nyfw - rock & republic

On Friday I had an incredible opportunity to attend my very first New York Fashion Week event. If you follow Leather and Lollipops on Facebook, you know that I've been working with The Looks for Less for several months now as a guest blogger. I was invited to represent the site as the New York correspondent. Here is a glimpse of my experience at the Rock & Republic for Kohl's show, via some iPhone photos.

First, me and my outfit.

I decided to keep it very simple. I wore a J. Crew black and white gingham button up, dark blue 'Roxanne' 7 For All Mankind skinny jeans, black Topshop boots (discussed here), a black Zara coat with leather sleeves and a black Michael Kors faux fur vest. I'm really happy with my outerwear choice because I didn't remove my coat or vest for the entire evening. I also brought my gigantic BCBG bag. It was seriously heavy and filled to the brim with so many things, including my SLR and two lenses, a photography book that I was studying before I left work and a bag of makeup and other odds and ends. As soon as I knew I was going, this was the obvious bag choice. I wore some fun jewelry too. The necklace I got at Bloomingdales, rings are by Noir Jewelry, watch is Michael Kors and bracelets are Judith Jack and Nadri (discussed here, here and here). I put some curls in my hair and kept my makeup fairly simple --- No one was paying attention to me anyway!!!

Next some celebrity sightings.

I showed up about 40 minutes prior to check in. I was legitimately paranoid that I wouldn't be on the list or that something would go wrong when I got there. I spent 15 minutes outside giving myself a pep talk before I ventured in. The step and repeat was right inside. The celebs walked, and then exited through a door which led into the hallway that everyone attending the event had to walk through. I stood behind some interviewers and snapped away with my phone. I got Tinsley Mortimer, Zoe Saldana, Ed Westwick and Molly Sims. When I was leaving I asked Mena Suvari for a pic and she said yes --- No big deal.

Finally, a few random pics.

There was champagne flowing from the moment you walked in, which I obviously loved!!! The waiters were all models and were constantly asking if I wanted a refill. You know what my answer was.

 My seat at the show was awesome --- I was super close to the runway and three rows back!!! I was literally at a diagonal from the entry way onto the runway, right under the R&R/Kohl's logos. Photography wise, it was so dark on the runway. Not only did I have to try to time the cadence of the models walking, I had to figure out the timing for the music and runway lighting too. Despite the fact that none of the camera settings I'd planned on using worked, I got some phenomenal runway shots.

Check out my shots and some more information about the Rock & Republic for Kohl's line
>>> HERE <<< 

Everyone also got gift bags on the way out. My bag had two boxes in it, one for men and one for women. The men's box had a pair of jeans, a tee and a hoodie and the women's box had a pair of jeans, a tee and a dress. Yea, I know.

The whole night I was basically giggling and jumping up and down on the inside, and calm and collected on the outside. It was an amazing experience and I would really like to thank The Looks for Less for allowing me to represent the site.

I will be attending a couple more events for New York Fashion Week which is incredible. I am seriously shocked by these opportunities. Can't wait to share more!!!