Baltimore Small Tales: A place to read about hopes, thoughts, dreams, tragedies, and triumphs.

Last night a number of bands on Baltimore's Birdnote Records label including Avec, Bellflur, Solar Temple Suicides, Brief Candles, and Thrushes played at the Windup Space as part of the first annual Baltimore Independent Music & Arts Festival (BiMA). I showed up right before Thrushes went on, below see a song from the set they played.

The Ottobar, Charm City Art Space, and other venues around town have held shows as  part of the BiMA.fest the past couple of nights. Tonight is the final night. To see who's playing, check out the full schedule here.

This year I made it to Baltimore Fashion Week. For those that know about the disaster that I brought upon myself last year, looking back on it now is pretty laughable since I happen to pass by last year's location every evening on my way home from work.

Anyhow, the event "The Difference is in the Style" last Friday, Aug. 20, featured six  designers that showed six completely different collections. Three were from Maryland, while three were from other states. While I could harp on the negative aspects of some of the looks I saw, I'm going to concentrate on only the positive as I believe that everyone that showed there that night was talented in one way or another. Hell, I don't even know how to thread a sewing machine without it taking multiple attempts so who am I to call anyone out on a bad look.  Here is my rundown of the designers and looks presented that night:

• Rimarjo (Richard Jones, Maryland): Presented sportswear and streetwear for both men and women, including a lot of bulky vests, jackets, bold and bright colors. The best part: Great details on denim. I noticed a lot of patterns, studs and sequins on the back pockets, which if done badly could've been a disaster. But it worked really well for this collection. I like the designer's name, Richard Jones, as the designer name better than the one he's going by. 
• Suede (Minnesota): Showed summer looks with a lot of beige, brown, and earthy tones. The best part: Really interesting pieces that I could never pull off, but the models on the runway could. Most, if not the entire collection was made of leather or suede with tasteful, not tacky, ways to tie up the top in the back.
  
• Sean Anthony (New Jersey): Presented womenswear ranging from formal to casual ranging from jumpers to dresses. A lot of blues and whites, which seemed nautical at times. The best part: It had to have been the most classic look on the runway, but I absolutely fell in love with this simple, deep blue dress that hit the model perfectly at the knee. It was perfect and if I could buy that dress, I would!
• The Jackie Collection (Valerie S. Williams, Maryland): Introduced spring and summer dresses and separates for women with a lot of bright, fresh colors. The best part: The retro inspiration. I'm a huge fan of old looks taking a new form.
• j.ROBERT (Maryland): Showed a multidimensional collection that showcased exceptionally raw talent. The wide range of looks were styled well with large chunky belts that provided a great contrast to some of the softer looking pieces.  The best part: The clean stitching of the sheer fabric used for most, if not all, of the looks. I was sitting in the front row so I could see if there were flaws and the assembly of each piece was done meticulously and carefully, fitting the models perfectly.
  
• Brazilian Bezel Swimwear (New York): Presented men's and women's suits in a variety of cuts, colors, and styles. Bikinis, suits with geometrical cutouts, one shoulder looks, retro looking two-piece with pockets, a one piece with lace, you name it we probably saw it. The best part: The suits looked great on all the models and the runway show itself was creative. Guys met girls on the catwalk and sometimes they came out holding hands. You can tell a lot of thought was put in to how the looks were going to be presented. I snapped a quick video of the very end, see below.

It was better to have been there, believe me.

So would I recommend checking out Baltimore Fashion Week again next year? Yeah. Do I hope that I get to go? Hell yeah!

To sum up, it was awesome!