Come along little ducklings..

Front Row Center has moved to a tumblr. platform

http://front-row-center.tumblr.com/

So catch me over there. But enjoy what’s here thus far. But I promise times 203432 billion that I’ll post better, most interesting things over at our new home.

xoxo see you therreee

Fashion Friends

It’s the time of the year when change is in the air and there’s just so much going on that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with who’s going where and doing what with whom. Classmates are graduating and moving cross country for jobs or spending the summer at home before heading to grad school in the fall.

However, the friends that I have kept track of are my fellow fashion followers. And let me tell you, they’re up to some pretty amazing things. Not only are they making me insanely jealous of their summers stomping the streets of the City, but they’re doing more than just hanging out on Houston and spending their days recovering from the night before at Sub Mercer.

Elana Fishman: I met Elana last summer, and I can safely say she is probably one of the most intelligent, smart and funny people I’ve ever met. From our jaunts in the rain at Fashion Week to nights at Momofuku and BabyCakes for dessert, we spent some great time together. Miss Fishman recently graduated from NYU and has taken the position of Jason Wu’s  (fashion prodigy extrodinaire) administrative assistant.

Connie Wang: Connie was my partner in crime this past Fashion Week as we attempted to impress the fashion crowd at a hoity toity afterparty. Our attempt failed, as Connie lost her voice and I just wasn’t interesting enough to hold snooty PR people’s attention. Connie’s left her post as the wittiest West Coaster I know and graduated from UC Berkeley and will be headed to NYC soon to show the world who’s boss; because, well, I’ve never seen anyone rock a fur vest and vintage YSL tuxedo pants quite like Connie.

Casey Lewis: Casey was the first Teen Voguer and fellow fashion intern I met last summer. When I found out she was bringing TeenFashionista to NYC for the summer, I sent her a quick email and we decided to meet up at my favorite West Village cafe, Cafe Angelique, on Bleecker. From there we got rained out at the Vampire Weekend concert, ate the best PB and J sandwiches ever, just to name a few highlights. Casey’s spending the summer back in NYC interning for Conde again, this time at Cookie Magazine. Just what the world needs, a fashionable girl who can throw a killer dinner party.

John Huetter: John actually sat next to me in my marketing class back at St. John Fisher. I wouldn’t necessarily call us BFF, but he made the entire class crack up on a daily basis. Between his insane sense of humor and his VMan-worthy good looks, this boy’s got it made. John’s taken his marketing history into marketing himself, having signed with ADAM model agency in NYC and working the casting circuit. Fashionista favorite Jeremy Kost has already shot him on a summery rooftop.

Summer’s here and I can’t wait to see where everyone ends up!! Congratulations everyone and good luck!

 

Behati and Coco, Fashion Week’s most famous BFFs

Connie Wang, for Chictopia

Elana Fishman, shot by AltamiraNyc, in Central Park

John Huetter, shot by Jeremy Kost

Miss Casey Lewis, enjoying her new Union Square fashionista pad

The Good, The Bad, The Impossible

These, I think I'd be able to live with.

Let’s change that to the bad, the worse and the mediocre. 

During my glory days (glory used loosely, but it was pretty much the most perfect summer of. my. life.) at Fashionista, I wrote this post about finding the perfect sandals for guys for the summer. Well, it’s that time of the calendar year again and I’m on the hunt. 

Too bad the pickings are looking pretty slim these days. Slim as in a crackhead on the Master Cleanse, slim. 

Now, I haven’t completely exhausted my resources, so if you know of a great place to get guys sandals (yes, guys, I’ve tried ordering women’s gladiator sandals ..hey, I’m OK with it…and it doesn’t work out in my favor) that are fashionably and socially acceptable outside of Bodunk, Mississippi, please direct me in that direction.

I’ll post a fun little gallery of some of the comical, decent, and down right embarrassing excuses for men’s footwear. I just don’t get how even Barneys and OAK can only have one decent option for guys and 100,000 million trillion for women. Then, the ones that are even decent cost $600, which is a no no for footwear that I’ll only wear for one summer. AND I am still unsure as to how the flip flop morphed into these bizarre shaped slide-type sandals that would leave the funniest, most redneck, tan lines after a day at the shore.

The Doc Marten/Raf combo is definitely interesting, but I’m looking for something acceptable to wear in and out of the office throughout the summer, and I’m thinking that those would just look crazy. Although, crazy can be a good thing.

Maybe it’s just time to order my second pair of Grecian leather options from that nice little man stowed away in the Isles of the Mediterranean.

