Category Archives: Fashion

If you haven’t heard of Strawberry stores let me enlighten you. This is one of my absolute favorite places to shop. Strawberry is a New York-based store with low priced fashion forward and fun junior, junior plus and misses clothing and accessories. They feature current hip fashions of denim, dresses, shoes, outerwear, lingerie, and much more.

My recent trips had me looking for dresses and pants- specifically color pop skinny pants in red, navy or pastel blue and hot pink. I found 2 dresses that were really cute in different ways. The first dress was a blue-turquoise color with a deep V-neck, an intricate brown, deep blue & tan paisley swirly design with a soft flowy look and movement to it. Price: $20.

The other dress I fell in love with when I spotted it on my way out and luckily it fit perfectly. Black background with flowers of all different colors: White, red, orange, and a sprinkling of dark blue and hot pink. The cut fit in all the right places, enhancing the bust and waistline, with the skirt draping in a flattering way. I loved the flirty playful feel of this dress. Price: $20.

As for the pants, I picked out a smart red pant by Flirtatious – not exactly skinny jeans, but beautiful in color, fabric and design. I also found a rock and roll style white jeans ripped style in front and silver crystal gem accents by Almost Famous. Price both $25.

Locations: There are several locations in Downtown, Midtown, Upper East Side, Upper West Side in Manhattan as well as Brooklyn/Queens and Pennsylvania, Maryland & other states. The Strawberry stores I frequent are in Midtown- the Manhattan Mall; 14 W 34 St and 129 E 42 St by Grand Central. For a full listing of all the locations, click here.

Luis Machicao

LureLuxe

The first show of CFW Sunday started off with 3 designers: Romero Bryan (UK); Luis Machicao (Peru) and LaureLuxe Metals by Laurel DeWitt. Romero’s collection was full of black and white, velour and the cuts were dramatic with attention to texture.

Romero Bryan

Next designer, Luis’ models all had crazy bad-ass mohawks with bright vibrant colored feathers sticking out of them.  His collection of power suits and dresses were equally colorful in yellow, blue, red and pink with aztec patterns.

R-L: Designer Luis Machicao - Middle in light blue shirt; Producer Andres Aquino

With Luis Machicao Models

LaureLuxe by Laurel DeWitt had metal jewelry armor as wearable pieces such as over the shoulders, arms with hair styled into intertwining chains as ponytails. LaureLuxe collection of metals to wear was striking, creative and hot.

Sandra Baquero

For Sunday’s 6p show, I actually got to sit and enjoy with a friend from the balcony level. It was wonderful to relax for a bit and to be able to see all the action from up high. The first designer was Janerations by Janina Stankiene, showing off couture knitwear. They were lovely with stripes and other designs, mostly outerwear in warm tones.

I preferred Sandra Baquero’s collection of sexy and stylish dresses. Her entire show was high energy with a London theme, complete with two guards in traditional red uniform stationed at the start of the runway. Models had on the typical fur trilby hat often worn in London and platform high heel boots. Sandra’s collection is supremely chic & charming. Even more to love about it: The average person can actually wear it, which is not common in couture fashion. Some of my favorite outfits are pictured below:

Day 2 at CFW- 4p Show: Nedret Taciroglu & Petuna Bushyhead:

Nedret Taciroglu Collection

Nedret Taciroglu Runway

Models in Nedret Taciroglu

Model in Nedret Taciroglu

Backstage- Model in Nedret Taciroglu

Nedret Taciroglu’s (Turkey) collection had gorgeous nude/off-white, red, and red gowns. I loved the chiffony ruffly nude dress with mermaid train bottom and shiny red ribbon crisscross on front and sides. Another favorite was a velvety red number, pictured directly above. Models were classy and beautiful, mostly European and all with slightly wavy long hair down their side.

The next designer was Petuna Bushyhead from the Republic of Georgia, supposedly showcasing ethereal designs. However, the dresses themselves did not depict this. The dresses from this collection were mostly black, gray with one in gold and white. The only ethereal outfit was a busy patterned dress of green and brown with blue, gold sparkle sleeve. I would’ve liked to see more of that style. Instead, Petuna’s collection, though refined and lightly accented with jewels and sparkles did not excite me as much as I had hoped.

Since 2003, Couture Fashion Week (CFW) has been the industry standard in fashion when it comes to luxury designs. CFW features fine designers from around the world showcasing exquisite fashions and accessories; world class entertainment and exhibits of art and luxury products.  CFW NYC happens at the elegant Waldorf Astoria.

Being the PR Director for Couture Fashion Week is not easy – Keeping designers happy; figuring out who gets to go backstage; checking people in; escorting designers, models, & press to the red carpet/press room; and making sure the the shows run smoothly. However, it definitely comes with its perks, such as backstage access, seeing the shows for free and getting some really amazing pictures.

Each show features two designers and performers. In the first show, the performer did a haunting and emotion-filled rendition of “I Will Always Love You.” Then, we were presented with Collection Amoureux – Bridal Hair Couture by Elie Esper. This was a beautiful collection- most of the models wore barely there, white see through gowns with a thin line of white roses applique, straight down their front, over their breasts and rimming the bottom of their risque and skintight gowns.

Collection Amoureux - Bridal Hair Couture Elie Esper

There was one model in a gorgeously stunning and more traditional wedding gown with silver sequins exquisitely placed down the front. That one was by far my favorite dress and favorite model.

Collection Amoureux - My Favorite Gown

Their hair were big and bold in curls and in buns either to the side, straight up or down. Some of my favorite hairstyles were adorned with a sparkly iridescent white feathered flower with a small white lace veil attached in front; a gold rose-like swirls to the side, and pale white and pink flowers in the front paired with white gauzy material behind. Below is a close up of the best hairstyles:

Bridal Hair Couture Elie Esper

Sushma Patel, from India was the next designer and her collection with young, hip and rich with colors, especially turquoise and hot pink. The models all had circles of connected hot pink and black around their hair, which was all put up in high buns atop their heads. The center model was a lovely and charming young girl in an off the shoulder black dress with red and orange flower accents and a yellow belt.

Sushma Patel

Second show of the day featured Pietra Banchi and Isabel Zapardiez from Spain – Bridal Couture. Pietra’s collection was not exciting for me, as it consisted of mostly black and dark silver – to me, drab colors. Though I did like one one dress that was lighter- a pale purple-ish white silky number with sweet ribbon detailing in the front.

Pietra Banchi

Now, Isabel Zapardiez – Bridal Couture was something to talk about. Simply breathtaking, graceful, unique collection and the models showed them off well.

Couture Bridal on Runway

Last show of the day had Laura Williams and BlacMera by Yuliana Candra. I enjoyed BlacMera collection better, as it was full of bright colors such as blue, coral, red and gold. Everything was made beautifully, whether it was a corset made out of peacocks, a full dress skirt made of tulle, pale blue and grey front of the dress made of roses. All the dresses fit the models perfectly and had really pretty accents such as ruffles and ruching.

BlacMera

BlacMera