Chaiken coat // ASOS faux fur collar // Raquel Allegra dress (similar here) // H&M belt // Uniqlo heat tech tights // Saint Laurent booties (similar) // Annabel Ingall tote bag // Bailey hat via Salmagundi Boston (similar here)// E.Kammeyer bracelet (c/o) // Colette Malouf earrings // Maison Antonym ring (c/o) // Nashelle necklaces (c/o)
Ah, it’s that time of year again—that biannual parade of fashionistas around NYC, which we call New York Fashion Week. Whether you’re ready for NYFW or not, it’s inevitable that you’ll be seeing it everywhere. It’s become something completely different over the years since my first fashion show at Bryant Park over a decade ago. For goodness sake, I wore red booties from PAYLESS while I held the door open for Anna Wintour back then. These days, it’s all about the street style and “what are you wearing?” It’s become a spectacle at Lincoln Center and I’m interested to see if there will be a return to being more about the shows and less about the people attending them once NYFW spreads out all over the city next season.
I think it’s fitting that my first fashion show ever was for the brand I interned for back in the day called Chaiken (RIP) and my compensation for that summer, aside from the wealth of experience, was a discount on this gorgeous military officer style Italian wool camel coat. It was still cost more money than I think I ever imagined spending on an item of clothing back when I was 18, but well worth it because after all of these years, it’s still my favorite perennial piece. I also think it’s the reason camel coats are a HUGE trend this season because after I dusted it off from the back of my closet last fashion week and was photographed in it, I started to see similar styles pop up not long after. Just sayin’.
I wanted to wear it again this season because it’s just too perfect, but at risk of getting stopped by someone saying, “hey, didn’t you wear that last winter?”—which already happened at a show yesterday and NYFW doesn’t even begin officially until today!—I decided to give it a refreshing update with the faux fur collar I fell in love with from ASOS while I was styling a segment for Good Day New York recently.
While it’s only a subtle and inexpensive update from my first fashion weeks, I’ve traded up from those red Payless booties to these sparkly gold ones from Saint Laurent this NYFW. Don’t get me wrong, I still love my affordable kicks, but there’s nothing like a couple of stand out pieces to make you feel like a million bucks. Who knows, I may even wear these booties at New York Fashion Weeks in another decade or so.
photos by Emily