B Roll: Editor Appointments & A Night To Kick Off NYFW
Minute by minute, hot off the dome. Your favorite Fashion Week series returns!
Good morning, Blisters, and happy New York Fashion Week!
Happy but different, I’d say. Maybe it’s the extreme cold temperatures, or the overwhelming number of activations and events in lieu of runway shows, but this season doesn’t really feel like Fashion Week to me. It feels more like a super busy work week.
And I guess, that’s technically all NYFW really is for me. But most times, I’ve got enough funky outfits and content ideas to romanticize the hell out of it.
By the time you’re reading this on Thursday morning, it’s likely the week will have hit its stride. But I’m writing this late Tuesday night, and as things haven’t kicked off yet, I’m not totally in the spirit. This season feels a bit more pared-down and practical. I’m not dressing up as much, and I have to spend more time working on partnerships than attending shows.
Of course, I have a ton of great things on the calendar, but compared to other seasons, my schedule is definitely not as runway-heavy as usual.
That said, partnerships that pay the bills and excite me creatively — as well as opportunities to write editorially and here on B List — really are the reason I do what I do. I don’t have to do them, I get to. Dressing up is just a bonus. So to kick things off, I’m firing up our favorite series: B Roll.
Below, a by-the-minute recap of my Tuesday, which was very much a get-my-shit-together-before-the-shows sort of day. No runway fodder here, but this won’t be our only NYFW B Roll, so stay tuned for more fashion-y recaps to come.
x BGF
6:43AM Pat and I both decide to Wake Up around the same time, before our alarms go off. He immediately brings me a glass of apple juice (for my low blood sugar!) and an ice roller (for my puffy face!). The puff is at an all-time high because my friend Kelsey and I kit up Katz’s Deli after an event last night for some matzo ball soup. No regrets (OK, a few).
6:50AM Done de-puffing, I do my daily Duolingo lesson — Italy honeymoon prep! — and scroll socials. The Marc Jacobs show is self-referential in a great way. It’s my favorite I’ve seen in a while. Love the Prada-y color stories, the skinny belts, the more wearable take on his beloved paper doll silhouettes. It’s all fantastic.
7:05AM I turn to my own socials and post some Instagram Stories about last night’s NYFW kickoff party with Who What Wear and Marie Claire. I’m writing a story about my most-worn street style trends for Marie Claire this season, but honestly? All I want to wear is a great coat and a pair of jeans.
7:29AM I leave my bed and make an iced coffee. Commence an hour of emails, glam, etc.
8:40AM A little over the allotted hour later, I’ve gotten completely ready and landed my an outfit for the day. Spanx sent over these stretchy horseshoe jeans, and I couldn’t love them more. I paired them with some new pieces from Jenny Bird’s latest collection (this ring is my fixation) and my Marc Jacobs deer print coat in honor of his great show.
I’m also lugging a boatload of returns to do in between events. Chic.
8:45AM I call a Lyft (thanks for the credit, Solawave!) and head out to my breakfast.
9:10AM I arrive at Two Hands in Tribeca for breakfast with Solawave and immediately hit a biker with the car door. Oops! Dent-free and cussed out, I head inside for breakfast tacos and some chat about their newest LED innovations.
In addition to a face mask, they’re dropping an LED mask for chest and décolletage, which I vow to start using nightly. Their masks boast 320 LEDs, above industry standard. Plus, they’re pink. I leave with both.
9:58AM I call a car to Macy’s in hopes of freeing my hands of returns. In the car, I realize just how comfortable my Spanx jeans are. These are definitely Sitting Jeans.
As we drive (lots of traffic today!), I start posting and vow to update my Instagram Stories in real-time. I almost never do this, but I’m worried I’ll be too tired in the evening.
10:17AM Traffic. I check my e-mail and get some updates to my calendar. I’m doing a brand deal that entails going to a show with my hair done by a brand, and they’ve switched my seat from Kallmeyer to AKNVAS. I was already going to AKNVAS, so that’s one thing off my plate. I move around my schedule to accommodate the change.
10:33AM I arrive at Macy’s and do some returns. They’re is sending a camera crew to follow me around for some NYFW moments on Thursday, and I needed to grab a new outfit for filming. I had already picked out a few things, but I changed my mind and wanted to swap.
11:29AM New items acquired, including a gorgeous suede Coach bag that will serve as the focal point of Thursday’s look. Eager to stop looking like a bag lady, I take off the protective wrapping and start using it immediately, filling it with the contents of two other bags. It’s so spacious!
11:45AM I head back downtown to the Alexandra Alonso Rojas showroom for my only real fashion appointment of the day. I’ve never been to the space, but I’m a casual fan of the brand. I’m looking forward to seeing the collection, called Metamorphosis.
