*CLICK ON ANY IMAGE ABOVE OR BELOW TO SHOP THE ITEM DIRECTLY*
As we start gearing up for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the holidays, so many retailers are doing the exact same. What you will find is that they will put “older” clothing on major discount to get ready for all of the new holiday promotional items. Good news for all of us because a lot of the items that they put on serious discount are almost brand new items! Nordstrom is having 40% off of almost all of your favorite Fall items. If you see something in the collage above, feel free to shop it by directly clicking on the image. I have also rounded up all of my favorite Fall essentials under $50 from the sale below. I’d love to hear which is your favorite look that I created 🙂 Happy shopping friends!
You can all rest easy knowing that this is officially the last fashion week post that I will be doing! Thank you so much for sticking along with me thus far. These recaps are just as much for me to remember everything that I did as they are for all of you. I swear if I don’t write things down, the memories completely erase from my brain! I have a bad case of short term memory loss… and long term.. basically all of the memory loss.
Anywho, starting Monday you will begin to see travel posts and recaps of my travel adventures thus far. Can you believe I’ve already been to Boston, Nantucket, Copenhagen, Prague and now Vienna since New York?! The time is FLYING by. If you have anything specific that you would like me to cover in these posts, please do not hesitate to let me know. I love hearing from you guys, especially when it comes to travel!
My last two days in New York were (thankfully) much more tame than the first four. Last year I was only in the city for four days and it seemed way too short. This year I was there for six and I was itching to get out of there. Maybe five is the magic number?! The fifth day of fashion week inlcuded LOTS of photoshoots because when you are in New York, you make use of all of those pretty backdrops. First up was a photoshoot with Yash, my talented Houston photographer that I have now been working with for over a year and was able to make it to fashion week this year. Yay! Britt and I knocked out about four outfits each including these rooftop pics on top of our hotel (you can see this post for where we stayed). I loved this outfit so much that I actually wore it the following day. Outfit repeater!! Gasp.
The second photoshoot of the day was with Saltflat, a online boutique that my bestie Kailey and her business partner, Ling are opening on October 1st. I’ve seen the collection and let me just tell you everything is insanely cute and super affordable. They also have a line for all of my brides out there- think bachelorette and bridal showers. Make sure to check them out if you haven’t already!
Britt and I spent the rest of the evening exploring Central Park and walking around the city. Once the sun sets, New York is a sight to see! If you are going to fashion week, I cannot stress enough that you MUST make time to actually see the city and enjoy it. It is good for the soul! After Central Park, Britt and I headed to the oh-so-famous Serendipity 3 for dinner with girlfriends. If you haven’t heard of Serendipity 3, they are famous for their frozen hot chocolate. Forewarning: it is HUGE so definitely get it to share.
I wish I could say we went out with a bang for our last night in the city but by this point we were so exhausted and battling colds, that we caught an Uber back to the hotel and crashed! Tuesday the only notable fashion thing that I did was the Alice + Olivia presentation and it was by far my favorite presentation/show of the entire week! I definitely saved the best for last 🙂 Even though it was my only event of the day, it caused a ruckus if you will. I thought I gave myself plenty of time to get to the show, back to the hotel, and to the train station but I most certainly did not. I made it to the presentation late only to find there was an insanely long line to get in. If it wasn’t for my girl Erica that snuck me in, I wouldn’t have even gotten to see the presentation. I was about to be real mad if I got all sexy for nothin 😉
I was in the presentation long enough to snap five pictures and then I literally sprinted back to my hotel and across town to the train station with two large bags in tow. I made it with only minutes to spare. So you could say fashion week did not end without a proper send off. I sat down on my train sweaty and stinky and still fully dressed from the Alice + Olivia show but it was a total success of a week and I could not be more thankful for the opportunity to attend my second NYFW.
This concludes the fashion week recaps but if you have any questions at all about my schedule, experience or anything else that I did not include in any of my NYFW posts (all located here), please do not hesitate to ask! Don’t forget I have a post up (my most requested post) about how YOU can attend fashion week. Let me know what you think and thank you for following along!
Theres no hiding what a huge wino I am on my little corner of the internet. I’m not one to shy away from a glass (er, bottle) of cab any given night of the week. So when my college girlfriends talked about getting together for a reunion, Fredericksburg (aka Texas wine country) was at the top of our list. I’ve been to the “real” wine country, but this was my first time to experience Texas wine country and all of it’s glory. By the end of the trip, we all agreed that it would become an annual trip as we fell in love with the little city and of course, the endless amounts of wine and girl talk.
