NYFW ITINERARY.

Ever wondered what people do at New York Fashion Week?  Before I went myself, I always wondered what people did and and why in the world they would say they were too busy to eat (I can now vouch that is really the case!) so I wanted to share my experience with you in case you’re ever planning to attend or if you just want an inside peek.  From parties to runway shows to the best restaurants in town, read on for the day-by-day breakdown of my long weekend at NYFW.

 

Once I landed and got all settled in the hotel, I had some time before my first obligation so I ran some errands to pick up things I forgot or items that I ordered that didn’t arrive in time and strolled through Bryant Park.  There were so many people out because it was a perfect day.

From there I went to the Jack Rogers showroom to preview their upcoming collections, view the fall line in person, and talk with one of the girls on the team.  It was my first time visiting a showroom and I really had no idea what I was doing so I don’t remember any of the dates she told me regarding when certain collections were coming out but trust me that they are all amazing!  So great in fact that I already have an order for a pair of sandals from their spring line even they won’t ship until April.  Yes, they are that good!

After that I went to meet up with my friend Alyssa of Runway Chef.  We have been blog friends for two years now once we figured out that we both went to the same tiny college in Kansas but graduated in different years and never crossed paths.  Such a small world!  This was our first time meeting in person which is funny because we already felt like close friends.  It was September 11th so I wanted to go down to Lower Manhattan and walk in the shadow of the Freedom Tower.

Then we meandered all around, through Battery Park and all the way over the Brooklyn Bridge.  I have walked the BB both at night and during the day and must say, I prefer it at night.  It is just so magical and being able to look back at the skyline is truly breathtaking!

We strolled around BK for a while, met up with her husband at Brooklyn Bridge Park aka my favorite park in the world, and then grabbed some ice cream.  If you ever are in BK you have to check out Ample Hills Creamery – their “The Munchies” flavor was fantastic!

Then we hopped in the car and they showed me around Brooklyn since I’ve never made it very far in.  I’ve decided that BK has all the charm of Manhattan without the chaos – I loved it!

Started the morning walking all around SoHo catching up with my KC blog friends Jana of Jana Style and Cait of Sophisticaited and popping in to stores we could never afford.

From there we went to the Kendra Scott showroom to preview the upcoming winter collection.  The ladies were so sweet and it was wonderful to finally meet them after working with them here on the blog for almost a year.  Plus, there were other bloggers there who we got to meet and everyone was just so darling.  As for the collection, let’s just say you’re going to love it!  It’s called Mirror, Mirror and plays around the good vs. evil metaphors of our favorite fairy tale stories (think Snow White) and luckily for you, it is almost out –  the collection launches October 14th!

After that, we headed to our first show: Francesca Liberatore.  Actually I wasn’t invited to either of the two shows I ended up attending this Fashion Week but instead got in as my friend Jana’s plus one haha.  Anyways, the venue was a little small but the collection was stunning.  Lots of corals and oranges and tons of sheer chiffon.  Very edgy meets ethereal.

After that we headed back to the room to change and take a quick nap before the Monique Lhuillier show, which was incredible!!!  Everything was very ready-to-wear which I totally appreciated.  So often the items I see on the runway are very specific to the runway and I can’t see them being pulled off in real life.  However, this collection was full of classic dresses and structured coats, tops, and trousers all in saturated hues and bright prints.

I ran into Amber Fillerup again after the show and had to go up and say hi.  I about died when she looked at me and was all “You look so familiar, how do I know you?!” and when I told her about Create + Cultivate she totally remembered me.  Anyways, I won’t fangirl too hard but just know she is 100% the real deal and I want to be her friend.

After the show I headed down to NoLiTa to meet up with my best friend from high school who lives in the city.  We went to Cafe Gitane for dinner and finished up with drinks at Freeman’s – highly recommend both!

Of course I started my Sunday morning with Church.  Lucky for me there was one right around the corner from our hotel so I didn’t even have to go far!  I just rolled out of bed, went to church, grabbed coffee on the way back to the hotel, and then actually got ready for the day.  A little backwards, but it worked!

Then I headed to a pre-party at one of my blog friend’s, Krista of Covering the Bases.  We were all headed to the rewardStyle party later that day so we all met up beforehand and it was an absolute blast.  There were a few girls there who I was “blog friends” with but hadn’t met in person but a ton of new faces that I had the chance to get to know.  We drank champs, ate some pizza, had some girl talk and really just had the best time.

Then it was off to the rewardStyle rooftop party.  This is an annual party during fashion week hosted by the rS team where a bunch of influencers are invited to come meet each other, talk blogging and fashion, and just enjoy the festivities.

 

If I’m being honest, the party was kind of a bust, at least in my opinion.  There were just too many people in too small of a space so I only got to meet a few girls, which was really a bummer.  Since all the girls who I went with agreed, we decided to ditch out early and grab dinner together.

We headed down the street to a place called Cookshop and had the most amazing meal.  The food was all fantastic (we ordered a bunch of stuff and shared), we got to sit outside in the lovely weather, and actually got to have great conversation instead of trying to yell over a DJ and 200 other people.

Monday was my last day in the city.  By that point, I had done everything I had wanted to do (showrooms, parties, shows) so I intentionally left this day fairly open so that I could walk around and soak up the city before heading home.

I started the day with the girls getting our hair done.  Caravan Style Studio had a pop-up where you could come get your hair, make-up, or nails done which was a treat.  Also as part of that event, we had the chance to meet Michael DePaulo and preview some of his designs which were all works of art.

After that, we strolled down to the Flatiron and Madison Square Park.  It was an absolutely perfect day out so we knew we had to be outside as much as possible and walk everywhere.

From there I said my good-byes to the girls and went over to Chelsea Market to meet up with one of my best blog friends, Ashley of Blonde Collective.  We have been friends for a while and actually had planned a meet-up in LA earlier this year but it fell through last minute so we were extatic that we were able to make it happen this time!  She is a true gem and we had the best time bonding over lunch at Friedman’s – also highly recommend!

Since I was so close to the High Line and the weather was so ideal, I decided to walk all the way to my next event which was a solid 35 minutes away.  If you haven’t heard of it the High Line is an old train track that was renovated into an urban park.  Super unique and the views are so amazing.

My last event before heading to the airport was a hybrid technology and style event, aptly called TechStyle, with my friend Alyssa who I had previously met up with Friday.  The event was cool but we didn’t stay too long.  Turns out we are more into style than technology so there were only a few booths we really wanted to check out haha.

From there it was time to bid adieu to one of my favorite cities and head back home.  I actually started crying on the way to the airport because I didn’t want to leave!

It was definitely a successful first Fashion Week and I hope to make it back next year (won’t be able to make it in February due to work, which might be a blessing in disguise since it always looks so cold).  It was one of those experiences I always dreamed of but never thought was actually possible, so thank you everyone for your support of my blog because without it I never would have been able to go!