12:04PM I arrive and am greeted by AAR herself in a beautiful, minimalist showroom. She walks me through her intentions when it comes to creativity and sustainability, and shares that the entire new collection is made from repurposed fabrics from past designs. Many of the pieces have been dyed and hand-pleated, and everything is beautiful and intentional.
A drop-waisted light blue dress with a dainty bow wins as my favorite from the collection.
12:24PM Satisfied, I head out and call another car, back to midtown for a hair appointment.
12:28PM I take the world’s dirtiest uber to RPZL, my favorite salon, to see my stylist, Steph. She did my wedding hair, and we are great friends. My appointment is for 1:30PM, so I text her that I’ll likely arrive early.
1:13PM Not too early, thanks to traffic! Steph can take me right away. I bring a smattering of different Morgan Cuffs — the Allure award-winning sku from my accessory collaboration with the salon. NBD!
We choose the black one for a twisted, asymmetrical updo that will hopefully lend itself to whatever I’m wearing later tonight. One of the brands hosting an event is dressing me, and I’m praying there’s a package at my door by the time I get home.
2:35PM Steph does her thing and my hair looks so cool. I call yet another Uber and I’m homeward bound. (Let the record show I rarely call a car in my regular life, unless I’ve been given a discount code. But given the number of events during NYFW, I justify them as work expenses. Which they are, but still. It’s a lot.)
3-5PM I am home for a glorious two-hour regroup. I unbox some PR, including a loaner sweater from Hades, who reached out after I mentioned one of their pieces for SYSS. There’s also a Valentine’s gift from Anthropologie, and — hooray! — the dress I’m meant to wear tonight to Sau Lee’s Lunar New Year celebration.
The dress is gorgeous and fits well enough, but it’s very long. I stitch it up and wear my ugly-but-practical platform heels to make it work. At first, I’m a little nervous to wear it because it’s essentially a modern qipao, but according to the brand, my friends, and the Internet, that’s okay, especially in the context of their hosting a party for the holiday. It does look amazing with my updo.
I get a little work done, make a note of what’s still left to be done (like transcribing these timestamp notes) and enjoy the calm before the storm.
5:00PM I call a car on the dot and head to not one, not two, but three events for the evening.
5:26PM I arrive at an event hosted by Well Said By Madewell and Substack. My dress looks so out of place here — it’s a Madewell denim event, so almost everyone is in jeans — and I keep my coat on.
Boy, have they nailed their target audience! In addition to drinks and a gorgeous grazing station, they’ve created a curated Style Library of books and vintage magazines that we can each pick something from. I leave with Helmut Newton’s Pages From The Glossies.
They also have a station where artists will paint your monogram onto a notebook. This is a writer’s dream event! I want to stay for a panel, but I know I have to head out to make my other two events. Both are dinners.
6:08PM Sad to go after chatting with friends, I call my car and head to Chinese Tuxedo.
6:25PM I arrive at Chinese Tuxedo for the Sau Lee dinner and see that they’ve gone all out with Lunar New Year decor in the Moon Room. It looks gorgeous! Even though I’m a bit late, I’m one of the first guests there. The team is lovely and I get settled right away.
I don’t know the majority of attendees (it surprises me that, even after all these years, this can still happen) but I end up seated next to Donna, the writer that penned my Vows feature for The New York Times. Kismet!
Sau Lee is a brand I absolutely love, and have ordered dresses from many times. It’s a treat to learn more about the team behind the brand, and they lean all the way in for the new year, encouraging us to write down our wishes and hang them on a wishing tree.
The event photographer photographs my wish, and I wonder if it won’t come true as a result, like the consequence of speaking your birthday candle wish out loud.
7:35PM I am a six-minute walk from my final event, and even in heels, I know I can’t call another car. I stay for a few rounds of food — including spicy cucumbers, spring rolls, hamachi crudo, and some unreal braised black pepper oxtail buns. Who knew I liked oxtail?
7:49PM Reluctant once again (I hate leaving when I’m having fun!) I begin my stroll through Chinatown toward my evening’s final event.
7:56PM Last stop! I arrive to a second-floor event space for dinner with Rowie The Label, a new-to-me Aussie brand. There are two long tables of guests already enjoying drinks and appetizers, and a spot for me is open next to my friend, Kelsey.
I sit down and we devour apple cider chicken, an amazing lemon farrow pasta salad, and berries with fresh cream for dessert. Kelsey and I compare calendars and realize we have the Cinq à Sept show together the next day. I add her as my plus one for the Dries Van Noten party after.
9:16PM I lick the last of the cream from my spoon and call a car. I’m exhausted! I know I have to go home and finish editing a video for a partnership, and I’m hoping to lay in bed and watch at least one episode of Scrubs with Pat.
Spoiler alert, we do exactly that, while eating black and white cookies I grabbed at Katz’s the night before. The perfect NYFW nightcap.