New York Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2011: Weekend Part 1

By: Finance Foodie

Ahhhh and I’m back – to Boston that is! After a tiring but exciting weekend spent in New York covering Mercedes Benz Fashion Week (MBFW), I’m happy to be back to slower paced Beantown. New York – especially during Fashion Week – can be like a non-stop amusement park ride. After three days, I was ready to get off.

Not wanting to fatigue myself to the point of illness (which happened last season), I made the decision to cover fewer shows this time around and use the freetime to catch up with old friends and well….eat proper meals (last season I survived on nothing but protein bars and Diet Coke). So with my Nikon, Blackberry, and badge in hand, I was ready to see what would be in stores for Spring / Summer 2011.

The Venue:
Lincoln Center
As I’m sure many of you might have already read, there were some major changes to MBFW this season – namely the big move from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center and the digitization of invitations (both which I am uber happy about). The Lincoln Center venue is EONS larger and EONS more comfortable than the Bryant Park – in fact, for a moment I actually forgot I was in a tent. The (carpeted!) venue was decked out with BoConcept chairs (architecturally beautiful, yet practically comfy) where attendees could actually relax between shows with a wide variety of complementary beverage options (Starbucks Frappuccinos, Fiji water, Diet Muscle Milk, Pepsi Cola) and Pop Chips (food was lacking per usual in the tents).

The digital invites, once I understood how they worked, made checking in a breeze – all I had to do was scan my unique barcode and go in. The cluster-eFF that made previous seasons a nightmare was (pretty much) eliminated!

The Show:
Yoana Baraschi
Saturday, The Box@ Lincoln Center
Ok so enough praise for the new venue – on to the clothes! I only had one show on Saturday, but it was for one of my favorites – Yoana Baraschi. Ms. Baraschi super wearable contemporary line consisted of a series of fluttery printed dresses with flowing sleeves, wide legged pants, and slouchy jackets. I could definitely see these ultra feminine outfits on a few of the twenty to early thirty-something girls I know around Boston. Easy and effortless glam are the words that come to mind – these looks are perfect for walking along the Charles River, then seamlessly transitioning to drinks and dinner at Mooo…

Fun Fact: The singer JoJo and Miss Teen USA stopped by – reinforcing the young and fresh esthetic of the collection

The Eats:
Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 1st Ave, New York, NY
(212) 777-7773
Since Saturday evening was devoid of shows, I decided to try the much buzzed about Momofuku Noodle Bar. I was a tad nervous about the no reservations policy (popular eatery + no reservations + Saturday night = long wait), which proved to be a legit concern. When we arrived at 9pm, we were told that it would be an hour wait. Well, the wait was more like 2 hours. This left the three of us hungry and cranky -- especially my friend who started complaining loudly about the incompetent hostess (who was indeed quite disheveled and disorganized throughout the night). After we were finally seated, we started off with the famous steamed pork buns (2 for $9). I thought these were very tasty (although I was so hungry, I could of eaten the chopstick), but felt I could probably find the same thing in Chinatown for half the price.

For my entrée, I ordered the ramen noodle soup with pork belly, pork shoulder, egg, and fish cakes. As a few bites of the steamed buns only served to fuel my appetite, I thought this was the most amazing thing since Stevia during my first few bites. As I returned to a more normal state, I noticed the dish was incredibly salty – even for my salt loving tastebuds. I did like the consistency of the noodles – for they were firm and tasted much better than the Maruchan packaged ramen (at $16 a bowl, I would be pretty angry if they weren’t) – but the saltiness became so overbearing I couldn’t finish the dish. Plus I was getting full – the soup was very heavy due to the fattiness of the pork belly and shoulder.

But at the end of Day 1, I was just happy I that I had more than protein bars and coffee in my stomach....

Click here for Part 2 of my New York Fashion Week(end)!