Enjoy!

These, I think I’d be able to live with.

Vomit inducing. Literally. Oye.

No words. And not in a good way. REALLY!?

Channeling 5th grade science teacher. Socks sold separately

This is a joke from Co-Op to the guys of the world. Gag.

My trusty Grecian standbys, incase my search amounts to canvas flip flops and rubber catastrophes.

These are pretty killer, I must admit. But still..not.

seriously? people pay $65 for this?

New York, New York

So now that I’ve officially moved into adult life and left intern world, I’ve also sadly left my second most favorite (second only to the beach on St. Maarten) place in the world, New York.

Yup, that’s right, no more walks up 5th Ave., strolls in the West Village, shopping on Broadway or trips to Cafecita Bogota in Greenpoint. I’ve officially moved back to one of the most un-fashionable places in the world, where plaid isn’t a trend for fall, it’s a lifestyle; where Marc rainboots solicite comments like “did you just come from the farm”, instead of garner comments like “ohh, cute!” like they once did.

So I’ve compiled a top-ten list of reasons why I will miss New York:

10)  Going to work in acid blue skinnies or grass green jeans is normal. No one makes comments like “St. Patrick’s Day was a month ago.” In public, no one stares on the street, come ot think of it, no one thinks twice.

9)  Bowties are a regular occurance in the fashion world. The W fashion assitant wore one everyday, Alber is known for his, Brad equally as much. Here, they garner giggles. Still SO cute though. Who knew bowties were so fun?

8 ) Situation: the thought of buying a Balenciaga bag, yes? no? In New York: everyone’s an enabler, “yes” “OMG let’s go to Barneys right now” “is that even a question?”. Here: “WHAT?! $1500 on a purse!?”

7) The idea of a “murse” in the city is SO five years ago. Now, everyone has one, it goes without mention. Here, the word “murse” is still used. And in reference to one of the “reusable” shopping bags. Oye.

6) Driving. Hate it. Cannot stand it. I will take an hour commute home with three trains, including the ridiculous G train, any night over a 20 minute drive to the nearest bar that’s not filled with Nascar fans.

5) Exercise. Never have I ever been in such good shape or had such a shapely butt than the two times I’ve lived in the City. The formula of little money = no groceries + walking 6 blocks home, 20 blocks to work, etc. + being late for work = running those 20 blocks = amazing calves, gluts and a flatter tummy. What could be better?

4) Celebrities. This is the 12-year-old girl in me. But whenever I met a celebrity of any kind, my life in New York, no matter how wet my pants were from walking in the rain or how much I couldn’t feel my fingers from the fridgid winter weather, it was so reaffirming to just chitchat with Brooke Shields or Mr. Zoe (!).

3) Pinkberry, BabyCakes, Magnolia, Le Pain, Delicatessan, Cafe Havana, Cafe Bogota, any other restaurant I frequented on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

2) Access to every magazine published in the entire world. If Around the World (off Bryant Park) didn’t have it, the magazine store on Spring and Lafayette would. Ugh, I miss.

1) Temptation. When the closest store to me (currently) is Target, followed quickly by American Eagle, Hollister and any other mall chain, I miss the golden days. The days of wandering up Mercer before work and looking in the windows at Marc, Philip and Marni. Especially now that Topshop is there, I’m jealous, soo jealous.  The days when I would “window shop” at Uniqlo, MadeWell, OAK and more, have come and gone, along with my bank account.

But as the Governator would say, “I’ll be back”, and so soon. Because I’m going to need a wardrobe rejuvenation as well as a large pomegranate swirl Pinkberry with white chocolate and pineapple.

Oye.

I, Die.

Someone help me figure out how to stud something because I have a pair of black skinny jeans whose back left pocket is begging to get this treatment. I’ll opt for either taking the entire pocket off or just studding the pocket.

Seriously, I die. D.I.E. I can’t take how amazing it is. I don’t know why, because it’s really just a studded jean pocket. But it’s understated, cool, rock and roll, but still so like..bam!

Weekend project, here I come. Maybe we’ll have a FRC DIY!

Just A Personal Observation

Quickly reading through my daily blogs this morning I, obviously, started with Fashionista and the first thing I saw was this  quote of the day:

“He’s always asking: ‘Is that new? I haven’t seen that before.’ It’s like, Why don’t you mind your own business? Solve world hunger. Get out of my closet.” – Michelle Obama, on dodging her husband’s inquiries about her shopping, to theNew York Times.

