New York Trip Feb 2009 - Part 1: The Runway Show (extended)

As promised, I plan to post details about our New York trip throughout the week. We did so much in the three days we were there. It was an absolute blast!

The trip started off with a bang. Actually, it was more like a thud. It was the sound of our Amtrak train hitting a dear on the tracks. We had to stop for about 15-20 minutes so that someone could clear off the debris. Gross. Then we had to stop again because of who knows what, but we made it safe and sound to our hotel with plenty of time to relax and recoup before the runway show that evening. Or so I thought. I had a bag waiting for me at the desk with an amazing brown drapey skit, brown tights and the most amazing pair of his Payless runway shoes in a teal hieroglyphic print. The only thing missing was a top to this look. Did this mean I should go topless? Is that what is happening this season? A note said, “Maybe a turtleneck would look chic?” No color, no real description of what goes with the brown and teal. I wear all black at work everyday. I’m not good with color. What the hell? At this point we were about 4 hours away from the runway show, and Evan and I were off on a mission. My mother was in agony with an abscessed tooth, so she sat in the hotel lobby, looking pitiful and the concierge found a room she could check into early.

We really didn’t know where we were going. Usually when I come to NYC, I shop in Soho at Bloomingdales, Club Monaco, Urban Outfitters, etc. We had to not only find stores to shop at, but find the perfect top to go with the outfit my brother had made for me to wear in a few short hours. We jumped in a cab and went one block and realized we were a block away from Macy’s and the mega chain stores. Douh! We paid the driver 5 bucks and said we changed our minds. I went in H&M and Forever 21, but was overwhelmed with the clutter and chaos. I walked in the GAP, but everything was pastel. I bought a shirt in Bebe, but wasn’t too excited about it. Then I had a mini breakdown and had to get a slice of pizza from Sbarro. Finally, we went in to Express and found a bunch of teal and neutral colors (at reasonable prices because we budgeted for dinners out not shopping sprees). I got 3 shirts and a clutch. I said a little prayer to myself that one of these was going to work.

We got back to the hotel and had about 1 ½ hours before we needed to leave. I started trying on shirts and the first three I tried were just absolutely awful with the skirt. I almost had a panic attack, but luckily the last shirt (that was really the wild card) worked perfectly. Thank goodness I didn’t have to go topless. My mom’s friend, Candy, met us in our hotel. We all got ready and met my mom’s friend from high school, Jan and her daughter, Molly in the lobby. We knew we wouldn’t all fit in one cab, so we decided to split up. My mom, Evan, Candy and I jumped in the first cab and took off. The trip was two blocks. Again, we were “those tourists” that had to jump out of the cab before the meter even moved. Another 5 bucks for the trouble and we were at the tents. Fortunately, we were able to catch Jan and Molly and told them not to waste their time with the cab and walk the two blocks.

We got to the show and the backstage was all a flutter, like always. My mother took off immediately. Her abscessed tooth miraculously healed with the adrenaline and excitement. My brother quickly grabbed me to "accessorize" with Tori Spelling jewelry that was featured in the show. Finally, my look was complete. Evan and I hung out with Brad, Jack Mackenroth and my brother’s friends Chuck and Justin while we waited for things to get started. The doors opened and the people flooded in. Celebrity sightings included, Aubrey, a weird girl that got kicked off Danity Kane with her dog died pink (no joke) and some very strange looking escort, Nina Garcia, Katrina Bowden from 30 Rock, and of course, Tori Spelling. There were a handful of the previous Project Runway contestants including, Jack, Kevin Christiana, Kit Pistol and Victorya Hong (who I didn’t get to see). I don’t really get star struck at his shows anymore, but I did big time this year. Sitting two seats down from me was the CEO of Payless! That was my big celebrity moment. She was really nice and shook my hand after she noticed the Payless runway shoes I was wearing. She gave my mother her card and told me she would send me the store versions of his Payless collection. It took everything I had to hold it together after she said who she was. All the Payless people were extremely nice and seemed generally happy and excited to be there. The shoes were an absolute hit.

After what felt like hours of people just wandering around the tent, they finally took their seats and the crew pulled back the plastic from the runway. The lights dimmed, the bass thumped and the show began.

I’m not very good at describing the actual fashion, so if you want to read about the clothes you can check out one of these links.

WSJ

newsday.com

Chicago Tribune

Style Hog Blog – with video

I will comment on a couple things about the show from a big sister perspective. The coats are amazing and I’d like one of each. Sessile Lopez, the model we met at Thanksgiving, is absolutely incredible and totally stole the show with the final look. Just in case this slipped past you, the Christian Siriano for Payless line isn’t just shoes. He did bags with them as well. Two of those bags were featured in the show and one of those bags is named after me! The Shanbag! Is that not awesome!?!

I have so much more to share about our trip, but I really need to get off the computer. I’ll keep the updates coming this week. I have to write all about the after party at the W Hotel, our trip to the Guggenheim Museum, our fantastic dinners and the shopping excursion that had Evan and I both begging for mercy.