When: September 10th, 2010 in the evening.

Where: Betsey Johnson, 138 Wooster Street New York NY 10012.

Map: Click here.

See the up and coming hip-hop artist J. Cole live at the club Amenesia in NYC on Thursday, August 26, 2010.

Thursday, August 26, 2010
J Cole LIVE
Doors open at 11pm

Fashion Week is approaching and I am getting super excited! Yes, it has the aura of being an uber exclusive invite only affair, but Fashions Night Out gives any and all fashionistas the chance to experience it and get a taste of the designers & boutiques without being a fashion editor like Anna Wintour or one of her poor assistants (a la Devil Wears Prada).

What is Fashions Night Out?

In simple terms it is an evening during Fashion Week in which retailers and some designers that may not have showcased in an actual fashion show and some that have host an event for the general public. Among the things you can expect to find is free flowing champagne, A-list celebrity appearances and if you are lucky enough, some great giveaways.

Do’s & Don’ts:

• Don’t be fooled by my ‘open to the public’ statement and definitely do show up 30-45 mins ahead of time for the bigger events.
• What to wear to FNO:
  • Don’t dress like you are going to a club.
  • Do wear an outfit that is trendy and hip.
  • Don’t wear uncomfortable shoes if you plan on party hopping.
  • Do wear your best accessories like layered chains and your best bag.
  • Don’t overdo your makeup.
  • Do put in the time to get flawless skin and try a bold lip.

Here is evidence of some craziness that went on during Fashions Night Out last year and based on this, I am definitely not going to miss it this time either!

Click here to go to the Official Fashions Night Out site.

For fashion addicts and reality TV lovers, Project Runway has been a long time favorite. It returns on Lifetime with the premier of season 8 this Thursday, July 29th, at 9pm EST and this time around, it will be 90 minutes long!

To celebrate the season premier and new longer show time, Project Runway is hosting a happy hour and a half while the show airs. Head to the party for 90 minutes of complimentary cocktails, raffles and giveaways.

Venues:

Hudson Terrace, 621 West 6th Street

When:

July 29th, 9:00pm – 10:30pm

Print out the image above and take with you if you plan to attend.

Site: http://www.happyhourandahalf.com

Shopoholics and bargain hunters of New York, Rejoice! Starting today, there is a new store to satisfy our addiction to designer goods and amazing deals. Nordstrom Rack, one of the franchises that took over Virgin’s megastore that used to be in Union Square, had been under construction for months, teasing passers waiting to know what was being born behind those temporary construction walls.

Nordstrom card holders received an early invite to shop till they dropped on May 5th and 6th, while being kept fed with hors d’oeuvres and pour champagne by charming servers. The champagne was an excellent investment by the company since after one and a half glasses, I was rushing to the counter with armfuls of discount designer goodies to join dozens of other shoppers in the exact same state.

What can you expect to find at Nordstrom Rack, Union Square?

Think of anything you might find at a regular Nordstrom and there is a good chance you’ll find it at the Rack the season after. The clothes were fabulous but get ready to dig treasures and sizes. Although you wont find the elegance of a regular Nordstrom at the Rack, you’ll find items and discounts of your dreams.

I sneaked in to the store for a preview on May 6th and the excitement plus champagne resulted in a Marc by Marc Jacobs purse purchase, shown below.

My new purse!

Some more great deals at Nordstrom Rack.

Keep the champagne flowing and keep us buying!

Thank you, come again!

What is Vintage fashion? Vintage means various things. It could be a conscious decision to be Green and recycle clothing – may it be giving yours away or buying used, it could be an insatiable thirst to hunt for amazing fashion from the past or just finding great deals of great clothes that pass the ultimate sartorial test of fabric, fit and construction which is not easy to come by. For me, it a bit of all the three things above.

