Smiling Ear to Ear: Fashion's Night Out.

Fashion's Night Out was last night and, in a word, it was INCREDIBLE.

At the behest of Mme. Anna Wintour, the eve of September 11, one of the worst days in NYC's history, was turned into a magical night.

As DvF told Women's Wear Daily: "There’s so much partying I don’t know how much business we’ll do. But it’s about building excitement…and celebrating.”

The air was similar to that of Halloween in NYC. There's a certain buzz the day of. Everyone dresses up (to the nines, in this case, rather than costume...though there WAS a fair amount of pageantry), maps out the places they want to visit for trick-or-treating, and, as is the case in this wonderful city of ours where 8 million people try to share limited resources, you often end up waiting in line.

But BOY was it worth it.

My pictures don't do it justice, and I highly recommended attending in person next year (assuming there's a next year) to see just how wonderful it is when the incredibly powerful people of the fashion industry unite around a single cause; no one bands together like fashion people.

First Stop: Bergdorf Goodman.

We had to wait in line for 30 minutes to get inside the store, but fortunately Zac Posen had hand-painted a few dresses in one of the store's windows earlier in the evening and they made for lovely eye-candy to entertain us while we were waiting to be let in.

As soon as we got inside, supermodel Caroline Trentini walked by me and she was both adorable and stunning. She has a sprinkling of freckles across her nose that are a nice contrast to the obvious sexiness of being a 6' tall Brazilian model.

Next we saw a crowd flashing their cameras and decided to explore. We were met with Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa. Standing next to them was Rachel Zoe.

Keren (blond) and Georgina (brunette) were signing Fashion's Night Out t-shirts.

Rachel Zoe was very sweet. And also 100x smaller than I ever anticipated; she is impossibly skinny. (I guarantee she is skinnier than you're imagining.)
I asked her where Brad was and she just said "I know! He's not here!"
Haha. I have no shame.


The fashion husbands chat:
Next to Rachel, Rodger (RZ's hubby) and Harvey Weinstein (Georgina's hubby) enjoy the camaraderie of both having beautiful, successful wives.

Afterward we visited the other floors of the store to enjoy the clothing and to lust after the best floor which is, of course, the shoe floor.

When we came back down to the first floor to exit the building we saw a huge crowd in one room and heard a booming, unique voice that can only be that of Mr. Andre Leon Talley. He was playing a trivia game and his helpers were Donna Karan, Emmy Rossum and some of Barney's creative staff.

A very serious ALT reads trivia questions from his (no joke) fur-covered throne. Donna Karan stands to his right.

And, an un-serious shot of ALT and DK.


Donna Karan was literally a million times more cool/chic/hip than I ever could have imagined.
This was my absolute #1 sighting of the night. I have loved Donna since I was young, for her keen sense of drapings (seriously, who drapes better than DK?) and also her influence and clear voice throughout so many decades of volatile fashion. She is a powerhouse.


Emmy Rossum was wearing too much makeup but there's no doubt that she is a gorgeous girl with a beautiful smile. She could easily play a Disney princess in the future.
And do you spy that person just beyond her?
Yep, P. Diddy.

Second Stop: Barneys.

Barneys was also jam-packed with celebrities.

Ruben and Isabel Toledo signed copies of the new book "Isabel Toledo: Fashion from the Inside Out" and posed for pictures.

Socialite Amanda Brooks signed copies of her new book "I Love Your Style: How to Define and Refine Your Personal Style".


Simon Doonan raffled prizes.


I saw him again later in the evening, toting his signature "S.D." Goyard bag. I said "Simon, you're just so fun! I love you!" and he said "Thank you, Sweetie."
Again, I made an utter fool of myself.



The Mulleavey sisters of Rodarte were there, and had a fancy tranny perform some songs including "The Golden Age of Hustlers." VERY entertaining. S/he wore Rodarte, naturally.

Kate Mulleavy looks on during "The Golden Age of Hustlers."


Our musical entertainment.


Lipstick artist/expert Poppy King, who is promoting her new book "Lessons of a Lipstick Queen: Finding and Developing the Great Idea that Can Change Your Life" (get it? King v. Queen!) did "lip readings." These are just like palm readings, but she looks at the lines at the sides of your mouth to determine your past and your future.
I have to say, she did so with amazing accuracy.
Here's Poppy, reading the lovely SKW's lips.


Supermodel Hana Soukupova walked by. Some models may look "heroin chic" but Hana is an honest-to-God drop-dead gorgeous girl. I was in total amazement. And she is 8 months younger than me. *sigh*


While I was running around like a fool in Barneys trying to see the artists/celebs I wanted to see, I passed socialite Celerie Kemble. She met up with a friend, linked arms, and casually strutted in the opposite direction of where everyone else was walking (specifically, toward the Olsen twins). They seemed like women who "own" New York: Who know the layout of Barneys inside and out, who frequent celebrity-filled parties so often that this is just simply another day in their fabulous lives. New York City is a force to be reckoned with, and I hope that someday I will be one of those women who "owns" New York. In my own small way, I think that maybe I already do.

Third "Stop": Madison Avenue.
The home of arguably the best shopping in NYC. We saw a ton of celebrities on this street:
Lauren Santo Domingo looking GORGEOUS in a mini-dress in Tod's, Lucy Sykes and Euan Rellie, a lot of people I'm forgetting, and supermodel Coco Rocha in DKNY doing a bit of Irish dancing (this is how she was discovered as a model). Coco and a group of dancers performed, then they held a little workshop and taught members of the crowd how to dance. It was so fun. And Donna was there, too, once again cool as a cucumber.

Coco (with microphone) talks to the crowd.

Donna is the QUEEN of relaxed CHIC.


The crowd inside DKNY was enormous.


I'm pretty sure I spotted supermodel Karlie Kloss outside the store, but that's debatable.

And far enough north on Madison sat the beloved Lilly P. with a peacock drawing in the window:

It's a weird world. It's weird to be excited by seeing famous people. At several points during the night I turned to my friends and said "Why are we doing this?! What kind of world do we live in?!"
But honestly, the people I was truly thrilled about seeing have all done interesting and creative things in their lives. They've taken risks, worked hard, and achieved enviable success.
The fact that many of them are willing to meet and greet with their fans, sign every autograph request and pose for seemingly endless photographs when they probably just want to go home is a beautiful thing.

HERE's a GREAT montage put together by NYMag of photos from last night.

I felt empowered by this wonderful night out. Fashion is an amazing thing. So is camaraderie. Together, it's an unstoppable force.
Happy Spring 2010 Fashion Week!
Cxx.