My First Fashion Show

Last week I experienced my first fashion show at Mercedes-Benz’s L.A. Fashion Week, where I got to preview Monarchy’s, Samora’s and Oligo Tissew’s Spring 2008 collections.

The experience was amazing! Prior to arriving to the shows, I was a bit nervous about attending such a fashionable event. What do I wear? How will I know what to write? These questions were running through my mind all morning. Finally, when it came time to leave work and go home and change, I chose to wear a wrap black and white Bebe dress with matching heels. (You can never go wrong with sophisticated glamour). I had my notepad in hand and a folder with all my passes in background information on the designers…I was ready to go.

Arriving there, I immediately felt un-fashionable when I saw how trendy and stylish everybody was dressed. Here I was in my sophisticated Bebe dress from last Fall’s collection while everybody had their skinny jeans tucked into their riding boots with their vests over regular tees. Silently in my head, I was cursing myself for not being more fashionable. I should have at least worn my new fuchsia Bebe dress that I wore to that not-so-fun party the other week. At least I had on my cute Tiffany star necklace with matching earrings.

Once there, it was non-stop commotion as I checked-in for the Monarchy show. Once inside Smashbox studios, I was overwhelmed with a surreal feeling; was I really at L.A.’s Fashion Week? Yes, I was, and it felt unbelievable. For the Monarchy show, I was able to score seats, which meant I was going to get a gift bag filled with goodies!

Waiting for the show to start took like what I though was forever. It should have started at 4 p.m., but officially began 45 minutes later. Walking into the main stage at Smashbox, still couldn’t believe where I was. I quickly found my seat and excitedly started looking around for celebrities (after, of course, I peeked into my goodie bag).

The room was dark with dim lights from the ceiling. On either side of the catwalk (which was covered in wet grass) were rows of seats and the photographers were all lined up at the end of the catwalk. Randy Jackson from “American Idol” was in the front row, along with Rex Lee from “Entourage.”

When the lights went out and the music started, I quickly whipped out my notepad and was ready to review. One after another, the models walked down the catwalk, strutting their stuff, while I tried to quickly jot down notes. I never realized how hard it was to review a fashion show. The models walk down so fast that as soon as you’re done writing about one piece, the other model is already half way done. I did my best to catch up, but prayed I would be able to find or get images of all the pieces so that I could catch all the intricate details I know I missed.

After about 20 minutes, it was over. I then had to go back outside and check-in for the Samora show. Since the Monarchy show ran late, Samora’s was pushed back as well. Inside the reception area was limited seating, so I had to stand the whole time, which was pretty tiring given I was wearing heels. It was interesting to people watch during the shows’ intermissions as I scoped out everybody’s outfits.

For the Samora show, I had to stand it the back, but it was worth it! Her show was the best by far. With a Roman goddess theme, Samora’s collection was beautiful, feminine, wearable and sexy. I would love to wear one of her many dresses and thought the collection was well designed. Whereas the Monarchy show was a bit more edgy and rockerish, Samora’s was girly and classy.

The last show I attended was Oligo Tissew. Before the show, I had never heard of the brand, but after some Internet research, found out that they made those cute jeans with the star on the back pocket. I expected to see kind of the same pieces Monarchy show, but was so wrong. Themed, “A Fairy Place…,” the clothes were horrible and looked as if they came out of a thrift store; bright colors that didn’t match, ugly washes of jeans, too-chunky knits and horrible shapeless dresses were on display. In addition to the horrible clothes, I had to sit next to an obnoxious, fat and smelly woman with red short hair in a tiny dress, with her boobs popping out of her dress. I was constantly distracted by her talking while I was trying to concentrate on the show and take notes. I just wanted it to be over.

By the end of the Oligo Tissew show, I was tired. I would have never imagined how tiring attending fashion shows was. I always thought it was glamorous, and the women that got to go to them were the luckiest women in the world. I was going to wait to see the Petro Zilla, the last show of the day and week, but couldn’t come to waiting another 45 minutes for the show to start. I had already experienced a fashion show, so I was happy.

All in all, attending fashion week was a great experience. I hope I can attend more shows next year for the fall collections!