FASHION events are always a great source of entertainment. And we're not just talking about the sartorial showcase on the catwalk.

While fashion shows remain relatively elitist to the general masses, the gap between the fashion insiders and the outsiders have narrowed somewhat since organisers started putting affordable price tags to these 'exclusive' soirees.

Bravo to the organisers of the Audi Fashion Festival (AFF) for selling tickets to most of their fashion line-ups held at the Tent@Orchard this year.

Now us hoi pollois can rub shoulders with the pedigree crowd and get up close and not-too-personal with the big names behind some of the most successful brands in the world.

That said, the distinction between the seasoned event-goers and the wide-eyed newbies are never more apparent than at the recent AFF as well.

It is easy to spot the new birds - they are either overdressed or underdressed and are usually found conspicuously hovering around the waiters precariously balancing trays of free-flowing champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

Some wide-eyed publicity vultures could be seen flapping around the photographers, hoping to get their pictures into the social pages of a fashion magazine.

Oops! I spied a few familiar old-timers among the publicity-hungry flock as well.

Oh well, you know what they say about birds of a feather.

Scenes like this play at almost every fashion event. While it provides fodder for banal chit chats and industry gossip, the last thing anyone wants is to be the topic of the week among the well-heeled and well-connected.

Even though the single largest fashion event of the year has ended, fret not.

Come September, a whole new Fall/Winter fashion party season kicks off and the catwalks will be lit up again.

For those of you uninitiated in the art of dressing right and behaving well at fashion events, here are some tips from MsTjin Lee, festival director of Audi Fashion Festival 2009.

1. If you have the means, support the labels and come dressed in their brand for the show. This is the best form of compliment to the designer whose show you're attending .

2. When the show is on, do not SMS. We can see the lights from your phone and it is disrespectful to the designers and organisers who have put in a lot of hard work to make the show happen.

3. Don't try to cross the room once the show has started. You will forever be immortalised as 'the black blob' in all the photos and videos of an otherwise perfect show.

4. Also, be gracious and sit where you are ushered to. Never, ever steal someone else's seat in the front row.

Flout these rules and you may just find yourself blacklisted from future events and left out in the cold like last year's turkey from Thanksgiving.

This article was first published in The New Paper