Links à la Mode: The IFB Weekly Roundup - Transitions

Transitions

September is always weird. The leaves start changing colors, the sweaters and coats are in the stores, we're back to school, summer's over... but it's still stupidly hot! I've always been so excited about fall, I'd be sweating in my boots, and wearing sweaters anyway. What a girl does for fashion, right? Well, this week, we have all kinds of transitional posts. Transitioning from teenager to adult, summer to fall, day to night, and the call for fashion week to transition to the next level. We also have a hilarious post about 20th century fashion as predicted in the 19th century, it's so spot on--not. Either way, pull up a tall iced-tea (remember, it's hot out!) and take a look through these links.

Links à la Mode: September 12th

1. Attire Club: Discussions On India’s Obsession With Fair Skin
2. Beauty & Sass: take your summer dresses into fall with these essentials
3. Chicisms: How to Dress Business Casual & Go from Work to a Night Out
4. Corals and Cognacs: A Love Letter to New York City (in the wake of 9/11)
5. Fashion Moriarty: Recurring Images: Combat
6. Fleur d'Elise: 6 Un-Boring Coats forFall
7. Foxie Oxie Supernova: Paris Photo Diary: An Open Letter to My 18-Year-Old Self
8. Girl in Betsey: Diane Von Furstenburg NYFW Review
9. Happy Pretty Sweet: A Brief History of the Dirndl
10. Lara Lizard: 1893 and predictions of 20th century fashion
11. Runway to Style Freaks: The Top Men's Fall 2013 Must Have Trends
12. See Lark!: Easy DIY: Graffiti Dress
13. Skye Charlie Show: Consignment Vs. Thrift Store
14. Stilettos and Tequila: Behind The Scene: How To Be A Better Writer And More
15. Style Bizarre: Say no to Style Labels
16. The Girl With The Bun: 3 ways to dress for fall (when it still feels like summer)
17. Tickle Me Chic: Does Fashion Week Need To Be Revamped?
18. Undercover Dress-Up Lover: How to wear high-waisted shorts
19. We Are Ready Made: A Pair of Shoes Everybody Should Own
20. Wild Beauty: Beauty Archetypes: Whores

SPONSOR: Eastdane Stutterheim, CKU, M Nii, Generic Man, Tretorn, JW Hulme, McNairy, Diemme, Canada Goose, Haerfest, & Lofuff Leather

The world of Tadashi Shoji

This year I was able to pay a lot more attention to NYFW as it was happening. Working at a busy office,  I would secretly tune into live stream whenever I could. The first day of Fashion Week I was lucky enough to catch designer, Tadashi Shoji's collection & OMG, it was fabulous!

Being a Social Media Director, I manage Facebook , Twitter, Google +, etc  for my company so it's easy to sneak into my personal profiles every once in a while & take a peek. I signed into Twitter & saw MBFW tweet "ladies in lace." That was enough to catch my eye. I clicked the live stream link & I was immediately sucked in. I had to watch this show. 

Being down a girl last week, I kept the live stream music bumpin' while I worked away on projects but couldn't help myself when I discovered the world of Tadashi Shoji. His designs were so soft. Lace, pastels, light layers, sparkle details & sheer fabrics created a beautiful world of ethereal elegance. 

Here's some of my favorite pieces from the Sweet Liberation collection: 

photos from MBFW facebook 

It's wonderful having social media to show you as it's happening. I would have never discovered this designer if I hadn't hopped on Twitter. Now, I'm in love.

 Showing his collection the first day of Fashion Week set up the SS 2014 runways well. The pieces were a great way to introduce what trends are going to be prominent for next Spring.

And it doesn't hurt to see Tadashi Shoji tweet back to me... it makes anybody a happy camper, when a designer recognizes his fans! Even if it was just someone who maintains the social media (like me) it's still a nice touch as customers love to interact with brands. 

I have to say his collection was breathtaking. It was a fresh look into a designer I hadn't heard of & now, he has a new fan! 

Be sure to check out other amazing posts of NYFW from Independent Fashion Bloggers!

Does Fashion Week need to be revamped?

