Notes on Fashion’s Night Out 2010

“It’s like Halloween for fashionistas,” said my daughter, Emily, as we walked the crowded midtown streets on Fashion’s Night Out this past Friday. And it was. The streets were filled with beautiful women and men who donned their finest cocktail attire to see and be in the scene.

My evening started at Bloomingdale’s, 1000 Third Avenue at 59th Street, where Third Avenue store windows had live displays with actors from Martin Scorsese’s HBO series Boardwalk Empire, which debuts September 19th. It was evident from this event alone that this year’s Fashion’s Night Out was going to be bigger and crazier than last year’s. The sidewalk was packed with spectators and members of the press lining up to take photos or videos - and the actors aren’t even known yet. But it was fun to witness.

Inside the store, Milly designer Michelle Smith was on hand to celebrate the newest Clinique/Milly Gift with Purchase. (It’s still available for a purchase of $25. and includes various cosmetics and beauty products, packaged in a pink and brown Milly cosmetics bag.) The store was uber crowded and, since I was meeting friends on Madison Avenue, didn’t stay long enough to view/participate in other Bloomie’s events. I had read that Dina Manzo and Caroline Manzo (The Real Housewives of New Jersey) were going to be on hand at Bloomie’s Kay Unger Boutique and that Alexa Ray Joel (daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley) was going to perform, but I had no time to stop.

Back on the street, it amazed me that women can so artfully and gracefully navigate the city in four-inch platform heels, as so many did on Friday night. And almost everyone was in cocktail attire. I was undoubtedly in the minority in my chic flats, black pants and a black silk tunic but I was comfortable, if underdressed. There is no question that New York is a city of beautiful people and they were out in force on Friday night. Models who were in town for Fashion Week mingled with mere mortals who turned it out for the evening. It was a party atmosphere on the streets and in the stores of midtown Manhattan. Every so often, someone walked by that caused the crowds to take notice. Case in point was artist/designer Deryck Todd who took to the street wearing an amazing Swarovski-studded helmet that he designed and is planning on selling. His website is coming soon so stay tuned.

I made my way to Judith Leiber, 680 Madison Avenue at 61st Street where a charity event was taking place at 7 pm. The store was reprising its sale of 100 Bags for $100 apiece to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. "It was perhaps the quickest $10,000 ever raised," noted Mary Gleason, Brand President for Judith Lieber LLC. New York Social Diary’s Alexandra Lebenthal was in attendance to sign her new novel, The Recessionistas which is available at Amazon.com. Molly Simms was the host for the evening and looked gorgeous as she unveiled the handbags that were quickly scooped up by women who know a great deal when they find it. (Stay tuned for more of my experience at Judith Leiber, complete with pics!)

After a satisfying stay at Judith Leiber, I crossed the street to Barney’s, 660 Madison Avenue, which was packed with visitors wanting a glimpse of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Simon Doonan, Alexander Wang and many more fashion icons who joined in games of ping pong, karaoke and musical chairs. Seriously.

Back on the busy streets, the scene was becoming more and more crowded. Besides the beautiful people in their cocktail dresses or Fashion’s Night Out 2010 tee shirts which were most often paired with strappy jeweled sandals or belted and worn as dresses, I saw people in Lady Gaga costumes, dressed as gigantic cats or dressed as Karl Lagerfeld. No, wait a sec ... that is Karl Lagerfeld. More on that in a minute ...

I had to walk into Calvin Klein, 654 Madison Avenue between 60th and 61st Streets just to see the beautiful and fabulous people who gravitate to his flagship store. The crowd was dense and I was shorter than most of the people there so left to continue my walk downtown.

A live band was on hand at Mont Blanc, 595 Madison Avenue between 57th and 58th Streets, which unveiled theirJohn Lennon Edition writing instrument and pre-launched a program that will support access to music education to children around the world.

Heading west on 57th Street, it was impossible to get into Chanel, 15 East 57th Street. The crowds spilled into the street and, as much as I wanted to go in, there was no way I was waiting in that long line. Instead, I entered Louis Vuitton, 1 East 57th Street at Fifth Avenue, where the staircases were adorned with good looking male models, all of whom were voguing to music as they handed a featured Vuitton bag to the model next to them. All eyes were on the “dancers” who also entertained the dozens of onlookers outside from the store’s windows.

In fact, one of the themes of the evening was live action window displays which drew huge crowds. Everyone wanted to take pictures or videos of the models as they enacted their on-the-spot-theatre.

On Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman (754 Fifth Avenue) had lines that stretched around the block as people waited to rub elbows with Nicole Richie, Mary J. Blige, Tom Ford, Patrick McMullan, Victoria Beckham andJason Wu, who designed a special doll to commemorate Fashion’s Night Out. Once I saw the lines, I thought better of even trying to get into Bergdorf’s and decided to head downtown.

There was a huge crowd at Tiffany (corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue) where complimentary drinks were handed out as models, dressed a la Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, posed for pictures or escorted shoppers into the store. As I exited Tiffany, my husband said, “That’s Karl Lagerfeld, right?” (I didn’t marry him for nothing.) And, stopped in Fifth Avenue traffic was Karl Lagerfeld, barely visible through the tinted windows of a stretch limousine. I scurried to get my camera and snap a few photos but my audible exclamations drew a crowd that quickly swarmed ahead of me blocking my view. Damn! You’ll have to take my word for it that I saw Karl Lagerfeld that evening because I, sadly, have no physical proof of my ultimate sighting. Disappointed, I turned from the crowd and

almost walked right into Jay Manuel from America’s Next Top Model. He is gorgeous on camera but is even more gorgeous in person. Behind me a group of young girls was screaming at a sighting of their own who turned out to beChris Brown. With my Judith Leiber tucked safely under my arm and my sighting of Karl Lagerfeld, I decided to make Saks Fifth Avenue my last stop of the evening.

One store window after another had live displays. Live mannequins sipped cocktails, danced, preened and even showered as they attracted crowds of people who lined the streets to see what stores offered. Champagne and mixed drinks flowed freely and this year, many more stores participated in Fashion’s Night Out than did last year. It was as if New York City threw a city-wide party and residents and visitors took to the streets to celebrate. All in the name of fashion ...

By the time I got to Saks, 611 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street, I was exhausted. The street crowds had thinned somewhat but the Saks floors were hopping. Some of the events that took place that evening included games of Pictionary with Christian Siriano and Veronica Webb, Frederic Fekkai giving styling tips to customers and dancing with Zac Posen.

A friend commented that Fashion’s Night Out should be a weekend event. There were simply too many things to do that evening. I stayed in midtown but heard that the events in Soho and the meatpacking district were just as fun. Judging from the happy crowds, it was apparent that most people would have been thrilled to continue the party into the next day. Maybe next year ...

Coming up: My experience at Judith Leiber's "100 Handbags for $100." Charity Event at Fashion's Night Out 2010. And read about my experiences at last year's Fashion's Night Out including a close encounter with Hanson and the best "score" of the evening.