The Good and Bad About Going to New York Fashion Week

The Good and Bad About Going to New York Fashion Week

All clothing is from Lepa Boutique (she has amazing items)

Two locations: Hinsdale and Burr Ridge

Lepa Boutique outfit |  T&J Designs Clear Bags 20% off right now with code BAG20

Ever since I was a little girl, I fantasized about going to New York Fashion Week.  It was a dream that I never knew would happen and I would be glued to the Style Channel twice a year to watch models walking down the runway in the latest designer collections. Magazines were my favorite reads and I would tear out editorials of dresses I loved to tape on my wall. I would sketch things with sequins, trains, and dream big that one day, I may work or be in fashion.

At Fendi Store in Soho :).

Fast forward to growing up, starting my career as a CPA at an accounting firm did not satisfy my love of fashion, but it sure did make dressing up for work interesting. No matter what client I went to or conference, I made getting up to go to to work the fun part of my job. A few years later, I quit my job to pursue my passion to work behind the scenes in fashion and I did it. Becoming a corporate merchandiser was amazing, intense, stressful, but I loved it. I lived in New York eventually working for Tommy Hilfiger and pursuing my dream was all worth it. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that blogging or instagram would exist and bring me to three fashion weeks . . .

A lot of social media, blogging and being at NYFW is fabulous, fun, and a whirlwind, but there’s a side that doesn’t show in pictures. The things I love, are of course, the runway shows (which are harder to get into now with the amount of people going) and the glitz and glam of getting ready, seeing people I admire, and the parties. But the cons. . . there are some as well.

The CONS:

1. Costs: the flight, hotel, eating, clothes and CABS/UBER/LYFT are high.
2. Prep time: Sending 100+ emails before hand to get into shows and I didn’t have time to send any to hotels or restaurants for collaborations. The prep before going is more time consuming than people think. Work has been busy, I have two kids and the time it would take to get it all sponsored wasn’t there.
3. Traffic: so I mentioned the cost for transportation (my gosh too much), but 2 miles in NY takes like 30 minutes. So on the first day, we missed two shows just trying to get to one show to the next and we didn’t make it.
4. Lines: So if you aren’t a top influencer or celebrity, there is a waiting game and lines for everything. Rain or shine, you stand there outside before being allowed into a show. I’m always wearing heels so by the end of they day I’m exhausted, my feet and legs hurt and there’s a lot more standing than you see, as no one shows an hour of standing there on their social media.
5. Comparison, cliques, and FOMO: This in general is something most don’t talk about as an influencer.  There’s a lot of cliques, feeling in or out, comparing who got to what show or not, what party or not, or in general, those that didn’t attend experience FOMO (fear of missing out). At my age, I am pretty comfortable with myself, but it creates a large environment of insecurity for those that may want to “fit in”. I see it, I experience it, I dislike it, but I’m comfortable with myself to know if I’m not invited to a show, don’t have a clique to hang out with at a party, or miss something, I’m ok.  I see fashion week as a treat to what I do and I go because of my dream to see the shows.  The other stuff happens back at home in Chicago, little drama here and there regarding invites, dinners, collaborations.  My #1 rule this year, focus on myself and what I can create, not what others are doing. Make your own dreams and stop dreaming to be others.

The PROS:

1. The FASHION: my favorite part of all, the street style, shows, inspiration behind each designer, Spring Studios and in the past just being at Mercedes Benz Fashion week.  It inspires me to wear different things, look at things differently and continue to blog. I consider fashion such a huge art form of how we present ourselves and take pride in showing what I love.
2. New York city: by now you know I’m a city girl. There’s no place in the states that has the energy level of NYC and it makes me happy. I could be standing in place and just people watching and I love it.
3. The hustle and bustle: So although traffic is horrid, cars cost so much after going back and forth, there’s no other place where I’m hustling my ass to get to one place to another, trying to shoot great content, trying to share fun stories and network all in three days. I do those things in Chicago, but I’m at a much quicker pace there, plus I limit my time to make sure I get back to the kids and get my work done.
4. Networking: From people to PR firms, this is where a lot of magic happens. I met some bloggers that I’ve been friends with through instagram and love meeting in person. I went to a PR company and got introduced to their beauty lines. Next time, I want to make more appointments so that I can push myself even more to try new brands and lines. Networking is such a key element of any job, so I also see NYFW as a great way to connect with others.
5. Experience: It is an amazing experience and if you are a fashion lover like me, you have to go at least once. Being a blogger you can google how to get tickets, contacts for PR companies that run the shows, and if you are a hustler, you can get into at least a few shows. The cons are easy to overlook if you can do it, the pros outweigh it if you can spare a few days and afford to get away. Blogging/social media is my full time job. NYFW helped me feel inspired and to focus back on what I should create and share. I am excited for the last four months of the year. Gosh, this year flew by fast, but if you’ve been following me for a while, I’m sure you’ve seen the changes I’ve made on here and my instagram and hope you love the new content and intimate details of my personal life.

Before signing off, there’s two things to note, I wrote this post at midnight on Monday. These days there is so much I want to share, however blog posts tend to take longer and get the midnight run. So excuse grammer/misspellings – still correcting myself even now but wanted to publish. And two, remember to pursue your passion and focus on your own hustle. The phone lens is just a tiny part of who we are and gosh, if only I could really share everything going on . . .

All clothing is from Lepa Boutique (she has amazing items)

Two locations: Hinsdale and Burr Ridge

T&J Designs Clear Bags 20% off right now with code BAG20