I cannot believe that it’s fall again!  If you know me, you know that I am Summer all the way. I HATE cold weather and start to get seasonal anxiety the moment Starbucks breaks out their pumpkin spice lattes.  However, since starting blogging (almost a year ago, eek!) fall has begun to grow on me.  When it comes to fashion, layering gives you so many options to get creative with your outfits and there’s a greater variety of trends to experiment with!   I also love the challenge of putting together fall appropriate outfits during our Indian summers here in LA (check out my blog post from last year on that specific topic!)

Anyways, last week I had to go to NY for a work trip which conveniently coincided with the tail end of New York Fashion Week.  I was fortunate enough to get invited to my first show which was super exciting! NYFW is interesting because while the designers are showcasing their 2020 Spring/Summer collections, the influencers and attendees take over the streets of the city to show off the latest in fall trends.  I personally love it, because I get the best of both worlds: a sneak peek at the warm weather trends that await me next year and the opportunity to break out my new autumn styles!

NYFW – THE SHOWS

The show I attended was the CAAFD Designer Collective Showcase at Chelsea Piers.  This show is unique as it featured the SS20 collections of 6 emerging designers & brands from the world carefully selected by CAAFD (Council of Aspiring American Fashion Designers).  Each designer showcased their collection one after the other, so it was basically like attending 6 shows in one which was amazing for me since I had such limited time.   The six brands included Moon Chang, Humming Way, Farida Temraza, María Sonia, Yufash and Phoenix Ba. I was really excited to see the work of emerging designers I had never heard of before. Each collection was VERY different from one another, but it was apparent each had a specific source of inspiration that helped cultivate their unique point of view.

Even though each collection was unique- they all did share some consistent themes with their use of color and embellishments.

Somehow I lucked out and was assigned a first row seat, which gave me the opportunity to see the garments up close. It was amazing to see the detail on each garment. I really appreciated the amount of intricate handmade beadwork on many of the pieces from Farida Temraz. The craftsmanship, creative designs, and flawless execution of the beading was truly spectacular. I cannot begin to image the number of hours put into creating each piece.  

A Humming Way from designer Sweta Agarwal had the collection that most matched my personal style and aesthetic.  I especially enjoyed the earth-tone color palette and the strong shape and structure of the garments which made the pieces feminine, yet fierce at the same time. 

My favorite collection was from Moon Chang. It was the last collection of the show and really blew my mind. The collection was dark and heavy, but each individual piece had a gothic romance element to it that balanced it out and made it really intriguing. The models were made up to look like they had swollen eyes, and the music was haunting and eerie, which conjured up imagery of death.  It sounds morbid, but each look had an element of gothic romance to them which balanced out the look and gave focus to the beauty of each piece.  The collection seemed to tell a story of “in the darkness there is light” that was well executed and brought to life through all the elements of the show.

The show made me understand the importance of Fashion Week and seeing clothing as a collection.  You can really visualize fashion it for what it truly is – art.  The music, makeup, and setting really help bring the designers vision to life and help us as a consumer understand the meaning and purpose behind each garment.  From a blogging prospective, the shows are helpful to help identify emerging trends and envision the future of fashion. They help me elevate and evolve my personal style by understanding which designers and collections I gravitate toward and why.  I can build a personal connection to the meaning behind the clothing which helps me better communicate and express my point of view though my choices to all of you.  I can better understand why something is trending and if it’s a trend I personally want to explore, or identify with.

NYFW – MY STYLE

For my NYFW look I decided to go all black – something I typically don’t do, but, when Rome (or I guess NYC 😉 ).   I actually start incorporating a lot of black into my wardrobe during the summer/fall transition period.   It’s not because I adhere to the “no white after labor day” rule, it’s mostly due to the fact that it’s an easy way to transition especially when the weather still feels like summer.   I’ll swap out my white shorts, jeans, and crop tops for black and layer in some other pre fall colors like greens and browns. 

Believe it or not, I’ve been wanting to create a blazer/biker shorts look since February, when the biker short trend was at its height, however, I couldn’t find a good blazer with the style and fit I was looking for!  Being petite, blazers are one of the items I constantly struggle with.  It’s hard to find one that’s not too long, wide, bulky, etc.  When I tried to create the look in February I tried one on at Zara and I looked like I was straight out of the Kanye “I love it” Music video! On top of that, I knew I wanted a blazer I could belt so ideally I wanted it to be open with no outer buttons.  It was like looking for a needle in a haystack I tell you!  

Flash forward to a few weeks ago when I was back in Zara shopping for items for my NYC trip – behold, a blazer with no exposed buttons!  I tried an XS and to my sheer amazement, it fit perfect.  It was also the exact length I wanted to wear with biker shorts. A boyfriend style blazer like this one was the perfect length – I didn’t want it too short where you could see the top of my thighs, but also not too long where you couldn’t see the shorts.  I wanted just a few inches, where you ALMOST do a double take to see if I’m wearing anything 😉  This is sweet spot that creates the illusion of longer legs.   I was going for a super sleek and chic look with the plunging neckline of the blazer.  I cinched it with a belt right at the waist to help accentuate the long lean look of legs for days!  The last element of the great optical illusion is the heels – if you are petite with short legs like me, you want to go for a thin strap heel that “V’s” or “U’s” down the foot that streamlines and exposes as much skin as possible before the strap.  These three things are what help make the biker short trend more accessible and flattering to shorty’s like me! 

To complete the “sleek and chic” look I opted to slick my hair back in a low pony and add some long thin dangly gold earrings. 

My whole trip was really great.   Again, the purpose of my visit was for meetings for my full-time job, but I am happy I got to sneak some friends and fashion in there, too. To be honest, balancing the blog, work, and life has been a struggle lately. However, I was reminded of why I am and LOVE doing this when I met up with two other bloggers on the trip– connecting and developing friendships with other likeminded women who share the same drive and passions as I do. 

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