NYFW FALL 2014 - Part Two

Prabal Gurung. That's where Part Two begins. The moment when I thought "Ok, how much money is in my bank account right now and how much do I really need." Prabal's show was so rich in it's colors and details and yet, so seemingly effortless. A strong, confident woman walks through life in Prabal's clothes.

My awe and amazement (and my credit card balance-checking) continued on to Tracy Reese who, typically, isn't my favorite. I'm not a print-girl and Tracy loves herself some prints. I like solids, done well and dramatically, but there are moments when I covet a print, when I dream of the perfect Pucci. Tracy loves herself some prints and in this season, I loved them too.

I am not even kidding where can I get this coat right now.

I also really liked Jill Stuart's show. Her clothes are tailored perfectly and the colors so flattering and intriguing- feminine but not so girly I feel like a child when I wear them. There's nothing avant-garde about her designs, but hers are the clothes I would wear most often and to me that's the sign of a successful designer. And I wouldn't be joking when I say my level of coveting this first blue dress/coat piece is at it's highest point, maybe ever.

Donna Karan had a coat that makes me want to be an international badass female spy/assassin... in Russia.

And this lovely piece which I think inadvertently screams Kiera Knightly...

Badgley Mischka impressed this season with a collection of dresses that weren't so immediately 'ah! my eyes, my eyes!' as the taste level has increased and someone has definitely reigned in the Bedazzler.  They have really lovely clothes that should be explored more for red carpet outings.

My love for all things Jenny Packham continued... even though this season was a bit boring.

And finally we arrive at Hugo Boss ** collective sigh of happiness** Alas we are not alone. Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon, Diane Kruger- they all attended too because our mutual love of Jason Wu designing Hugo Boss is strong. 

The collection was quintessential Boss minimalism, almost German 1920s in design. Silk and cashmere dominate the fabrics- a true Fall/Winter collection.

and Boom. Stella Tennant closes the show. Like a real Supermodel should.

Onward to Ralph Lauren who used pale pink, light grey, and white as his Fall/Winter color palette, a muted beauty. I hate pale pink, I don't understand why it's a color. But the grey and white pieces (we all know much I love a white moment) were gorgeous. I've thrown in some pinks so you can make your own, informed, decision. But... blech.

I have a strong suspicion we will see this dress at the Oscars.

And we end New York Fashion Week with J. Mendel, easily one of my top 5 shows of the NY season. Love the colors, love the styling, love the mix of prints and solids. A beautiful Fall/Winter show.

So long for now NY. Very excited to dress myself next year. On to London!

NYFW Fall 2014 - Part One

It's that time again, the time when people of all shapes, sizes (though mostly size 0), and races come together to celebrate creativity at it's finest: Fashion Week.

We begin in New York. Snowy, snowy, freezing cold New York. So cold it makes you want to rip one of those delicious fur coats off a model as she walks down the runway. But you don't. Because you have class.

As we know from our previous blogs, I wasn't terribly impressed with Spring 2013 in NY. It was a week with very few magical fashion moments. But, Fall 2014 was the complete antithesis of that. I loved nearly every show and swooned at the abundance of white, my favorite fashion color. Who doesn't want a red carpet moment of white perfection?! 

Our week began with some smaller designers, though no less creative or talented. I truly loved the Lisa Perry show. She showcased the season's trend toward volume, menswear, wool and black with perfection.

This dress was responsible for a Veruca Salt-esque meltdown courtesy of myself.

Hellessy impressed us with their knitwear/menswear combinations (though not the models, they are very unhappy).

As did Marissa Webb and later Peter Som, who combined knits with black, or turned them into beautiful coats for a sexy, confident woman. Because people it is possible to wear clothes that aren't midriff-baring, super tight, or barely-there sheer-paneled and still look sexy. Promise.

Marissa Webb

Marissa Webb

Peter Som

Peter Som

Then we had a time-out. A menswear/knit/volume momentary pause for the beauty and elegance of Tadashi Shoji. 

I don't frequent the opera, or the ballet, but Shoji's clothes make me wish I did. Laser-cut suede, lace, hand beading- all dominated his Fall 2014 show. If the world wore only Tadashi Shoji, it would be quite a beautiful place to live.

"And by the moon the reaper weary, piling sheaves in uplands airy, listening, whispers,
"'Tis the fairy, Lady of Shalott."

Moment of silence.

Ok, Back to knitwear. 

Trina Turk, which is a line that is not usually my aesthetic, had some standout pieces I would happily add to my growing closet. 

