Tuesday, October 13, through Sunday, October 18 Spa Week Washington’s semiannual Spa Week in Washington offers select $50 treatments at more than 50 participating retailers. Click here for full details.
Boutique Week Get your boutique fix in Old Town with the first annual Boutique Week fest. Retailers throughout the Alexandria neighborhood will offer discounts, special promotions, wine, and trunk shows. One lucky shopper will receive a grand-prize package with a one-night stay at the Morrison House Hotel as well as an Old Town shopping spree. To be eligible, shoppers will need to fill out an entry form by October 22 and have stamps from at least five retailers. For details, click here.
Spa Week runs through October 18, and there are lots of venues and treatments to choose from, so newbie and regular spagoers are probably wondering where they’ll get the best bang for their buck. So we developed a handy guide for the novice (Spa Week 101), a refresher for the occasional spagoer (Spa Week 201), and a suggestions list (Spa Week 301) for the regular. Any way you look at it, you’re sure to find some much-needed relaxation.
SPA WEEK 101
What’s Spa Week? Twice a year, Spa Week hits cities across the country. For one week—and sometimes longer—spas discount three treatments to $50 each.
How do I participate? It’s free—you just have to register on SpaWeek.com. You’ll get some e-mail reminders, and it’s fairly simple to opt out at any time.
What spas participate? The list changes every year, but more than 50 spas in DC, Maryland, and Virginia join each season.
We stop a PhD student who’s smart about the way she dresses.
Lesley-Anne Pittard, 29 PhD student, education-policy studies, University of Virginia
What she’s wearing: A skirt she bought in high school, a sweater from Ann Taylor, a department-store belt, and cowboy-style boots from either T.J. Maxx or Marshalls.
What’s your style philosophy? “My work is all about equal access, equal opportunity, and inclusion, and I relate that to my wardrobe. If you believe in those things, it flows into your language, your attitude, and your appearance. I’ll be honest—I don’t really shop that much. I like nice things, but I try to consider myself a role model with what I wear.”
How would you describe your look? “Traditional eclectic. I can get away with more because I’m tall.”
What do you think about stylish women in powerful roles in Washington, such as Michelle Obama? “Now that we have a First Lady of color, I feel more affirmed in my look. It’s a fact that people see what you have on before they see you, and she has managed to be strong but have flair and personality. It makes me feel like I, too, can be at the table.”
Your tan lines are fading, work is piling up like the bags under your eyes, and the looming holiday season is sure to knock your bikini-ready body back to square one.
No need to fret—Spa Week is coming. Get plucked, peeled, and pampered at more than 60 local spas starting October 12 for just $50. Full-service treatments at the businesses included on Spa Week’s DC database usually cost $100 to $200 or more, but the week’s discounts make much-deserved indulgence even sweeter.
From a previous Sidewalk Style subject, we learned that books could be used as fashion accessories, but who knew pets could also be part of a look? “I guess he’s an accessory, too” joked hairstylist Eduardo Bravo of Buddha, his adorable year-old Yorkie, when we stopped him in Georgetown. A Louis Vuitton bag, DSquared jeans, an Urban Outfitters T-shirt, and Ray-Ban sunglasses completed Bravo’s self described “classic nerdy look.” See the video below to find out more about Bravo’s style and what he thinks is the look to have this fall season.
Where: Piazza Sempione at the Collection at Chevy Chase.
Admission: Free, but it was an invitation-only event.
Around 100 of Washington’s well-heeled set showed up in Chevy Chase last night for a grand-opening fête for the Italian designer line Piazza Sempione, who opened its latest stand-alone store late last month. The party, sponsored in conjunction with Vogue magazine, included free appetizers and Champagne as well as a DJ, in-store modeling, and an exclusive spring 2010 trunk show with a 15-percent discount on purchases.
This Halloween, don’t get caught at the bar wearing the same Kate Gosselin wig or one-gloved Michael Jackson ensemble as everyone else. Get original—and the Shakespeare Theatre Company can help. This Sunday, the theater’s costume shop is opening its collection of surplus stock for public sale. The pieces, accumulating since the last sale three years ago, will take over the three levels of the lobby at Sidney Harman Hall from 1 to 6.
Because the theater has covered a lot of Shakespearean ground since 2006—remember Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Macbeth?—the selection is diverse. Period details such as doublets, cloaks, and armor pull an elaborate character together—or check out some of the unexpected options, such as animal headdresses or 1960s mod fashions. And it’s not just clothes, either: There’ll be jewelry, masks, and props such as sculpted wedding rings and table settings from The Taming of the Shrew.
Gone are the robust bureaus for the Los Angeles Times, Newhouse News, and other once-healthy news organizations. Digital media bureaus now are taking their places with as many reporters and plenty of swagger.
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