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Swanking It Up
Monday Jan 23, 2006.
By Erin Brereton
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But then again, I also like my swank. I like to get dressed up and try out nice restaurants, and while I know that I probably only need a few pairs of fancy shoes, I've gone ahead and given those pairs a few dozen friends to sit with in my closet. But pursuing a life of swank, even a partial one, can get costly (just ask my credit cards about their recent weekend trip to New York). Luckily, I love sniffing out a bargain almost as much as I love frequenting a downtown city bar with $12 cosmos that go down like water but leave you decidedly dehydrated the next day. Believe it or not, the W Hotel sponsors a number of free events that involve its stylish lounges, free beverages and fun themes, like the "Project Runway" viewing night I recently attended at the W Hotel Lakeshore. Called W Happenings, the semi-regular events happen in W-friendly cities across the country such as Atlanta, LA and—lucky for me, because the cab fare was considerably less from my home—Chicago. I've been hooked on "Project Runway" since the episode where one designer runs out of fabric and designs a dress in which her model's bum hangs out. Bravo has only increased my love for the show, whose wannabe designers compete each week to create new designs, stay in the game and not get kicked off by a panel of fashion experts, by repeatedly airing that "this-week-on-'Project-Runway,' everyone-is-stressed" commercial with the "where the HELL is my chiffon?" soundbyte. In addition, the host is a very pregnant Heidi Klum, whose catchphrase "You're in" or, to the losers, "You're out," spoken in the sweetest of German fashion-voice tones before each episode ends and she undoubtedly skips outside to where Seal is waiting in the car, is one fine reality show zinger. This is good TV. And it's even better to watch it a half hour before the rest of the country does in a private room with free cocktails. You need to RSVP and arrive to such events early: The list totally full by the day of the event, and the room couldn't have been more packed (I had stand because my view was blocked by the masses). But that's the price you pay for sitting down for the first 30 minutes of the event and downing free fruit juice-based cocktails like Limon Pomtinis. While I was taking in the W's majestic city views in a window seat, everyone else was angling for the couches and stools. But I'm not going to complain because I saw the entire episode sans commercials. It was like TiVo, only fabulously lazier because I didn't even have to use a little thing I call my "drinking hand" to work a remote. And I managed to get two free drinks and some delicious cookies, brownies and mini cupcakes that were put out for the event, which was over by 10 p.m. Just a little tipsy from my Pomtinis, I decided it was time to depart so that I might partake in Project Pillow. My only expense for the evening was the cab there and back. And really, what price can you put on a ride where the driver pulls over at your stop and tells you not to rush paying but instead to enjoy the song blaring from the radio, Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You." And I do believe that cab driver meant it from the bottom of his heart... The "Project Runway" screening isn't the only thing the W has up its free sleeve: Planned events include a chocolate tasting event just before Valentine's Day and bridal consultations later that month. Check out Whappenings.com for more information.
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On any given day, I'd say I'm a low-key kind of girl. I like jeans, lazy Sundays and ponytails and hoodies. 
Erin Brereton is our resident urban cowgirl on a bi-weekly search for life on the cheap.