My Spring/Summer 2011 Fashion Week: My Articles, My Swag, My Daily Caffeine Intake

[Pic at top: some of my show invites and makeup face chart. On the bottom: about 1/4 of the New York Fashion Week freebies received!]

Another fashion week has come and gone!  It’s hard to explain what it’s like covering shows, as to most friends and family who’s never experienced it, New York Fashion Week sounds like a blast. There are fun, adrenaline-packed moments, celebrities, and  fabulous parties, but believe me when I say that the work is grueling and the hours extremely unaccommodating. This season I spent the majority of my time covering backstage beauty looks for AOL StyleList (you can read all my posts here, please click on one to subscribe (it’s free)!), which gave me a great insight into upcoming beauty trends for hair, makeup, and nails, while I also reported for Elle.com as part of the Style Coalition’s coverage (see some of it here) , Pretty Coveted, and of course Fashion Pulse Daily!

Phew – that was a lot – and I’m glad I can now slow down the pace and reflect on the experience at New York Fashion Week’s new home at Lincoln Center! Good and bad news: the space is beautiful, drawing on the history of the location and offering an outdoor space to eat and hang out, along with stronger wifi! Bad news: the venues used at Lincoln Center, besides the tents span a bit of space, and it’s a bit more difficult to walk from backstage, back around into the shows, to media lounges, other shows, etc. Change is always good, and by next season, I will hopefully have a few shortcuts and secret hideaway spots to work quietly as well as convene with friends and eat!

As you can see by the coverage, I saw 60+ shows, with a team of FPD writers and friends who gladly chipped in to contribute, at locations all throughout the city. The press bags and swag from the shows and events were kind of immense this season, with a few of my favorites being:

• A Tulle peacoat, and Ginger + Liz Manicure from the Robert Verdi Fashion Week Retreat
• BAND-AID by Cynthia Rowley (seriously the most beautiful band-aids, ever)
• A Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week umbrella (so practical!)
• A ModCloth tote bag
• Hue Leggings – one pair of ‘tuxedo’ sparkles, another rubbed pair
• An Ideeli.com gift card
• Ajune Spa Gift Certificate (I desperately neeeded this!)
• JuJu Chan hair powder, Chapfix lip balm, Thierry Mugler Womanity, thefind.com molsekin notepad (all from the IFB Evolving Influence Conference)
• Two pairs of undies and a Victoria’s Secret Gift Certificate from the Victoria’s Secret lounge
• Proactiv Makeup Remover Wipes and Ted Gibson Products in the Cocktails & Couture Gift Bags

New York Fashion Week Survival:

[Pic at top: My trusty notepad, pen, and ASUS Ee PC. On the bottom: my amazing HandbagHeaven bag that contained all of my NYFW !]

I camped out wherever I could to immediately file my articles (pictured above was the outdoor area at Donna Karan), and was so incredibly grateful to have the Windows 7  Hot Pink Eee PC™ 1008P with me, as it was only 2.5 lbs, and didn’t weigh down my already massive bag. Speaking of the bag -compliments of one of my favorite bag sites, I rocked the  HandbagHeaven.com Dante Stud Hobo all week, and I have to confirm that this bag certainly upheld a beating, and stains, and still looked impeccable at the end of the week!  If you really want to know everything I shoved in there, I can tell you that it consisted of no less than: a cardigan or jacket, a scarf, 2-3 newspapers, notepad, laptop, camera, all battery cords, flipcam, toiletries, 1-2 bottles of water, protein bar, and… probably about 20 more items! I also got coffee and wine splashed on me/it, and it didn’t stain – score!

My diet for the week consisted of: a mini croissant, diet Muscle Milk, 2 Starbucks Light Vanilla Frappucinos, one cup of Starbucks Via, Emergin-C packet in Acai Berry, and a granola bar daily. Not much to go on, I know, but I swear there was NO time to eat!  I did get to attend some fabulous events, and hang out with other fashion friends and bloggers,  including the Style Coalition Fashion Week Wrap-Up Party, the Blogger Meet and Greet, IFB Conference, Cocktails & Couture, Robert Verdi’s NYFW Retreat, and Fashion’s Night Out. Enjoy the photos, and stay tuned for less lengthy posts regarding New York Fashion Week!

[Top Image: with Gabrielle, Jeannine, and Kimmie at the Style Coalition event, image via GuestofaGuest.com. Bottom Image: with Yuli and Deanne at the Blogger Cocktails/Meet and Greet]

-Julia DiNardo