July 16th, 2009 
Beauty and brains was the atmosphere buzzing at the Polichicks Cocktail Caucus event. This event was held at Saks Fifth Avenue in Tyson’s Corner. Forget old school stuffy political events, this was a political soiree with some elements of a Candace Bushnell novel mixed in. Polichicks’s tag line is “The It Girls Guide to Politics – Just Enough to get by at a Cocktail Party.” The brainchild behind Polichicks is Megan Cosby, an attorney who runs this amazing organization in addition to her full time job.Two words come to mind when you meet her: vivacious and energetic.
Before this event, I had only corresponded with her via email, but she was welcoming towards me when I went to introduce myself. In the hustle and bustle of a makeover, clothing fashion trends, and discussion of politics, she had time not only to pose with me in a picture, but also give me a quick synopsis of this fantastic organization.
Polichicks was started in June of 2006 because Megan was not able to find political websites that were reaching or appealing to women. According to Megan, “Most political commentary was written by men and had a very masculine visual presentation”. And from this realization, came the idea for this organization. This was Polichick’s second Cocktail Caucus. The first, which was held a year ago, was such a hit that Megan decided to have another one this year.
I had no idea what to expect but had high expectations, considering it was held at Saks Fifth Avenue with CHANEL. When I arrived I felt like I was at a mini-red carpet event. There was champagne available, a registration section, and of course an area where you could pose your best Diva look.
Once I registered, a representative at CHANEL escorted me for my own private makeover. I know what you are thinking, a counter makeover. Well, this was quite a different experience. Each representative spent time with the ladies to figure out what they wanted: a day look, a night look, low or high maintenance. After the initial consultation the representative would discuss the look which they wanted to apply for my makeover regime. It was great that they did not want to do a cookie-cutter look for all the girls.
The attendees were very diverse in background and fashion style, so it made perfect sense to individualize the look. I was pleasantly surprised with the results of my makeover. I do admit I was a bit nervous at times, but sitting there and bonding with some of the Polichicks members really put me at ease. Also, I was able to see their makeovers and all of them looked like they could work the runway.
After a chance to mingle and get a makeover, I chatted with some interesting women. I had a chance to meet Jennifer Barger, Fashion Washington editor in chief at the Washington Post. She and I chatted about various topics, from my involvement with the organization to my choice in wardrobe attire for the event. It felt like I was chatting with an old friend. Afterwards, I had a chance to strike a pose for their publication. This was a mini version of a striking a pose for the paparazzi without the mayhem.
Stick to being a vapid fashionista aging socialite who has to beg for dollars on her site, and leave the big clean-up-the-Republicans-bullshit-mess issues to the grownups…you pathetic cupcake.