Gen Art's Film Festival, 5 Looks 5 Nights

Have you ever had to dress impeccably fashionable for five nights of events in a row? That's what the girls of Gen Art Chicago did recently for their annual summer film festival. Now you can see just how they did it.

Marcia Callaghan - Event Coordinator
Since shopping is one of my favorite pastimes, finding and then mapping out five outfits for five great events was an exciting mission for me to embark on. After hours of hunting, I found the perfect dresses. I did my best to match each dress to the vibe of each evening. I wore an 8Os-style cocktail dress for opening night because the film and party were both prom-themed. On Tuesday, I wore a tie-dyed beachy dress since our after party was held outdoors. I wore a ruffled knee length dress on Wednesday in order to save the mini-dresses for the end of the week because Thursday and Friday have a weekend aura about them.

Look 1: Dress is Ali O from Bloomingdale's
Look 2: In Express

Look 3: JS Collections from Nordstrom
Look 4: Dress is Forever 21
Look 5: In Forever 21

Laura Lachman - Events Director
For the film festival, I wanted my "look" to be unique for each night. I like to shock people with the diversity of my taste. Also, it was important to me to mix in some pieces from bigger and emerging Chicago designers such as footwear designer Brian Atwood, clothing designer Sophia Reyes, and jewelry designer Jules. I like to mix high with low and old with new. For instance, on Wednesday night, I wore a ladylike vibrant red floral Club Monaco dress with black Gucci sandals, and earrings and a bracelet from Chicago jewelry designer Jules. My looks ranged from "Beach Chic" to showcasing trends of the summer season including vibrant florals and black and white. I ended the festival with a darker palate - a racer back black dress by Chicago designer Sophia Reyes with edgy gold & black jewelry.

Look 1: Dress by Tibi, Brian Atwood heels, jewelry by Jules
Look 2: Tuxedo style halter dress with black buttons, Michael Kors heels and clear Jules earrings with black diamonds
Look 3: Club Monaco, Gucci sandals, red drop earrings by Jules
Look 4: Miguelina dress, gold Gucci heels and pearl drop earrings by Jules
Look 5: Sophia Reyes dress, black Gucci heels with gold accent and gold wire earrings by Jules

Meghan Goulette -Marketing & Business Development Manager

The most important thing to me about dressing for five nights of events was to make sure I had the outfits locked in before the film festival started. I knew that I needed to take that stress out of the week so I could focus on the events and all of our wonderful guests and attendees. I also knew that I did not want to break the bank because these events are heavily photographed and if you work with Chance Woodward you know never to be photographed in the same outfit twice (wink). I went all out on opening night because it is the biggest night of the festival and it was prom themed! I chose a gorgeous strapless BCBG Runway Collection dress (okay, so my break the bank rule did not really count here) and felt like a Prom Queen for sure. The next night I also tried to take a nod from the feature film and chose to dress things down a bit with a simple tissue weight v-neck tee and full skirt from H&M. Wednesday, I chose to highlight shoes and went with Nicole Miller heels, a simple black skirt and organic cotton tank (also from H&M). Thursday’s outfit was actually based on the pre-determined “after after party” which was taking place at Underground during their Rewind 8Os night. Friday’s film Explicit Ills led to my choice for all black on Friday, but I could not resist adding hot pink pumps to bring a bit of color. My Acura shades were the best accessory of the night (which everyone got to score at the Enclave after party).

Look 1: BCBG Runway Collection
Look 2: shirt from Urban Outfitters and skirt from H & M
Look 3: Skirt and tank top from H & M, shoes by Nicole Miller
Look 4: Dress is Luella Bartley for Target
Look 5: Dress by Armani Exchange and hot pink heels from Akira