High Fashion Meets the Shore

If you thought area fashion was limited to mass-produced bikinis, cargo shorts, tourist tees and flimsy flip flops, take a seat near the runway at St. Petersburg/Clearwater area fashion shows in the next couple of weeks or drop by the chic boutiques of imaginative local designers. You'll find Florida haute couture fit for a Broadway show or an evening stroll along Beach Walk in Clearwater Beach.

With a vibrant arts scene and respected design school just across Tampa Bay, the area has a burgeoning designer fashion scene. The upcoming annual Fashion Week Tampa Bay shows just how cutting edge, yet natural, local designs are.

You'll find styles that capture the warmth of year-round sunshine, the softness of coastal breezes and the glamour of star-studded nights. Models will strut the runways in flowing silk dresses, strappy metallic heels, sterling-wrapped pendants, hand-painted men's shirts, strapless wedding gowns and, of course, chic little black dresses. (727-551-3261, www.fashionweektampabay.com)

In all, the fashions of more than a dozen designers will be shown during the three-day event, which is held Thursday, Sept. 25, in Tampa and Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26 and 27, in downtown St. Petersburg.

Local fashion leader Ivanka Ska, a Polish-born designer, brings her feminine dresses for women with curves (samples are size 8) to the runway Friday night. If you can't make the show, stop by her boutique, the House of Ska, which also sells the clothing and jewelry of other local designers. (727-822-7752, www.ivankaska.com)

You might recognize designer Rhonda Shear as the former host of the USA Network's popular Friday night show "Up All Night.” Her designs, which would give Victoria's Secret a run for its money, will take the stage at Friday's show. You can buy the designs at her Maison Rouge boutique near BayWalk in downtown St. Petersburg. (727-898-8400, www.maisonrouge.com)

For dreamier fashions, go to the Surreal Fashion Show on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. The work of Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali comes to life in the designs of Ska and dresses of AMBRIA'S Gallery of Wearable Art. (727-515-1212, www.salvadordalimuseum.org)

Lest the haute couture scene make you feel outdated, steel yourself with the sight of couture and kitsch fashions from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art in Tarpon Springs on Saturday, Sept. 20. The fundraising event will do wonders for your self-image. One look at a leisure suit and, even in flip flops, you're a fashion plate. (727-712-5222, www.spcollege.edu/central/museum)