Jennifer Grant models a dress from Mela Shoes and Apparel and hat and accessories from Lucky Me Boutique at last year’s Runway on the Lake.

Spring Paris Fashion Week has come and gone but left a few questions on its runways long after the crowds left town. Fortunately Lake Oswego’s Runway on the Lake is coming up April 26 and has the answers raised by its European counterpart.

1. Is high fashion dead? With the likes of Kris Jenner wearing see-through pants and her daughter Kim strutting around in styles that might be called crass by those of us with a modicum of taste, syle mavens at the industry’s main event were lamenting that perhaps high fashion is a thing of the past. All they need is a breath of fresh air in the form of Lake Oswego’s Runway on the Lake where real people wear clothes we can actually picture ourselves wearing. Featured retailers this year include: Anna’s Bridal Boutique, Accessories from the Heart, Chico’s, Consigning Women, E.G. Page, Francesca’s, Glass Butterfly, Grapevine, Lake Oswego Golf Course, Lucky Me Boutique, Mela Shoes and Apparel, New to You: Simply Posh, Patrick James and the Clothes Closet.

2. What’s more important—the clothes on the runway or the celebrities in attendance? With Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller strutting on the catwalk to promote Zoolander 2, fashionistas had to wonder—what’s the point here? The point is the fashion which is why this year’s Runway on the Lake will feature volunteers, not celebrities. The focus will be on the clothes…not the personalities wearing them.

3. Are we looking at fashion for now or fashion for the future? Depends on who you ask. Iris Van Herpen’s fall collection featured wearable technology including 3-D printed shoes, stainless steel woven fabric and models that looked more like extraterrestrials than women. Much of what hit the Paris runways had the wow! factor but most of us would need a few years to warm up to the thought of even attempting to wear it. The clothes you’ll see at the Runway on the Lake will be the stuff you can hang in your closet today and wear tomorrow.

4. Is fashion just the clothes we wear? All eyes in Paris were on what we put on our bodies—the metallic jeans, faux fur, graphic stripes, herringbone skirts. But is that all fashion is? Runway on the Lake suggests not and this year will be offering beauty experiences with Lacome, Prada and Shiseido onsite sampling their products. Artisan vendors like Piper Louie Home Boutique, Sophisticated Beads, Selicias (jewelry), and Wish Bone Home Design will also be on hand to round out the offerings and extend your fashion sense into your surroundings.

5. Would you rather pay money to see fashion or to wear it? Runway on the Lake organizers assume you like to do both.

Runway on the Lake is Sunday, April 26 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the West End Building, 4101 Kruse Way. Tickets are $26/Residents; $39/Non-Residents. Register for course #11281 by calling 503.675.2549 or online.

Don’t Miss Lakeridge Company’s Variety Show This Week: Take It From the Top

Lakeridge High School’s show choir, Company, is staging its annual Variety Show this week with a theme, Take It  From the Top. Read previous blog posts to get an idea as to why you don’t want to miss this performance. Shows are Wednesday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 25 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $5-$12 and are available online or at the door. Lakeridge High School Auditorium, 1235 Overlook.