Christian Louboutin / Bergdorf Goodman : The Contest, Part 3...

The night of the event finally arrived! The dress code for the party was red and I ran all over the city the weekend before trying to find the perfect dress... and shoes... and bag. I'm not a very fancy person and realized throughout all of this that I own absolutely zero fancy clothes!

At this point I was exhausted, had been working non-stop on this thing for a month, and just wanted to survive it all. I finally found a cute little shift dress, some sparkly tights, black satin bow pumps, and fun chandelier earrings. I had no idea what to expect... I imagined everyone wearing Louboutins and ball gowns!

As it turned out, not everyone was dressed to the nines and I felt completely comfortable in my little red dress. Before we all went up to the shoe salon, the models wearing all five winning designs posed for a group shot. I jumped in the pic along with another designer, Hyeyoung Kim. 

The highlight of the night was meeting Mr. Louboutin himself and having him sign my dress! He was so sweet and reserved. I also met Linda Fargo, Fashion Director of Bergdorf's. She was fabulously dressed in a sparkly 30's style flapper dress and had tattooed herself all over with sequin hearts and stars. Half way through the night, a Marilyn Monroe impersonator brought out a cake and sang 'Happy Anniversary Mr. Louboutin.' Everyone celebrated with delicious cake pops!

After eating, drinking, and dancing it was time to go home. I finished my fairy tale night with some delicious macarons that my lovely coworkers gifted me...

Well that sure was an adventure! I'm so grateful for the opportunity and am so appreciative of all the support from family and friends. And I have to thank the BF profusely for putting up with my crying/cursing/maniac self the past month. Okay, now that's done... back to reality =)

*Missed Part 1 & 2?

Christian Louboutin / Bergdorf Goodman : The Contest, Part 1...

Wow. This past month has been unforgettable. I want to document everything and share it all with you because I'm so relieved and happy that it was all worth it in the end! Let's start from the very beginning...

Back in November I received an e-mail from my alma mater, Parsons, alerting 2010 and 2011 graduates of a design contest collaboration with Bergdorf Goodman and Christian Louboutin. This past year marked his 20th anniversary in the business and to celebrate, he challenged recent alumni to design a look based on one of his soon-to-be-released capsule collection shoes.

There would be 5 winners in the end, all would receive $1,000 to fund the creation of their look as well as press at the launch party event and gifts from both Bergdorf Goodman and Christian Louboutin.

I jumped at the chance to participate and received an image of the shoe I would use as inspiration for my look. It was a beautifully sheer, lace stiletto boot- the Alta Dentelle. I immediately thought of an image I had saved from the November issue of Vogue Mexico... fur, lace, a pink lip and attitude. I did a bunch of rough sketches before settling on my final design then sent in my mood board and hoped for the best.

The top 20 designs were selected by Parsons faculty and sent to Linda Fargo and Christian himself to choose the top 5. Just before Christmas, I found out I had made the first cut. At this point I was half thrilled and half scared to death.. it had been over two years since I had draped anything on a form, my sewing machine was covered in dust, and I knew if I won, I'd have to actually make the thing. And that was terrifying!

Either way, I figured it could at least go on my resume that I was a finalist, so I was pretty much content with the way things were. And then after New Year's I got the congratulatory e-mail from Parsons... and couldn't believe it! The next three weekends I knew what I'd be doing. Armed with all my supplies, I got started that very weekend and worked on it every free moment I had for the next three weeks... stay tuned for pics of the dress in progress and the final reveal at Bergdorf's!

* Continue to Part 2... and 3!