Lifetime Moms

Back in mid-August, Audrey and I started talking with Lifetime about covering Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on behalf of Lifetime Moms.  After a breathless month of phone calls and hundreds of emails, we found ourselves in the middle of NYC toting suitcases stuffed with our entire wardrobes, our MacBooks, official "Press" credentials, and giant smiles on our faces.  How awesome was this?  Two fashion-loving moms, in for a week of fun - watching pretty people sashay down the runway in lots of amazing creations and playing the occasional game of "name that celebrity". 

Boy, were we in for a crash course on how this whole thing actually works!   

Granted, Audrey spent many years working for Donna Karan, so she was a little less "green" than I was.  The closest that I had ever come to the "tents" was anytime the circus came to town.  Oh, and I was a denim specialist at the GAP when I was in college.  Impressive, right?  Everything I knew about fashion came from observing, reading, and a few college classes that I took for FUN.  I started writing about fashion and style simply because I liked it.  I think people are scared of this world because they don't understand it, and through my writing I wanted to help people to realize that fashion exists for them. 

Each day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, I woke up, sifted through the two suitcases of clothes and shoes (both stuffed to the 50 lb limit, thankyouverymuch) and made my way to the tents.  The tents at Bryant Park for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week basically consist of tons of lines, uncomfortable shoes, every little black dress under the sun, and designers who double-booked their RSVP lists - occasionally leaving us out in the cold to watch the show on the giant television screens in the lobby.  The days are long and packed with back-to-back shows.  Then, oh then!   Then, there are parties at night. 

I suppose at the tender age of 27 I am already getting too old for my own good, because I didn't make it to a single party in September.  Audrey and I have 8 pm deadlines each evening, which means we book it back from the tents to write about our day, edit our videos, and ward off exhaustion and writer's block.  Once my article was sucessfully submitted, I would generally wander to my favorite pizza place, have a quiet dinner at the bar of my favorite restaurant, or grab a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery.  Then, by 9 pm, I was curled up in my bed watching TV.  Parties?  What parties?  My feet hurt! 

Did I mention that I still managed to sleep through my alarm one morning and that I missed my chance to go backstage at Carolina Herrera?  I was crushed.

Even though it was a crazy schedule, it was also one of the most incredible experiences of my life.  I'm so excited to say that thanks to our awesome readers and supporters, our coverage was so well received that we are going back to cover the Fall 2010 lines this month!  That's right, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, take two!  Stay tuned in mid-February to see all of the latest news from the front lines of fashion and to live vicariously through us.  Minus the painful shoes.  We'll let you skip that part. 

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week officially takes place February 11-18, 2010, and Audrey and I will be right here providing you with daily recaps, stories, and trends to satisfy all of your wants and needs.  This time around I plan not to oversleep, to make it to a few shows that I didn't make it to last time, to make more videos of my experience, and possibly even make it to a party or two.  Personally, I am most looking forward to seeing Pamella Roland's collection, as she has quickly become a favorite of mine.  I'm also hoping to attend Irina Shabayeva's show - being the most recent winner of Project Runway (Season 6)!

Let us know what you want to see here during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week!  Drop us a comment or an email, and we'll do our best to cover it!