Whew! I’m still recovering from last night’s activities, but I thought I’d share some pictures of the fun/mayhem:

FNO Cincy

At Saks pre-Fashion’s Night Out. First, how cute are the ladies working there? Second, how badly do I need (yes, NEED) this feathered bag?

My friend, photographer Ann Van Epps hung out at FNO Cincy and took great pics of the stylish women there. I didn’t realize the store itself would be such a gorgeous backdrop…

The beautiful girls of Style Edit (remember my interview with them here?) and a guest wearing my favorite–black and white stripes–and gorgeous Missoni (?) heels.

Don’t forget about the guys! Given my love of menswear, a lot of my style inspiration comes from dudes anyway.

Blog buddies (well, what am I supposed to call them?) Marsha and Brock of Style Edit and Zach of The Fagazine with a friend. Cuteness!

Thanks to Ann for the wonderful pictures!

The Fashion Event

There was a lot of crazy hair backstage at the fashion show for A-Line, but Ashlee of amellostyle styled our Stop Traffick Fashion tees to a…well, to a T!

Waiting to walk the runway at the fashion show…

It was fun. I’m exhausted. Have a great weekend!

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With Fashion Week(s) quickly approaching, we can look forward to fashion parties galore in the next month or so. While I won’t be going to NYC for Fashion’s Night Out like I did last year, I will be hitting A-Line‘s Fashion Event and the FNO event at Saks downtown to hang with fellow fashion lovers and (window) shop my heart out!

Dressing for these events can be difficult, because you want to look good and show your style chops, but you don’t want to look like you tried TOO hard because that justaintcool. So, I have a formula* of sorts: Fabulous + Frumpy + Amazing Accessories

Fabulous is the bread and butter of a fashion party look. People need to know you BELONG there, and stare longingly at your shoes. However, you also need the Frumpy aspect because the idea is to make it look like you totally forgot about this party, and  just threw on your 5-inch stilettos and gold lame blazer before casually rollin’ through.

So the idea is to combine the Fabulous and the Frumpy, add sparkly statement accessories, and stir:

Aaaand…just for giggles, I made this handy-dandy video to further demonstrate the “formula”:

*Please note that though this is a Very Complicated Formula derived via Highly Scientific Analysis, it may not apply 100% in all cases. Take this advice with a grain of salt, preferably on the rim of a shot of Tequila.

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Cincinnati Fashion Week continued in full force after my coverage of Part I!

Graphic Fashion

On Thursday, Landor held a block party in the alley beside their offices to celebrate the unveiling of a new window display based on the synergistic relationship of graphic design and fashion. I’m all about THAT!

Landor’s windows are always a point of interest–everyone gathered around to see the creativity on display.

Like most Fashion Week parties, the place was rife with music, booze, and beautiful people!

Le Grand Finale

Lovely bathing suits (and a reminder to lay off the cake) by New York designer Cala Ossidiana

I arrived at The Edge (how long has that been under construction, anyway?) a little late because I was at a party, but managed to catch the tail end (ha!) of the first part of the show.

There were drinks, makeup lessons, a beautiful view of the city, and plenty of room to roam around and check out people’s outfits–the crowd was primed!

AmareSinh on the runway

When the show started again, I really enjoyed Philly designer AmareSinh‘s collection–lots of architectural shapes and edgy femininity. Since I’d arrived en retard, I missed Laura Dawson‘s wonderful presentation (she’s one of the most adorable people EVER) and planned to see it at the Merchant Fair at Brush Factory on Sunday, but it was rainy and cool all day, so most of my time was spent like this:

“What? You want me to get UP?”

Sometimes Beau has the right idea.

You can find more CFW coverage at 5chw4r7z, Style Edit, and The Fagazine.

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Monday was the start of Cincinnati Fashion Week, which means there have been parties and events for the fashion forward every night. I’m old and stuff, so I can’t do it all like I did last year, but I’ve managed to hit a few stops so far:

A-Line A-list

Monday was the A-Line/CFW Warhol Factory party, held at the old CAC. I’ve walked past that building a skabillion times and had no idea it was the old CAC, though I’m sure I visited when it was. See? Old.

There were plenty of drinks (including dangerously tasty ones mixed up by Molly Wellmann–and y’all know I’m a lightweight), fun photo booths by Framester, an American Apparel fashion show, and a profusion of hipsters large and small.

To a Tea

Wednesday evening, fashion collector Mary Baskett presented her impressive collection of Japanese designers at the Art Museum. Yohji, Comme, and Miyake, oh my!

I would’ve stayed for the party, but I’d spent most of the extremely hot day running around pulling items for A-Line, and like I said, I’m OLD y’all. I needed to soak in some Epsom salts, eat a sensible dinner, and go to bed at a reasonable hour–midnight.

I’ll report back after tonight’s shindig at Landor and this weekend’s events!

