It's That Time of Year Again...Barneys Bonanza!

Credit: Nymag.com

Winter blues got you down? Maybe this will cheer you up: Thursday, Februrary 11th the Barneys Warehouse Sale begins and runs until February 28th.

For those of you who have never participated in this New York tradition, the Barneys Warehouse Sale is celebrated by fashion-conscious New Yorkers biannually in August and February. Barneys rents out a huge warehouse (at 255th west 17th st) and fills it with a jaw-dropping selection of beautiful clothes - all marked down! Each day the prices fall lower, but at the same time the selection becomes more paltry. The warehouse becomes a mad house as frenzied shoppers throw Manolo shoes and Marc Jacobs' clothes into their giant plastic garbage bags by the dozen, trying to beat the competition (and don't forget: it IS a competition). To get the true experience wait in line in the morning before it opens to be one of the lucky first people inside.

Note: There are no dressing rooms, only a few mirrors scattered about, so think about wearing leggings and maybe a camisole underneath your clothes to avoid voyeurs!

Open Casting Call for Models

We look forward to seeing you there! Click here to RSVP for the Facebook Event.

Come to New York Fashion Week!

As a style blogger myself, I've always dreamed of a convention or conference of fashion bloggers, conglomerating together to share ideas and change the fashion industry and social media as we know it.

Well, Chictopia beat me to the race. If you didn't know, Chictopia is an extremely popular fashion-oriented social networking community in which anyone can upload photos, blog, and share fashion ideas and tips. During New York Fashion Week this February, the company is hosting the Chictopia10 Social Influence Summit. According to the website's description:

Chictopia10 Social Influence Summit is where global online taste makers meet executives from premium brands. This half day conference and cocktail party will be feature CEO presentations and high level discussions on what forces are most influential in online brand image. Ten independent designers will also showcase exclusive products from their upcoming lines.

Speakers include Susanna Lau of Style Bubble and Naomi Nevitt, a former online editor of Teen Vogue who also graduated from our own Barnard College!

Unfortunately, the event isn't free -- but you get a discount if you're a member of Chictopia and an additional 50% discount if you enter the code EarlyChic. Information on the event can be found here and tickets can be bought here. You can even apply for a lodging scholarship here, if you're not lucky enough to live in New York City!

Hope to see you there, future fashion bloggers!

And yes, there is an afterparty.

Hoot visits 17

Credit: Anna Cooperberg-Gonzalez (CC'12)

I remember cracking open my first issue of Seventeen when I was 13 years old. I was dazzled by the fun spreads and each month, looked forward to receiving my next issue in the mail. My friends and I would tear out our favorite pages, memorizing the outfits and attempting to recreate them with items from our own closets. Although we may have moved on to other fashion publications, Seventeen will always hold a soft spot in our hearts.

Earlier this semester, members of CU Couture and Hoot were invited to Seventeen's Fashion Department to give feedback on the sections pages at their Reader Round Table. The event was held at Seventeen's office in the Hearst Building, and the girls were joined by Real Girl Models and Reader Contributors from the tri-state area. Candy was served, and there were lots of fun giveaways, including beauty products for the girls to try out.

Betsy Mullinix, stylist and organizer of the event, asked the girls to give their input on the magazine's fashion pages and online content. Girls were asked to weigh in their opinions on both the design of the pages and the clothes themselves. The consensus? Girls want to see more real girl models wearing clothes outdoors or in interactive settings, as opposed to still shots of clothes shot in a studio. While Seventeen is famous for showing girls how to create fun, fashion-forward looks on a budget, the girls agreed that they were willing to splurge, if shown how to wear an item in multiple ways.

Overall, we had a great time at Seventeen, seeing the inner-workings of a fashion publication and meeting a lot of great people. Seeing the covers of previous issues on the wall, we couldn't help feeling a little like our 13-year-old selves, giddy with the excitement of opening each new issue.