Capes Ladies! Capes for days!

Nonoo and Suno all had impressive moments:

Nonoo

Nonoo

Suno

Suno

But the best shows were easily still to come. We will leave NYFW Part One with one of my favorite shows from the first half of NYFW: Victoria Beckham. The collection was skilled in its tailoring and minimalism, reinventing the most basic pieces into new must-haves. Black, white and a few pops of color dominated the runway that brought menswear to a relaxed happy place. Again ladies, please refer to the above comment about the ability to be sexy with your clothes on. 

Cider Tasting

My people come from Virginia. Like, can trace them to boats landing at Jamestown, Virginia. As most of the family still lives there, we travel north for Christmas. After a few days in very close quarters with loud, loving family.... it's time to head out and try the local breweries, distilleries, wineries, anything really. 

In addition to the many wineries that produce lovely Virginia vintages, new breweries have popped up all over the Shenandoah Valley and are a wonderful addition to the community and the previously empty farmland. 

I love beer, we know, we've established this. So when someone suggested we go check out the new cider (brewery/distillery (?)) I made quite the obnoxious face 'Ugh, gross, cider is for girls (insulting my own people), it's too sweet, why would I want to do that?!'.... My face is very expressive. But when my cousin added 'After that we'll go to that brewery you love and play cornhole.', I was in. It doesn't take much.

So off we went to Bold Rock Hard Cider.

Bold Rock opened just last year in Nellysford, Virginia and is a collaboration between a local Virginian and a cider expert from New Zealand. The farm is beautiful and on a sunny, warm day you can bring a picnic basket and wander into the orchards for some lunch.

They've done a really nice job with the temporary tasting room space, it's a timber barn built with recycled materials that serves as both the tasting room and cidery, but they are currently under construction on the official cider tasting room.

"We’re using recycled materials in our new construction, like handmade bricks from an old house demolished in Batesville.  Our new building will have SIPS panels that insulate with a higher R value than required.  We got EPA approval for our septic plan, despite cideries having very low BODs when compared to breweries. We use local Virginia apples in our ciders and they come from within 20 miles of our cidery.  The pomace that remains from juicing apples goes to feed pigs and cattle of local farmers or goes into compost to fertilize our orchard. We have an award "For Exceptional Environmental Stewardship" for letting the state put a wetland and boulder pools to stabilize the river channel on our land."                     - Bold Rock Hard Cider Website

I like a business that respects not only the environment they occupy, but also the land surrounding them and the local businesses and farms that form their community. I was impressed already, and I hadn't even started drinking yet.

Inside we went for our cider tasting. The bar is nicely situated and the tasting is FREE. Plus we had the nicest girl do our tasting, she was polite, kind and very well-informed on the process and product of the cidery. 

I should also add that I was 100% completely wrong with my earlier mad facial exercise. Everything we tasted was absolutely delicious and completely worth a drive to the gorgeous Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains. I didn't know I could love cider. But I loved this.

We began with the Virginia Apple. Best served ice cold, it's crisp, sweet but not too sweet, the ideal beverage on a hot day, or, as our tasting helper informed us, also good in a camelback and sipped while snowboarding. I would agree that it was very refreshing. 

(photo courtesy of nelsoncountylife.com)

The family agrees too

Next was the Virginia Draft. More mellow than the first, but more depth as well. I would still want to drink this as cold as possible, but it reminded me a little of hot apple cider. This was the favorite with the boys.

(photo courtesy of localbeerblog.com)

I took a moment to take some arty shots around the cidery...

Look! My legs reflected in the tanks! Clearly I needed more to drink.

Now we moved on to the fancy cider. 

We tried the Crimson Ridge Dry first, and though I would drink this without hesitation, it is quite dry and was probably my least favorite. But that is a personal preference. I don't like really dry Champagne either. If you do, buy this.

The Crimson Ridge Vat No. 1 was amazingly well-rounded, full of body and depth and not your typical cider-sweet. It tasted more like a sweet Champagne, fruity yes, but not over powering- absolutely delicious.

We liked this very much...

Pinky finger in the air. Aren't we fancy.

Finally it was time to go play cornhole, but for our last and final tank shot... my favorite by far.

Christmas card in the making. Or an album cover.

Bold Rock was the perfect family outing, I look forward to visiting again this summer and maybe having wee picnic in the grass... after purchasing cider on site. Maybe more like a lovely post-food and cider nap in the grass. That sounds nice too.

Bold Rock is open 7 days a week from 11am - 5pm. Go for a visit and buy lots and lots of cider!