I know at least some of you suckers are planning to get hitched in '09, or perhaps you're a fan of advance planning and want to get started on the nuptials scheduled for '12. Me, I just like pretty dresses. The English Dept. is a place I can't recommend enough for modern brides who don't want to look like icing on a cupcake for the occasion. Owned by local designer Elizabeth Dye, the store includes Dye's own designs (bridal and otherwise) as well as some lovely choices on the simpler side. Although it seems totally obvious, they are also great at getting you to think outside the bridal box, encouraging the blurring of demarcations between dress types. For instance, a Vera Wang bridal gown might be out of your reach, but a Vera Wang bridesmaid gown can be an amazing, tasteful choice for a bride, too, and frankly much more cost effective than a lot of more common options, including those with much less lofty labeling. (They are also champions of the short wedding dress which I have great personal enthusiasm for.) The store is having their fourth annual bridal fashion show, "A Novel Romance," this Sunday at 2 pm at the Ace Hotel Cleaners. I've been to the three previous events and this one stands to top them all. Last year's fantastic addition was the inclusion of one-of-a-kind, incredible dresses from local designers, many of whom also create custom wedding attire on the regular, but aren't usually affiliated with the store. If you like checking in on the couture shows (now playing in Paris) this is about the closest you're going to get on the local front. Holly Stalder, Kate Towers, and Adam Arnold (who is also showing a tux, lest we forget) are a few of the repeat contributors this year, and as an added bonus there will be a portion of the show dedicated to the lingerie offerings of Lille. But if you want in, you'll have to RSVP!

Radish Underground is still pretty new in town, but they are making it easier to get to know them by jumping on the First Thursday bandwagon, featuring clothing and jewelry designers as well as visual artists. (Last month's featured Jayme Hansen's Birds of Prey apparel line and jewelry from Elyse Bunkers, as well as photographer Tarina Westlund, and Aster Park, a reclaimed-fabric line of apparel design by the store's co-owner Celestial Sipes). For February (the 5th, that would be) they are featuring an intriguing apparel designer and jewelry artist (as well as painter and photographer Kevin Higinbotham, who renders his work in steel).

Fans of cinematic costume design might want to take a cruise through Paloma Soledad's web site before popping down to the February event for drinks, snacks, and most likely some piano playing. As the featured apparel designer for the gothy, pre-Valentine's Day event, up to five of Soledad's custom corsets will be for sale (although they will need to remain on display in the store through the end of the month). With roots solidly in the world of costumes, props, and puppets (can you imagine purchasing a bikini that consists of a snake wrapping itself around your torso off the rack?), her work has appeared in films like Hostel, Cabin Fever and Spongebob Squarepants, and most recently in the soon-to-be-released Coraline.

Joining her with his jewelry work (to be carried in the store for at least Feb-March) is Coraline co-worker (he worked as a model builder for the film) Keith McQueen:

While I am usually content to leave corsets (as outerwear at least) in the costume department, if you roll with 'em then this seems like a cool opportunity to score something one-of-a-kind, and sprinkled with some Hollywood fairy dust to boot. McQueen's creepy albino insect necklace, on the other hand, I could easily rock, and not just on Halloween.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Winn Perry/Duchess have had to pull out of the lineup.

The line-up of bands, designers, and artists has been announced for this year's Sweet F.A. rock 'n' roll fashion show (formerly Doomtown). This was by far the highest-energy fashion show in town last year, with a ton of designers' work whipping through on the town's tiniest models, the audience happily bouncing along to the soundtrack. This year will mark debuts from some regulars of the show, with the notable additions of the Winn Perry/Duchess team and Adam Andreas, who made quite an impression during the Art Institute's showcase during Portland Fashion Week. The two combined should add a great deal of strength to the show's menswear category, dominated as it has been in the past by scantily clad ladies (to a chorus of absolutely no complaints, I might add).

The Deets: Saturday, Feb 21 at the Fez Ballroom, 9 pm, with the New York Rifles, Welcome Home Walker, and DJ Gregarious, with featured art by Nathan and Noah Rice.