Fashion Week, Free Stuff and the Flu

I actually hate the color orange but it matches this blog so I am going to deal with it. Oh man, where to start...NY Fashion Week started on February 1st...a week of hell and stress and really the only thing that makes up for it is the free stuff and stalking Nigel Barker. My first Fashion Week was last season and I thought I had pretty good luck considering I didn't have any invites, this time however I was prepared and scored a sweet number of invites to some pretty awesome shows. And without further adieu, here it goes.

Nautica started off the festivities, and to my delight a gift bag with a nice little polo. The gift bag made me happier than a pig in shit, until the show finale when the male models all came out WITH THEIR SHIRTS OFF! Swoooon! Possibly one of the best things that could have happened that day. BCBG was next and I was pleasantly surprised with Max Azria's collection. Normally it's cute but "blah" but he added in some great colors like rasberry, teal and marigold that compliments Fall perfectly.

After BCBG, Blair and I went to an event hosted by our friend Jay at Theory uptown. We really couldn't pass up the invite with 20% off everything in the store (closed for the private event) and food and drinks...talk about a perfect night! We couldn't stay long because there was still fashion to be runwayed. We hi-tailed it back to Bryant Park and made it to the Erin Fetherston show. Pretty as usual, but also darker with some of her pieces looking like a monastery uniform. Nevertheless, the night was still abundant with fashion at the Venexiana show, and definitely the best show of the night. The models had attitude, the music was perfect and the clothing was not something you wear on a regular basis but was absolutely exquisite with Kati Stern's attention to detail.

Saturday was a bust. I attempted to get into Lacoste (I heart rumors that their gift bags are to die for) but was unsuccessful at the door. The next one on my list was the Academy of Art University fashion show. 10 designers 9 collections and I was not impressed, a little confused but not impressed. Araks and Mara Hoffman (a 2-for-1 deal) also left me wondering if I wasted my time coming into the city on my day off. Araks was possibly one of the most boring shows I have ever seen, over sized brown potato sacks and over sized cobalt blue sweaters were not just "blah" they were unflattering. Mara Hoffman on the other hand was awesome! The two collections couldn't have been more different! She introduced color and patterns but they weren't over done. And with her Arabian night meets the wild west theme really made for some interesting pieces. She introduced a gunslinger vest in a mini version and a regular that I will be sure to pick up, when I save enough money. The rest of the day did not look promising so I went home.

Sunday, I was off and Blair was manning the ship as I recouped and watched the Giants win New York the Superbowl!

Monday was possibly one of the worst days of Fashion Week so far. Taking my frustration with me from Saturday, I was about ready to punch some bitchy PR sluts in their faces. We started off with Betsey Johnson, and after fighting with a security guard they finally let us in at the last minute. They weren't letting us sit so we had to stand in back of a sea of people making it impossible for us to see the runway. I decided to be resourceful and climbed on some stairs to try and get a decent picture. I love Betsey, she always puts on an awesome show but her actual looks this time around were a bit odd. Honestly I couldn't really see because this bitch thought it was a great idea that every time I was about to take a picture to throw her fat hand in the air with her camera so all I would get was her mother effing hand. Bitch. After getting out of Betsey, we somehow missed LucaLuca and waited on line for Pamella Rolland which was beautiful. And i must admit that I was jealous for a number of reasons in that show, 1. I can't afford her stuff and 2. one of Rolland's account exec.'s is engaged to Eli Manning. *Sigh* And now is when the day took a serious turn for the worse. Now, I should point out that I got into Max Azria last season, and we were confirmed for his other shows this past week, so when Blair and I walked up to the table an older blonde PR bitch was checking someone in, she turns around looking Blair and I up and down and says "Oh, Hello." and walks away!!! Um, complete judgment going on here! Needless to say we didn't get in, so we decided to wait on line for our confirmed spot in the Ports 1961 show. So much for "confirmed"--after receiving SEVERAL invitations in the mail, we walked up to the check in table and what do ya know we aren't on the list. Even with the invitation in my hand there's nothing. The fat gay fucker gave Blair and I standing room and we waited on line for over an hour. We did notice a lot of time passed and that's when I looked up at the monitors and saw the show starting without us and about over 100 other guests standing outside. Talk about inconsiderate! It was at this point that I was lucky to be unarmed because someone would have been seriously injured.

Tuesday, though, was a MUCH better day. We got to go backstage for Tibi, interview the designer and the newest ANTM winner Saelisha. The collection was adorable and it's not terribly expensive either. Badgley Mischka was next and was also amazing, since we got in and got relatively good seats. Monique Lhuilllier, who I want to design my wedding dress (well her or Reem Acra), was also beautiful. And compared to the PR people we were dealing with today, it was such a change from the days before. Cynthia Steffe was in the afternoon and as Blair and I waited on line, I had no idea who I was standing next to. Come to find out it was Miss J! Totally didn't recognize him/her from his plain clothes appearance, but he still looked fabulous! After a brief stint back at the office we ventured out to the Joanna Mastroianni show, who was attended by none other than Ginger from Gilligan's Island (the Movie Star, come on now- you know the theme song). The collection was great, although her use of fur was off and seemed to be added in just for the sake of it being added in.

Wednesday, well was a different kind of day from hell. First of all, I woke up at 3am in a sweat, nauseous, starving and practically couldn't move. Anything I smelled made me want to barf, my head felt like it weighed a million pounds and I couldn't think straight. I sucked it up and went into the City, hoping as the day progressed I would feel better. No such luck. After attempting to eat dry Cheerios and drinking some water, I decided that I should take the next train back home. But first I had some fashion reporting to do, Malan Brenton was up first. A winner of Project Runway, I was extremely excited to see what he had in store for us. Hoping I didn't pass out first, we g ot into the show and I was impressed. He gave us a SWEET gift bag which made my feeling like shit a little more tolerable. I literally couldn't stand or hold myself up so Blair and I sat in the Fashion Week makeshift coffee house until I had to leave for the train.

I got back to my neck of the woods, literally, and drove straight to the doctor. Lo and behold, I had a 102.2 fever and they tested me for strep and the flu. To my surprise, and the doctors, both tests came back negative. Doc said I had all of the flu symptoms, fever, aches and pains, congestion etc...so I was ordered to bed, lots of fluids and not to return to work until Monday. Thus, missing the last two days of Fashion Week. Unfortunately, Thursday would have been an extremely big day for me, with 4 confirmed shows and two interviews. I was holed up in bed, watching That Thing You Do! and Project Runway reruns coughing up a lung and eating my chicken soup.

This is where the story ends folks, as of now I beat the fever and I am on the road to recovery...and hopefully my career in fashion is salvageable too.