One thing that you can be sure of about people who are vintage fans is that they are into it because they truly love it and not because it’s a passing trend or a fad. One of these vintage lovers is Sammy Davis. I got a chance to meet up with Sammy in her hood (read about Spanish Harlem here) a little while back and heard all about her love affair with vintage. Even as an editor at a top online magazine in NYC, she didn’t hesitate when her love of vintage beckoned her to take a leap of faith, leave the security of a day job behind and start her own vintage line: Sammy Davis Vintage.

The Sammy Davis Vintage line celebrated it’s first year anniversary last Sunday with an inspiring party-slash-charity-sale complete with endlessly flowing wine and pastries baked with love.  The highlight of the event was the fabulous clothing that was on sale and the fact that $200 of proceeds from the sale is going to Haiti to support a young girl’s education.

The event was a total success with influential fashion bloggers from in and around NYC stopping by  to support and shop! I couldn’t resist trying some vintage goodies on myself and succumbed to a gorgeous sexy cropped jacket that I had to bring home with me. Not only would I never be able to find something like this in stores today but definitely not at the price I got it for – a mere $20! The jacket fits like a glove, almost as if someone in their past life tailored it to a future vision of my body. This piece definitely passed my sartorial test of fit, fabric and construction. It is my little gem that I dug up and found within Sammy’s haystack of fine vintage treasures.

Sammy D. Vintage collection on display

Sammy with Stylester - Ritu posing in a vintage red velvet and net hat and suede gloves.

My Vintage Cropped Jacket - my new prized possession.

Before moving to Spanish Harlem, I thought the word “Harlem” equated to the word “ghetto.”

Hood, slums, projects, drive-by zone, and land of the hard knocks … whatever you want to call it. I thought it.

That was before I got off the 6 train at 116^th Street on a hotter-than-normal May day two years ago – my heart racing as I observed the fact that a.) I was the only white girl around and b.) the old men on the corner playing chess were probably going to cat call me as I walked by toward a sublet apartment at 118^th Street, where I would end up living for two months before making the full leap and signing a lease with a friend in a building at 117^th Street and Lexington Avenue.

I moved to Spanish Harlem three weeks after graduating from Temple University. I thought my stay in SpaHa would only be temporary, and that within a few weeks I’d be like every other white girl newbie to Manhattan and move to “Brooklyn” where kids of my “kind” lived and played.

But as I started hanging out in SpaHa and learned the tricks and embraced the turns of the neighborhood, I fell in love. I fell in love with the fact that I lived in an area free of gentrification and could support the local ma-and-pa culture and economy; that I contradicted people’s first impression expectations of Brooklyn residency; and that I could get anything I wanted for at least 30 percent less than you’d find it sold for below 100^th Street.

And of course, I learned how to handle the nuances of living as a minority while beginning to understand that it is not cultural difference that separates us from one another, it is openness to difference that does.

Assimilation is not about finding a neighborhood where you can “belong.” It is about finding a neighborhood where you can peacefully co-exist with its natural qualities and opportunities. In my opinion, “belonging” is boring.

I didn’t belong in Spanish Harlem – and I still don’t. That’s why living there is not boring, it’s exciting.

Allow me to explain with three examples of why I love SpaHa, and how it loves me back.

Continue Reading

My all time favorite female artist MIA is doing a concert in NYC this July and I’m too excited to type right now. I so can’t wait! Look for me on stage just like the last time I went to her concert at the McCarren Pool in Williamsburg.

When: July 24th, 2010.
Where: Governor’s Island, NJ
Tickets: Buy them here.

If you watched the pilot episode on How to Make it in America, then you’ve already taken a virtual trip to the Brooklyn Navy Yard with Ben and Cam. A place from history, made prominent in movies and TV shows like in countless CSI-esque dramas. If you’d like a deeper dive into the Brooklyn Navy Yard, come by powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn at 7pm on  Wednesday, March 24, 2010 to pick up the book The Brooklyn Navy Yard by John Bartelstone. PowerHouse will be hosting the book release party, and from experience, these are often quite fun and will give you an excuse to check out the amazing PowerHouse Arena.

RSVP here.

Learn more on the book here.