11.28.2011

Best Monday Ever

When I was on my way to work this morning I got off the subway dreary-eyed from the long holiday weekend. I was walking up to the street when off to my right I saw a homeless man with trousers dropped, doing his business on the floor right in front of everyone. I almost got sick from the sight and thought "Oh great, this is how my Monday is going to be". Boy was I wrong!

Well now that you have that DISGUSTING visual in your head (it was worse in real life) I can tell you that almost immediately after this happened my day turned around. I was standing outside the DKNY building and Aliza Licht, the PR Goddess that is the DKNY PR Girl, walked right past me and into the building. How I've managed to go this long without seeing her is a mystery to me but I was so excited I immediately contacted her in the best way I knew how--Twitter. Being the active Tweet-addict that she is I almost immediately got a response. Joy! Seeing her on the sidewalk reminded me that I still had not had my meeting with her. I decided to email the woman from Human Resources I had talked to and she replied right away and asked if today would be okay. Obviously I was elated and gladly accepted my 3 o'clock appointment.

Before I went to meet Ms. Licht I created a list of all the questions I wanted to ask her. I'm not sure that I ended up asking her any of them now because I was too fascinated at the time with what she was saying and doing that I forgot I had even prepared anything at all. 

She asked if I have enjoyed my internship thus far at Donna Karan and so of course I told her about how great everything is here, how much I love New York, and how I'm going to need more Prozac than Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh when I move back to Missouri. When I told her about the events I've gotten to participate in she asked if I was putting them all on my resume to which I responded "Yes. And my blog." Being the social-media Queen in the fashion world I didn't expect her to pull up this blog right then and there but she sure did! She didn't have all day to read it at length but she said it looked very nice and to keep it up. Then we talked about Twitter, how to make it back to NYC, networking, etc. I learned a lot and am definitely going to put what she told me into action because I know she was right.

Meeting Aliza was definitely the highlight of my day but it wasn't the only good thing to happen on this quizzically warm November day. I also spoke with the assistant to the buyer again and found out I can definitely go to the next Donna Karan Collection photo shoot in December! I was worried, at first, that I might not be able to because of the dates conflicting with my flight schedule but it's been added to my calendar for December 20th--One day before I move back to Missouri. I mean, what better way to say goodbye to New York City than with a Donna Karan photo shoot?

Okay well now that I've covered my extremely exciting Monday let me catch you up on how my Thanksgiving went! I finally got to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live and in person. The MTDP has been playing on the television in my family's home every Thanksgiving as far back as I remember so to actually be there and see the Hello Kitty balloon in real life was really something to see. Plenty of pics below.

Other than the parade the day was quite uneventful. I managed to sleep my way through the Thanksgiving dinner that my building had made and decided to make a hasty last-minute reservation at a restaurant called Brasserie. Let me just say that anyone who goes out to eat in NYC should ALWAYS do their research before dining. While the meal was delicious, my total after tip was $90 for just myself. For a broke college kid like myself, receiving the bill for that meal felt similar to what I imagine an aneurism to feel like. I guess that's what Ramen noodles are for...
  

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Photos:













11.21.2011

Style...It's A New York Thing

View from the Donna Karan Penthouse
All I can say is... wow, what a weekend! First of all I want to apologize to anyone who reads this blog for taking so long to update it. I've had a lot going on both personally and professionally and have found it difficult to find time to blog. Since the last time I've written I've seen the Harper's Bazaar exhibit, got on national television at the Today Show, and styled my first fashion shoot.


Friday morning I got the bright idea to wake up at 3am and go to NBC studios to see The Today Show live. I got to the studios at about 4:30 to find others in line as well. I was the sixth person in line which gave me prime positioning to get on TV. It was about 36 degrees which made waiting in line until 7 somewhat excruciating. I was in the crowd for about thirty minutes when I finally got the camera to face my direction. As soon as I was certain I made it on TV I bolted and immediately found warm refuge. My Mom took a picture of me on the TV and sent it to me. I'm not going to pretend I wasn't excited about it.
Me on The Today Show
That evening I met up with my Australian friend, Yuko, to visit the Harper's Bazaar exhibit at the International Center of Photography. It's a showcase of all of Harper Bazaar's most iconic photos and magazine covers through the years. It was a very nice exhibit, albeit smaller than expected. It turned out to be one small room with all the photographs while the rest of the museum was dedicated to a 9/11 memorial that was absolutely stunning and heartbreaking at the same time.
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Ad
I was going to try and get Saturday Night Live tickets that night, go to the Versace for H&M release the next morning, and attend SNL Saturday night. Needless to say waking up at 3am and running around the city all day until 10pm that night caused me to be way too fatigued to actually follow through with my Saturday plans.
Street Scene At Studio
On Sunday I had the opportunity to do something totally major. My roommate, Alejandro Guttierez, is a very talented filmmaker and asked me to style a shoot for him. He was able to rent a studio at his school, The School of Visual Arts, and get models, hair and makeup, and a crew to produce the video. It was my job to pick out all of the clothing, put it together, and dress the models. Shopping in New York for a high fashion look with a limited budget led me straight to H&M in Union Square. There were three looks to be chosen--one for each scene.
The video was a fashion editorial meets dubstep music video. It shows a beautiful girl in a bar who meets a man, he roofies her, and she ends up in an alternate reality until she comes-to in an abandoned alley, realizing there was no man, no roofie, and the whole thing was but a dream.



For the first look in the bar scene I opted for a purple velvet scoop-neck dress with gold jewelry. The pieces of jewelry included a beautiful gold necklace, matching bracelet, and some dangly gold and violet earrings that pulled the look together. For a statement piece we had a chunky, spiked golden ring. For the shoes I chose a pair of very tall black wedge platforms. She looked very elegant, don't you think?


The second look was to be used in the alternate reality scene. It takes place on a manhattan street with lots of fog and wind so we needed something flowy. It was shot in black and white so the makeup looked really dramatic in person but on camera it turned out beautifully. I found a velvet black dress with sheer sleeves that were attached with more sheer fabric. For the jewelry I kept it simple and used a statement necklace of a silver chain with a rock on the end. The shoes were the same black wedges used in look one.



The last look was used in the scene when the girl wakes up on the street and realizes the whole scene was just a dream. I found a KILLER white jacket that we paired with dark wash jeans and a pair of boots. The cream color against the model's skin looked amazing.


After talking with the model, Joy Scott, I found out she has appeared in Vogue, Vogue Italia, and was featured on the Tyra Banks show. She was incredibly nice and loved everything I picked out for her which made me feel really good. It's so important to make sure that the model likes the clothes so they're comfortable. She liked me so much she invited me to go out with her and her promoter to some exclusive clubs with bottle service. We'll probably be doing that this weekend and I cannot wait to see her again--sweetest girl ever, and of course gorgeous.


I also was talking to the main makeup artist, Lauren, was at the shoot and she asked me to style a carnivale themed shoot that she's doing soon. I can't wait to do it! For my first time styling I don't think it could have gone any better. I realized that reading all of these magazines, books, and websites about fashion definitely has paid off as I knew exactly what to bring to the shoot and was totally prepared for any and all wardrobe problems. I had my steamer, safety pins, binder clips, wrinkle releaser, lint roller, etc. on hand and ready at all times and they often came in handy. I loved doing it and can't wait to style again!

Well that's all I've got for now. I'll attach some more pictures I've taken around the city below. Until next time...

Staten Island Ferry (day)
Best Burgers & Shakes In The City
Staten Island Ferry (night)
Upper East Side
Bucket List Graffiti
I'm Obsessed With Pinkberry Froyo
Union Square
Macy's Christmas Decor