Archive for February, 2009

My first full day in New York during Fashion Week was a blast! First, I walked over a mile from Times Square to visit my company’s New York office for a lunch date with my coworker/good friend, Mariella.

Above: Map from my hotel to my companie’s office (see arrow for Bryant Park)

After lunch, I trucked back to Times Square to meet up with Jennine of The Coveted and IFB for an exciting shopping adventure – my first time to Century 21! It’s basically Nordstrom Rack on crack. I could have easily spent several hours in the shoe department alone.

Above: Century 21 storefront

Sadly, I didn’t buy anything because most the items I contemplated were still a little steep, even at discounted prices. Jennine, on the otherhand, found an amazing Calvin Klein blazer marked down to $30 – so jealous! Also, here’s a photo of Jennine in an amazing ruffle-collar Viktor and Rolf vest – if only it were $80 instead of $800, it looked perfect on her!

After rushing back to my hotel, I had to quickly get ready for the Digital Moda party,  hosted by Style Coalition. Luckily, I planned my outfit in advance – a 1950′s vintage black dress from Stella Vintage in Issaquah with the cropped Verrier blazer I wore on V-day (also from Stella).

I met up with Jennine and Mariella before heading up to the Penthouse of the hotel where the party was taking place. Can you say crowded? In this case, it was a good thing because we got to mingle with several designers, bloggers and other guests. The purpose of the event was to unite designers with online media, particularly fashion bloggers.

Above: With Mariella

Above: Jennine showing off her new blazer

On the digital media front, it was lovely chatting with Jean and Mike Pratt (Style Observer and GiftGirl) and Yuli Ziv (My It Things) – three of the four who founded Style Coalition. We also bumped into Julia of Fashion Pulse Daily (she’s a total doll) and Sarah Austin of Pop17 (putting the chic in geek chic).

Below is a list of designers who were present. I had the privilege of chatting with a few of them including Gilles and June, who each showed me a few of their new pieces that were roaming the floor.

The Designers at the event:

• Gilles Montezin Gilles Montezin
• Rebecca Minkoff Rebecca Minkoff
• Sylvia Heisel Sylvia Heisel
• June Webers The June Collection
• Kathlin Argiro Kathlin Argiro
• Anna Lucid Lucid New York
• Tamara Pogosian Tamara Pogosian
• Brooklyn Royalty by Bob Bland Brooklyn Royalty
• Papusza Couture by Kaytee Papusza Papusza Couture
• KRELwear by Karelle Levy KRELwear

Finally, I also had a fun time chatting with the Perkett PR girls, Christine and Claire, and coincidentally ran into an old friend from college, Margo, who now lives in NYC!

More photos from Digital Moda:

In addition to the New York Fashion Week Dress Up Soiree, Independent Fashion Bloggers (IFB) at London Fashion Week also dressed up for a swanky gathering Monday evening. In doing so, Jennine (IFB and The Coveted) partnered with Mademoiselle Robot, and it looks like they had a blast!

Check out this video convo between Jennine and Mademoiselle Robot which gives insight to how IFB got started and how much it’s grown.

A few lovely photos of the bloggers who attended…

Above: Mademoiselle Robot

Above: Jennine

Above: Fashion Daydreams and Retro Chick

Above: LouLou Loves You

Above: Frankie of Swell Vintage (on left)

Video by: Sebbywood
Photo credits: The Coveted, Mademoiselle Robot, Flickr

On a related note to my last post, there’s been a ton of drama circulating as a result of this article about Style Coalition in The New York Observer. Gawker weighed in on the story  referring to Style Coalition as a “kiss-up guild” for fashion bloggers. I’ll admit, the Observer piece left a bad taste in my mouth too, but after meeting Yuli and her colleagues in person, I think the article misrepresented what they are trying to accomplish.

Photo Credit: thee most exalted potentate love (via Flickr)

More drama resulting from the article – Daniel Saynt of Fashion Indie was ridiculed for the honesty he portrays on his site, which received over a million hits last month. Needless to say, he has a huge audience and is obviously doing something right. He’s now filing a lawsuit against the Observer for the false allegations made in the story which led to Fashion Indie being uninvited and/or blacklisted to NYFW shows and the cancellation of Fashion Indie Week.

My humble, but honest POV…

• I love Daniel’s voice and don’t blame him for fighting back given the negative impact Fashion Indie has suffered as a result of the article. However, the lawsuit seems a bit unnecessary, especially since this whole mess will probably boost his already loyal readership.
• To Gawker’s point, any blogger who is willing to become a sell-out might want to rethink why they started to begin with – the less credible you appear, the more your site will have the effect of an advertisement to your readers.
• As for Yuli, Mike and Jean – I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised when arriving to their Digital Moda event (working on a post with photos). It seemed obvious to me they’re trying to show designers the increasing influence of online media and the benefits of building relationships with bloggers. My alter ego as a PR specialist can vouch for the fact that a lot of companies are talking “social media,” but many are still trying to grasp the how and the why.  
• I’m an active member of Independent Fashion Bloggers and value it as a resource to help fashion blogs grow regardless of what level they’re at. I actually wrote a contributed piece last week about working with PR which kind of ties in to the topic of this post. Though I try to stay away from burning any bridges, I also believe voice is extremely important for independent blogs – it’s the edge we have on corporate operated blogs.

Vyque at Fasshonaburu also weighed in on this. Check out her post here!

Throughout New York Fashion Week, there was a noticeable emphasis on digital media. Vivienne Tam hosted an alternative runway show at her store in Soho and partnered with HP to make it blogger friendly with HP’s new line of swanky touch-screen PCs (working on an in depth post of the event).

During the show, Yuli Ziv of My It Things and Style Coalition conducted a video interview with a few fashion bloggers including Fashion Pulse Daily, Felicia Sullivan, StyleIT, ReLYME and yours truly.

Check it out:

My first night in New York was spent at a fabulous event hosted by Jennine on behalf of Independent Fashion Bloggers. To make the night more interesting, there was a little friendly competition lurking in the atmosphere as photographer Dustin Fenstermacher circulated the room to capture style photos of the guests. The candids have been posted on Modepass and the “Dress Up” contest is now live. 

I desperately want to win the Vivienne Tam HP mini notebook (my laptop has been giving me a world of trouble) and would love your help. You can vote here by clicking the plus sign on the bottom right. Here are some photos of my look:

I didn’t get a good shot of the full look, but thanks to Beka of reLYME, I was able to create the collage above.

Choosing the outfit…

In effort to find something original, I scoured tons of Etsy stores before hitting the jackpot with a piece from Portland designer, Holly Stalder. Not only did it feel great to find a one-of-a-kind dress, but it was also cool to represent the Northwest. The dress cost $155, which was a small price to pay considering my obsession with it. To make it more winter-appropriate, I added black accents and accessories.

It was so much fun getting to meet other bloggers in person for the first time. I’ve been following The Coveted (Jennine), Wendy Brandes Jewelry and Fasshonaburu (Vyque was my first blogger friend; just met Alyssa and Catherine who also contribute) since before I started Clutch22. I also made some lovely new friends.

Above from left: Jennine, Alyssa, Wendy, Vyque, Catherine, Natanya

Above: The stylish gents from Fine and Dandy

Above: View from up stairs

Above: Vyque’s fab backwards Marc Jacobs pumps

Above: Major jewelry envy – all by the talented Wendy (several of us are determined she will be designing our wedding rings…can someone tell Jordan?)

Check out the rest of the photos from the night here!