Saintandre.ws

The Sophie Butler Charity Fashion Show at the Old Course Hotel was a wonderfully surprising way to spend Halloween night. Although the event didn’t bombard town with advertising, the tables sold out quickly and the 30 pound seats were taken. The show was held in the Hall of Champions (where Refee Afrique was last year, if you went), and the venue was decorated with a minimal elegance, letting the ballroom itself do most of the work. The audience was a refreshing combination of about 1/3 students and 2/3 benefactors and community members out to support the cause and bid on auction items. As a result, the atmosphere remained polished and intimate, with the bar able to serve people quickly with nobody pushing. It’s amazing how a mature crowd contributes to that sort of thing.

The content of the show itself was again, an inspiring surprise. Divided into three parts: Festival gear, Urban wear, and Lingerie/Evening wear; the team that sourced the clothing for the show chose to use mostly St. Andrews shops. They used pieces from St. Andrews’ favorite new additions, Fox & Bhut, Joules, and La Boutique. Also styled extremely well were outfits from Superdry, Ness, and Shmooz, showing how unexpectedly wearable (and charitable) many St. Andrews boutiques are.

The first half of the show was certainly more fashion forward than the second half (lingerie and evening wear), but mood stayed energized and lighthearted. Some of our favorite moments were the red Joules wellies used to accessories many of the Festival outfits (you know how we feel about red boots here at Saintandre.ws), and of course the models’ curly, Marie Antoinette-esque hair. It’s fantastically clear what a difference professional styling makes in the whole presentation of the show. The entire show took about a month to throw together, and based on the great quality of the event, that’s very, very (very) impressive.

(photos via Kate Andrews)