#NYFW - Day 1

Omg I had such a good Fashion Week (well…like 3 action packed days!).

First things first, #EssenceFashionHouse. My #fashionfriend Marinda and I took off work and headed down to Hell’s Kitchen to participate in the all-day festivities. We had such a good time! The day was packed with various panel discussions and shows. They had industry insiders like June Ambrose and Jason Bolden as highlighted speakers and the fashion was awesome. We saw lots of amazing looks and so many beautiful women of color that clearly have a passion for this stuff. I snapped a few pics from 2 of the shows and shared them below so take a look. However, there were a few cons though so here’s my honest review.

The venue was a little odd. And for some reason, I always feel this way every time I go to an Essence beauty/fashion event. Either the venue is way too large and they’re trying to create an intimate setting that isn’t quite working or the venue is too small or oddly laid out so it’s not fully accommodating for the audience. For instance, I went to Essence Street Style last September and it was hosted in a huge warehouse. But, the acoustics weren’t great and they were trying to make announcements and talk about something on the mic and you couldn’t hear a thing. Then, I went to Essence Beauty Carnival in April and the panel discussions were a little hard to follow if you didn’t get a seat in the designated area. Again, it was held in a warehouse-type location and it just felt really spread out for no reason. Then, this time, Essence Fashion House was held in something that I would equate to a multi-level loft and again, the panels weren’t really accessible unless you snagged a seat. The standing room section was basically a bust because of the way the space was laid out. So, although I really enjoyed the event overall, I still think Essence has a little work to do when it comes to location scouting.

But, nevertheless! I was happy to be in the place and would definitely attend again. After it was over, we realized we were pretty close to The Vessel at Hudson Yards so we walked over to get a few pics. It was PACKED with tourists milling about so after a little mini photoshoot, we were on to the next thing. I needed to pick up a new work bag (that I’m so obsessed with btw) from my friend who works at the Coach flagship store (Coach House) on 5th avenue so we hung out in the store for a bit with him and looked at the new women’s Ready-to-Wear collection. He suggested that I get my hangtag on the bag engraved and I got “ACE” in gold with a crown next to it. ;) The little things make me happy lol. The last stop was a Sip -n- Shop at Daniel Wellington watches by Rockefeller Center. They actually have really nice watches that aren’t too expensive and they were 15% for the event but we didn’t buy anything. I mostly just rested my feet to be honest lol. I can’t drink at the moment because I have a weird skin condition that’s been flaring up like crazy lately and I’m pretty positive that alcohol negatively affects it. So, the free wine went to Marinda and not me. :-/ Anyhoo, we had an awesome day and I felt cute so that’s all that matters ha.

As for the look, I wore a top that my aunt sent me from a boutique in the suburbs of Houston. The tag says “Umgee” — a brand I’ve never seen before. When she sent it to me a while ago, I knew I needed to save it for a special occasion because it’s very OD and not just the type of thing you would wear out on a random night. I paired it with my new fav mom jeans from H&M, my old snakeskin ankle boots (Circus by Sam Edelman) and a white cropped denim jacket from Necessary Clothing. I’m dying to know what you think of this look! It was a bit of a departure for me I think but I enjoy stepping outside my box sometimes.

P.S. I still have Saturday and Sunday events to download you on so make sure you check back for updates! Thanks for stopping by. xoxox - Ash