NYFW RECAP + BLOGGERS I MET + NYC MEMORIES
It already feels like forever ago as I sit here working away through stacks and stacks of state income tax returns. But really it was only a couple of weeks ago that I was in NY for a whirlwind and completely last minute trip. If you are not aware, I have a career in the fun and sexy world of corporate income tax. And sadly, Spring/Summer Fashion Week in NY is always smack in the middle of the worst compliance season for corp tax. So whenever this time of the year rolls around, I am always crossing my fingers that I can run away for a few days to enjoy the magic that is NYFW. Lucky for me, I have my “big sis” (unni) Janet who will kidnap me, giving me no choice on the matter. I had very little time to think and I was only planning on being in NY for 36 hours due to looming tax deadlines. But as luck would have it, I was able to stay two more days. I only wish I had known that before I landed in NY as I only took one outfit. This one.
PHOTOS BY @RYANBYRYANCHUA
// SHOP THE LOOK //
My favorite part of NYFW is always meeting up with bloggers… both ones I’ve met before and new ones. Here are some of my favorites that I got to meet for the first time or meet again. They are all fabulous in their own right but they are also some of the funnest, sweetest, and most FASHIONABLE gals you could ever have the pleasure of meeting!
@TANIA_SARIN
photo credit: @tania_sarin
This girl is gorgeous. This girl is fun. This girl is funny. This girl is sweet. This girl can DANCE! I had the absolute pleasure of celebrating Tania’s birthday with her and her crew at SPIN NYC and it was tons of fun. This chick’s got some serious moves. There was a dance circle and of course the lovely Jenny Cho grabbed my wrists and threw me in. Next thing I know, I’m in some sort of dance off with Tania to which I am pulling out all the stops because I gotta represent that Chicago steez! But she definitely threw down and did her thing. After we found ourselves all on the street walking aimlessly following the birthday girl only to find she had no destination in mind. LOL! Luckily we ended up at 11 Howard to continue the party. I don’t know how she got up looking fabulous and fierce the next day. Caught up with her at the Bloglovin’ Awards party and though she said she was feeling the after-shocks of her birthday fun, you could not tell at all by how she looked. Stylish and slaying… all through her hangover. Gotta love this girl.
Check out her blog here!
@SCOUTTHECITY
photo credit: scoutthecity.com
This mother daughter duo has stolen many hearts with their chic outfits and beautiful fluffy locks. Although I didn’t get to meet the mini… I did get to meet the lovely momma. She’s got such a fun personality and she is so approachable and welcoming. It’s no wonder her little daughter is growing up to be quite a lovely little lady full of smiles and love of life. If I had a daughter, this would be goals. The way they compliment each other’s outfits on their blog posts is magical and will melt your heart every time! Go take a look for yourself and get ready to gush.
See their full blog post here!
@TSANGTASTIC & @NOTJESSFASHION
photo credit: @tsangtastic
I have been a fan of these two for as long as I can remember! Both have obviously incredible style but also I love their aesthetic and photography. Jenny has a beautiful blog filled with dreamy photographs and her street style photos always look so polished and clean. I just don’t know how she does it!? I ran into her at an event at Josefina’s NYC hosted by my girl Patricia Chang (check out these adorable shoes she collaborated on). I think I came on a little strong or she might just be a tad shy. Okay, more likely I came on a little strong, as I just rattled off “Omg Tsangtastic! I love you and your photos are amazing and you are amazing and omg Hi I’m Shai!” Good thing I ran into her again at the Bloglovin’ Awards Party to show her that I’m not some insane weirdo. But she probably still thinks I am.
Jessica is what I like to call the Asian Barbie. Perfect hair, perfect face, perfect body… and yea… she popped out two kids. Sometimes life just isn’t fair like that. LOL. And what’s worse is that she’s super sweet and fun in person! It’s always trippy seeing people I’ve followed on Instagram in real life. I saw Jess while I was in an Uber, driving away, and she was doing a shoot on the sidewalk. Being that I had one too many glasses of champagne, I screamed out of the window… “HAAAYYYYY NOT JESS FASHION.. I SEE YOUUUUU GIRRRLLLLLL… SLAAAYYYYYYY!” Two days later I run into her at the LTK party where I formally introduced myself. Her response? “Oh! Drunk On Shoes! You yelled at me from a car yea?!” LOL. What can I say… when I fan girl… I fan girl like a champion.
check out their blogs here and here!
@SONGOFSTYLE & @SONGDANI
photo credit: songofstyle
These two are the absolute best. You know when you watch someone’s snapchat game and wonder, are they really like that in person? Aimee and Dani totally are. They are damn hilarious and love to dance and just know how to have a great time in any situation. Aimee and I tried to have our C-walk rematch at Tania’s birthday party, but I lost because I was in heels. So the score is 1-1. And I will be looking forward to the next battle. I’ll be ready… with flats in my back pocket. Dani and I caught up and talked about last year when I sat next to her at the KYE show. I told her how I snuck into the show and sat in the front row and almost got kicked out because I was in her seat. Luckily they kicked out the two girls next to me and Janet instead. We played it off real cool last year. Fake it til you make it! This definitely cracked her up. Oh and there was also a part in the night where her boyfriend took my hat and danced in a corner by himself and was snapchatting away. Saddest part was I think the hat looked so much better on him than me.
check out the blog post here!
