(Ponytail holder from Nordstrom)

The Brooks Museum is one my all-time favorite museums locally. They have great exhibits, but they also have awesome nighttime events. 

Another nighttime event at The Brooks is "Ponytails & Cocktails" workshop which coincides with their Tomboys and Angels exhibit. It takes place from 6-7 p.m. Thursday, April 25th at The Brooks Museum, 1934 Poplar Ave.

The event, which is $25 ($20 for members), brings Epic Total Salon hairstylist Cyndii Jo Hartley. Hartley will be demonstrating up-dos, such as ponytails, braids, and buns.

Each attendee will receive a swag bag with hairstyling tools, as well as complimentary (Cathead) vodka cocktails.

Reservations are required and can be made by calling  901.544.6208 or via the web.

According to attorney Pamela Williams Kelly, this overview of trademark law is a great primer for any person with intellectual property and runs the gamut from protecting a slogan to protecting a fashion designer's distinctive fabric pattern.

The Hottest Fashion Show of the Year in Honor of Black History Month Set to Hit South Main

Memphis, TN: Noir, the color black in French, is the first of an annual Fashion Show & Soiree set to hit the Historic Arts District of South Main. Hosted by a number of local Black business owners, the night promises to highlight the style and flair of a diverse community of entrepreneurs.   This event will serve as not only an outlet to promote black owned businesses in fashion, but to also serve as a platform for the local fashion industry to give back to the community at a venue that just happens to be a few blocks from the National Civil Rights Museum. Noir will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2013 at Central Station Hudson Hall (545 S. Main St.) at 5pm.

Many of these local brands will be debuting their collections on the runway for the first time. The participating businesses include boutiques K’PreSha, The Main Event and Divine Rags. Online stores include, The Chic Urban Closet, JenUinely Chic, Dare Threads Vintage and Society for AllKind. Local clothing designers/brands will dominate the show as they include a variation from children lines’ Sweet Kisses and SewKute; street wear/urban brands Destination 9 Accouter, G. Ink, No Love Get Money, Rough Feathers, Flight of Fancy, Brand Name Clothing Co. and Bodacious Bodywear. Handbag designer, Quistt Dezigns and cut and sew designers, Cashmir Clothing, Fabulously Exclusive, AMorris Collection, Prepared Fashion and Terial Lee are ready to rip the runway.

Of course we can’t have fashion without beauty and hair, which is why Natural Divinity Salon, Geno’s Professional Salon and Penny Hardaway’s Christyle’s Celebrity Salon will grace the runway with a couture hair show. Pouts & Winks, a local cosmetic company, will treat our guests to a beauty bar set up for attendees to sample products and potentially get chosen for mini-makeovers.

Service will also be a focal point, as Black business owners invite the Memphis community to give back to the very communities that have continually supported them.  Each business has contributed money towards a local charity but they are inviting local citizens to pay it forward to improve the lives of young people and communities that resemble the entrepreneurs – before they knew their potential to be a success.

At 5pm, the fashion show will take over South Main with an array of fashions featuring these exclusive designers.  Models will walk the runway along with the bustle of South Main’s Trolley and local musical artists ranging from genres of blues, R&B, Rock, Hip-Hop, and Jazz. “We are inviting all of Memphis to come and enjoy the show and get to know the businesses that the neighborhood is home to while raising funds for local charities,” says Kimberly Taylor, owner of K’PreSha and organizer of the event. She adds, “We will have giveaways throughout the night and once the show is over get ready to ‘soiree’ on the dance floor.”

About Noir Fashion Show & Soiree – Tickets are available for sale in person at K’PreSha Boutique 323 S. Main St. or online at www.noirfashionshow.eventbrite.com. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25/Door and limited VIP seating is available for $40. Attendees can take advantage of giveaways, door prizes and mini makeovers. VIPs will feel like the star of the show with backstage access to meet the designers and business owners and star treatment throughout the night. For questions or press inquiries, contact organizer Kimberly Taylor by email at kpreshaclothing@gmail.com or by phone at 901-523-2433.

On Sunday, the second Memphis Cash Mob will be taking over Literacy MidSouth, 902 S. Cooper St.

The cash mob has three rules: (try to) spend $20, meet three new people, and be patient and kind.

Cash mobs are a national occurence where people are encouraged to support small, local businesses en masse for a little economic stimulation.  

This round, all the businesses are women-owned and 10 percent of proceeds benefit Literacy MidSouth.

Memphis Cash Mob has published a list that includes There was Eden; Gwynevere Creations; Sweaterlove; Mama y Wawa; Bridgman Pottery; Lorraine Havelka; Martha Kelly Art; Elizabeth Alley; Red Thread; Moon Mama Pottery; Carolyn Dodson-King; Metal and Mud; Rock, Paper, Sciscors; Sew Memphis; Thigh High Jeans; Distracted Renegade; Jennifer Sargent, Get Stitchy, Greta Hauberg; and Eb's Cookies.

For more information, check out Memphis Cash Mob on Facebook.

This event is designed as a meet and greet for local fashion bloggers and local fashion designers (clothes, accessories, and shoes).

Designers are asked to bring a press kit/information and samples of their product.

I am definitely looking forward to this!

Will you be attending?

K'Presha, located at 323 S. Main, is looking for vendors to set up tables inside of the store during its Small Business Saturday event on Nov. 24.

For more information, email kpreshaclothing@gmail.com

You can also find Ego Fashion Models on Facebook.

The Sewing into Dreams Fashion Gala 2012 will take place Thursday, Nov. 15 at Clark Memphis Opera Center.

The featured designer, Lauren Alexandria Lewis, is a cancer survivor who got treatment at St. Jude Children's Hospital. This event is her way of giving back to the hospital.The other designers are also youth; aged 8 to 17.

The gala will consist of a fashion production, dinner, and silent auction with over 100 items.

Tickets are on sale for $40 (tickets will go up to $50 after Nov. 5th).

ALL proceeds from this event benefit St. Jude.

To make a donation and/or purchase a tickets please visit http://www.sewingintodreams.org or call 901-275-4169. 

Beale Street Chic was in attendance at last year's fundraiser. You can check out a recap here.