Swag, Perks, and Pampering
Allison Weiss Brady glides through Miami Swim Week
Models, VIP guests, fashion designers, bloggers, media and even retail shoppers all got to partake in the fun of Miami Swim Week. I needed to rest for two days after the events just to recover from the overindulgence of pampering – fine dining at The James Royal Palm hotel in South Beach, shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim 2015, swag and accessories shopping galore at the Second Annual Escape Miami Style Lounge.
The most delicious catering came from the Florida Cookery at The James Royal Palm, where a chef prepared custom-ordered omelets, and a buffet of delights that included fresh market salad with yellow and red beets, seared tuna, quinoa and avocado salad, and fruit parfaits. A DJ spun tunes that kept the ocean front restaurant bumping. Spotted at the event were Marty Keane, Aaron Blynn, Chip Brady, Monica Lewinger, Daniela and Andrea Blanco, and Marco Mignone and Andrea Arauz. It was fabulous way to start the day before attending the fashion shows!
Besides viewing some of the hottest swim suit collections — L*Space by Monica Wise, Poko Pano, Gottex, Tory Burch, MIKOH, Maaji and more — the coolest accessory was the hand held fan given to VIPs in attendance. The heat was almost unbearable, but we overcame! 
Of course the models get the ultimate perks at the fashion shows. They get to wear the coolest stuff! At L*Space by Monica Wise Resort & Spring 2015 collection, they had these flashing scale-like tattoos custom-made by Flash Tattoos, and necklaces with cascading pearls that resembled seaweed.
Models at the Maaji show were sporting super hip accessories too — equestrian riding helmets and crops in their “Royal Riders” 2015 collection show. Hipsters in the fashion week crowd included Rebecca Brock, Kelly Gold (seen at the Eternamé jewelry presentation wearing one of their gorgeous gold and diamond chain necklaces), Nicole and Edgar Lozano, Vivianne Kurzweil, Ginger Harris, Carolyn Travis, Gingi Beltran and Maria Tettamanti.
Right outside the show tents at The Raleigh are the sponsor tents. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim 2015 sponsors handed out Ipanema flip flops for both men and women that were getting scooped by Miami’s most fabulous.
The Pandora jewelry selfie photo booth immediately printed photos of you and your guests, which was way cool; and treatments to get rid of summer frizzy hair with the seven day Keratrin hair products by TRESemme was a booth that I spent quite a bit of time in.
Next we headed to the Second Annual Escape Miami Style Lounge hosted by Annie Vazquez. This was a retail event and featured items for sale including jewelry by Lil Miss Miami and Looks by Lo, bikinis by Orchid Boutique, sunglasses by Italia Independent, and lingerie by eberjey. Swag included Fiat sunglasses and backpacks, popcorn, gummy watermelon candy, face make-up and touch-ups by Laura Mercier, and manicures by nailbar. There were even terrific items for men including Junior & Hatter haircuts, hand massages by Jac’s Organics, and Alibi American Whiskey. 
Best two swag items of the event were:
1. choosing a bottle of LVX nail polish to take home with color choices ranging from light turquoise, lavender, dark green and rich royal blue.
2. stylish self-portraits by The Architect Style, where people patiently waited in line for about 45 minutes to get their custom sketches produced.
A true fashionista is willing to wait in line for the right accessory, don’t you think?
Until next time… Allison
Allison Weiss Brady handles marketing for celebrities and non-profits. She is active in many organizations in South Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania including Big Brothers Big Sister, The Community Coalition, Voices Against Brain Cancer, Gene Spotlight, The Barton G. Kids Hear Now Foundation, and one of her family’s foundations Say Yes to Education, which recently partnered with Quincy Jones. Weiss Brady and her husband Chip Brady are members of Art Basel’s Junior Host Committee and Weiss Brady is a member of the Vizcaya Preservation Luncheon Founding Committee. She on the Board of Advisors at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice and she’s the only female on the university’s Football Board. Weiss Brady was also the sole recipient of the University of Pennsylvania’s 2008 Young Alumni of the Year Award, and serves on the Overseers board for the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