Where to Stay
I highly suggest renting a house for the weekend. If you are heading up for a girls weekend or wanting to go in on a place with multiple people, a house is the way to go. Fredericksburg offers many cute options that make the trip so much more enjoyable than staying in a hotel. We stayed at “The Aqua Door“ which proved to be everything we hoped for and more! We were able to spread out comfortably and truly felt like we were at home. Most places are between $4-$600 a night (cheaper during the week) so split between multiple people, it is well worth it! Our house came equipped with boardgames, a hot tub, outdoor games, cable, a piano, and several other amenities that made it a home away from home and a real treat. The owner has several other properties (found here), all with different colored front doors, that are perfect for your next girls weekend, bachelorette party, or couples retreat. I cannot say enough great things about the owner, all of her recommendations, attention to little details, and the overall house aesthetic. Just look what I mean 🙂
Favorite Wineries
There are several tasting rooms on the main strip but if you are wanting to go to some of the wineries a little bit further out, I suggest taking the Wine Shuttle that runs to all of the wineries and picks up every 15 minutes. It is just $24.99 and well worth the money to not drink and drive. Our shuttle driver cranked up the music and we had a grand old time!
Grape Creek Vineyard– Our personal favorite! A tasting is $18 and you get to pick out 6 wines. The majority of us are red wine lovers, and enjoyed the Viognier and Bellissimo wines. We also stayed for lunch in their dining room and split a bottle of wine. We were given several free glasses of wine which might have been why it was our favorite 🙂
Becker Vineyards– A beautiful vineyard that also has lavender fields. Perfect for that vineyard Instagram picture (see below). There is normally live music on the weekends with a gorgeous area that overlooks the vineyard. Perfect area to split a bottle of wine. My personal favorite was the Reserve Malbec.
4.0 Cellars– Calling all wine and cheese lovers. This winery offers a wine and cheese pairing tasting for just $25. If you want to cut the cheese (hehe), a wine tasting is just $15. Friday evenings offer live music and you are welcome to pack snacks to enjoy on the patio.
Where to Eat
Fredericksburg has a lot of German history and heritage, which makes for great dining! Several of our meals were German because who can pass up a schnitzel and beer to combat all of the wine? Not us!
Otto’s– If you are looking for a really good German inspired meal, all 6 of us LOVED this place. Each one of us got something different and ended up sharing everything because every dish was out of this world! Some of our favorites included the Ricotta Gnochi, Wurst Platte, and Pork Shank. The prices are reasonable for a nice dinner. They are also open for Sunday Brunch. I do suggest arriving early or making a reservation as the place is very small.
The Auslander-If you are wanting a cheap, authentic German meal, this is the place! If the weather is nice enough, there is usually a pretty good sized crowd enjoying live music and throwing back oversized beers.
Sozial Haus– A quaint spot that has great pizza. Monday nights they have half price pizzas and bottles of wine.
Hondos– An old spot where you will find many locals. The food is nothing extraordinary but the atmosphere is fun!
Vaudeville– This is a nicer place and reservations are recommended. Even if you don’t get a chance to eat here, I suggest checking out the courtyard and little shop that is attached to it. Both are amazing! I have heard the restaurant is a must do if you have the time (and money!) to do so.
August E’s– Another great fine dining experience. We were there during the week and attended “Thai Tuesday” night. While the price is a little high for thai, the portions are HUGE and easy to share. They also have sushi and steaks.
What to Do
Besides the obvious, there are plenty of other things to do in Fredericksburg! It is such a cute town to explore and small enough to walk most places if you are staying at a house that is close to the main strip.
Walk/shop the main strip- There are over 100 small shops, tasting rooms, markets, and restaurants along the main strip. Be aware that almost everything closes down early in Fredericksburg so to do this earlier in the day. Most place close by 6.
Tasting rooms- If you are just wanting to grab a drink before dinner or do not want to drive out to the wineries, several of the vineyards have tasting rooms on the main strip.
Lincoln St.- A cute indoor/outdoor bar that is perfect for drinks before or after dinner and one of the only places that stays open later.
Yellow Door Studio– If you have already done a wine and painting class, then you know how fun they are. If you have not, now is your time! The art class is BYOB and is so much fun! These classes run about $45/person and are a great keepsake for a girls or bachelorette weekend!
