life lately: back in the game

I'm finally out of school for the summer, and I'll be back on the blog weekly now! It's been a while, and I'm feeling a little bit rusty, but I'm looking forward to getting back in the routine.

I tend to shy away from writing posts about what I've been doing, because I'm never really sure whether people find my life all that interesting (sometimes I don't), but it has been a while:

Going: to the beach (-each)! We've had a heat wave the past week, and headed out the minute the last class ended. NorCal beaches are always a bit chilly in the water though, so we just tanned and took (lots) of photos.

Watching: a fashion show at Stanford! It wasn't as big as I had expected, but it was still fun to see. I was surprised at how fast the looks went by, especially since we'd gotten there earlier for seats.

Listening: BFD at Shoreline Amphitheater! It was my first music festival, and I absolutely loved it. It was sweltering and humid, but hearing the bands live and being able to feel the bass vibrating was amazing. My favorite was Lucius, and Finish Ticket also had great charisma and energy.

Doing: Being more fit! We took the dogs a couple times up to the mountains, and they loved it.

Seeing: The new exhibit, Living Digital Space and Future Parks, at the PACE Gallery in Menlo Park. We went on a weekend, so it was quite crowded and hot, but I enjoyed seeing the works. Crystal Universe and Flowers and People, Cannot be Controlled but Live Together are great for photo ops.

Trying: Lush! I went to the grand opening of the store at Stanford, and they gave out some free goodies! I've been working my way through Roots and H'Suan Wen Hua, and both are amazing (though pricey!)

Visiting: The Oscar de la Renta Retrospective at the de Young. I went almost the last weekend, and it was packed! I was glad that so many people were interested in fashion, but it also made it difficult to really appreciate his work. I also wish they had models, so you could see the fabrics in motion, rather than simply on mannequins.

Reading: Always Pack A Party Dress by Amanda Brooks. I can never get enough of fashion biographies, and have already reviewed and read a handful!

I've had a great time out there not worrying about driving traffic to the blog or coming up with new ideas to write about, but I'm excited to be back and creating more content. With that said, I'm still a bit dry on things I want to discuss, so let me know what you'd like!

xx
Angelina

Follow

everything you need to know about fashion week

With New York Fashion Week about halfway done, I thought I would share some interesting facts about designers, shows, and Fashion Month in general that I've picked up with my frantic Googling and YouTubing.

source

The Basics

• Fashion Month occurs 2 times a year, in Feb/Mar, and Sept/Oct. 
• There are 4 major fashion weeks, New York (Sept 9-17), London (Sept 18-22), Milan (Sept 23-28), and Paris (Sept 29 - Oct 7). These make up Fashion Month.  
• A fashion "week" can range from 5-10 days, including weekends.
• The clothes shown are 6 months ahead, meaning this fashion week is for SS16 - Spring/Summer 2016. 
• Shows are typically 10-20 minutes long.
• Sitting in the front row means a lot. 
• Most shows are by invitation only, though this year Givenchy held a raffle and made theirs open to the public. 
• Street style photos are everywhere! Literally, everywhere. 
• 30-40 models will walk one at a time, and at the end, will "parade" one after the other. If you're short on time, watch the last 2 minutes. 
• The designer will come out and thank the crowd at the end. The style varies, some walk alone, some with muses. Betsey Johnson is known for doing cartwheels!

source

NYFW is the week I know the most about, so I thought I'd share some facts specific to it:

New York Fashion Week

• $865 million was generated from NYFW this year, which is more than last year's Super Bowl, and US Open!
• More than 200,000 people work in the fashion industry, representing 6% of workers in NY. 
• NYFW was first started by Eleanor Lambert in 1942, though it was called Fashion Press Week then. Paris was the only place for haute couture, and American designers weren't given as much press as their French counterparts, so Press Week was a way to take change the dynamics. 
• The white tents have moved several times - Bryant Park, Lincoln Center, and finally, Skylight at Moynihan Station in Midtown and Skylight Clarkson Square in SoHo. 

by Garance Doré

Notable Shows and News

• Pretty much every Chanel show has been amazing. I especially loved their grocery store (FW14), and feminist protest (SS15). 
• Thom Browne had an amazing garden party runway show (SS15), with models on stilts!
• Louis Vuitton created an amazing merry go round show (SS12), that Chanel later used as well, though theirs was more of a glam feel. LV's show fit in perfectly with their ads during that time, which I literally spent ages trying to find!  
• Kanye West is coming back for a second year at NYFW. Admittedly, I'm wasn't a huge fan of his collection last year, and I'm not sure I really like the idea of him taking up a slot that could be used by serious designers. I'm also a little eh about Kendall modeling, as it's a very competitive field, and I don't think she truly has the looks to be a model. 
• American Horror Story actress Jamie Brewer becomes the first model with Down Syndrome to walk in Carrie Hammer's SS15 show. I really loved that show, as Hammer didn't use "traditional" models for her collection, instead focusing on real women. 

Shows To Watch This Year

• 9/11, 11 am - Kate Spade NY
• 9/11, 6:30 pm - Givenchy
• 9/12, 7 pm - Monique Lhuiller
• 9/12, 9 pm - Alexander Wang
• 9/13, 4 pm - Diane von Furstenburg
• 9/14, 9 am - Rachel Antonoff
• 9/14, 6 pm - Reem Acra
• 9/14, 7 pm - Zac Posen
• 9/15, 12 pm - Rodarte
• 9/15, 2 pm - Alice & Olivia
• 9/15, 6:30 pm - Oscar de la Renta
• 9/16, 5 pm - Marchesa
• 9/16, 6 pm - Theory
• 9/17, 11 am - CFDA Fashion Incubator
• 9/17, 6 pm - Marc Jacobs

Check here for NYFW replays!

London

• 9/20, 3 pm - Topshop Unique
• 9/21, 11 am - Erdem

Milan

• 9/23, 5 pm - Albertta Ferretti
• 9/24, 8 pm - Moschino
• 9/25, 10:30 am - Emporio Armani
• 9/25, 8 pm - Versace
• TBA

All dates and times are in their local format, and livestream links will be added if I can find them!

I hope this was helpful to anyone wishing they knew more about Fashion Month, or at least interesting to everyone else!

Do you follow fashion month? Who are your favorite designers? What's something surprising about NYFW?

xx

Angelina

Follow