It was fun!  I treasure-hunted while I noted who the retailers used for their caterers.  I people-watched as I noted the products they were drawn to.  I bopped to the DJ while I took photos of all the event activations.  And I met Hal Robenstein while doing my little investigation!

Hal Robenstein, Fashion Director of InStyle Magazine hosted the party at Donna Karen NY today and signed books of his “100 Unforgettable Dresses” hardcover book.

He signed mine, “Never be afraid of attempting what could prove to be unforgettable.”  Great quote.

” Featuring looks from the runway, film, television, the red carpet and the worlds of royalty and politics, this booked celebrates the staying power of these gorgeous, sleek, sultry, and outreageous creations….”-Alber Elbaz    I couldn’t wait to hear the fashion presentation led by Hal  himself.  Having to lead fashion presentations in-store myself, I always enjoy watching and learning from others.

By night’s end, I didn’t care whether I saw the front of the presentation or not.  I had to sit and rest my poor heel-trapped feet.  This was my view.  I stared at Hal’s pant pocket chain and wondered how long ago that look fell out of style.

Here was my favorite dress of the evening worn by one of my favorite Long Island m odels, Aida who I’ve booked many times for Saks events.  Gorgeous, isn’t she?

I was surprised to run into as many people that I knew as I did.  After all, I’ve only been working in Long Island for a little over a year now.   Yet it seems, everytime I attend a Long Island event, I inevitably run into a press contact, charity chairperson, or Saks customer when out and about.  Anyways, the highlight of my night was meeting Hal.  I hope to have him at our store soon!

As a huge fan of Forever 21, I was super excited to receive the invite above.  I think I’ve already proven through my blog and outfit posts that I’m forever a Forever 21 girl.  I just love that you can get such trendy pieces at such affordable prices!  And the brand name suits me for even though I’m in my 30s, I feel Forever 21 (as evidenced by my silly hello kitty purse in the picture below)!  Ok so here are the pics from the Forever 21 Spring 2012 Fashion Presentation.

My yellow poof dress is from Forever 21 (had to wear something from the brand to the party now didn’t I?).  I winterized  the summer dress with my new Cynthia Steffe cardigan from Marshall’s, charcoal textured tights, and accessorized with my Hello Kitty purse and necklace from Off 5th.  Also pictured to the far left is “Courtney Henley-Anderson, from blog “That Girl At The Party” and my dear friend Kate who is wearing her signature legging look – sexy!

The spring 2012 presentation was in this beautiful loft space with the most amazing view of NYC but I was so enthralled by the fashion preview that I couldn’t take my eyes off the clothes.  They had cute little vignettes setup shown below.

I wanted the Tiffany blue pumps, tan tie blouse on the left mannequin and necklace from the front and center mannequin.  Speaking of jewelry, my fellow blogging friends told me that we were instructed to take whatever jewelry we loved HOME.  I couldn’t believe my ears and actually had to check twice and then ask another person to double-check I was understanding correctly.  I could take any jewelry that I wanted?  Really??

My eyes widened as I tried to control my excited, thumping heart and search the room for my favorite finds.  I looked around to see whether others were doing the same and indeed they were!  This gave me the final liberty to select my new finds.

My friend, Kate and I both fell in love with the floral bow rings so we each picked up one and felt like screaming “wonder twins, unite!”

I kind of felt like a clepto when I took the bow ring and the bracelet seen here but everyone around me kept re-assuring me that it was A-OK.  What a fun fashion party!  Who ever heard of one where you can go in and take what you like?  And if that wasn’t enough, we got to enjoy some free drinks and delectable treats served by models clad in head-to-toe Forever 21.  How cute are they?

Leave a comment here if you also love Forever 21!

I love fashion shows.  Because of my work experience in event planning, PR and marketing, I take in every branding detail from the invite font to the server uniforms, to the model styling and the platforms that the models stand on.  I also love Juicy Couture.  It’s such a fun-spirited, girly brand that’s carried out in all their ads, stores and fashions.  So when I got invited to preview the Spring 2012 collection through a fashion presentation at the Academy Mansion venue in NYC, I knew I had to go.

Leaving work early at 4 seemed a bit naughty but hey, I was out researching, right?  Here is what I saw when I first walked in.

Hunky guys in tennis uniforms swathed in pink lights all asking me whether I wanted a drink or lite bite – what a greeting!

I need to find a caterer in Long Island with presentation trays as cute as these.  Don’t you just love the mini-burgers and the pre-cut holes for their baby fries?

Yes, that’s Tim Gunn right in front of me.  He was so stoic as he examined each look that I couldn’t tell if he liked anything.

The bright pops of orange, fuschia and yellow were bright, playful and screamed spring.  The navy and the stripes brought a classic touch to it all.  Notice how all the models have the same beachy waves in their hair – very Gisele.

The clothes while still young-spirited and fun seemed a bit more sophisticated as if the Juicy girl grew up.

I could see myself wearing a lot of the pieces and sort of saw the brand evolving into a fine competitor for Kate Spade, Tory Burch, and Milly.

