Last night, we were this close to having a one night stand. It was at the Achilles Project’s Shopping Under the Influence Party. And it wasn’t with a dude. It was with a dress.

The Fort Point Channel boutique-and-restaurant-in-one threw one impressive soiree, combining four of our favorite things: shopping, sipping, eating, and sales. Everything in the store was already slashed 50 percent (and will still be marked down all next week, and until the fall merch hits the racks). But party guests got an additional 10 percent off just for showing up last night. Add to that the complimentary cocktails from Stoli Blackberi and Bacardi, and tasty bites from Persephone’s menu, and my how the credit cards came out to play. (more…)

You’ve always had a mean downward dog (and super cute yoga pants), but this summer there are even more options around town for getting in touch with your inner yogi.

On Wednesday afternoons throughout July, from noon to 1 p.m., perfect your pyramid pose at free outdoor classes in Copley Square. Weather permitting, all are welcome to slap down a mat in front of Trinity Church. Plus, participants can enter to win a year’s supply of SmartWater, a $100 Shaw’s gift card, and a $100 gift card to Back Bay Yoga Studio. (To sign up for this week’s class, drop a line to laura.smartwater@yahoo.com.) (more…)

Every so often Bostonista has a hankering for a road trip. Last week’s tropical weather—sunshine one minute, thunder and lightening the next—put us in the mood to skip town for a night, Boys on the Side-style. (Minus the men, natch; oh, and Drew Barrymore.) Lucky for us, earlier in the month we’d been invited to posh Kennebunkport for the opening party of Hidden Pond, that town’s newest luxury resort.

Created by power developers Tim Harrington and Juan Urtubey, Hidden Pond is like the Ritz Carlton of summer camps. Fourteen “cottages”—and these are cottages the way the homes along Newport’s Cliff Walk are cottages—dot a compound landscaped with towering birch trees and thick ferns. A paved walkway connects the two-bedroom houses, each of which was decorated by a different interior designer.

By the time we arrived, very fashionably late, the 400-person casual gala was in full swing. We were greeted by Boston realtor extraordinaire Ricardo Rodriguez, our host for the evening, and his partner, Menino right-hand man Michael Kelley. We sipped champagne-infused lemonade and cottage hopped, meeting local and national designers and the who’s-who of Kennebunkport.

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With party season in full swing, last night provided no shortage of social options. Gaslight threw a soiree on its patio. And Esquire held an event for media and subscribers at Eastern Standard.

But the biggest, most see-and-be-seen bash of the evening was not so easily accessible, requiring a trip to the ‘burbs, believe it or not. Six hundred guests endured heinous off-Pike traffic to celebrate the opening of Hotel Indigo in Newton. (more…)

At this weekend’s Daytime Emmy Awards, the Oscars of talk show and soap TV, Guiding Light starlet Gina Tognoni took home the best supporting actress award. Now, readers are probably wondering why this warrants a post; after all, it’s unlike Bostonista to be glued to the tube for mid-day dramas (we get enough of that in the office, thank you).

Here’s why: The winning woman was dressed by local designer Michael De Paulo. A regular on the Boston style and social scenes, De Paulo has been sketching and sewing cocktail and couture gowns for the past few years. Known locally for outfitting his muse, Tonya Mezrich, he specializes in bright, dramatic dresses.

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According to karma—and Justin Timberlake—what goes around, comes around. And so it was for the reopening of streetwear retailer Karmaloop last Friday. When the store closed its doors for renovations six months ago, there was a dip in the Boston hip factor. But now the Newbury Street stop is back, with more street cred than ever. And its hoodie-clad, sneaker freak shoppers were ready to celebrate.

In its renovation, Karmaloop traded its graffitied walls for damask ones, now adorned with golden framed pictures and flat-screen TVs. The updated shop is still a haven for hipsters and a toy store for twenty-somethings—and now there are even more toys to play with. From the four computer stations where customers can order goods not sold in the bricks-and-mortar shop (free of shipping charges) to the see-through floor encasing vintage Jordans to a (real) rat skeleton and a (fake) human skull, there’s no shortage of visual stimulation in the relaunched store. (more…)

Every year, a few hundred of Boston’s best (looking) and brightest (looking) young professionals slap down a few hundred to swan—and later, swing dance—through fine art while sipping fine champagne. An under-45 crowd is plucked, tucked, and tarted up—tastefully, of course—in Louboutin heels and Dolce & Gabbana suits. Flirtations are initiated, deals are brokered, and social circles are paparazzied.

The kickoff to the summer event season, the MFA’s Museum Council party is the place to see and be seen if you’re young, fun, flush, and into top-shelf open bars. Saturday’s sold-out, Latin-flavored soiree began on the steps of the museum’s Huntington entrance, where gals in floor-length gowns emerged from limos and posed for photos (we disentangled ourselves from a Metro Cab and hid behind a column to swap our flips flops for three-inch Choos).

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If you are anything like us, you’ve often wondered, sometimes angrily, how Carrie Bradshaw, freelance columnist living in Manhattan, can afford to don the various outrageous outfits that make her a fictional fashion icon. Trust us, writing is not the career for those who need to be kept in Hermes bags and Manolos. Nevertheless, in the world of Sex and the City, every day is an editorial, and couture is accessible to all with the will to accessorize. Despite all of our anger and jealousy, we still wouldn’t have it any other way.

Like the rest of the planet, we’ve been eagerly counting down the days until Sex and the City: The Movie arrives in Boston on Friday. Sure, we want to see what happens with happy-4-years-ago couples Sam and Smith, Charlotte and Harry, Miranda and Steve, and, of course, Carrie and Big (or are we supposed to call him “John” now?). Yes, we’re curious to see if anyone dies. But mostly, we’re dying to see what costume designer Pat Field (who we once saw schlepping a green feather boa around Loehmann’s in New York) comes up with wardrobe-wise for the film’s four leading ladies. (more…)

Last week, we were among the lucky Bostonians who got to meet The View’s Brookline-born mother hen and all around feminist icon, Barbara Walters.

At a VIP book signing for Audition, her new hit memoir of sex, lies, and heads of state, at Saks, a few dozen of the city’s most respected female journalists and social butterflies gathered to sip white wine and nibble on fennel leaves while eagerly awaiting their idol’s entrance.

Like so many things in life, she’s smaller in person. Dressed in an oversize gold knit sweater, loose black pants, pointed black satin pumps, and a chunky gold necklace, she practically scintillated impeccability. Truthfully, we couldn’t wait to get up close to see if that mound of white blonde hair was camouflaging a nascent bald spot. (We can report that it does not, and that she is, indeed, rather hot for a 70-something broad legend.)

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Though I’m known to work up a mean sweat on the elliptical machine, my output pales in comparison to the struggles Puma’s 11-man Ocean Racing team will face in October, when they depart Spain for Volvo’s 10-month, 37,000-mile Ocean Race around the world.

On Monday night at the ICA, Puma threw quite the bash, including a special appearance by Salma Hayek, to unveil its new racing boat, as well as its new lifestyle and sailing clothing collections.

Upon arrival, I was faced with a crazed Hayek fan trying to enter as Bostonista’s +1. He was there, as we all were, to see his Academy Award-nominated crush crack a bottle of bubbly over the hull of il mostro (”the monster” in Italian), the gear brand’s sleek, spanking sailboat.

After ditching the Frida fanatic, it was time to survey the goods and, of course, my fellow guests. (more…)