I had absolutely zero intentions of going to NYFW, I’ve never been and it honestly just never enticed me. That is until my blogging bestie (@micjanee) messaged me saying she was going and that I needed to go. Fashion week doesn’t start until Sept 6th and I had been away so much I really wanted to be home for Danny’s birthday (Sept 8th). I had major fomo during coachella and didn’t want to be in the same predicament so I decided to book a trip and just be there for a hot minute aka 72 hours.

For anyone that has never been, the glamorous shots, outfits, shows, etc. that you see on blogs and instagram posts is trumped by the shear blood, sweat, and tears that go into the behind the scenes. I think my downfall was that I over committed – I promised so many brands shots and thought I could easily fit in multiple looks, shows, and events all in a single day. I was definitely wrong. We also didn’t factor in how insane the traffic would be. Ubers took 10-15 minutes to arrive, hailing a cab? HA! Impossible. The train? The one day we did attempt the train it took us 45 minutes to figure out a 15 minute ride because we are such noobs. One day we were an hour and a half late for a fitting because we A. couldn’t figure out the train, and B. had the wrong address and trained all the way to Brooklyn for absolutely no reason. We also had days where we didn’t even have time to eat until 5 o’clock at night and even that was rushed.

Do not get me wrong, it was an absolutely amazing experience and I am so thankful to the brands I worked with while I was there. The events and shows that we did attend definitely gave me the ‘omg I can’t believe I’m here’ moments. That being said, by the end of day two I was defeated. I messaged Danny and I quote “I’m defeated, sad, and I want to come home”. It’s so difficult in this industry to stay mentally strong and to not pay attention to what others are doing and to stay in your own lane (something I’ve increasingly improved on). But I think having just come from Revolve around the world right into fashion week, I was tired, and constantly comparing myself to every single other person doing it, which is totally not my style. When I came home I was never more happy in my life to climb into my own bed with Danny and Gigi.

At this point you’re probably thinking I’m going to say that I will never return. Well, I AM! I’m just going to do it very differently next time.

1. I’m going to only commit to a select few brands and I’m going to make sure that the looks are absolute FIRE – it’s fashion week! The one time you’re able to literally wear whatever TF you want.
2. I’m only going to shoot one look per day and attend one show or event. Instead of running around like a chicken about NYC and feeling like I accomplished nothing, I’m going to focus on one look each day that I will shoot and wear to the show/event I am attending so I’m not stressed and can enjoy my day.
3. I’m going to plan in advance the areas I want to shoot in.
4. I’m going to pack lighter! The hotels in NYC are for the most part on the smaller side, our bags took up every single inch of floor space. I want to have every single look organized before hand so I’m not over packing.
5. Plan well in advance. I did start planning a few weeks before but did find myself stressing out and leaving all the emails etc. to the last second which wasn’t the best. Next time I will plan further out to make sure I’m not super stressed right up until leaving.

This was my first ever fashion week, am I disappointed? Most definitely not. Did I learn? Most definitely yes. Will I be back next year? Hell yeah.

I wanted to share a bit of insight into all the pretty pictures you see and let you know it’s not all rainbows and sunshine doing what we do. And if there is anyone reading this that is hoping to attend one day – LEARN FROM ME.

xx
Tessa