What I learned from Fashion Week

I normally don't comment on Fashion Week. Usually I write about what I feel like wearing, what I saw on other people and was inspired by, or what I just think is striking or funny. But this time, that all sort of ties in to Fashion Week.

I went to a couple of shows this year (Matthew Ames and Ports 1961) and both shows, in addition to showing beautiful clothes on the skinniest people you will ever see (seriously, every time I go, it pains me to see how thin the models are.. please let those girls eat!!), both shows also gave me a bit of inspiration on how to see and wear what I already have a bit differently.

At Ports 1961, a lot of the models had big curly hair. Big BIG curls. And messy. Hurray for messy! It suits my style better and takes less time! Plus, if it gets messy during the day, it stays the same, right? I've been doing messy hair and a single braid (a style Prada has made popular again) ever since my office asked all of us to get to work earlier in the morning. With the alarm set for 5am, it was either my social life, my sleep, or neatly styled hair that had to give first. What would you pick? Btw, if you wonder, as I have, how to pull your hair back when you're going to wear a hat and don't want to look like you have no hair - a loosely pulled back braid is your answer to that as well...

At Matthew Ames, there was no mess, but strong lines and clear colors that make me want to pair colors you wouldn't think would go so well together - and to wear more light colors in winter. Pale aqua and caramel, or aqua and yellow... so much cheerier than all the black the audience was wearing! And a couple of outfits were all in pale ivory. Really beautiful.

It's always also fun to see what the audience is wearing, too. How do fashion show attendees address snowy streets? Lots of high heeled boots - I think they made the same decision that I did to ignore it. Maybe they also hadn't found a satisfactory fashionable solution. My friend, Elena, had a great pair of solid Prada boots - very cool-looking in their sort of military practicality. One of the best solutions I've seen so far!

I was surprised a photographer asked to take my photo outside the Ports 1961 show - she took a couple, one just of my blue tights and and ivory lace-up shoes. I had originally thought of ivory tights when I was getting dressed that morning, but changed to blue last minute as I didn't want to look like a nurse. But some of the most beautiful outfits I saw were pale monochrome, so maybe I'll give that a try next time. I think the way not to look washed out with all these pale monochromes is to wear bright lipstick, which I'm also really into. Orange, red, purple, hot pink. I noticed a lot of this in the audience, too..

Well, hey, I'm going out tonight. I think I'll go mess up my hair, put on fuchsia lipstick and wear head to toe ivory (or as close as I can get)!