Mirror on the Gray Wall: Flashing Lights

Hello world! I'm baaaack from New York and getting my body and mind back to reality. My body is SO sleepy and my mind is blown from spending the last 4 days in the city that "never sleeps". I heard that! I'm going to try to put into words the feelings and pure joy I felt while walking the fast paced streets with my Fashion family. HUGE shoutout to Jackie&Effie of Lotus for this ~~amazing~~ experience and trusting in me to help with the intense task of buying clothes for the store and Tricia (Jack's sister) for exploring with me. Some of you may be thinking, "Well it can't be ~~THAT~~ hard to pick out clothes." WRONG. You are not only picking what you like, but most importantly what your customer will like. It's super hard to get out of the mindset of what your style is and into the mindset of what your customers style is.

We arrived to our hotel, The Hudson on Saturday around 5pm (The Hudson was just featured in Harpers Bazaar) AWESOME! We unpacked in our rooms, freshened up a bit, then went straight out to the Tequila Terrace downstairs. We found a bed filled with pillows to lounge on while ordering drinks and some apps. We also got to do a little celebrity spotting. Jackie noticed Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell aka Tiffany Amber Thiessen sitting at the table beside us with her family. Obviously we were starstruck, but no one else seemed to notice. Drinks and apps turned into 5 hours later and then it was time to get ready for the night. We got glamed up, and walked to a nearby restaurant for a late night dinner. It was beautiful and our conversations were heartwarming. We planned out our agenda for the follwing day then called it a night.

On Sunday (buying day) we woke up around 7am and got prepped for the day. TODAY was the day I was going to experience my first REAL buying trip. I've gone to smaller shows here in Charlotte for jewels and accessories, but never to a show filled with hundreds of designers in one area .. in NEW YORK CITY. To say I was ~~thrilled~~ excited would be the understatement of the century. I wanted to look New York sleek and buying show ready. I wore my green Flying Tomato lace wrap kimono from Lotus paired with black lace shorts, black tank tucked in, jewel belt and black combat boots. I was READY! When we arrived, there were women hopping out of cabs, securing their buyer badges with Starbucks in hand. We checked in for the show and were shown where to begin. There was a giant escalator bringing buyers down a few floors to where the shows were. As we were riding down the stairs, the first thing I saw was a crystal chandelier and rows of red carpets. My heart stopped and I knew I had made it. Once to the show floor, I followed Jackie and Effie through booths and booths, watching and examining their moves. What patterns and prints inspired them. Why did they pick that black dress over this black dress. What trends were in for fall & winter. I wanted to pick their brains, but I knew just by observing, I would understand. As we went from booth to booth, I felt at ease and began pulling items I thought would be great pieces in the store. YES! YES! YES! I did it. 11 hours later and some major damage done, Lotus is stocked and ready for some ~~MAJOR~~ new arrivals. I am smiling ~~so big~~ right now knowing I had a part in picking the pieces I am about to see women chose for their closets in the next few months.

Monday we spent the entire day walking the streets of Manhattan. I was able to explore SoHo, Tribeca, the Fashion District, Times Square, West Village and Little Italy. We ate lunch where they film major celebs dining: Cipriani's. I stopped in front of the Kardashians store: DASH and visited every major designers store on the streets of SoHo. I was in HEAVEN. Cue the song, "These boots were made for walkin'". I was dressed in my idea of New York style. I wore an oversized white boyfriend tee, black&white leggings, black beanie cap and black combat boots. When we grabbed Starbucks before starting our morning, I was given a compliment by a true New Yorker ..he was a major guys guy by the way. Deep Northern accent, teared jeans, flannel shirt and a Yankees baseball cap. He was in line behind me and said, "Hey, nice boots." That's when I knew I had nailed it. BOOM! Effie turns to me and says, "You're not coming back to Charlotte, are you?" hahah. Monday was our exploring day and time for all of us to personally shop for ourselves. I bought some great pieces of jewelry along with the rest of the girls. We had a great lunch and early dinner that turned into hours of conversation. Four amazing ladies and plenty of time on the streets of NY. What could be better. We people watched and observed alllll kinds of different outfits from our table that was centered in a giant windowsill on a side street in SoHo. We grabbed a cab back to our hotel around midnight and prepared for our 5am wake-up call. My NY trip was coming to an end. We took off from the airport around 7:30am and were back in Charlotte by 10am. To say this trip was a HUGE success is an understatement. MY.HEART.IS.HAPPY. Cheers to many more buying trips in the city of flashing lights. THANK YOU, EFFIE&JACKIE and OF COURSE Lotus.

Below are a few of my favorite moments in NYC and the outfits I described above. Happy Thursday world!