One of the things I was interested in attending during Fashion Week as the new joint effort launching called Fashion Night Out.
Obviously taking advantage of Fashion Week mayhem and with a sort-of-obvious goal to boost sales, FNO was an opportunity to pop from store to store and see celebrities (not that I would recognize anyone) and be a part of all of the promos and general fun at a ton of stores.
I went to Bergdorf’s first where it was packed on every floor. I did hit the shoe salon but didn’t get anything. Sadly, the shoes I wanted were too big even in a 35! What the heck?!? But I did get to see these cute DJ boys…
I then went an got some macarons and some cupcakes. Stopped by Sephora where they had live models in the windows and were doing airbrushed make-up demonstrations and popped in to Saks.
I had headed out a bit late so I really didn’t expect to see any of the designers or celebrities in person. Frankly I just wanted the deals! But while I was walking around the shoe floor, I did notice this very tall pretty woman and the fabulous shoes she was wearing (of course).
As I wandered over to the table where I see the same heeled sandals I realize they are Camilla Skovgaard shoes and when I turn around she and her pr team are talking to me and introducing themselves!
The shoes she was wearing and that I WISHED they had in my size too…
Camilla and her team were just lovely in person. They asked for a card and we talked about the styles a bit. I tried on three pairs including these very cool booties.
But in the end I ended up with these sandals with the cool discs around the ankle. They were out of my size in the other pairs I wanted. : (
I did have a $50 Saks gift card to use but I would have paid full price for these babies. They are so cool! I love her work so I can’t wait to get more of them. Sadly Saks doesn’t have them shown online yet but I should get them delivered soon where there will be a million more pictures taken.
Thanks Camilla and team for being so nice! It was a pleasure meeting you.
I don’t think any of these are that major but here are some helpful little things I use when I’ve gone to NYC.
Getting from Airport to City –
Hopefully many of you know this but I saw first hand that some people did not… the guys you approach you at baggage claim offering to take you to the city for $50+ are not legal. The transit authority should be removing them but they still get in. You should only go to the taxi stand or the ground transportation counter. They can help you.
If you have plenty of time and don’t mind getting a big squished and you want to save some money, have them set you up on the SuperShuttle. It’s about $15 a person plus tip but plan on waiting anywhere from 15 – 60 minutes until the next shuttle comes. Also, once you are on the shuttle you will be dropping people off at their destinations and the order is picked by the driver. I’ve taken the taxi, SuperShuttle and a hired car in. The hired car is the way to go.
That sounds kind of fancy right? Well, it is generally a nice experience but it’s not that much more than taking a cab. I’ve used Dial 7 a few times and think they are good. If you book in advance online you get a discount too. It will be somewhere in the range of $40. I took the SuperShuttle in this last trip and it took over 2 hours from when I landed to get to my hotel. If you have an early flight too and want a reliable pick-up, do the car.
In the City –
But when you are in the city, it is a different matter. I like to walk around and have become much more comfortable with the subway. And having an iPhone makes doing both of these so much easier.
The first think I do is use Google Maps to list all the places I might possibly want to go. This gives me a general idea of where things are located so I can group stuff together. I think put all of these places into my phone contact list. When I’m walking around I can tap the address in the contact info and it will show it on the map as well as show where I am. I can then see where I need to go without carrying around a paper map or guidebook. I could be texting or whatever.
What’s great about it is it downloads all the information to your phone so even when you are underground or without a signal you can still see the lines. It shows the lines on the map and all the stops by line. Very handy.
Desparte times call for desparate measures. You’ll never know when you made need this…
I also love the Yelp app for checking out places to eat that I pass by when I am walking around. That’s how I decided to eat at Q2 Thai on this last tirp. Good reviews and good food.
Airfare –
I wish I had time to do this… I remembered at the last minute that I could have used my Delta points to book my flight. I was worried they wouldn’t transfer in time so I didn’t but that would have saved me some money. Even if you don’t have enough points for a ticket, sometimes it’s cheaper to buy the points you need to make up the difference than it is to buy a ticket.
Hotel –
Priceline can be your friend and can be a total pain in the butt. Enough said. I wanted to only pay a certain amout and Priceline wasn’t finding it for me. In the end I was looking at packages on Travelocity and then ended up going to the hotels shown in the package website and getting a deal they had going independently. I traded off amenities and location, yeah, but I hit my price in a very busy time in the city, so that was good.
However, I’m pretty sure I like Midtown best.
Just for Fun –
I’ve also decided that I’m always going to wear something stand-out-ish for the trip. This past trip I wore my Ann D. boots and received a lot of positive responses. People like to connect and this humanizes the process. Travel can be such a pain why not have a little fun if you can.
What the hell happened to me? This may take a while so grab a seat.
That last you hear from me was Tuesday and I tell you that I got my Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week creds and that I’m going. I’m going for 6 nights/7 days and then you don’t hear from me again except for sporadic Twitter messages that I’m there.
