Sneak Peeks

My time is almost up here in New York and the days have flown by so quickly.  I don't feel I've accomplished nearly enough in the brief time I've spent... I always plan far more that I can ever get to. 

I flew in on Thrusday and after finally getting settled into the hotel, was able to change and then run over to the IFB cocktail party.  Everyone said the conference was great.  While I only made it to the end party it's always fun to see so many of my friends in person.  After the party, my friend Christine and I had dinner with Tina from Violetville Vintage and her team member, Elizabeth at Blossom, which was great and a must-do on my list for the trip.

The next day started out bright and early at the new fashion week location.  I had to run over to pick up my creds at 8:30am before my first show at 9.  I was cutting it close but the new Fashion GPS process to check in was pretty simple.  I think there have been some issues and maybe an adjustment period, but the new computerized process worked well for me.  The one thing that I'm not a fan of is that it making for closer in confirmations to shows, which for attendees can make it harder to plan your schedule.

I went to four shows/presentations that day (more dedicated posts to follow), some in the main Lincoln Center show spaces and some off-site.  I particularly liked the Nautica menswear show... and not just because of the cute men and appetizers!

That night we went to Pure Food and Wine for dinner. If you are in the city, you have to make reservations.  The food is amazing and the back garden area is so relaxing.  It was cool enough to make you want to stay there for ours surrounded by the trees and fairy lights.

But I didn't want to cram only fashion into this trip.  I've really wanted to get back to do a more indepth viewing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of my favorite museums.  Last time I only was able to see the first floor.  This time we spent almost 6 hours there and probably didn't see everything. 

After walking for hours we needed a little break and some fresh fruit, raspberry sorbet and a prosecco were in order.   While that helped to revive us, it was really dinner and Candle 79 that capped the evening.  The hubby and I had eaten there in December and I've been really wanting to go back... it was worth the wait with an amazing pecan-crusted seitan appetizer for me and a Moraccan chick-pea dish for Christine.

On Sunday I had a secret visit to Bergdorfs (more to follow on that later too) and then ran downtown to have lunch with a whole group of my fellow bloggers.  Some I knew and some I met in person for the first time.  Those are always so fun. Putting a face to Twitter name is great!

Sunday basically rained all day so I was walking all over in the rain. I passed through Little Italy on my way to grab some vegan cupcakes from Babycakes.  I trudged back carrying a half dozen and probably looked crazy.

That night was dinner with Wendy Brandes, Jennine from The Coveted and Celine, The Shoe Girl, plus her lovely sister.  We ate pizza, drank some wine and generally got rowdy discussing fetish sites and Family Guy... typically fashion blogger stuff right?

Now it's my last day and I need to grab a cupcake for breakfast and get my butt in gear and do some work! I haven't even had time to shop (okay, maybe just one Tom Ford lipstick, but that's it, I swear!)

Back to the shows!

Reaching the Masses

I am generally a fan of designer collaboration. I think that good design should be available at all price points and this absolutely is possible. That's why you will find shoes all along the price spectrum in my closet. If I like it, I don't care about it's pedigree.

So I was excited for the upcoming collaboration between Isabel Toledo and Payless. Payless has been doing a much better job than even Target with bringing better designs down to a lower price while still looking cute. And these sketches released earlier this year pointed to a cute pairing. Quirky, fun and playful shoes that would add a punch of color to Fall outfits.

I love the idea of wearing these chunky cut-out oxfords with charcoal tights and running all over the city. And the heeled version, below, with the colorful soles are equally cute.

But part of the appeal is that these were going available to everyone (at least via online). While the pricepoint of just under $40 is higher than the usual Payless shoe, it's not that far. And these are more unique than I'm seeing in Nine West or the like.

But here is the problem.... they are only doing the red, white and blue (the best options in my mind) through Colette... France.

Now, I love Colette. They have some of the best buyers and always carry enviable, covetable items. And they have items all along the price range. But why do this?

Okay, I can guess - while from a marketing perspective it's great for the designer to say they are excited to reach out to a whole new group of shoppers but it's another to actually align yourself with Payless, a store that's changing it's image but is known for inexpensive goods. So you put one token pair in Payless, probably mainly online with a few select stores getting them in stock, and then you sell the rest at Colette, a much more chic storefront.... and clientele.

So I'm torn. I like the red sole option below and from what I see of these I'll probably like the red oxfords. But will I be able to get them? If shipping from France is around $15-$20 or more that jumps the price to around $60. Not sure it's worth it.

What do you think? Of course, the full line of bags and shoes are yet to be revealed. I'll be curious to see how this line is distributed. Are we worthy enough to get them here in the US or not?