@JESSIMALAY
photo credit: @jessi_malay
Little miss thang walked into the room and I was like… Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamnnnnn.. she FOINE! Yes. FOINE. One of those situations where you see her and then look at yourself and think… why did I even try to look good today? She’s a shorty like me but packs a punch and feisty as hell. A total sweetie and someone you also want to be with on the dance floor. And did I mention she also sings? I watched her music video (‘Do It’) and whooooo.. that shit made me sweat. She oozes confidence and just overall badassness. She’s hot and she knows it and I am NOT mad about it. Do you babe!
check out her blog post here!
Overall I had an amazing time on my whirlwind trip to NY. I was able to catch up with my bestie who moved there 10 years ago. I was also able to have dinner with Sheryl and Reuben and Aaron and his fiance Mike. I was so glad I got to sit down and catch up with them especially because Aaron and Mike live in NY. Definitely a much better experience than last year where I was actually carrying tax returns from show to show. This time I put the work down and allowed myself to just enjoy the little time I had. I didn’t worry so much about going to shows… well quite frankly I didn’t RSVP to anything but I didn’t care. It allowed me to feel free and open for whatever adventures NYC had to offer. And it’s so much better when your girl Sheryl gives you her ticket to go in her place. I caught one show as Sheryl Luke and man, that felt great. Entry was a breeze! I got to stroll past everyone waiting in the line for standing room. I got to sit comfortably without fear that I would get booted out when the real owner of said seat arrived. I got treated nicely by the crazy bouncer on a power trip. LOL. Easy breazy. So thanks so much to my bae Sheryl. I love being you!
I was also with the BEST girls ever! My unni Janet, who I friggin’ love sooooo much as she shows me that you can have fun at any stage in your life. She also doesn’t take herself too seriously. Sometimes this blogging world can get to people’s heads and they forget to relax and just have a good time. She’s been such a blessing to me because we just click. We travel well together and just generally are down to have adventures and be silly. It’s so nice to have someone like that who understands this world but also sees it the way I see it. A great way to meet like-minded people and have fun memories while looking absolutely fierce! Thank you for forcing me to go with you. I love being a part of your entourage! And it’s okay that you fell TWICE on this trip. At least you didn’t jack up your knee.
Jennia… you crazy betch. I friggin’ love this girl. I met her over a year ago, then we partied in LA Ktown, and now we have partied in NY Ktown. This is the only person who could quite literally drag me to Korean BBQ and Karaoke one night and then repeat it all again the next night. I cannot WAIT until she’s here in Chicago! Where there is no Ktown in the city. LOLOLOL What will she do!? I will forever cherish our little lady lunch date where we finally stuffed ourselves with greens and veggies and thought we saw David Beckham. Puahaha! Won’t ever forget our long ass UBER ride talking about life and love and our mommas. Also, trying on every pair of sunnies at Gentle Monster and those funky ones at Acne Studios while you put on all the coats because you can’t handle anything below 75 degrees. Most of all the singing. So much singing. Going to NoRaeBang with this girl and seeing her perform and sing S.E.S ‘Because I’m Your Girl’ is probably the most epic thing you will see in your life. NRB fo LYFE!
Lastly, Ali and Jenn, two fellow Chicago bloggers who were so down for whatever. I had to teach Jenn how to sneak into the shows and generally how to enter a room like you were meant to be there the whole time. LOL. She was an incredible student as she successfully got herself into multiple shows. I’m so proud. Not to mention this girl threw down at KBBQ. We left her for 20 minutes at a Korean restaurant with a bunch o’ Korean people. We came back and everyone else was speaking Korean and Jenn was sitting there at the end just going to town on some kimchi jiggae happy as a mothaf*kkin clam. Thanks to Ali for being amazing and keeping us all organized and together. I’m pretty sure if she wasn’t there Janet would have accidentally sent me to some abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere.
Anyway, I hope you caught all the madness on my Instagram Story! I also hope you enjoyed the post as I enjoyed trying to relive all the fun memories. From changing my bandages at Duane Reade for my busted knee and having to carry around that Duane Reade plastic bag with Janet’s Chanel boy bag out on the town then have to go back the next day to SPIN because you left the damn plastic bag filled with your jeans, bandages and Neosporin at coat check, to scarfing down sushi in our giant hotel bathroom together, to rummaging through everyone’s luggage for an outfit, to jamming out in EVERY SINGLE UBER we took with my awesome old school playlist, to feeling like celebs when streetstyle photogs start snapping, to seeing that line for the Samsung event and unanimously saying “f***kkkkk thaaaaaaat, to countless laughs, photoshoots, and endless glasses of champagne and soju. I cannot WAIT for next season! May it be as random and as crazy as this one.