That is very bad blogger behavior from me and against the whole point, right???
Well, I actually came home early. Instead of staying until Tuesday morning I flew back Saturday. Why on earth would I do that, especially when I love going to New York, I have lots of friends who live there and would be in town, there are a million things going on, not the least of which is Fashion Week and all the related events?
There were a number of reasons. A major reason was I had some work issues that needed to be attended to. I felt that I was not being effective in taking care of those and I was not maximizing my time in NY. I was distracted and probably distracting. Almost the whole day on Friday I was in my hotel room and not out and about. It was a little emotionally draining trying to do both and I got to a point where felt it would make more sense mentally and financially to come back home on Saturday.
I also have to explain the type of person I am. I am NOT good at the short-range, spontaneous plan. I am the type of long range planner where I think about things I might possibly need for a trip nine months away that I haven’t even booked yet. Deciding on Sunday night that I was going to go on a major week-long trip, especially to something as logistically overwhelming as NYFW, two days later is really not something I thrive on. Frankly, I was a bit of a wreck even before I left because I didn’t feel I had everything prepared to allow me to go away.
But the great thing is that I felt I learned a lot, made some connections, met even more new great people and will be in a 100% better position to do this again next season. Which I totally plan on doing.
There are a million posts out there about getting your creds and the process (StyleIT’s are very helpful), I thought a newbie/out-of-towner’s thoughts might help if you are considering giving it a try.
Registration: There is a fee for registering. I’m not sure if it varies but I paid $65. With all the work these folks go through, I’m not surprised. I applied using the online registration the day that it opened but didn’t get my creds approval until just two weeks before the show. And, if you don’t get approved, give them a call or email back. There have been human errors made so a polite question may help clear things up.
Shows: Once you get your approvals, you will also soon get a list of the designers showing in the tents. Start contacting them. I sent out an email to almost everyone one on the list. You will get some “sorry, no room” responses and some standing room approvals and possibly even some seat assignments. This could all change at the actual show. If there is one you want to go to and you don’t have an assignment, try for standing room. It can’t hurt. You are not going to get press ready images but that’s okay. You are there for the experience. That said, be prepared to stand a lot but also don’t think you have to see everything. Prioritize and don’t exhaust yourself.
Events: There are a million other events going on around the city. Keep your eyes open. Ask around. When you connect with people see what they know about or are going to. Not everyone is showing in the main tents.
Planning your dates: NYFW goes for a full week. This year it was Thursday to Thursday. And if you go the whole week you are going to be near dead by Friday and through the weekend so be realistic with what you want to do and see and how much time you can take off, especially if you are from out of town like me, and how much you can afford to spend on travel, taxis, subway, food, etc. I wanted to get there on the day before so I could pick up my creds and get settled before the shows started on Thursday (oh, yeah and all the deals and events at Fashion’s Night Out) but I also wanted to stay for the IFB Soiree on Monday night. That is probably my biggest regret for having to leave early. *sad face*
Planning your location: Because I booked so last minute and was trying to be very frugal, I ended up staying in the upper west side. The positives were the rate (sort of deal for NYC at this time of year) and that I was 2 blocks from the subway which had an express right to Time’s Square. The negative, I was 50 blocks from the tents. I tried to limit myself to cabs at night when I was coming back late but it was pretty removed. For me it’s Midtown all the way. I will book my hotel earlier next time and be prepared for the cost… unless I sleep on Wendy Brandes‘ floor with Henry and Gigi(it’s going to happen someday Mr.B, so be prepared!).
Creds: I tried to get in around mid-day on Wednesday to get my creds and press bag voucher (there are limited numbers of these). By the time I got out of the airport, checked into my hotel and down there it was almost 4pm. In the end, this was better because I heard there were long lines early on with several hours wait. I waited about 5 min and got right in and out… I also got a press bag voucher so all was well.
The Tents: They are pretty much just that – big tents, filled with sponsoring companies booths and lots of people waiting for the next show to start. There are not a lot of places to sit inside. Be prepared to stand around for while and carry all your stuff. I had my purse, mini computer, camera bag, my flats, and by the end of the first day a very large bag of presents from Haute Look (more on that soon) which can weigh on you. Plus, when I left at the tents I could not get a cab and was about to cry because my back was killing me.
Clothes and Packing: This is where my organizational freak flag starts to fly. I made about 10 lists of what I was going to wear and pack and then I made lists of what bag I was packing them in. I have a problem, what do you want from me? The big issue, as I’ve said before, is that I don’t like to check stuff, especially shoes and jewelry and make-up. So that means I have to carry on almost all shoes, computer, purse, the “good” camera and lenses, jewelry, and make-up. The other issue was the weather. I had tons of little outfits planned and then the weather switched to having lower temps and rain. In the end I did pretty well – I got all my clothes which were a good 14 outfits, toiletries, and a pair of shoes into a single pilot case. I wore my raincoat which I ended up needing and even had room to fit in some of the goodies I brought back.
