeup. Most people think of Blo when they simply want a blow out, but I actually love their makeup services as well! It’s so nice to get it all done in one place, and they now have THREE artists who can do both hair and makeup so they could even accommodate a group! We went with a delicate flower crown that I picked up at H&M (ha!), and jewels from Gautier as well. Since my dress was very woodland fairy, I was going for romantic, ethereal tresses to match. Then for makeup we went with dewy, barely there glow and a bold lip to accentuate the mauve colors of my dress and flower crown.
So here’s the final look! I added a gold arm cuff to edge up the very feminine look, and my fellow FGI board members decided I was a woodland fairy warrior, if ever a thing existed. The best part of the Fashion Awards is you’ll be surrounded by creatives pushing the style limits, so you can toe the line of “costume-y” and not be even the least bit out of place. This is an event where it’s not only acceptable to stand out, it’s encouraged. We walked the red carpet, enjoyed a fantastic evening, great weather, and inspiration in abundance. I’m so proud of the San Antonio fashion community for continuing to embrace this event and all the nominees, our talent only continues to grow. Congratulations, of course, to all the winners!
Photo: SA Monthly Magazine
Photo: San Antonio Express-News
Thanks again to my glam squad for helping me transform for the evening. The following morning it was back to the grind of waking kids up for school at the crack of dawn. So I find every Fall that I need the San Antonio Fashion Awards to be reinspired, reinvigorated, and reintroduced to so many in our community just killing it for the greater good. Bravo San Antonio, I love you!
XO,
A
P.S. This post is sponsored by Gautier Dresses. Don’t worry though, all opinions are my own!