*Thank you Colored Door Properties for our complimentary stay. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
I’ve said it so many times but I want to start this post off saying it once more, anyone can go to fashion week! Whether you are a blogger, work in the fashion industry, or it has just been on your bucket list for years, anyone can go to New York fashion week. That being said, you definitely will have to put in some grunt work to get into fashion shows and parties. Since I’ve been around the block, hopefully these tips will get you ready for fashion week too!
BEFORE NYFW
Be proactive with fashion show invites– No matter your size, there is a show for you. Some fashion shows will be invite only, but some are open to the public. The key is that you have got to put in the work and reach out to as many fashion shows and event contacts as possible because they are not going to come to you.
When should I start reaching out? Start reaching out about 3-4 weeks in advance. Brands and PR firms will not confirm attendance to shows until the week of so this gives you plenty of grace time. I suggest reaching out in order of importance. For bigger brands or parties, I would reach out first as these will fill up faster. For smaller brands, reaching out 1-2 weeks in advance is plenty of time as they will be looking for people to fill their seats.
How do I know who to reach out to? When in doubt, email everyone you can find a contact for. Utilize your good friend Google as well as LinkedIn. Each brand’s website should have a PR or marketing email. Contact them. There is an official NYFW show list that is published. I highly suggest going to down the show list, hitting up Google for each brand’s contact and emailing them your pitch. If you can find more than one potential email per brand, even better! If the brand is represented by a PR firm, even better. Contact the PR firm and let them know that you are interested in going to that brand’s fashion show/party.
What do I say in my pitch email? I suggest having one generic email for brands and one for PR companies. That being said you should personalize these for shows that you really want to go to or have a connection with. Tell them why you want to go to their show. Have you featured them in a blog post? Link to that exact blog post in your pitch email. For both instances, state the dates that you will be in New York and ask for an invitation to any shows or events that they might be coordinating. My typical email goes something along the lines of this; “Hi my name is Shelbi and I am the fashion blogger behind the blog, It’s All Chic To Me. I will be attending New York Fashion Week September 7-12th and would love the opportunity to attend any shows or events that you are coordinating for ____”
Follow up– Make sure to follow up with brands that might not have gotten back to you. They are receiving hundreds if not thousands of emails a day concerning fashion week so if you get to be a week out and you still have not heard from them, send a follow up email. Also, if they come back and say that there is not room, ask to be put on the waiting list. It can’t hurt and chances are people will back out and you will get a spot!
Share, share, share! – Odds are you probably know several other people going whether they are local or far away. Connect over social media and share those contacts! My biggest piece of advice is to divide and conquer. Once you start getting responses back from shows, share the yes’s with your friends and vice versa so that you will know somebody else going! Nobody wants to go to shows alone and this way you gaining hopefully just as many contacts as you shared with others. Win-win!
Start a community google doc – My friends and I did this last year and it was GOLD. If you know people going, get a community contact list started early so that you can have all of your contacts in one place. We made sure to add the brand’s name, contact name, RSVP and who all was going to the show.
Facebook groups – If you are not already in several blogger or fashion Facebook groups, now is the time to join! If you search “New York Fashion Week” or “NYFW” on Facebook, several should come up and this is where people will be sharing their plans and contacts. If you are already in groups that have bloggers, strike up a conversation to see who is going and if people want to start sharing contacts. This should be a huge tool for you!
Make sure you have these tools– If you are not already signed up for Fohr Card and Fashion GPS (download on the app store), go ahead and do that NOW. Fohr Card is a website that brands use to see what your rank is as an influencer. Fashion GPS is an app that brand’s use to send out invites. This makes it super easy once you are there because all of your show invites will be in one place. Each show will also have a ticket barcode that is listed in the app and you will have to pull up in order to gain access.
PR firms are the way to go– I cannot stress this enough. While everyone is all hyped up about all of the fashion shows during fashion week, do not forget about PR firms. I’m talking about ones that you have worked with as well as ones that you might have just connected with for fashion week. If you get the chance to set up a meeting with a PR firm that you are currently working with, take it! There is nothing better than putting a face to a name and making a real life connection. This can only help you grow your connection with that firm and hopefully establish a long term partnership.