This then prompted me to read the NYT article I’d overlooked. Getting to the end of the article  (which I found oddly placed below the Politics tab) I realized that I was very, very happy with the nation’s decision to elect the Obamas as the first family. 

Obviously this is all my own personal opinion and I know everyone is able to state their own, but I believe that the Obamas were exactly what this country needed in terms of a president and the first family. They’re dose of real. They’re a breath of fresh air from the stuff, daily Oscar de la Renta wearing, drab sense of humor and overall awkward personal relationships we’ve dealt with for far too long.

For so many presidencies (not just saying W’s) the first family has been this secretive, stuck up, stuffy, un-cool, as far from down-to-earth as possible, family that is too scared of being in the public eye that they are as fake as possible to convince the public that they’re happy and just like everyone else. 

Well, let me tell you. If you want to  prove that you’re just like everyone else, wearing $150,000 outfits, isn’t it. For starters.

Just off of the top of my head, and fresh in my mind from that Times piece, I could form one of those People magazine “They’re Just Like Us!” pages: Barack drinks beer, watches basketball games, builds playgrounds for his daughters, Michelle has curves and recognizes them, tries to cover them up, and works her ass off in the gym to stay fit. As a family they eat at fast food restaurants (not often, though) and they let their kids eat ice cream after school. Plus, you’ve already seen Barack and Michelle in their swimwear, something you probably never would have seen W doing, nor ever really wanted to see.

Now I’m just babbling, but I just thought, after reading that piece, how real this family seems to me. They’re not phony, it’s not a PR stunt, it’s just a real family living in surreal circumstances. After the presidency is over, Michelle will run back to Chicago and buy up half of H&M and J.Crew and Barack will grab a brewsky and sit back and watch ESPN. And, hopefully, they’ll reminisce about a job well done.

Partners In Crime

A recent conversation via email between my mom and I:

Monday, March 16 @ 6:47 p.m.

Me: Mommmmm, can I buy a $1,200 Balenciaga bag at Barneys. Pleaseeee, please please please please pleaseeee. Please!

Monday, March 16 @ 8:00 p.m.

Mom: NO!!!!

Wednesday, March 18 at 9:14 a.m.

Mom: Did you buy that bag? If you did just do not let Dad know and send the bill to Chad’s (my bff’s) address OK?!

Haha, this perfectly describes our relationship. Whatever you do, don’t let Dad know.

No Words

The Fall 09 Louis Vuitton collection was a stunner. Absolutely what fall fashion during a global depression should be like. Luxurious, playful, fun and spontaneous. 

There were hints of neon pinks and purples played against deep greens and black with LV  monogrammed leggings and THE most amazing paper-chain-like necklaces. Marc really outdid himself this  collection. The shoes were a little off (I’m not a fan of fetish boots with inverted cone heels, oh well) but the accessories were frilly and pure awesome.

I just can’t get over how much I love it. Too bad the men’s collection wasn’t nearly as much fun. But, oh well. 

Head over to Fashionista for your first look and a bunch more pictures up close and personal with the LV girls and look for Carine in the background of nearly every shot.

Male Ed. I don’t understand why people use town cars to go places. They’re a gigantic waste of money.

Female Ed. Yeah, I mean. Yeah. I’ve only ever used one once. I just take taxis.

Male Ed. I mean, the managing editor of the New York Times takes the subway everywhere she goes. She thinks that it’s necessary for the company to make cuts like that and taking taxis and town cars isn’t beneficial for the company.

Female Ed. That’s awesome. But I think taxis are totally acceptable.

Male Ed.  That’s like, the most profound thing ever. She isn’t worried about impressing anyone, she’ll take the subway where ever she goes. 

 

Apparently editors think that taking the subway with 4 million other New Yorkers every day is surprising. Needless to say, I wasn’t that impressed to hear it.

Run For The Hills

Alexander McQueen showed his Fall 2009 collection last night to mixed reviews.

My review: holy. crap.

This stuff is scary. The make up looks like one of those clowns that every kid is scared of. Either that or one of the drag queens on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Neither of which I would recommend someone try mimicking.

This look (left) is truly scary. COACD called her “Hellraiser” and blamed her or Karlie Kloss’ little mishap. If I were Karlie I’d be running away in my six inch platforms, too.

And to think, Mcqueen was the same one who just released his capsule collection for Target, which includes this ill-fitting sack (see gallery). I checked it out at Target yesterday and it’s so-so. A+ for effort, C for execution.