5 Things I Learned at FNO 2012

I was so privileged to be a part of Polyvore's meetup in New York City for Fashion's Night Out this past week. The Polyvore staff is even more sweet and amazing than I anticipated and getting to hang out with other members in person was a blast!

I'm kind of a stickler for efficiency, and a couple of the girls have already posted some fabulous descriptions of our experience, so rather than reinvent the wheel, I'll just link to them here:
Emily's Set Description
Jessica's Blog Post

Every time I go to New York I learn a lot about New York culture, fashion culture, and myself. Here are a few things I learned last week...

1. Shoes that are 5"+ are doable. Just before the trip I bought a pair of 5 1/2" platform wedge pumps. "Greige," my favorite new color, if you must know. I had some reservations at first, but by the end of the night my feet were more comfortable than most people wearing half the heel height I was. The key is apparently fit and style - especially since the wedges let me walk over sewer grates without fear of your heel getting wedged in. (See what I did there? A little shoe pun.)

2. If you want to teach someone about what "the real world" is like, have them be a hairdresser for a day. My hairdresser at Blow and I chatted for the duration of the blowout. People tell that man crazy, crazy things about their love life, their estranged families, their vices, or even just stream of conscience ramble that partially scared the poor man.

3. Cat Deeley is actually like that in real life. Cat was the host of the Woolite Boutique event for FNO, and she was just as sweet as you'd hope. One thing that always stuck with me about her is how on "So You Think You Can Dance" she will crack up laughing once she drops the mic but the camera is still on her. I've always thought that she was probably just trying to keep smiling for 2 hours and laughing was the easiest way to do it. When we took a photo with her though, she just randomly cracked up laughing about things she was thinking about in her head then would briefly share. Nothing major, but she was in such good spirits. It was quite charming!

4. If fashion is my love, food is my mistress. For every amazing fashion-related experience this week, I had 2 food-related ones. You can't be in NYC and not have some of the best food you've had in years. We checked out the amazing pretzel croissants at Birdbath Bakery, had delicious pub fare at Wilfie & Nell, pastries at the famous Momofuku Milk Bar, and a lovely French breakfast at Balthazar. Not to mention all of the meals and cupcakes (I believe they were Baked by Melissa) provided by Polyvore. Brioche french toast!

5. Life's too short to let other people dictate how you feel, including what you want to wear. The day before I jetted off to FNO, I had a too-long conversation with a coworker about my wardrobe choices. Much laughter was had at my expense, but not at all intended to be malicious. This happens all the time in my town, and sometimes I let it affect how I feel and what I wear. I go a lot more demure day-to-day than I did for my New York trip, and it was kind of a sad realization. I'm going to need to step up and wear what I want when I want. I'm not usually one to back down so easily, and why do it when it's something that makes you happy?