A VEIN Sense of Style

Lucky Penny and Shear Shakti’s seventh biannual fashion show, VEIN, looks the way it sounds. Both fragile and threatening, the name “VEIN” is a seductive play on the word, “vain.”

“We got the inspiration from the Tim Burton issue in Harper’s Bazaar,” said Jennele Vaquera, owner of Lucky Penny, a clothing store in downtown Boone. “It’s very dark, but still pretty.”

VEIN Fashion Show will be held at 8:30 p.m., with doors opening at 8 p.m., on Friday, Oct. 19.

The show will take place in Shear Shakti Salon above Lucky Penny on 693 W. King St. in downtown Boone. The show is free, but space is limited, so organizers stress punctuality. Music will feature Charlotte-based band, OK Disconnect.

The balance of “dark but pretty” brings combinations like spider web shreds of dainty cream shirts. The show will feature sulky velvet shorts and pants, and sweaters will flaunt rough geometric cutout backs.

“It’s almost a kind of ‘Mad Max,’” Vaquera said. “Post-apocalyptic, you could say.”

This dystopian insistence in style is also seen in popular pieces like elbow gloves by Givenchy and military lace-up boots by Alexander Wang. Again, it is balanced by femininity, like flouncy peplums by Fendi and lace collars by Rodarte.

Shear Shakti’s hair styling will include the popular ombre dye, hard angles, and rough texture.
“It’s a runway show, so the hair will be bigger and more obscure and not necessarily what you’d see day to day,” said Charlotte Baxter, owner and stylist at Shear Shakti.

She and stylists Lindsay Gantt and Serena Crawford will be styling the hair, “specific to the theme, but not too permanent.”

Stylist Lorie Cole, who has a makeup background, will be using red lipstick with black liner and shadowy colors to define eyes.

“The makeup is a Tim Burton ‘Corpse Bride’ kind of a thing – if you’re climbing out of a ditch, you’re going to look gothic and rough,” Baxter said. “But at the same time, it’ll be beautiful, like you’d want to feel on your wedding day.”

Bleached animal bones and black leaves and textures will line the runway and hang from the ceiling as theme props. “This is a way for us to be really creative and think outside the box,” Baxter said.
Fashion is certainly a creative art – open to viewer interpretation and embellishment.

The gaunt angles and monochrome that is popular now is also reminiscent of 25 years past. But so are velum jackets, high-waisted jeans, slouchy sweaters and tall socks.

Since their first fashion show, “Lovie,” in February 2010, Lucky Penny and Shear Shakti have “gotten this down to a science,” Vaquera said. “All the girls have profiles, we have a fitting Wednesday, we have planned wardrobe changes. We work as a team, and it’s very organized.”

“We wanted a real fashion show in Boone,” Vaquera said. “We share the same entrance and figured this would be a good way to showcase ourselves.”

The first year, they had dance techno music to set the models’ strut. This year, they will have brothers Judah and Joshua High of Charlotte-based electronic band OK Disconnect to perform the music.

“They’re super hip, and our crowd really likes them,” Vaquera said. “They’re having an after-party at Low, right above Espresso News (267 Howard St.), so we’re trying to promote that, too.”

All of the fashion show models are customers, so there is a diversity in size that appropriately reflects their clothing.

“If you’re a customer downstairs and upstairs, and you sign up, we’re probably going to pick you,” Vaquera said. “Girls feel like they’re apart of the store and get excited about our changing stock and this show.”

VEIN will have desserts from local business Black Canary, cocktails and grab bags of small Lucky Penny items and Shear Shakti samples for guests before they leave.

For the hours following the show, Lucky Penny will offer a 15-percent discount on its latest selection.
For more information, visit http://www.luckypennyboone.com or call the store at (828) 264-0302.