New York Fashion Week — September 8, 2015

There are two issues with referring to Fashion Week:

1. There are so many different fashion weeks, from New York to Paris to Prague to Hong Kong, that it sounds a little egotistical for a New Yorker to say “Fashion Week” for New York when they know that “Milan Fashion Week” is going to come out of their mouth when the time comes.
2. New York Fashion Week lasts longer than a week.

There have been billboards in Manhattan for awhile advertising the first day of NYFW as September 10. This is false advertising. Ten designers presented collections on the 8th, and twenty-five presented on the 9th! And I am going to do my due diligence and include these collections on Blissful Style.  I would say the early bird gets the worm, but I’m more of a worms-for-all kind of person. Either way, it works.

        

 

    

With the exception of Zac Zac Posen’s electrically lit little black dress, there weren’t any looks on Tuesday that I would consider avant-garde.

Yet I think runway shows can still inspire the fashion-conscious to be more adventurous, precisely because they are so wearable. There is a huge difference between what is wearable and the outfits we put on every day, and the former group is larger. We all have shapes, cuts, and colors we think we “don’t like” or “can’t wear”. We are like characters in a book or personal brands, and we all have a deep, intangible sense of who we are, what our look is, and how our look fits into our identity. Tangibly, this can show up as looking the same every day.

“My look is dramatic: monochrome red with just a touch of white to make it pop.” 

I’m guilty of this. For me, I have three roadblocks in my path to a more adventurous sense of style: femininity, formality, and color. By femininity, I mean that I always have to look super-feminine in a dress or skirt and heels. By formality, I mean that it doesn’t take much to make me feel underdressed. By color, I mean that most of my wardrobe is black, white, or red.

    

If I thought I had no style, I wouldn’t be writing a fashion blog. I’m not saying that nobody is ever truly stylish. I just think that there is always room to grow and evolve in fashion. There are always new looks to try, new fears to conquer, new dilemmas or identities to create. Below are excerpts from Tuesday’s shows. On the left are the looks I would automatically reach for, and on the right are the outfits that are out of my comfort zone, that I should try.

   

Sonia Sonia Rykiel

I live for statement accessories, hearts, and dresses. I need to conquer my fear of being too casual in denim-on-denim. 

   

Escada

I am petite at 5′ 4″, so most of my dresses and skirts hit above the knee. I need to overcome my fear of longer lengths. 

 

Tomas Maier

I feel most alluring in a fitted look, and can be guilty of “dressing to attract”. One can still be beautiful and impressive in a looser silhouette!

 

Zac Zac Posen

I go wild for dresses and pleats! I fear the informality of shorts, but shorts can look dressy in the right fabric and pattern.

 

Protagonist

I feel feminine in a little black dress. But a pantsuit as exquisite as this one looks feminine too. 

 

CF. Goldman

A short skirt has an obvious appeal, but a maxi dress with a slit is sexy and mysterious. 

 

Trina Turk

I think it’s fun to match, and I feel sophisticated in black, white, and red. I should try more unusual color combinations. 

 

10 Crosby Derek Lam 

I appreciate feminine details like tiers and ruffles. With a keyhole neckline and button details, shorts and a sweater can look feminine too. 

 

Nili Lotan

As a thin person, I tend to stay streamlined. But with the right neckline and leg slits, a loose dress hardly hides the body. 

Happy (New York) Fashion Week! More days to come!