Happy New York Fashion Week everyone! It's always been my dream to attend NYFW and I've been fortunate enough to have several seasons now of ups and downs. You can read about some of my adventures from last round here and my guide to sit front row here. If you've been following my Insta rants this season has been particularly hard on me. I'm beginning to understand why so many girls eventually give up. But what separates us is that I'm 44. It's now or never for me.
There's no formula for being a successful blogger/influencer, but the secret sauce is confidence and a little bit of luck. Sometimes it feels like I've had a bajillion almosts in my career and my timing has always been off. The rejections are hard and my confidence has taken a hit. Coupled with now being a larger size in an industry where size 2 is the norm, I've been struggling to find clothing that makes me feel good about myself. For a girl who's had a love affair with clothing her whole life, I'm feeling like clothing isn't loving me right now. I feel like I've been having make it work moments on a daily basis—just to get out to door. It got me thinking about an incident that happened almost 20 years ago...
Back in the day when I was single and dating I used to try boyfriends on for size. I had a terrible habit of changing myself into who I thought they'd want me to be—and adapting myself to their lifestyle and needs. There were so many guys I didn't even really like, but I wasted time on them because I had nothing better going on. And I loved the idea of being in love. So I would pretend. I remember one guy coming back a couple years after we dated after hearing him tell people that I was the best girlfriend he ever had. Duh. And no, I didn't take him back.
There was this one guy who I wasted a summer with because I liked the feeling of being liked. And then when the like was gone I stuck around a little longer than I should have. In the end he just disappeared. After he ghosted me for about a month I decided it was time to start dating again, so I accepted a random blind date. After speaking to the new guy on the phone I wasn't really feeling it but I was hungry and back then I would accept dates just for a nice steak dinner. Yeah, I never said I was a feminist. So I dolled myself up and decided I was going to pretend this guy was the cutest, smartest, funniest guy ever. And then I saw him and I really did have to pretend. We ended up at one of my favorite places in my hood and I smiled and laughed and pretended like my ex was in the room watching. It was awesome. So I get home feeling quite proud of myself and I get a phone call....from my ex. Turns out he was at the restaurant. He saw me and got super jealous. I was so hyper focused on enjoying my date that I didn't even notice he was in the room too. The lesson in all of this is to always shine—even if you're not feeling your best. Someone is gonna notice.
When I was smaller I would look at plus size clothing and think 'wow, there's so many new options out there.' But when you're not small but not that large either—it seems there is a big gaping hole in the middle of the market. So few high end designers are putting out pieces in sizes larger than an 8 or 10. The plus size brands tend to start at 14, but cut for a fuller woman—so I'm neither here nor there. It doesn't help that most brands/showrooms only lend/give out clothing to gals who fit sample sizes.
So for Fashion Week I went ahead and signed up for Rent the Runway unlimited thinking that would be the answer. For $99 for your first month ($159 after) you can borrow 4 items at a time. Bonus - they have a NYC store where you can drop off and pick up new items if you don't feel like waiting for your shipment. But you have to order your first shipment online, and due to the holiday weekend it took much longer than I expected for it to arrive. So I open my bag—and the one dress I was really looking forward to had a giant hole in the front. I burst into tears. Needless to say, I have serious doubts about their quality control. It didn't help that two other items didn't fit well. This gorgeous Sachin and Babi Nurul dress was my 4th piece and it was actually pretty comfortable. I have to say that I love that Sachin and Babi cuts in up to size 16! I'll give you a full Rent the Runway review at the end of the month but so far not so good. As of now I don't plan on renewing my subscription. When I went to return my stuff at the store I spotted these cute Fleur Dusk earrings (also Sachin and Babi—mental note to go to their next sample sale!) that I planned on wearing with another look but they were so fun that I decided to do the red, white and blue thing and just go for it with this look.
I say I skipped the first day of NYFW due to the crazy heat but really it was because I was waiting on my RTR order to show up. For the second day I didn't want to wimp out again so I put on my new blue dress (FYI I'm wearing the size 12) and quickly matched up a white denim jacket and booties with my new blue Balenciaga. The only complete outfit I had at home included a wool sweater cape which was hardly appropriate for the 90 degree heat and humidity. Next year I plan on having a couple summer looks in the mix for the September shows.
I confess that I did skip half my shows on day 2. I hung out with my girl Belle instead at a couple Fashion Week lounges. At the Style Coalition/Launchmetrics lounge I popped by the Glamsquad booth to get my hair and makeup touched up—of course this was after we passed by all the street style photographers who shot me sans hair and makeup. Yeah. Probably not gonna see those photos anywhere. But my day turned around when we found Ebay Fashion's amazing purple display where Evan Lee took my picture. This guy is a genius. I saw him turn ordinary looking girls into supermodels. I also went to a Kate Spade presentation at the Samsung store (Kate rejected me for their actual presentation LOL), the Michael Costello show (so beautiful) and the WWD party. I met up with several gals (and guys) through out the day and overall it was a pretty good day.
And because I know you want to know...
Sunglasses: Shein, $4
Earrings: Sachin and Babi, Rent the Runway
Dress: Sachin and Babi, Rent the Runway (I'm wearing a size 12)
Jacket: Liverpool Jeans, c/o
Pin: Chanel, borrowed from my Grandma
Bracelets: Jennifer Fisher ($20, sample sale) & David Yurman (used a $500 giftcard from doing a focus group)
Bag: Balenciaga, sample sale, $350
Bag strap: Shein, $8
Shoes: Charles & Keith, c/o
You can shop my look here:
I've started putting together a bucket list for 50. So far it includes Paris Fashion Week, getting my first Birkin, and being CEO of something—other than my kids. Just putting it out there into the universe.
As for sample sales, I realize it's been a while since I gave you an update. They just extended the Herve Leger sale which looked amazing (not super cheap but lots of really well priced special pieces - see my Insta and stories here). Speaking of Rent the Runway, their sale is coming up but it's usually pretty pricey for well worn stuff. LXR and Co is also coming (designer consignment) which was hit or miss with a few deals in the mix last round. I also saw Rodarte is coming on 9/15 but you have to email them at: info@rodarte.net to get the deets.
Herve Leger x BCBG MAX AZRIA
September 4-15
Sun 10-5 (unsure of other hours because they just extended)
150 Greene Street
Rent the Runway
September 11-16
T 11-8, W-F 10-8, Sat 10-7, Sun 10-5
260 5th Ave
LXR and Co
September 18-23
T-Sat 11-7, Sun 11-5
151 Wooster Street
Tomorrow I plan on hitting a few shows and events before Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year begins. So cheers to a new year filled with success, happiness, and heaps of confidence.
XO
Michelle