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Victoria’s Secret sweater; thrifted skirt and purse; gifted Casualmere scarf, Gucci sunglasses

Not to keep harping on the weather, but please let the record show that I’m wearing a wool skirt and sweater. In May. The last time I wore this skirt, it was practically a winter wonderland. Who do I need to contact to make sure this weather switch doesn’t happen again?

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Sometimes it seems like Fashion Week exists just to make us drool over clothes and accessories no one can wear for another four months. Thanks to the convoluted cycle of the fashion industry, the finery strutting down the runways in September won’t be available in stores until February or March.

Howevah.

One of the reasons I pay attention to the designer shows is they always offer a bit of inspiration. Interpretation of a season’s trend or even a single look doesn’t have to be literal–it can help you think of different ways to put together items already in your closet.

For instance, I spotted this shorts and blouse combo on the runway at PPQ.

Is it the exact same look? Nope! I took liberties with fit and detail and did my own thing with accessories.

Thrifted blouse, shorts, belt, and shoes

Would I have thought to wear these two items together before? Probably not, as they reside in different parts of my “mental wardrobe.” The runway look triggered the idea.

I also came across this look from Malandrino:

My first thought was “Hey, I have a similar top!” And while I don’t have trousers made of sheer netting (does anyone?) and a huge necklace, it should be easy enough to find or create reasonable substitutes.

H&M top, The Limited trousers, vintage shoes, DIY necklace

See? The runway can be inspirational without being taken literally!

Do you pay attention to Fashion Week? How does it inspire you?

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So, I returned from New York earrrrrly yesterday morning after a pretty fabulous trip. Here’s how it went down:

Getting there

I have a very complex packing method, which is to say that my technique involves throwing a bunch of stuff I think I might want to wear on the bed and trying to create outfits out of the jumble. This is a very slow, complicated operation that usually lasts for about 45 minutes before I say “Aw, screw it!” and throw everything haphazardly in the suitcase.

I made it to the airport with one goal in mind. Well, two goals–obviously, I didn’t want to miss my plane, but the most important, most pressing objective?

Truly the best thing about the airport.

I’ve never tried to take pictures from the plane before, but the idea of capturing the city from a superior point-of-view was just too appealing to pass up.

Concrete jungle where dreams are made offff…

IFBCon

I made it to all four sessions of the IFB Evolving Influence Conference, but not before getting lost trying to find the venue. Even though it was only 10 blocks from my hotel. Apparently, the Hudson is too hip for outside signage because that makes it too easy for people to, you know, find it. You just have to be in the know.

All of the conference’s speakers, from the creators of Bloglovin’ and Lookbook.nu to well-known bloggers like Susie and Rumi, had a lot of insight to offer, and it was very interesting getting a peek into what goes into creating a popular site. The biggest takeaway for me was that there is no big-time blogger formula. Some people plan, some people are spontaneous, everybody works hard, and no one seems to know why or how their readership grows. Go figure.

Bryanboy

I didn’t recognize as many people as I thought I would (it didn’t help that it was very dark inside the hotel, which also made it difficult to take pictures), but I did meet lots of funny, lovely, fashionable bloggers whose sites I can now obsessively visit.

June and Fajr

By the time the after party started, I was exhausted–but not too exhausted to hit Spot dessert bar with one of my dearest friends (hi, Neesha!). Yes, a dessert bar. Best. idea. EVER.

Between the dessert tapas, sorbets, cookies, and cupcakes, we indulged with a capital I. If I knew anything about dessert other than how to eat it, I’d totally copy this concept in Cincinnati. *hint hint* Anyone? Bueller?

#FNO

I tend to overplan on trips, so on Fashion’s Night Out, I narrowed it down to one concrete must-see: Robin Thicke.

After dinner at Chelsea Market, we headed to the Meatpacking District and arrived at the crowded Hugo Boss store just in time to see the back of Mr. Thicke’s head serenade a gaggle of women pressed against the stage before launching into “Lost Without U.” The crowd inside and outside sang along and tried to snap pictures in the dark, and I must say, Robin looked and sounded good.

We hit Moschino, Diane Von Furstenburg (where I saw DVF surrounded by an absolute mob of fans, but missed Anna Wintour’s later appearance), and Jeffrey, where I found a leather blazer that looked like the lovechild of Morpheus’ Matrix coat and Prince’s Purple Rain jacket. In other words, pure awesome.

Take the purple pill.

We made our way over to Tracy Reese’s dance party–Tracy Reese herself was dancing her arse off with the rest of the crowd in the front of the store–before heading to Soho and the LES and deciding it was time for more food.

Surprisingly enough, I didn’t buy any clothing/shoes/accessories while in NYC, though, trust me, I looked. I’m pretty sure that’s a first!

How was your weekend? Did you enjoy any shopping-related activities?

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