Packing tips–
This is your time to dress a little crazy– There are street style photographers EVERYWHERE and the more “out there” you dress the better. Still stay true to your brand but don’t be afraid to wear something you might not normally get the chance to. Now is your time to get creative! You might just find yourself on sone major fashion website 🙂
Wear comfortable shoes and bring flats – My #1 piece of advice is to wear comfortable shoes. You will be walking a TON and WILL get blisters so just prepare yourself. Bring bandaids on bandaids because you will need them. If you plan on wearing heels, bring a pair of flats to change into between shows. Something that can fit into your purse is best so that you don’t have to carry your shoes around in your hand (#fashionfauxpaux)
There is no need to bring more than 2 outfits per day- From experience, it is best to pack one “day” outfit and one “night” outfit. Chances are the day will be filled with shows and/or meetings all over the city so wearing something that is both cute, functional AND (most importantly) comfortable is a necessity during the day. Do NOT wear heels during the day. You will have enough blisters as it is. As for what to wear for your “day” look, you will see everything! Jeans are certainly not too casual but don’t be afraid to rock a dress or skirt with sneakers. For reference, I will be wearing sneakers with every single “day” look. For night, this is when you can dress up and throw a pair of heels on! Make sure they are comfortable though.
Partner with showrooms or local brands– Almost every brand during fashion week will have a showroom that will let you borrow clothes, wear them during fashion week and then return them. This is HUGE y’all for multiple reasons. This way you don’t have to by or pack as much stuff. Less money spent and less crap to lug around! Also, if you have worked closely with any brands back home, ask them if they will let you borrow clothes for fashion week. Odds are they will say yes if you agree to tag in your social media while you are there. This is great exposure for them!
DURING NYFW
Getting around town– Most people will use Uber which is why the surge pricing and traffic is INSANE. It might seem like a hassle at the beginning but I promise the subway is the way to go. My first year I spent close to $400 on Ubers alone if that tells you anything. Unfortunately fashion week events are ALL over the city. You will save SO much time, money and stress by using the subway. We asked a local every time we used it which way to go. They are more than happy to help you out. And if you absolutely must use an Uber, grab a few friends to ride with and then use the “Split Fare” function directly in the app.
Bring an extra battery– Even if you think you have the longest lasting phone battery there is, bring an extra. Make that two.
Arrive to fashion shows early– Even though every fashion show starts at least 15 minutes late, plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before show time to ensure that you get a seat. Chances are if you have a priority standing ticket and are early enough, you will get a seat! If you do have a seat and notice 5 minutes (or less) before the show starts that there is open seating in closer rows, go ahead and snag the seat!
Uploading to Snapchat/Instagram– Since you will obviously be sharing your NYFW experience on social media, a quick tip to the wise so that you actually enjoy your experience and don’t piss anyone off. Instead of uploading directly to Instagram/Snapchat during a show/party, take pictures and videos sparingly during the event and then upload everything at once after the event is over. This will ensure you make the most of your time and don’t miss anything! Pro tip: I used my time in Ubers or the subway to catch up on posting to social media.
If I missed anything or if you are just wanting more information on NFYW, including what I’ve worn in the past or how to get invited to shows or brand meetings, the easiest way to find NYFW postsI’ve done in the past, is to type “NYFW” into the search bar on the side bar of my blog or click on any of the below links. If I didn’t answer one of your questions or you would like to ask anything else, leave me a comment or shoot me a DM on Instagram and I would love to help you attend NYFW too!
The first day of the Nordstrom Anniversary Salefor 2017 is here! If you are a Nordstrom cardholder, you are able to shop the sale early. If you do not have a Nordstrom card, the sale will open up to the rest of the public on July 21st, just one short week away!
I stayed up all night to find what I think to be the best deals out there so far. While the majority of the sale is geared towards Fall/Winter items, I successfully found several items that you can actually wear right now (Southerners- I got you!). I am headed into Nordstrom later this morning to try on items from the sale and share how everything fits and my honest review about each item. I will post about this on the blog over the next couple of days, but get a first look by following me on Instagram! Remember these items WILL sell out fast!
*SHOP THE BELOW COLLAGES BY CLICKING ON THE ITEM THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN*
Although most items are geared towards the cooler weather, I was still able to find a pretty large selection of swim suits, tank tops and dresses! See more of my “wear it now” picks below!
My favorite items to shop, especially during early access, are jeans, boots, designer purses, and coats! See more of my “wear it later” picks below!
I will be covering the Nordstrom Sale lots over the next 3 weeks so make sure to bookmark IACTM as Nordstrom will add new items to the sale each day! I’ve gone ahead and added a NSALE 2017tab to the top of the blog with a drop down menu to categorize all of my favorite sale items. This is where you will find the most up to date items as I will also be updating this every day. Happy shopping friends 🙂
