Sunday, September 13, 2009

Happenings: Fashion Night Out

Thursday was the beginning of Fashion Week and also marked the first ever NY Fashion Night Out. With fall-like temperatures in the 60's, it was a perfect night to be gallivanting around the city admiring the art of fashion...and do a little shopping. Stores stayed open late throughout the city, baiting fashionistas with cocktails and hors d'oeurves, live-DJs, freebies, limited edition items and celebrity appearances. Everywhere you went, crowds and lines of fashionably dressed men and women twittered with excitement.

Miss Fashion, our navigator for the evening, and I met at Opening Ceremony a few minutes before they opened at 6 pm. Already the sidewalk was crowded with fans. As soon as the doors opened, the crowd milling about rushed through the door, ostensibly to grab some of the limited edition items (as displayed in this convertible parked outside the store).Outside the store, this adorable Hearts Challenger ice cream truck (they opened in June 2009 and can be found around the city, but also rented for parties) sold ice cream on a stick, as well as candy and toys, from all over the world. I had green tea mochi ice cream.
Brooklyn-based Van Leeuwen was giving out free samples of its very original ice cream flavors - I had earl grey ice cream. Very tasty. Miss Fashion had ginger.Momofuku Milk had a treat "Thai" truck (get it?) from which they were selling ties (you had to pay inside however) and giving out very tasty, very buttery Thai tea and mango cookies.

Miss Fashion got a limited edition Rodarte t-shirt, Kurt Cobain tote and notebook. I bought a fabulous Opening Ceremony dress. By the time we left, shopping bags in tow, there was a long line of people waiting to get in.Next stop: Bergdorf Goodman. We were naively thinking we could catch the Olsen Twins bartending, but by the time we got there, the line wrapped around the block into oblivion. The people at the end of the line were facing at least a two-hour wait. Not worth it. On to Madison Avenue.Charlize Theron was supposed to be at Dior, signing copies of the September Issue of Vogue with her face on the cover. Again, there was a line when we got there, but it seemed to moving pretty quickly. We soon found out whey. Charlize had finished her appearance and been escorted out the back. She's gone, we heard people whisper throughout the crowd. Nonetheless, a big crowd in the store anyway, all oriented to the back room. What were people were waiting for? A mystery still. By the time we walked out five minutes later, the line had dispersed.Other stops: Chanel - where you could design your own Chanel bag and have a Hollywood make-up artist make you over.Louis Vuitton, where we ate a couple tasty hors d'oeuvres and Miss Fashion bought a fabulous pair of pants!
Burberry, where had shared a glass of champagne.

Happy, we had dinner at one of my favorite midtown clutch restaurants - Menchanko-Tei on 55th St between 5th and 6th Ave- for perfect bowls of Hakata Ramen (half portions) and rice balls. Yum!

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