How I'm Preparing for NYFW!
Y’all…I’m finally going to New York Fashion Week!
I decided to put my big girl panties on, not bullshit with my money, and book my trip for New York Fashion Week aka the ultimate fashion vacay!!! Guys I am soooooo excited! I legit had a mini orgasm when I bought my plane tickets – yep, that happened.
Fashion week has always been a dream of mine, and now it’s going to be reality. This is the 1st step in me branching out into being a global brand, not just a St. Louis local brand.
I know so many of you who read my blog want to know how do you even take the steps to plan your trip for fashion week, because I had the same questions. Don’t fret, I have answers for you on how you too, can plan your first fashion week trip!
February or September?
Deciding which season to go to was a difficult choice just because I’m greedy as hell and if I could, I would go to both. However, I decided to go during February fashion week because if I can, I would love to do an international fashion week in September, like London Fashion Week. Also, MAGIC has their trade show in February which is the same week as February fashion week. So, I’ll be hitting Vegas first for two days, and then New York for 4 days, the ultimate fashion experience!
Flights
I booked my flight in October through Southwest. This was to ensure that I got the cheapest flight possible. In total, I spent $335 from my flight from St. Louis to Vegas, Vegas to New York back to St. Louis, that’s a steal! If you’re still searching for cheap flights here are some tips to help with your search:
♡ check on Tuesdays. Flights tend to be cheaper on Tuesdays.
♡ booking two one way tickets sometimes is cheaper than booking a roundtrip ticket. With that, check out different airlines. One airline may be cheaper going and another is cheaper coming back.
♡ check out sites like Cheaptickets.com. They have cheaper tickets and you can earn points for booking. However, be aware that some of these flights span well over 8 hours and depending on the trip, shelling out a few extra $ for a direct flight is worth it.
♡ Try small & local airports/airlines (no, not no damn Spirit). Air Choice One is an airline that services St. Louis and offers one way tickets to places like Arkansas for $20! There are airports like KLM, Virgin Atlantic, & Jet Blue that service New York so check those out to see if they have cheaper rates!
♡ check your rewards account with the airline you use. I say this because I discovered an old Southwest.com account that I wasn’t using which had points on it. Come to find out I have enough points on that site for a free round trip ticket!
Hotels vs. AirBnb
When anyone travels, the question is “hotel or airbnb?”. For New York, I would strongly suggest an Airbnb if this is your first time attending the city. You’re going to get more bang for your buck and there are some really cool & stylish apartments and brownstones for rent!
Now – if you’re an established blogger/influencer, I also suggest pitching to a few hotels in the city for a collaboration. Even if it’s just for the media rate, a lot of these hotels have direct connections to fashion week, because some of the people involved in the production of the shows are their clients. Furthermore, the hotel property is a great opportunity for photos and content creation. You could do half of your stay in an Airbnb and the other is a hotel.
Shows
This is where your networking and pitching skills come into play. Yes, essentially you can buy tickets to fashion shows going on, and you could even buy into the “experience” of New York Fashion Week where packages range from $999-1799, however, most of us going do not have money like that to buy into the luxury experience. As bloggers and influencers, this is where we promote and pitch who we are and the benefits we could offer in order to get access to shows and other perks for fashion week. This is exactly why media and brand kits are essential. If you don’t have one get one now (shameless plug, book me and I’ll create a dope kit for you)!
Once you have the proper tools to score you access, make a list of shows that you want to attend and send pitch emails. I would do this no later than the middle of January, as fashion week starts the first week of February. Eventbrite is the perfect place to see who’s hosting a show during fashion week. I would also research fashion groups who may have passes to give as well. For example, Style Collective, who I love, grants a certain amount of their members with passes to fashion week. Fashion Mingle also has connections with fashion week and hosts an epic party as well! Find fashion companies with ties to fashion week and see if they can provide exclusives discounts or free access to shows.
And of Course…OUTFITS!!!
Y’all, I’M GONNA MF KILL AT FASHION WEEK! I’ve already started to buy my fits and I’m doing a major haul next month (which I’ll be dropping a vid for). Where am I getting my fashion inspo from? Pinterest of course! Pinterest is the hub for fashion week photos, outfits, and inspiration and hopefully, I’ll be a trending pin!
Anyone else going to fashion week? What shows are you planning on attending? Comment below and let me know!
