I picked 3 looks from early on in my NYFW adventure. These aren’t necessarily my favorites, but they all have fun backstories.
First up…
The Balenciaga Cocktail Dress
This dress epitomizes my #1 Rule – develop relationships with sales associates.
This dress was originally pegged for a top customer. She had a ton of things on hold and this was one of the things she decided against. So it sat in a stockroom and was kind of forgotten about. By the time someone realized it, it was past season and needed to go.
Hence, the tipoff from my favorite sales associate that scored me a Balenciaga cocktail dress on massive sale. I love that it’s a little bit Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a little bit badass.
The Indie Designer
This look brings up another good lesson – styling prowess evolves.
I would style this blazer differently today. This was still early on in my NYFW adventure and while I put thought into my looks back then, my strategy certainly evolved. I used to think if I had a top, bottom, shoes and a bag I was good to go. I still think that, but with a bit more panache now.
I ended up styling it differently two years later at NYFW. Which look do you prefer?
This was the first time I wore Georgian designer Tiko Paksa. She would go on to become one of my fave indie designers. I wore her pieces at two other fashion weeks.
Tiko Paksa at NYFW S/S19
Tiko Paksa at NYFW S/S20
The Arm Warmers
This is probably my favorite of the three backstories.
I was 7 months pregnant for this fashion week, so my top priorities were staying warm and being comfortable. This was during Raf Simons’ tenure at Calvin Klein and when I saw him send arm warmers down the runway, I about died. The 1980s are my favorite decade so these HAD to come home with me.
When I came out of the dressing room, I showed the sales associate the floor-length green coat I planned to wear with them. I was concerned it was a bad color combo and asked him if he thought I would look like a Green Bay Packer. He replied:
“Honey, what is a Green Bay Packer?”
Of course. What was I thinking? Always remember your audience.
LikeToKnowIt would go on to feature this photo on their Instagram account. The comments it garnered were HILARIOUS. Clearly, I am in an arm warmer part-of-one.
Happily still wearing all three looks. Cheers.