To say D.C. is not known for its fashion sense is an understatement. The people in our fine city get slammed again and again for their inability to dress themselves in anything other than career wear. Luckily this holiday shopping season offers a little incentive in the form of trunk shows for those of us who'd like to look better and help us score some spiffy new duds. As gifts, of course. Trunk shows are......

Last night at 7 p.m., approximately 30 LGBTs and their supporters gathered inside the Rite Aid at the corner of 13th and U St. NW for a "hug-in." The event was a response to the reported ousting of a hugging gay couple by the store's manager last week. Although organizer The New Gay had asked people not to give the store any warning, the staff (and security guard) didn't seem very surprised when the......

It's summer and our beloved Arts Editor is away this week, so the agenda is a little on the short side. Here are a few things to see. >> We have written before about the Washington Project for the Arts\Corcoran's Experimental Media project. Starting this week, WPA\C is hosting a new show called SiteProjects DC. Curator Welmoed Laanstra has asked 15 local artists to create site-specific outdoor artwork, both installations and performances, through July 28,......

>> Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month with the Omar Sosa Quartet, who will play tonight at the Lincoln Theater in an evening of Afro-Cuban jazz cosponsored by the Smithsonian. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come first-serve basis, starting one hour before the concert. [1215 U St., NW, Free, 8 p.m] >> For those not content to just sit back and enjoy D.C.'s bevy of musical acts, Clarendon Ballroom offers swing dancing accompanied by a......

>> Rorschach Theatre begins its "pay what you can" previews of References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot tonight. The surreal and emotional play runs through May 13, but tonight through Friday ticket prices are fluid. There are no reservations, so you'll have to get to the box office at 7:00 p.m. to snatch up cheap seats for the 8:00 p.m. show [The Sanctuary Theatre, Casa del Pueblo Methodist Church, 1459 Columbia Road NW]......

Wow! It seems like we haven't posted anything since last year! We hope you enjoyed your holiday and are at least 86% less hungover than yesterday. The new year begins with an extra day off for many of you, as federal offices are closed in remembrance of President Ford. Those planning to go to work, or for that matter, anywhere else, should heed these street closures and parking restrictions. If you're out and about and......

By now, you and your entire network of friends, acquaintances and enemies have made plans to meet at DC9 tonight to take in the glory that will be Unbuckled 4: DCist's Official 2nd Anniversary party. Right? Well, just in case you haven't been sold by our lineup alone (and don't forget to check out our reviews of Middle Distance Runner and The Vita Ruins), let us give you 5 more reasons that Unbuckled is the......

By DCist contributer Clare Kelley. D.C. has a lot of important people going to a lot of important places. However, unless your vehicle has flashing lights and sirens on it, a pedestrian’s life and/or safety is actually more important than where you’re going. With that in mind, DCist hereby announces the following rules for Militant Pedestrians, effective immediately: 1. If, when stopped at a red light, your car is anywhere in the crosswalk, pedestrians are......

Is that a Gold Lion in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Before the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, Show Your Bones, hits stores March 28, and before they kick off their tour right here in D.C. on April 3, DCist is bringing some hot off the presses Yeah Yeah Yeahs action to you, our loyal readers. Next Friday, March 24, join DCist and Interscope records at Cue Bar as we......

In response to Damon Ward slaying near 12th and U Streets on February 25, friends and supporters have grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of leads in the case. Though District police have their share of crimes to deal with, some witnesses have claimed that their offers of information have been dealt with slowly or not at all. This upcoming Sunday, March 12, starting at 2 p.m., friends and other who knew Ward are taking......

George Mason University art professor Chawky Frenn will give an artist talk this Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. at the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda. The at times controversial artist (his painting Nothing Personal is at right) should be keen to discuss his use of often graphic still life imagery (like bloody animal carcasses) in a quest to make big statements about the state of the world. DCist contributor Adrian has his own thoughts on......

Welcome to the January 2006 edition of Three Stars. Tomorrow, we'll get up close and personal with Mike Holden, and Thursday we'll show you the many sides of Chris Richards. Today, we talk to Hello Tokyo, discussing their new EP and an upcoming network television debut. Hello Tokyo No, Gwen Stefani did not already have her baby, and no it did not go through a miraculous rapid aging process, move to DC and form a......

We know what you’re thinking – you have absolutely no idea what to wear to the DCist happy hour tonight (plug, plug). While all we ask is that you wear your drinking shoes, we understand if your work attire feels a little too corporate for Cue Bar, or if you feel intimidated by the bastion of cool that is the DCist staff. Before heading to the happy hour, banish your fashion insecurities tonight at the......

The District's shopping landscape has undergone some alterations over the past few weeks. With the addition of boutique Sosan and a shiny new space for Nana, you have two new reasons to avoid the mall. Even if it still is freezing outside. Sosan: As much as we love Woodley Park, for a while it has felt like the District's equivalent of Indiana (the crossroads of America). Now, instead of just appreciating Woodley's location for its......

Now that Black Friday and her bastard half-brother Cyber Monday are behind us, it's time to ditch mall food court and Internet cafes in favor of shopping among a real, slightly more civilized crowd. On Saturday, several local businesses are partnering to host charity shopping events benefiting oh-so worthy organizations. As if that weren't reason enough to break out the plastic, the D.C. tax holiday is still in full effect. Suddenly we're feeling festive... Shopping......

