Fashion Month

Hi there! First things first: thank you for your patience over the last few weeks, as I’ve been traveling abroad for fashion month festivities, all while undertaking a total site redesign here at Wear + Where + Well with the good folks at GoLive. We are still making a few last tweaks, but I hope you like the new look here. The last month or so has been a whirlwind in the best possible way!

Are you familiar with how the fashion show schedule and cycle works? Just in case you aren’t and are interested, allow me to fill you in… The traditional fashion calendar has the main seasonal fashion shows happening twice a year – fall / winter collections are shown in February while spring / summer collection are shown in September. If that timing seems a little odd to you, you’re not alone. Just this week, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) released the results of a major study they conducted on the topic. In today’s instant gratification culture, the see-now, buy-now desire is strong with consumers. But is that realistic for designers? Read more about the debate here. But for now, with a few exceptions, designers continued to show fall and winter clothes this go around.

The fashionable caravan moves each season from New York City to London to Milan and finally to Paris. So all of these various fashion weeks add up to create essentially a fashion month.

While I had done New York Fashion Week (NYFW) many times before and had even gone to Milan Fashion Week (MFW) and Paris Fashion Week (PFW) on separate occasions, I had never done the cities back to back.  While I didn’t do the entire circuit this season, I did do three cities back to back – including going to London Fashion Week (LFW) for the first time. From NYC to London to Milano, the fashion and people and sites were completely inspiring, even if the weather was cold and dreary and rainy everywhere.

So, this week, we will be doing a mini-series on all my looks from this fashion month. I’ll share some photos, source details, and the thinking behind why I chose the various looks. Today features NYFW looks, Wednesday will feature LFW looks, and Friday will feature MFW looks.

The best part? You get to vote on your favorite each day! I hope you enjoy. Thanks for playing along.

NYFW Looks

Fashion week is really a time when I embrace the notion of fashion as art. In general, I experiment more with what I wear during this time than any other time. I wear more avant-garde, fashion-forward looks.

However, one must still be practical, at least, when it comes to the weather. NYC in February is notoriously cold. In fact, two years ago, I was snowed in because of a blizzard. Then, the past two seasons it has been brutally cold, with temperatures setting all-time record lows. So, that definitely played a significant role in my sartorial selections this particular week.

NYFW Look 1

For day 1, the weather was teasing me. I woke up, checked the weather, and thought, “This isn’t so bad!” So, I proceeded to wear this beautiful Sachin & Babi gown to their presentation. Sure, I was a little chilly, but all for the sake of fashion, right? And why not wear a full-length gown on a Wednesday morning?

This look was featured by Women’s Wear Daily, Target, TimeOut, and Womanista.

NYFW Look 2

But day 2 and on brought the unbearably cold, record-setting temperatures. At this point, my fashion statements mainly revolved around staying warm through the use of statement coats and hats.

For day 2, I built my look around this Delpozo statement cape coat. I have a history of wearing Delpozo at NYFW. You can see that demonstrated here, here, and here. I adore the architectural, couture-like designs of Josep Font at Delpozo. Although he is one of my favorite designers, Delpozo does carry a high price point, so I try to select one piece per collection to buy. Since the pieces are so different and eye-catching, they are perfect to wear for fashion week.  This cape coat fit the bill wonderfully, especially since I scored it at 80% off!

This look was featured by Nylon Magazine.

NYFW Look 3

For look 3, I focused on this pleated rainbow midi skirt by Mary Katrantzou. As you all know, I love color! And fortunately, for me, color is all the rage right now. So I couldn’t pass on this new skirt by Mary. You might recall me singing the praises of this latest collection of hers in my last article here. Though the skirt is a resort / spring piece, I tried to winterize it with the addition of a sweater and over-the-knee boots.

NYFW Look 4

For my last day in NYC, I centered my look around this on-trend fringe coat by Marco de Vincenzo. Marco is one of the hottest emerging Italian designers right now. I’ll share more about him when I talk about MFW. But for now, suffice it to say that this coat not only kept me warm but also caught the eye of many photographers as the fringe danced in the frigid wind.

This look was featured by Women’s Wear Daily, Buro 24/7, Nordstrom, Nylon Magazine, Style.com Arabia, and others.

Well, what are your thoughts? Are you interested in hearing more about fashion month? Out of those four looks, which one is your favorite? Leave a comment! At the end of the week, I’ll tally the results and let you know what looks you endorse in this election.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week!

Photos by Jose Martinez and Lydia Hudgens