The day I receive my list of designer contacts from the powers that be at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is when the real gearing-up fun begins. I dutifully e-mail each and every PR Company and politely ask for an invitation to see the up-to-the-minute fashion from their client as they present their runway shows at Lincoln Center. Now in its second season at that hallowed location, I look forward to another week’s worth of opportunity to meet, mingle and learn from other fashion professionals, and maybe do a little star gazing, too!
Once the tedious e-mail process is repeated for what seems like the 75th time, my focus tends to sway back to what I will pack for the twice-yearly festival. I need to transition from venue to venue at LC as well as jet to off-site shows around the city. Wardrobe can be a difficult thing when factoring in the weather and looking good. And being a dude, I can get away with even less than my female counterparts in the realm of daily style duties.
I take four pairs of slacks, one being jeans, four or five sweaters or jackets, lots of layering T-shirts and a couple pairs of great shoes. I always end up shopping in New York, so I’ve learned to take less. I plan a monochromatic color scheme of black, gray and tan (with the exception of one red mohair and cashmere sweater for Valentine’s Day!) to keep style and simplicity in mind when packing and putting together outfits. I bring in pops of color with scarves, hats and gloves. I just got an extraordinary pair of Hudson brand 
boots from personal Milwaukee favorite SHOO that are black and brown. I love the fact that they look like they’re vintage. Last September, I actually had a picture taken of my U-Roads lace-up oxfords (also from SHOO) by a colleague who does a shoe blog. I always say, go all out on good accessories, and go a little easier on everything else. It works like a charm.
As I write this one-week prior to departure, I gaze at my well-organized ring binder, with its dividers signifying what day goes with what invitation. I am pleased with the diversity I see. I have 25 shows and presentations so far with confirmed attendance, including Jill Stuart, L.A.M.B., Bebe, Paola Hernandez, Pamella Roland, Elene Cassis, Perry Ellis, Adrienne Vittadini and many others. With the new Fashion GPS system, online RSVPs are simple, and entering the shows is as easy as swiping your lanyard at the kiosks in Lincoln Center and printing out your seating assignment. The off-site shows are a little more traditional with check-in procedures that include longer lines and less technology. But all in all, I am just thrilled to be a part of this renowned event and more than happy to share the experience with all of you.
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is season I also plan to venture away from Lincoln Center a little more to see what the many off-site shows, launches and presentations have to offer. They are equally as glamorous, and in many ways more interesting than their counterparts at LC, because unlike the designers who parade their wares at LC, they don’t have the same enormous pressure to sell, sell, sell. For example, I will be attending shows at the Payne Whitney Mansion, The Plaza Hotel, The National Arts Club on Gramercy Park South and the venerable Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea. Moving around the city to the different venues is a feat I now accomplish with ease. Numerous trips outside of Fashion Week to visit my best friend, Crystal, who has lived in NYC for 17 years has made me a transit pro. Taking the subways and buses as well as hoofing it makes one feel like a real New Yorker. Heck, I even give directions to other tourists. It is all part and parcel of what makes the week or so there magical, exciting and inspiring.
This year I am also attending the second-annual Independent Fashion Bloggers conference, which will be held at the famous Milk Studios in the Meat Packing District. It is amazing how many fashion writers are doing online content these days. I’ll be sure to give you a blow by blow of what I see and hear there as well. I just absolutely adore creativity, and that is why the entire week is all about my own love affair with the city that never sleeps and the style and energy of the imaginative people who populate it.
I am staying at the Comfort Inn on Central Park West. It got good reviews, and you can’t beat the proximity to Lincoln Center at about seven blocks. Free Wi-Fi, continental breakfast and a quiet side street will make it a convenient and calming place to be after the days’ adventures.
I plan on doing a day-by-day account of what is happening all around me so that you, the reader, can get a sense of all the excitement for yourself. With my new Nikon Coolpix (thanks, Ashton!), I will be able to share better images with you as I traverse Uptown, Downtown, Midtown and everywhere else that style is happening in Manhattan. Don’t worry Milwaukee, I’ll put in a good fashion word for all of us and promise not to embarrass you too much. Tune in next Friday to see how the first few days went!