In a city whose residents love to talk about how they've lifted themselves up by their bootstraps, it's no wonder there are so many shoe stores. And while archaeologists digging up the remains of D.C. one day will likely conjecture that we exclusively wore shoes from Comfort One, that’s no reason to conform. DCist checked out some local footwear purveyors in search of a loafer-less life. Shopping at Hu's Shoes (3005 M St. NW) in......

For way too long, it's seemed that D.C. has suffered from an extreme dearth of excellent (not to mention affordable) Italian food. Dinners at local establishments were either astronomically priced, mediocre-tasting, or, disappointingly, both. In the past few months, though, that's all been changing. With several tapas/enoteca-inspired Italian restaurants opening in the area, it's easier than ever to find a delicious plate of fresh pasta, a full-bodied glass of wine, or an authentic Italian meal......

Today's Post reports that Warren Brown, owner and founder of U St. bakery Cakelove, will be the first D.C. area chef to have his own show on the Food Network. The show will be entitled "Sugar Rush" and is slated to take the 9:30 p.m. slot on Wednesdays starting in October. Brown, a former lawyer who has been called one of America's most fascinating entrepreneurs, will also be profiled on the Food Network's "Recipe for......

Fall catalogs are quickly cramming our mailbox and "Back to Cool" commercials are again making schoolchildren cringe, but the frizz-inducing weather reminds us with a humid slap each morning that it's still summer. Celebrate the sweaty mess that is a D.C. summer at the Midcity Dog Days of August, a sidewalk sale and festival spanning the U and 14th Street NW corridors this Saturday and Sunday. More than 50 businesses are participating in the sixth......

In this oppressive heat, DCist has found it difficult to leave the house even for work, much less shopping. But this evening’s U Street Shopper Social, with area stores boasting savings on everything from designer denim to 19th century farm tables, might be incentive enough for us to leave our artificially-cooled abodes. Plus, there’s free cupcakes! The U Street Shopper Social, which is held on the third Thursday of every month, is an event to......

A conversation between DCists recently led to a long diatribe about the lack of certain amenities in our fair city. We thought it would be great to open the conversation up to our readers, and thus bring you the first of an occasional series, What We're Missing. If you've got thoughts on other ameneties noticably lacking in D.C., feel free to leave a comment. For a city that is home to more than its fair......

>> As reported by DC Art News, two new galleries have joined the D.C. arts scene. Emma Mae Gallery, founded by Sandra Butler-Truesdale, has opened at 1515 U St. NW. JET Artworks opens Friday in Elizabeth Roberts' old space at 2108 R St. NW. The gallery's inaugural exhibition features the work of Conor McGrady, Greg Murr, Gregory Euclide, Michel Tsouris and Ken Bucklew. >> Also new this week is "Adam Fowler: Theme & Variation,"......

U Street NIMBYs beware! In a classic "take out the trash" move, the D.C. Office of Attorney General announced that it had settled a dispute with the managers of Club U, the go-go club operating out of the Reeves Municipal Center (at right) at U and 14th streets NW. Despite concerns from neighborhood residents, including Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, about violence and suspicious activities going on in and around the club, Club U will......

There's lots going on this weekend. What are you up to? FRIDAY: -- "Team America: World Police" opens tonight at theaters everywhere. Reviews from the NYT, Post, Rotten Tomatoes -- Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players at Iota in Arlington, $12 -- Grand opening of Eclipse, an "electro, industrial, darkwave, alternative" dance night slated for the second Friday of the month at Between Friends (11th and U St). Resident DJs include Dirty B, MindCage, MissGuided, and Ras......

In a city like D.C., you're probably seen these around: "November 2" t-shirts. The shirts are the product of the National Voice Coalition to encourage people to vote this November. The blog of a local tech company noted that users of Yahoo's messenger service can now dress their avatars in "November 2" t-shirts. Echoditto also notes band Death Cab for Cutie is selling pro-Democrats t-shirts. Unfortunately, according to the band website they're sold out. Finally,......

Here's a quick sampling of what's going on around town this weekend. Stay dry! TONIGHT: Music. Local bands you probably haven't heard of: The Routineers, Two If By Sea, People Who Know People 9:30 @ Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW Movie. Monty Python and the Holy Grail Midnight @ Visions Cinema Bistro (repeats Saturday at midnight) Help Visions kick the keg. $10. SATURDAY: Book Sale Starts 9 a.m. @ Radisson Barcelo Hotel, 2121 P......

This year has been pivotal in the ongoing gentrification of the U Street corridor. First, a Starbucks went in at 13th and U streets this winter; then a Quizno's moved in next door. And just recently, the Sisterspace bookstore was evicted. Locals were heartbroken, the newcomers barely noticed. In another sign of the times for U Street, On Tap says the area is "exploding with new boutiques, cafes, and great places you should be in."......

Sisterspace Books, a black-owned bookstore that tried to create a center of African American culture on U Street was evicted from their building this morning, effectively ending the owner's long-standing dispute with their landlord. The Post reports that the eviction occured this morning when U.S. marshals moved out the contents of the store from their storefront location at 1515 U St. NW. More from the Post's coverage:" ... Today, after the storefront was emptied, and......