By Maya Alarcon

You know the feeling you get when you come across a find so magnificent, so fabulous, so monumental that you just can’t wait to call your girlfriends and tell them about it? It doesn’t matter if you finally found your perfect pair of “Hey there, sailor” red stilettos, the fragrance you know is sure to drive any man crazy, or the mobile waxer who made your first foray into the painful world of Brazilians a tad bit less heinous. The urge to call up your girlfriends and rave about these little gems is inevitable; girls just like to keep each other in the know. Well ladies, consider this the journalistic equivalent of that phone call and imagine it goes something like this: Ring, ring (oh my god, will you answer the phone already!) Hey, it’s your City Pulse girl! Ever heard of FASHION CO-OP LA? What? You haven’t?!?! Well, honey, we’re about to change that.

I can sum up Fashion Co-Op as being my own personal idea of a shopping nirvana. A sample sale like none I’ve been to, its one part girl’s day out, one part party and 100% fabulous. Imagine spicing up your wardrobe with finds from some of LA’s (and NY’s) hottest up-and-coming designers, at 40% to 80% off retail, all while jamming to tunes spun by a live dj. Add to that free makeovers and treats, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a way to spend part of a Saturday.

Fashion Co-Op is the brainchild of designer Kimberly Tominaga whose own experience in trying to break in to mainstream fashion inspired her to create a forum for emerging designers to expose their products in a market not known for it’s newcomer friendliness. I had the pleasure of meeting Kimberly this past Saturday at Fashion Co-Op LA, and I gotta tell you, this girl is inspirational. She looks too young to be an entrepreneur but the zest with which she talks about Fashion Co-Op’s creation makes you believe that anyone with a dream and a will can make it happen.

For now, my dream is to shop….and do I ever! Shopping rule no. 1 is never shop alone, so I grab my girl, Amber, who’s in from out of town (and who happens to be my counterpart in NY) and together we sashay into the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to seek out and shop (or as we like to call it, research). The venue is filled with dozens of booths, and even though it’s only 11 AM the place is already buzzing with girls who RSVP’d for the VIP SHOPPING PREVIEW, and who are eager to get their manicured fingers on the best in fresh fashion. Madonna’s Into the Groove plays over the sound system and I can’t think of a single place I’d rather be.

Our first stop is JODI B. WISE, an Australian designer whose gorgeous silk wrap shirts and dresses are tempting enough to blow my entire research allowance on. I am a wise shopper, however, so I fight the urge to immediately purchase the incredibly cute and flattering green polka-dotted wrap shirt I’ve tried on (and thus end my day of research within 10 minutes of commencing) and continue through the hall.

Next up is SPICY BROWN, a Japanese inspired t-shirt company with which I fell in love at a different shopping event several weeks ago. The company’s owner spots me and recognizes me because of the shirt I’m wearing (one of theirs) and of course I fell obligated (please, stop twisting my arm, seriously) to purchase a black ribbed tank with a cartoon of a little raven-haired girl in a kimono. That brings the total count of Spicy Brown shirts in my dresser drawer to six. The company’s designers used to design for Hello Kitty, which explains their appeal to me.

Fueled by my obsession with t-shirts, I’m immediately drawn to EVOLVE UNIVERSAL’s booth. Local Inglewood artist JENNIFER NAGLE’s line of visually stunning shirts aims to elevate the social consciousness of human kind through its bold designs and simple messages. Here I pick up a black tank with an image of a peace dove and the word FREEDOM printed in hot pink on the back. Amber purchases a khaki colored tee with an image of Buddha on it and we continue with our fieldwork.

Elsewhere in the hall I come across a booth filled with some cool looking yet incredibly familiar handbags. I start up a conversation with the designer, who also looks familiar, and quickly realize that it’s TYLER LEONG of WA BAGS, a woman and line I know from a hip store in Torrance (shocking, I know) where I often pop in for some lunch time window shopping. In fact, the silk burgundy wallet with embroidered peacock feather design in my bag is one of Tyler’s. If you’re looking for a non-conventional bag you simply must look into Wa’s funky collection of leather, silk and even plush bags.

Countless booths later, and with some major damage to my checkbook already done, I come across STEPHANIE ENGLE, a designer whose empire waistlines and funky retro-inspired patterns draw my eye immediately. Being short-waisted and somewhat deficient in the bust department, finding dresses that fit and flatter can be somewhat of a challenge, but the green polka-dotted dress with empire waist and cut out in the back that I find myself trying on looks as if it were designed for me. And Stephanie is the type of designer from whom I love buying: brand new, with great designs, and only enough of each to ensure that I won’t spot someone at my local watering hole wearing the same thing as me.

Sadly, I can’t shop all day. My finances can’t take it, even with the major discounts, and Amber and I have a lunch date elsewhere in Santa Monica. But before leaving we stop by the Too Faced booth, where professional make-up artists give us makeovers worthy of a red carpet…or lunch at Real Foods Daily, which is where we’re headed.

Now, by this point in our phone call you might be thinking that I’m horrible for telling you about this event after the fact, but I wouldn’t tease my dear readers with tales of my shopping escapades without giving you the opportunity to do the same. This Saturday, June 10th, venture beyond the Orange Curtain to FASHION CO-OP OC at BRIDGES. It’ll be well worth the trip down the 405, I guarantee it. General admission is from 1 PM to 4 PM and it’s $3 with RSVP or $5 at the door. However, if you really want to do it right, I highly suggest shelling out $13 for the VIP shopping preview from 10 AM to 12:30 PM. It’ll be less crowded and you’ll receive a complimentary goodie bag filled with products from Fashion Co-Op’s various sponsors. And if you stop by the Jodi B. Wise booth and spot the aforementioned green polka-dot wrap shirt, keep your hands off!! It will be mine! Oh yes, it will be mine.

For more information on this weekend’s event in OC, and upcoming events in LA visit www.fashioncoop.com.