New York Fashion Week : My Looks and Tips

It’s been a month and a half since my second time New York Fashion Week experience ended. Honestly, not only did it still feel like a dream to me, I actually found myself constantly in the learning process even I’m not a first-timer any more (newbie experience here).  One of the reasons could be that NYFW in September is a lot different than February. Not to say one is dominantly better than the other, but do expect a number of changes when preparing for the trip.

Weather wise, there’s no doubt September is much more accommodating. I mentioned many times on my Instagram that, our flight to New York got cancelled twice this February, which made me absent for a whole day and a half for my first ever fashion week – not the best way to kick off the week.

My suggestion: if you’re planning a Feb NYFW, it’s probably a better idea to arrange your in-bound flight a day or two earlier than your first show/event, just to make sure you arrive on time. To me warmer weather also means less stress packing – at the end of the day, squeezing in half a dozen chunky knits and coats is no joke!

All that being said, let’s just say I’m not the only one that feels this way about Feb weather, which leads to a reality we have to face – it can be more or less easier to get invited to fashion shows and events in Feb, even more so if you’re just starting out blogging. My guess is, people expect a much higher no-show rate in winter season and tend to be more flexible about sending out invites.  Also, don’t forget to factor in the travel expense – it is almost for sure more budget friendly in Feb than Sept in terms of hotels and flights.

A few tips that could apply to both seasons in my opinion:

1. Know the main reason that you are going to fashion week and stick to it. Imagine a theme park – fashion week is a giant theme park for fashion junkies. There could be and will be so many things to do: runways, presentations, brand events, PR meetings, blogger meet-ups, and even more. You’ll find yourself easily stretched too thin if you try too hard to do it all. Prioritize and be prepared to let some of the things go.
2. Also know that, during fashion week, everything could take longer than you thought but you yourself want to be on time. Fashion shows notoriously start late,  NYC traffic is never your best friend, and when your schedule is packed there’s always something that doesn’t go as planned. Definitely take all these into account when working on your calendar, especially before arranging back to back shows/meetings.
3. Over-pack, and/or ship your new orders to the hotel. During fashion week, there’s no such thing as over-dressed or changing too many outfits. It is the time that you’ll be inspired just walking down the street. That’s why it doesn’t hurt to pack more options or even have some of your online buys shipped to where you stay. Just call the front desk a few days beforehand to give them a heads-up.
4. If you are shooting for getting street snapped, go bold with your outfits, and wear colors. The thing is, you might think you’re going over-board with an outfit, but 90% of the time you’re not. To me this is truly the beauty of fashion week.

Now, time to go over what I was wearing for this four-day trip (8 looks in total as I had one outfit change each day). This season I had the opportunity to team up with some of my favorite brands for fashion week (BNKR, Rent the Runway, ThredUp, etc). Besides having so much fun creating outfits, a few of these following looks were documented by street photographers and even appeared on well-known fashion sites, for which I’ve been feeling extremely unreal and grateful.

Day 1 Look 1

Appeared on ManRepeller. Opted for a greenish theme for this outfit, and added a pop of red as a finish touch. Popped up at the headquarter of KIND Snacks in this ensemble as our first stop in New York, and then off to a couple shows.

Day 1 Look 2

Changed to this more casual and relaxed look for the night.

 

Day 2 Look 1

Morning outfit thanks to Thredup and BNKR. I really liked the masculine touch the blazer brought to balance out the feminine and romantic vibe of the maxi dress.

Day 2 Look 2

Unbutton your shirt and pull it down a bit – viola, you just get yourself an off-the-shoulder top!

Day 3 Look 1

The composition of pink and red is really a thing right now. Personally I was a huge fan of the sporty details of the knit top.  We had brunch at Union Fare that morning, and blown away by how lovely their croissants are!

Day 3 Look 2

Obviously, I decided to really embrace the revival of berets on that day. Wore this second look to Westlight that night for dinner and a drink. It’s pretty nice to get away from the fashion week hustle for a while.

 

Day 4 Look 1

The last two outfits were both supported by Rent the Runway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 4 Look 2

Appeared on Cosmopolitan with these beauties: ZhuZhu , and Tina. Check out their accounts and you can thank me later.

Finally, a big shout-out to The New York Edition. Hands down the best hotel I’ve stayed in New York so far.

This is a wrap! For the next part of the recap, I’ll cover the highlights of the shows I attended. Meanwhile, take a glimpse of everything with this video. Stay tuned!