How to Get Ready for Festival Season

Festival season has finally arrived! (or did it ever really leave?) Lollapalooza, Coachella, EDC, Gov Ball, are around the corner, and everyone's favorite question is "What are we going wear?"  This week, we were invited to the Festival Fashion event at South Street Seaport and got to check out some amazing brands perfect for festival season and spring. 

Footwear

It's hard to find the proper shoe to wear for a 12 hour day of dancing in the sun, that is equally comfortable, light, and of course, stylish. Chinese Laundry offers a great collection of gladiator sandals, booties, and metallic flatforms. We personally loved the Panda Flat Sandal (top) for its lightweight comfort and fun metallic hue. 

Handbag

True festival goers know that your bag need to be hands free for dancing... which makes Erin Dana's leather wrap purse the perfect item to store your ID and sunnies, and it might just get you onto a best dressed list. For those of you who need a bigger bag, her gorgeous festival backpack made in collaboration with blogger We Wore What is another great option. We also love her monogrammed leather chokers. 

Image above from Picks for Peace

Jewelry
Sisters Mariel and Sofia Mizrahi, started Picks for Peace, a guitar pick inspired jewelry collection in honor of their father, a musician who passed from cancer. In effort to keep his memory and passion alive, they made necklaces and bracelets with his music picks. From their classic leather ties that could be worn around the neck or wrapped as a bracelet, to their leather studded bracelets, and the sparkly ball and chain options, we feel the love and happiness behind each piece. Bonus: a portion of the proceeds are donated to the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance. 

      

      

Clothing

We're not quite over crop tops and neon fishnets just yet. Design History has a fresh collection of light knits and lace tops, and We Love Colors offers an endless array of tights, tie-dye, fishnets, bodysuits, and hosiery perfect for festivals. Arc's signature grey crop top with custom patches of zodiac symbols, evil eyes, and feathers is waiting to be paired with denim cutoffs.  

Fragrance 

Stay fresh and clean with Vince Camuto's Capri fragrance, available in festival travel size or a perfume roller - definitely necessary to smell fresh mid day after dancing or to spritz nearby porta-pottys. 

Lastly, get into festival mode with the perfect mani, like ours from Primp & Polish. White nails are a summer favorite of ours, paired with a bright decorated accent nail. 

Let us know what you are wearing this year! 

Fashion Week Fall / Winter 2016: Fashion Hong Kong and Francesca Libertore

Fashion Hong Kong

This showcase featured three collections from Hong Kong: Loom by Loop, Harrison Wong, and Hidy N.G. Often I dread a collective show, as they tend to be long and packed full of designers, but this one was hyper-edited for an emphatic, strong statement about Hong Kong design talent. And I loved it.

Loom by Loop

I can't say Loom by Loop had me at hello. The psychedelic print mix and the sack-like, floor length dresses initially threw me back to the '80s and Naf Naf baggy cuts. But by the end of the collection I was a diehard convert. There was a dreamlike quality to the shapeless forms paired with asymmetric jackets, farfalle butterfly prints, dramatic headpieces with long single earring, and models with colored brows. The luxurious silk was not the only reason to covet these pieces; the collection was a perfect balance of print, shape, and color that made me feel a great affinity for the strong, admirable women walking down the runway. Yes, I wanted to be them in all their psychedelic sack-like glory. Also see: every damn pair of those leggings.

      

      

      

      

Harrison Wong
This men's collection was strong on style, with mod meets nerd meets British tailoring, and it worked in spades. There was a cross-generational blend to Wong's style, and a bold use of color. Note the cropped cobalt jacket, a simple combination yet brash in form and hue that created a striking look. The cropped pants worked well, as did the perfect flare to his 70s inspired pants. Not sure how he managed to not make a viewer feel all over the map with this collection, but it emphatically left a strong impression.

      

      

      

      

 Hidy N.G.
Adored this designer's modern take on classic feminine dressing that had a strong hint of  Hollywood glamour. Think more Grace Kelly meets Katherine Hepburn Hollywood than Marilyn Monroe meets Lana Turner. As with Loom by Loop, the opening looks initially underwhelmed with a series of all-black scenes, but soon noticed were the modern, elegant touches in sleeves, shoulders, and waists. Then came dresses in velvet and sparkling gold, bright white with a bustle (you have to see this in motion), and more gold, including fabulous yet restrained lame harem pants and sparkling tunic. A fine end to an impressive trio of Hong Kong talent.

      

      

      

      

 All Fashion Hong Kong photos from nyfw.com.

Francesca Liberatore

Francesca Liberatore’s Fall/Winter Collection got us excited that there's still a few more weeks of winter left. Her collection featured outwear that was stylish yet functional and guaranteed to keep us warm. The ready-to-wear pieces largely consisted of classically chic sheer nude and black tops, long dresses, and asymmetrical cuts. Highlights included printed leather leggings paired with a highly covetable and cozy looking winter jacket.  

      

      

      

      

All photos from New York Fashion Week. 

Fashion Week Fall / Winter 2016: KYE and Jay Godfrey

KYE

London meets K-pop meets zombie metaphor for an invigorating morning show on day one of New York's fall collections. Inspired by a society that designer Kathleen Hanhee Kye sees as increasingly zombified, KYE's eye-popping colors and disheveled zombie hair couldn't distract from her perfect proportions. Her wide-legged pants (reminiscent of bell bottoms, in a really good way) were nicely paired with a crop top and/or larger boxy jacket, all working seamlessly with mixes of fabrics and hues. I was enchanted by her balance of proportion, material, palettes and prints. Kye had beautiful momentum going from the beginning of the show, interspersing sporty, trendy men's looks with fabulous pops of color and youthful, streetwear inspired looks, but the final closing pieces left me looking stage right, wanting more (although the  crepe silk satin maxi skirt was gorgeous). Hey, I like a good ending, and clearly KYE has the talent to end with a bang. Or, perhaps, some hope to uplift us from the zombified world we inhabit with faces buried in our phones, snapping, gramming, and all that fun...

  

     

  

  

Jay Godfrey 

Jay Godfrey kicked off New York Fashion Week at The Space at Skylight Clarkson Square with a beautiful presentation of gem tone, cut-out dresses, jumpsuits and off-the-shoulder pieces. Each piece was edgy and contemporary, yet feminine, and ranged from floor length sequin gowns to silk one pieces. While each look was more striking than the next, one of my favorite ensembles was the beige skirt and top (see below). This skirt and blouse combo is a perfect  day to night look.

All photos courtesy of Jay Godfrey. Photo Credit: Neil Francis Dawson