New York Fashion Week Recap

Hiiiiii babes!

My NYFW recap has been a long time coming, but it’s finally here! I wanted to get this up last week, but I was caught off guard by a sinus infection that stole my life for a few days. No plz.

Anywhooo, what better way to start the week than with a full recap of my first real New York Fashion Week experience?

I went to fashion week this year with Redken, a hair company that I go way, way back with. Basically, brands like Redken take influencers backstage with them to cover the fashion week craziness on social media for their followings!

Redken artists were doing the hair at many major shows & presentations, so they took a few bloggers backstage with them for each event.

As a guest, Redken planned out my first few days at fashion week, took care of my hotel, & let me into their Redken family for the week…. not a bad gig at all.

I flew in on Wednesday, because my first big day in NYC was on Thursday.

I woke up Thursday morning at the Manhattan Affinia Hotel, grabbed a latte with one of my BEST FRIENDS from home, Riley ( who just so happens to work really close to where I was staying in NYC… got lucky ), & headed to the Cynthia Rowley presentation.

For the presentation, I was dressed by Cynthia Rowley ( how AMAZING is this dress?? ) and had my hair done by Redken & my makeup done by Stila. Like… is this real life?

After that, I headed to Delicatessen with the Redken team to grub on brussels sprouts & french fries, and to have a drink or 8. Best day ever.

On Friday, after my daily almond milk cappuccino, I met up with my roomie, Molly of Trendy Chickadee, after her red-eye flight in from LA ( that’s dedication on her part, for realz ) to go to a Bollare’s gifting suite.

For those of you who don’t know the lingo, a gifting suite is something PR companies & brands do for bloggers, influencers, & celebrities. Basically, they put a ton of product out for us to take, wear & share. It’s like shopping without having to pay.

Again… is this real life?

After hanging out with Bollare, Molly & I went to Mercer Kitchen for lunch, because we both think it’s the freaking best place ever. It’s still my #1 favorite.

Friday night, I headed out to conquer some events with Molly & other LA blogger buds.

We stopped by the LuLu*s Style Studio for some drinks & mingling before heading to a Vogue event at Spring Studios.

TBH: sometimes events crowded with bloggers can be really weird & have kind of a negative vibe. I’m not sure why, but I feel like I’m always leaving events feeling very uncomfortable. People usually give off this trying-to-be-intimidating/competitive energy ( LOL- welcome to Los Angeles, my friends ). I can honestly say that the fashion week events I attended did NOT have that vibe at ALL. It was all a dream.

The best events, by far, were with Vogue. They all had really laid-back vibes, if you can believe that.

On Friday night, I went to meet up with another Texas friend, Laurel, my BFF from college, who was in town for the weekend as well. Y’all may remember her as the big-hair girl on my snapchat who peed behind a tree on the streets of Soho. You can take the girl outta Texas, but…. I had to remind her that people in New York City don’t squat & pee wherever they want ( is it weird that things like this make me miss home, though?? ).

I decided to chill out for the weekend, so I only attended a few events & spent a lot of time hanging out with friends.

On Saturday, Molly, Laurel, & I did a dreamy lunch at Bergdorf’s. Champagne, Lobster, & Shopping. Good vibes.

Then, M & I headed to the the Vogue x Armani Party for the launch of Armani’s new perfume, Si. BTW- it smells AMAZE.

I finished out Saturday with my friend Sophie bar hopping in Manhattan, because I’m classy like that.

On Sunday, I got a FAB blowout with Vogue, & headed to the Vogue lounge with some blogger buds for a mid-day drink & a bite to eat. I had to check out of my hotel on Sunday, so I moved my things to my friend Sophie’s house on the Lower East Side. She has the CUTEST apartment in the best location, so I was pumped to have the chance to spend the last half of fashion week there.

Sunday was spent watching football over french fries & hot wings. I had to balance out spending half the day with Vogue with something a little more me.

On Monday morning, I woke up early to shoot a few looks with my girl Haley, another one of my favorite Texans in NYC for the weekend! After shooting, I wore this little number backstage to Taoray Wang with Redken.

Taoray Wang was an AMAZING show! Also, they had plenty of sandwiches & coffee backstage, so I was a happy camper. The show was at the main building for the NYFW shows, so walking in & out involved brushing shoulders with some of fashion’s biggest bloggers & editors.

My favorite part of hanging around the main NYFW building was seeing the off-duty models fly from show to show, headphones-in, makeup & hair still done, & generally not giving a fuck. Also, beware, when you enter & leave shows, the street style photographers go HAM on taking pictures.

TIP: If you want your 15 seconds of fame, put on something ridiculous & stand outside of the entrance/exit to a fashion show. Jeeeeeeez.

Monday night, I met up with my friend Kristen of High End Hippie, & a couple Texas bloggers for the rewardStyle x Milk Makeup party in Chelsea. Then, we had an ordeal where we went on a double date and ended up ditching to take tequila shots & eat tacos at the bar next door…. but that’s something we can get into on the podcast soon-to-come. LOL.

We’ll get a little more scandalous there….. stay tuned.

Tuesday was my last full day in NYC, & it started with a trip to the Alison Brod PR showroom & beauty closet, where I stocked up with a lifetime’s worth of beauty products I’ll be sharing with y’all soon.

Some of you may have seen this on my snap, but the ABPR beauty closet is every girl’s DREAM. It’s floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked with Urban Decay, Bliss, Laura Geller, L’Oreal, & so much more.

Again, again…. is this real life?

After getting spoiled by ABPR, I headed to the Monique Lhuillier show with Kristen, where we snuck to the front row, fan-girled over the star-studded audience, & saw some of the most amazing pieces I’ve ever seen. I’ve always been a fan of Monique Lhuillier, so attending her show with one of my blogger besties was  unreal.

We ended Tuesday night with Chloe Digital ( my super helpful digital team! ) for happy hour on a rooftop in East Village. The Chloe Digital girls are the CUTEST with their straight-outta-London accents & their stellar style. It’s so nice to be able to work with people who just KILL IT. More good vibes.

I woke up on Wednesday a little depressed about leaving NYC, but ready to get back home to Los Angeles.

After breakfast with my photog friend, Haley, and YET ANOTHER Texas friend living in NYC, I headed to the airport to start the journey across the country to sunny California.

Overall, I had the most exciting & inspiring, but also chill, NYFW experience. I was expecting the whole thing to be more intimidating, but it wasn’t. If anything, the trip validated my blogging journey, & made me feel really good about how far I’ve come. Also, it made me really pumped about my future in the world of blogging, and it has inspired me to work even harder to make my dreams into a reality.

Because, really, NYFW was a DREAM that came to life. It’s much easier to see possibility when you watch a fucking life-long DREAM materialize. It makes it a little more realistic.

I want to thank all of my incredible friends, blogger buds, all of YOU guys, Redken, Vogue, Cynthia Rowley, Stila, & all the other badass people/companies who made my week the best fucking thing ever. What’s that saying about surrounding yourself with the best people you can find?? LOVE Y’ALL.

I’ll stop being all sappy now, I promise. I’m just still in AWE.

Can’t wait for the next go-around! Seriously, I’m counting down the days until February’s fashion week.

So happy I could share this experience with y’all! Y’all are really the reason I get opportunities like this in the first place…. *still feeling sappy.*

Talk soon, loves. xx

P