But that leads me to a big learning about what to wear to these shows. Frankly, whatever you want. There were, of course, lots of girls in black dresses and killer shoes. Many of them looked liked they were falling out of the front of their shoes (ick!) and some people seemed pretty uncomfortable walking and standing around on the concrete and cobblestones by the end of the day. I wore heels but they were Aerosoles and fairly low.
Bring or wear flats if you can and, unless your ego depends on you getting photographed, don’t worry about wearing something crazy or uncomfortable or designer. People are not going to throw tomatoes at you no matter what you wear. It’s far better to look decent or professional and be able to walk at the end of the day than to wear shoes you can’t stand up in. That said, it’s still fun to people watch because the range of clothes is so great. You’ll see really lovely outfits like these…
And the shows, well the shows are fun and crazy. Remember, you may have a camera, but you really don’t want to be on the photographer riser.
Coverage: Why do you want to go to Fashion Week and what are you going to cover and say. I’ve seen a lot of complaining from some people about how if they didn’t have a seat assigned it wasn’t worth going in. Maybe I’m not jaded enough but I think that’s kind of crazy and spoiled to say. Having a seat is great to be sure but I don’t think most independent sites are going to get better images than the major pubs. It makes more sense to me to go, enjoy the experience and give a perspective. I know Style and Vogue and Elle are going to talk about the fabrics, the cuts, the influences. I planned on talking about my favorite pieces, the shoes and how I might adapt pieces into my life if I could.
These are some shots from the Ports 1961 show. I was lucky enough to get a seat at the show because this was PACKED!
The show itself was not very long but it was an interesting experience for me. Everyone was very respectful when it started and you could see the designs pretty well, even from my seat up top.
I’m sorry I’m missing more of the shows because I think the rest of the week will be great.
But the shows are only part of the experience. Then there are the parties and the people…
I was able to attend the Fashion 2.0 party put on by Yuliat Style Coalition on Wednesday night. It was filled with lovely people (hello, @skyle!).
Thursday was Fashion Night Out, which gets its own post and Friday night, right before my departure I had a fabulous time with Wendy and a ton of other lovely blogger ladies at the francis studio and then an amazing dinner.
I’m not even going to try and recap this becauseWendy and Jennine already did a much better job including amazing photos. Suffice it to say, however, I want a bunch of pieces from the Spring line.
I was so sad to go the next day that when I went to a party at my neighbor’s that night I had to wear the flag dress from the francis Spring 2009 collection.
I’ve still got a ton to write related to this so more to follow….
A while back I was contacted by the lovely folks at Flojosand asked if wanted to try out some of their sandals. I’m always looking to try things out so I can give a first hand impression, so I gratefully accepted their kind offer.
Flojos, located in Thousand Oaks, CA, have been around since 1979 and have a HUGE selection of styles for women, men and kids. I told them to surprise me with the styles they sent.
When I opened the package I found a pair of the Zebras in pink and a pair of the Edens in silver/white “snakeskin”. The Zebras have a flat padded sole, a bit of arch support and a cushy rolled thin strap.
The Edens have a slight wedge to them and the strap is flatter.
I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge flip flop wearer. In spite of growing up in Florida (one of the official flip flop/sandal states) I never wore the style a lot.
Now this may have been because as a child I wore a pair while riding a bike and happened to get my foot caught on the pedal, knock myself over and scrape up the top of my foot (let that be a lesson to you kids, wear protective shoes while riding a bike). My other theory is that I find this style of shoe to be very casual. And while they go perfectly for a beachy lifestyle, I think they should not be worn to work, the mall etc., like many people do today.
Flip flops are ideal for the summer. Of course, I also tend to get mauled by mosquitoes during the summer so I don’t wear these in the yard either.
All that said, I like them! I have found the Zebras to be very comfy and I have been wearing them around the house quite a bit. The pink/black combo is bold and a lot of fun.
The Edens, which are a bit more subdued, have become my yoga sandals. They’re sleek with a bit of shine to them. Calmer and more upscale.
Both sandals have held up well from a wear and tear standpoint, in terms of comfort and even keeping clean.
The goal is still on to add more dresses to my life and then actually wear them.
So yesterday, I wore my plaid ModCloth dress. It’s cooled off here a bit so I added a peacock cardigan and matching suede heels from Nine west that I’ve had for a million years. I’ll have to wear this again because it was just too hectic to take pics.
I should be good and take pics of today. I’m wearing a scribble-y bustier type dress from Forever 21, a boyfriend cardigan, patent studded belt, black tights and Louboutin platform peep-toes.
I want the cute dress/tights/cardi combo to be my style for the Fall, at least until it gets too cold. Luckily, it doesn’t get too freezing here so I can enjoy the weather and be comfy.
Shoe Daydreams 