So it wasn’t a week, shoot it wasn’t even a whole hour but it was fabulous.

My work has put together an event for the last two years called ACE (Arts Charity Extravaganza) to benefit local charities. For the most part the event is choreographed by different students from the International Community through the InterKom youth program my work helps facilitate. But this year when there weren’t enough students into the fashion aspect of the program who did they call?

Well they didn’t call Ghost Busters!

Just call me Fashionista.

Although I haven’t been in Shanghai long, I have managed to get a handle on the shopping/fashion scene here. I may not know much but clothing I know.

When my co-worker approached me I jumped at the opportunity! I was born to do this!

Needing to fill our hour slot with cute clothes I wasted not time calling the stores I frequented to see who would let us borrow clothes for this charity event.

First, I went to American Apparel, knowing that they cater to the expat community and that they make super cute clothes, I hoped they would let us have a few looks. And they did!! They provided us 9 very FUN looks to display on the catwalks.

Second I got a designer named Chloe Chen. She owns a few boutiques here in Shanghai and is really good friends with a friend of a friend of mine. (Ahhh connections!) Needless to say she has amazing clothes and she let us borrow 10 looks for the Fashion Show.

Her clothes were my favorite: girly cute and flirty. Quite the opposite of the industrial,punk and funky styles of American Apparel but the contrast was perfect!

In my mind I had it all figured out, when the girls came out to American Apparel the music would be

more rock and roll and Hip Hop like The Darkness and Estelle. For Chloe, I would have romantic and pop music like Britney and Katie Perry.

After getting the clothes, the fittings began. And as much fun as it is to hang out with a bunch of 18 year old skinny girls by the end of the fittings I was very ready to get the girls on the runway! That my friends, was the best part of this whole experience. Getting to see very novice models walk down the runway, classic! Some were afraid of heals, some had gone to modeling school, some… I just don’t have words! They were all gorgeous and a size negative 12, some of the boys in the office couldn’t help but stare! But when they hit the runway I nearly hit the floor, or should I say, they nearly did! I had to channel my inner Tyra and try to get these girls to own the runway!

The night before the show, we did a few run throughs and fittings but I was nervous. A colleague of mine was going to DJ the event (using the music styles listed above) but the girls were walking too fast, or getting nervous, thus making me nervous and the music was not working like I planned. By the end of the run throughs I was scared that maybe we weren’t prepared enough.

But the show must go on! And we had no more rehearsal time left.

So early on Saturday morning I put on my bright yellow Anna Sui dress, my long black wool cardigan, and my gladiator stilettos (those DID NOT last, I had to put on my ballerina flats on) and hailed a cab headed to LOFT, the location of the fashion show.

The cab quickly delivered me to the show site and I found that I was arriving around the same time as all the models! (Even with no makeup they looked stunning… not fair.) Quickly we headed up, and began the hair and make up process. It was fun!

We did one full run through before the event and I was pleased at, with no effort on my part really, everything had come together over night. Maybe it was the hair, or the make up, or the clothes but the girls had really gotten it together! I felt like a proud mother. But I knew that nothing was final until they hit the runway with audience in toe.

My stomach was spinning. Even though no one would really see me or know I had anything to do with the show, I was really nervous!

The fashion show was scheduled to begin about 30 minutes after the entire event began… and as quickly as you can imagine my thirty minutes were up and the Fashion Show began!

The thump thump of the music filled the room, the lights lit up the runway and the audience faded into the blackness of dark. And with that the first model walked out and the crowd began to cheer! The friends, family and peers of all the girls were rooting them on, as they made their way down the scary, long white runway in 4-inch heels!

Some of the outfits were risky, some were really fun and some I wouldn’t even wear! But the girls looked great in everything and by the end of the show I felt a weight off of my shoulders knowing that I hadn’t screwed it up royally! (Don’t get me wrong we had some mistakes, delayed beginning, gaps in songs, early entrances… but no one seemed to care and neither did I! It was for Charity!!)

I am now an official veteran of the Fashion scene! And boy did that fashion pump through my veins! As some of my co-workers noted, I was in my element!

It’s official… I am sooo cool!

Seriously.

Much has occurred in the last weeks, which has made me appreciate Shanghai.

In San Francisco I had a certain standard of living in which I had become accustomed too. People knew me at my favorite stores, restaurants and nightlife locations. I was a force to be reckoned with! Since moving to Shanghai, I haven’t had the “fame” that I was accustomed too.

Until now. On Friday the 13th (figures =/), someone thought I was famous!! You heard me! ME! Famous!!

I was working late on Friday, to help with the run through for the Chinese National Spelling Bee, which my company was sponsoring. The host of the event is a pretty famous girl here in Shangahi (I’d never heard of her, but I don’t watch Chinese TV so… figures) who hosts some shows on CCTV here. A girl who was also helping in the set up approached the TV host and asked if she could take a photo with her. (Not surprising, seeing how this chick is apparently famous.) But much to my surprise after taking the photo with her, she asked me!! Watch out Paris, Elena is coming through!

I’m ready for my close up Mr. DeVil.

I nearly laughed in her face but I kept it together and posed for a few snap shots with my number one  (only) fan.

On top of my new claim to fame, Garrett and I have discovered some culinary masterpieces here in Shanghai and they are just steps from our house.

First there is Wagas and Bistrow by Wagas. Wagas is a small cafe that serves western food at incredibly reasonable prices and it’s DELICIOUS!!! For Dinner I got a HUGE bowl of chicken pesto pasta loaded with feta cheese and it comes with a small house salad for just 40RMB… that’s like 5 bucks!

Bistrow by Wagas is a little bit more expensive, but it’s worth it. Garrett and I had brunch there on a Saturday morning and it was sooo good. I had the best tuna I’ve ever eaten and Garrett had these amazing berry pancakes. (Well they looked amazing, and seeing how he didn’t share!! I assume they were.) And again, it wasn’t expensive at all; the total came to about 30 US dollars.

We also had dinner at Colobro, which was ALSO amazing. It’s a small delicatessen with such good food! The manager was uber friendly too; he told us about the restaurant and gave us vouchers for free things from the Deli next time we came.

Now I mention all these places because for while Garrett and I were going to the same three places; we had no other real options. I was beginning to really get tired of the same old same old. Plus the look and feel of these newly discovered culinary treasures is so much like home! Fantastic!

Now the final thing that has changed my life!!

Forever.

I am producing a fashion show. YES ME!! I am telling girls they’re too fat (no, but I would love to be one of those snotty ladies with the dark framed glasses who totally could. But alas, I am too self-conscious to even begin to care about what other girls look like!), I am talking to fashion houses; I am putting soundtracks and music together for people to walk down a giant catwalk.

I am very excited.

It’s a charity event that is being put together by my work. And part of it has… a fashion show!! So obviously they asked me to help put it together. It’s very exciting and I have an amazing bright yellow Anna Sui dress that I will wear the day of the event. Because frankly, I don’t care how the models look… I just care how I look! =D