“It’s Time to Organize Your Reserved Seats”!

“September is going to be chock full of fun and fabulous fashion shows” says Pamela Martin Duarte . September has always been a big fashion month and you always know it is here when the infamous “September” issue of Vogue hits the newsstands. American designers are putting the final touches on their Spring 2013 collection and are preparing for the big time they will have at Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week September 7th to 12th. Honestly, you do not have to travel to New York in order to catch up with the latest designs or to get fashion fever. Texas has events the entire month of September as both Dallas and Houston celebrate local designers and local businesses all over town confirms the Luxury Marketing Council’s Chairwoman Emerita Pamela Martin Duarte

The month kicks off with Fashion’s Night Out on Thursday, Sept. 6. Stay tuned for more from Fashion’s Night Out (FNO) Dallas. In case you are not familiar with the annual hoopla, Fashion’s Night Out is a major global initiative created in 2009 to celebrate fashion brought to you by American Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, NYC & Company, and the City of New York. One designer I am particularly fond of is Jason Wu.

Jason Wu is a Manhattan-based American fashion designer and amazingly learned how to sew by designing and sewing for dolls. Jason also studied sculpture in Tokyo Japan. Wu started his career path at young age of sixteen by learning to create doll clothing designs for toy company Integrity Toys under the title “Jason Wu dolls” and later “Fashion Royalty”. Jason studied at the Parsons The New School for Design at The New School and he later interned with another designer that I adore, Narciso Rodriguez.

Jason’s first full collection debuted in 2006 and two years later was crowned with the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star award in 2008. You all may recall that I was an honorary Fashion Group International Fashion Police last year. Wu combines modern lifestyle with the detailing of haute couture. I can’t wait to see Jason’s Spring 2013 RTW collection as he always is impressive. You can find his designs at Stanley Korshak in Dallas.

Rock and Roll in Gibraltar

I decided to visit the ROCK while in the south of Spain and it was nothing like I expected.  The “rock is an alluring place for travelers both young and old. You will find mimes in the street, fish and chips on every corner and lots did I say lots of duty free shopping! There are tours to the top of the Rock where there is not a chance you will slip past all of the monkeys! A little bit of history about Gibraltar-  Gibraltar was transferred from Spain to the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1713 after the War of the Spanish Succession. The Rock is home to around 250 crazy Barbary Macaques monkeys.  There is also an impressive labyrinthine of tunnels throughout the entire property that attract a large number of curious tourists each year.

We drove over and had an afternoon with the monkeys and enjoyed a great find of fish a chips for lunch.

The Air Field -Runway (literally) that is the line of Gibraltar aka la linea that separates Spain from Great Britain.

Andalusia’s Twisted Sister

I have been such an explorer this Summer and beginning to feel a bit like a conquistador! My latest find sits high upon a dizzying gorge via a twisted road north of Malaga.  Ronda was founded in the 1700’s and is a city in the Spanish province of Málaga. Ronda was first settled by the early Celts, who, in the 6th century BC, called it Arunda. Later Phoenician settlers established themselves nearby to found Acinipo, known locally as Ronda la Vieja, Arunda or Old Ronda. (Note: I do not believe or support bullfighting.)

American artists Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles spent many summers in Ronda as part-time residents of Ronda’s old town quarter called La Ciudad. Both wrote about Ronda’s beauty and their collective accounts have contributed to Ronda’s popularity over time. Below I have shared a stunning gallery of images that show the beauty of this amazing Spanish city. What a view!

Nudity is Good…Just not at the Beach!!!

Beachcombing – The Nudity in Spain Stays Mainly at The Beach!

A few friends and I took a trip over to the Fuerte Hotel in Estepona for an afternoon of beachcombing. I’m a very open person and don’t mind much but when we stumbled upon a gaggle of naked men I covered my eyes and changed my mind about the presence of public nudity once and for all… not before I shot a couple of memorable photos.

Hotel Fuerte Resort in Estepona Spain

The Fuerte resort was lovely, it was lacking a little in the ambiance department however the views of the sea and cliffs were great~  :p

Below is a list of all the nudist beaches in Cadiz, Andalusia, according to Las Mejores Playas.

Nudist Beaches in Cadiz, Andalusia

Read more about Nudism in Spain:
Top Ten Nudism Beaches & Resorts in Spain
Pamplona Running of the Nudes