On my way to College Couture Week at University of Illinois!!

It all started on Twitter...

I noticed a new Twitter follower. When I went to her timeline,  I realized she was a fashion blogger and University of Illinois student. When I told her that U of I was my alma mater, she informed me that something exciting was brewing on campus and that she was going to send me an email about it. That "something" turned out to be U of I's first ever COLLEGE COUTURE WEEK!! A fashion week at U of I?! I couldn't wait to learn more and see how I could help. THEN, she told me that she was the President and Founder of the event AND that the planning committee would like for me to speak at one of the fashion seminars!

What. An. Honor! Speaking about fashion at my alma mater? I was down!

And who is this "she"? She is the lovely Jennifer Ruppert, creator of the Turquoise Lagoon blog and new intern to the amazing Sarah Vargo, whose widely known for her MAVEN Diva and Divo Series.

In addition to speaking about my blog and the Chicago fashion scene, I was able to secure a local vintage shop owner, my girl Jillian of Joules Jewels, for the College Couture Week finale runway show. The committee (shown below) also have student designers as well as Tom and John's Chocolate Factory, Ciano Von Jo Designs, Evil Kitty and Bucketfeet on board for the runway show!




back row (l-r) Thomas Mui, Kenneth Crowder, John Jeong
front row (l-r) Jenn Ruppert, Leah Sammak, Caroline Smagacz

College Couture Week is officially underway and I'll be making my way to Champaign today for "Fashion Talk" where I'll be speaking along with U of I's Fashion Design professor, Susan Becker.

*Of course, I'll also be live tweeting while I'm there.*

The full itinerary is below. But you can also visit CollegeCoutureWeekUIUC.com for more details on the events and sponsors. This committee has been working HARD!

April 10th - Illini's Next Top Model
April 11th - Illini's Next Top Model Finalists
April 12th - Fashion Talk with Nora Del Busto
April 13th - Fashion Talk with Professor Susan Becker and ChiTown Fashionista creator Nikia Jefferson (Illini Union Room 406, 5PM)
April 13th - Trunk Show (Illini Ballroom, 7PM)
April 14th - Couture Night Out (Clybourne, 9PM)
April 17th - College Couture Runway Show (Illini Union ABC Rooms, 5PM)

Additionally, the proceeds will benefit Designers Against AIDS (DAA).

If you're in the area, definitely stop by. And if not, consider making the drive on Sunday to attend the finale runway show. I'll certainly be there because I know it's going to be thebomb.com. Plus, who doesn't want to support this outstanding committee and all of their efforts?

Hope to see you there!