One of the best parts of Fashion Week is checking out all the amazing streetstyle around the city! It’s a full week where everyone brings out thier best, and you can pull inspiration from each persons unique style. If you plan on attending NYFW this season, here are a few things to keep in mind so you don’t pull a major fashion faux pas:

Research Trends

While I highly encourage personal flair, it might be helpful to research some current trends and plan outfits around those, just to provide some general guidelines. For example, last season some of mine were menswear inspired, monochrome, and playing with proportions. From there, you can build outfits that show your own personal style!

Some good places to research new trends are articles like these from Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, The Cut, and WhoWhatWear.

Check The Weather

Standing in a pile of snow in stilettos and a tank top is never fashionable, or fun! Neither is getting caught in a downpour with no umbrella. Dress for the season and check the forecast before you go!

February - It’s COLD and often snowing. This is the week to break out the fashionable coats and your favorite boots or booties, and play around with dressing in layers! See if you can rent or borrow some statement coats so you’re not braking the bank!

September - You have a whole lot more room to play around during this week. The weather is usually pretty nice, but prone to the occasional random downpour. Plan on having a more medium-sized bag that can fit a small umbrella just in case! Also be sure to add some layering pieces so you can adjust in case it’s a little warmer or cooler that day!

Keep It Practical

In New York, you will be outside and waking A LOT. You can definitely still bring the style game, but don’t be in pain for the sake of the look. If you want to do heels, make it a block heel that’s not crazy high. Believe me, it’s way more enjoyable, and you’ll look so much better if you make sure the look isn’t insanely uncomfortable. (to stay in for 8+ hours)

Make It YOU

Make sure your own personal style comes through in your look. The best part of Fashion Week is seeing everyone’s completely different styles, so don’t be the 100th girl wearing a Baker boy cap, thigh-high boots and a Gucci logo belt (circa the last two fashion weeks)

If you have an idea for an outfit and you’re unsure if it’s ‘too weird’ or ‘not cool’, WEAR IT. That’s how trends are started and that’s who streetstyle photographers are going to want to snap! The more unique and personal your style is, the better!

Borrow, Don’t Buy

Putting all these outfits together can cost a pretty penny if you purchase everything you’re wearing. Instead, borrow the clothes! Here are two fairly easy ways to do that

Rent The Runway - Especially if you’re first starting out, Rent The Runway is an amazing tool to borrow designer pieces for Fashion Week! They have an Unlimited plan (Which you can totally use for just this one month, although it’s addicting) Plus, they have a showroom in NYC where you can go swap out pieces if you want to!

Brand Contacts - If you have a relationship with a particular brand or PR rep, you can always reach out and ask to borrow clothing for fashion week! Most brands love doing this, since they know it will be highly photographed, both on your feed and by streetstyle photogs. Even if you don’t have an existing relationship, there’s never a better time than now to start one!

You can get a free pitching template on this blog post which easily adapts for this!

Take Photos / Lay Them Together

Once you’ve finalized each outfit, snap some photos on your phone of each one, and if you’re traveling, lay out everything in groups together at your hotel so you can easily grab a pile and throw it on! There’s nothing worse than running late for a show, and not being able to find those little things like tights or earrings, then running around like a madwoman to find them!

If you still need help with those pitch emails to get you invites, check out my post on How To Get Invited To NYFW with a free email template!

xoxo,

Audra