HEY! SHENAE!

Shenae Grimes' second installment of her NYC adventures!

Finally rolled over from my NY nightlife-induced coma to see red digits flashing 9:03 beside my bed.  HUH?!  With 4 hours of sleep under my belt, I figure hey, that leaves just enough time to be a tourist for a few before slipping into my little black number and towering wedges of choice.

After an adventure around Central Park, I made a quick stop into FAO Schwartz, and was gravely disheartened to find a lack of gigantic keyboard!  Heed my warning and save yourselves from the same disappointment!

Little black dress on, I arrive at the most pivotal show of my Fashion Week, Diane Von Furstenberg, and get immediately thrust backstage into the chaos of cameras, costumes, and cleavage.  Never in my months as a fashion intern did I envision shaking hands with one of the most influential women in fashion, backstage at her show, moments before the lights dim – Pat Field on my left, Giancarlo Giametti on my right.

What becomes clear as the show begins is that to be DVF is to create universal beauty.  The vastly flattering shapes of her garments play safe.  This allows her to explore texture and pattern in fabrics, which featured lots of animal print and safari inspiration this season.  This formula equates to timeless pieces that are still whimsical and sexy and can be worn by most.

My first fashionably too-the-f-late moment came when I ran down the runway of Elise Overland as the music was being cued.  Not okay.  Thankfully, the getups were WAY more talk-worthy than my tardy arrival.  Elise’s effortless edge poured through this Mexican Wrestling inspired collection.  Quoted wanting to veer away from the edgy rocker look as “everyone’s doing it”, Elise can’t avoid her roots and found a way to incorporate leather in a more subdued fashion –  and it’s what she does best.  What girl can’t use a lil more leather in her life?

Of course, I had to do as New Yorkers do and stay out at the very least until 2, so I opted for a VMA afterparty at Scott Sartiano’s 1 Oak.  Shocking that I’d feel out of place next to Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake, no? Needless to say, I didn’t last long amongst the world’s hottest pop stars and their hangers-on but it was nothing short of an entertaining cap to my evening!
--SHENAE GRIMES

Read her first day in NYC here
Or go on to Day Three!



This story was published on September 24, 2009.