It’s always an odd thing to be staring straight at these live mannequins as you walk in closer to check out all the outfit details.  I mean in real life, you might give someone the once over but if so you’d be mindful to do it quickly in order not to let the other person notice.  But at a fashion presentation, you have to come in close to check out the minute details, and there’s no getting around it.   Some  might find it intimidating almost, having all these gorgeous girls tower over you as you simply try to get up close and personal to see all the fashionable details.  Here’s the beautiful posse staring YOU down.

There was 1 Asian model in the mix.  One.

I’m a sucker for sparkly things so this caught my eye and made  me wonder whether wearing brooches on pant pockets would ever catch on and turn into a trend. cute idea!

Here are some photos of the creative director and some celebs taking the requisite press shots.

And then here’s me and my new friend.  I bond quickly with others who do PR and events for a living.

The tennis theme ran throughout as you can see.  And if you’ve been reading up on spring 2012 fashions at all, you’ll know that this sporty motif is a huge trend for the season.

I love how the Juicy Couture handbags have the bow detail.  I have one similar to this style, shown in my style diary posts.

And here’s the goody bag that Juicy Couture gave away at the end of the night!

If you want my goody bag, be the 10th person to leave me a comment here and one other blog entry (and leave me your email so that I can let you know that you’ve won!)

What do you think of my latest collage below?

If you’re a fan of brights, you’ll love this collage.  Check out all those fab shoes!  And who wouldn’t want that amazing chair/ottoman?  I put this together thinking about a fun, rainbow themed, summer wedding.  The bridesmaids would each wear a different colored dress with some of these rainbow bright shoes, carry one of those multi-colored bouquets and take pics in a photo booth with the rainbow striped background.

Click here to follow me on Pinterest and see more of the images that inspire me!

Throughout the store, we promoted “Magic Makeovers” and highlighted the super transformative powers of our makeup artists, personal shoppers and stylists.  Trust me, I’ve seen their work and they really can work magic!

By women’s fashions (women’s contemporary) and jewelry, I placed a directional sign, again using one of our disassembled coat hangers and simply posting our customized signs from Party NV who helped create all the graphic elements for the event.

I placed it behind our fashion fortune telling area to help draw attention to the fun, free and fabulous service.   Given our fashion fortune teller was going to be sitting while doing her readings, I knew I could get away with placing the sign behind her while still ensuring readability.

Our fashion fortune teller for the day was stylist, Cathy Berger from Fashion Societe. 

She was able to read people’s shopping needs and recommend what she saw in their fashion future.  I gave her the hat and lace black opera length gloves to wear, both helped to complete her carnival look.   And her crystal ball is simply a crackled fishbowl vase turned upside down on our Michael’s riser and bling plate.

The table was dressed in striped linens that I purchased used and super cheap from Cloth Connection on sale.  I again stapled the pom pom trim that I purchased from Cathie Filian  for a more customized and coordinated look.   Yes, I said stapled… I’ve customized event tables before with linens and trim and have painstakingly pinned every inch of the trim in the past.  And after getting severe back cramps and knowing how much sweat and toil that takes, I opted for the quick and easy 3minute version.  And it worked! 
Notice all the carnival graphic details of the tents, candy red and white stripes and vintage font elements.  I had the mini chocolates worded “shop til you drop” and used our leftover hang tags as a table topper, decorating the perimeter of the fashion fortune telling table.  What do you think?

A carnival needs fun games so I created a fashionable take on the traditional “Pin the Tail on the Donkey Game”.  There are no donkeys at Saks, nor should there be so I converted the title into “Pin the Purse on the Fashionista” and held it within the handbag department – makes sense, no?  Given I didn’t have the budget or staff to hire someone to man the game, I had our partner gym, Equinox man the table and use it to draw attention to their giveaway gym passes.  Shoppers would stop by, be tied with a scarf, be spun around then pin their purse of choice on the fashionista in front of them.  If they got it right, they would win a bigger Equinox pass.  For playing, everyone won a little something from Equinox and everyone was treated to some candied carnival peanuts too!  Here I am demonstrating to the Equinox guy, how I want the game to run.

The blindfolded gal is our fabulous intern who painstakingly helped tape all the mini chocolate covers and create those branded gift wrap popcorn holders in the previous post.  Thanks, Kaitlyn!

The Equinox guy was a super sport and agreed to wear the bowtie that I handed him.

Another game that we played was Fashion Pictionary.  Think Pictionary but with fashion terms like “perm”,” lingerie” and “stilettos.”

I had the intern write on the blank cards that Jodie from Party NV created for us.  I love Party NV!  They create custom party designs, decorations, favors and more!

Contestants won carnival themed goody bags for their participation.

Across the way in shoes were the clown shoe cupcakes.  I bought the clown shoe cupcake holders off of OrientalTrading.com  – they were the perfect match to our blue/red/white/black color theme.  And I asked our local baker to create red velvet cupcakes.  Colors must match, ladies!

For more on Party NV and other carnival themed parties, check this link and you’ll see where the original event graphics came from!