Month: May 2021

The possibility of finally leaving our homes for the first time in a year means it’s time to dress up again—and if you open your closet to find that your blazers and heels have been overtaken by sweatpants and house slippers, you’re not alone. As we think about returning to offices and socializing and winter turns to spring, it is time to update your wardrobe. And what better place to shop for Spring fashions then Tysons Corner Center.

If you are a bit behind on the latest in fashion, here are five fashion trends for the season (and where to locate them at Tysons Corner Center).

Show Some Leg: The weather heats up and the hemlines rise. Plenty of other designers agree that a long leg is the silhouette of the season, from A-line minis, to cut-off jean shorts or a mixed clash of prints and patterns on a flirtatious pleated skirt. Scout these fashions now at Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Hollister, and Altar’d State.

Statement Making Trousers: It’s past time to break the cycle of dependence on sweatpants and leggings and go with pants with panache. Wide-leg, roomy trousers are everywhere and making strides this season in sorbet pastel tones or chic neutrals. Find the hippest styles today at LOFT, Express, J.Jill, H&M, Uniqlo, and others.

Spark Joy Through Technicolor: From swirling, psychedelic prints, to textural stripes, to vintage-inspired graphics all make for a vibrant and happy spring wardrobe. Make the look work for you by balancing large and small prints within the same outfit while paring down the accessories. Let your dress do the talking, and visit Psycho Bunny, Bloomingdale’s, Zara, and more for some multicolor inspiration.

Heels Are Calling: Our heels have missed us and it is time to show them some love. Think: easy-to-wear, yet sky-high “flatforms” that’ll elevate all the ribbed bottoms you stocked up on, chunky sandals that compliment any outfit already in your closet, and work-from-home shoe, a new category we’re fairly certain was designed to ease us all back into the real world. Other styles to step out into the world include baby heels, and strappy flat sandals as some of this season’s hottest footwear trends. Shop these elevated looks at Guess, Ann Taylor, Free People, Nordstrom, and Forever 21.

Little Miss Sunshine: Channel sunshine vibes by wearing the hottest color of the year – yellow! Through accessories ranging from handbags to jewelry, celebrate the hottest Pantone color of the season and bring a little sunshine style into people’s lives. Find the brightest accessories at Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Coach, Michael Kors, and more!While you are out and about this season, stop by Tysons Corner Center and enjoy some of their upcoming seasonal events on Tysons Plaza that will surely brighten your day

Tysons Partnership has put together a survey to help us understand peoples’ intentions and plans as the region begins to return to pre-pandemic daily activities like office, shopping, dining, and riding transit.
 
Please take a quick moment – under 5 minutes – to answer a few questions. Your participation is very important and will help community leaders plan to reopen in ways that best serve our Tysons community.
 
Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to your response.

On Wednesday, April 21, Joe Fay, FACETS Executive Director, and Allison Coles, FACETS Director of Development and Communications, led our Community Responsibility Council in a discussion about homelessness / housing instability in Tysons and neighboring communities. (FACETS operated the temporary hypothermia shelter in Tysons, at the former Container Store location on Rte. 7,  from Dec. 2020 – March 2021.)

In the webinar (below), Joe and Allison shared some information that might surprise you—for example, some of the people who work in Tysons have neither adequate housing nor reliable access to basic survival needs.

Since 1988, FACETS has served children, families and individuals experiencing homelessness, poverty and hunger in Fairfax County. During the COVID-19 crisis, FACETS has remained on the frontlines and expanded its emergency services and basic needs programming to meet the greatest needs of our community’s most vulnerable. Response efforts are focused on: Shelter, Food, Emergency Financial Assistance, Eviction Prevention, Medical Outreach and Support for Virtual Learning.

About Joe Fay: Joe Fay is the Executive Director of FACETS. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Joe came to FACETS after a career leading information technology and services businesses serving government clients for TASC and Northrop Grumman.  Prior to that he founded a small business focusing on the design and development of human services systems for federal and state government agencies.  Joe’s nonprofit work began during his technology career, serving on the Board of Directors of Northern Virginia Family Service from 2002 through 2011. He rejoined the NVFS Board in 2013 and served as Board Chair from 2015 through 2017 when he joined FACETS.

About Allison Coles: A native of Atlanta and graduate of Emory University, Allison Coles is a non-profit and fundraising executive with more than 20 years’ experience serving the Northern Virginia community.  As a professional and as a volunteer, Allison has dedicated her time and talents to working with underserved and at-risk populations with a specific focus on homeless services and food insecurity. Currently, Allison is the Director of Development and Communications at FACETS, an organization founded in 1988 that works to break the cycle of homelessness, poverty and hunger in Fairfax County.

Tysons Partnership Members: Please email info@tysonspartnership.org if you’d like to join the Tysons Partnership Community Responsibility Council.

In the past several years, Tysons has made considerable progress in pedestrian improvements as it continues to evolve into a more walkable and bikeable community. These pedestrian improvements are important for Tysons’ residents, since walking and biking are a crucial part of both wellness and personal health. These improvements are also an amenity sought by employers eager to attract talented workforce with wellness and sustainability options in the workplace. Walking and biking will certainly be a part of the post pandemic lifestyle, for many. In fact, The Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s new data shows that 53% of DMV residents expect to travel more by foot post pandemic, and 26% expect to travel more by bike.

A recent Tysons success story is the Scotts Run Trail. A ribbon cutting ceremony held on February 4, 2021 marked the grand opening of this new trail, which links the Pimmit Hills neighborhood to the McLean Metro station on the eastern edge of Tysons. This accomplishment helped further realize the Tysons Comprehensive Plan, which calls for a network of walkable routes. In recognition of this achievement, The Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Public Works Association selected Scotts Run Trail as its Project of the Year in the category of transportation projects costing less than $5 million. “This project is a great project, not only for Tysons, but for the people who live in the communities around the trail. It connects them with transit through beautiful park property, connects them with nature, and gives people an opportunity to get around in ways other than their cars – an important part of our long-term sustainability in Fairfax County and important for our personal health as well,” said Fairfax County Board Chairman Jeff McKay.

Another milestone was  the Vesper Trail, also located in Tysons, which opened in March 2019 and, like Scotts Run Trail offers multimodal access to a Metro station. The Vesper Trail is a .4-mile trail which offers pedestrian and bicycle riders a path from neighborhoods in north Vienna to the Spring Hill Metro Station.

The Tysons Partnership is looking forward to a time when the public health situation permits placemaking and community events in and around these new trails and the Metro stations they connect to.

Last year’s Fairfax County Department of Transportation Open Street pilot on Tysons Boulevard was an innovative way to meet mobility challenges and model different ways of using Virginia Department of Transportation’s streets during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s exciting to see how Fairfax County used public streets in unique ways to meet economic and health challenges stemming from the pandemic. This program was especially relevant and timely per The Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s new data which states that 75% of DMV residents want to expand street space for restaurants and pedestrian space. This trend could be seen in Tysons, where  Tysons stakeholders opened private streets to dining last summer.

Fairfax County is also committed to creating a vision and roadmap that will make sustainable transportation easy, safe and convenient throughout the county. Correspondingly, the county has launched the Transportation Program, ActiveFairfax. ActiveFairfax seeks feedback from its community and will further support with Tysons’ urbanist vision for walking, biking, and rolling (traveling by scooter, wheelchair or stroller).

Looking forward, construction of a new pedestrian bridge is scheduled to start this summer connecting Tysons Corner Center to the McLean Metro. Once complete, the bridge will both benefit and inspire walking and biking, and will hopefully increase sustainable transportation.