Your heart beats faster, you dress a little better and you have this excitement that won't go away. Sound familiar?! 

I know for me, that's what happens the week of MBFW... I can't imagine what would happen if I was actually attending one!

ThatsHeart Facebook page

The fashion, the fabrics, the details, the SHOES, the music (I blast the live stream at work), it all creates this excitement for the new season to come. Even though we are just going into the season before, you still have the chance to scope out new trends and figure out how to incorporate your style into the mix... but does that actually decrease our excitement once the pieces are released? 

I've seen many articles indicating Fashion Week is out of control or needs to reshape the way things are set up, but with the introduction of a plus-sized runway show, that tells me we're making some strides! 

The article, Is New York Fashion Week Near the End of the Runway? by Eric Wilson of The New York Times, sheds light on what goes through the heads of people involved in fashion "month."  With an ever expanding group of "the in crowd" needing to be at all shows, from NY to Paris, Fashion Week is getting overloaded with coverage/opinions/& people. Some designers are even pulling out of FW all together. Tamara Mellon is a perfect example. “I, for one, hate to buy a coat and not wear it for four or five months,” Mellon said. “And my customer doesn't care about Fashion Week.”

 With so many shows and people working the events, designers and models are being thrown to the curb faster than ever to get ready for the next show. If Fashion Week is seriously going to change, they first need to sit down and figure out what doesn't work. 

According to Fashionista's post Industry Insiders Agree: ‘Fashion Week Needs To Be Rethought’, the move from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center was an epic fail. Angry residents, lack of architectural appeal, the overpopulation of paparazzi, and the increased traffic from street style junkies has created a disconnect from what Fashion Week is all about: Allowing designers to promote collections to editors/buyers/industry professionals a few months before pieces are available to the public.

 

 

Oscar de la Renta has the right idea. He is scaling back his guest list to include only certain industry professionals who need to see the clothes before being released. 

"When you do megashows, it loses the reason of why we’re showing,” he said. “It’s important for [certain industry professionals] to look at the clothes and see them. They shouldn't have to go through 30,000 people, and 10,000 who are trying to take pictures of all of those people who are totally unrelated to the clothes." - Fashionista

More designers need to scale back on who is invited. The people who need to be there, should include: buyers, editors, and industry professionals who can display the pieces and interpret the trends. Live streaming should still continue so bloggers, interns, and society can have a view into the next season but the overexposure of Fashion Week has created a huge lack of excitement for trends when available in store. Without some major changes, I agree with these posts, Fashion Week might disappear sooner than we think. 

Personally, I love being able to watch the MBFW live stream. I like to watch shows and determine what the trends are before reading write-ups. It helps me understand what to look for and to see if collections accurately display the trends the designers are going for. 

I love fashion and always have. I don't want to model or design, I want to understand the big, crazy world of fashion. That's why I love Fashion Week. It shows all aspects of fashion. Here's hoping to see some solid changes so Fashion Week can stay amazing in an ever changing industry.

Helllooooo New York Fashion Week!

Every year, twice a year, I crave to be in New York City! As Mercedes-Benz Fashion week kicks off the Spring 2014 collections today, I sit, waiting to read articles, shuffle through the runway photos and take in all the information I can on trends to look forward to or stay away from ;) 

ThatsHeart Facebook page

One of my lifelong goals is to attend a MBFW. I was lucky enough to attend Istanbul Fashion Week 2 years ago while visiting the mega-city and it was the most exhilarating experience! I had an amazing time taking it all in and seeing the fashion trends of another country, but it made my craving even bigger.

If you're a fashion junkie like me, the week before Fashion Week you usually reflect on last season's trends and welcome the new season with open arms. For me, I also get a little wistful, wondering when it will be my turn and how have I not yet made it to where I want to be? 

I thought this quote by Estee Lauder was very apropos

A career in fashion is insanely hard to break into but it doesn't stop me from continuing my journey. Now, with Fashion Week well under way, I'm excited to see what Spring collections have in store! Can't wait to get my creative juices flowing with all the new inspiration!

HAPPY NEW YORK FASHION WEEK!
Xo