This is a few days overdue but here it is, FINALLY, my recap of the launch of KARL by Karl Lagerfeld for Net-a-Porter! This post will be in the form of a very LONG diary of my day/review of the collection.  I was specifically invited to the event, by the lovely folks at Net-a-Porter, but it was an open event so anyone could go. My day started SUPER early, I got up at 6am & caught an 8:15 train where I met up with Lydia!  We talked about craziness on our ride into the city and had to hail a cab. Thankfully for us there was one just sitting there waiting so we didn't have to try really hard (we both STINK at catching cabs.)  We got to the event about 45 minutes early & the line wasn't too long, yet.  Then began our long wait for the fun to begin! There was a guy & his girlfriend ahead of us (he worked at Chanel) and he kept complaining about how tacky & dumb the event was and "Chanel would never do something like this"...I wanted to punch him!
As it got closer to 10:30 the staff started walking around asking if we had downloaded the KARL app yet so we could shop and win once the event began! They also handed out gift bags to the first people in line. We all got bags and "Karl Addict" tshirts and then everyone got another special item. I got the famous Karl Lagerfeld gloves ($65) and Lydia got an amazing sequin collar ($175.)
At 10:30 they removed a cloth banner covering the window to reveal 3 of the outfits from the collection and this is where the fun began!  They let us through in groups and we used our iPhones and iPads (they also supplied them) to scan the outfits and try to win pieces from the collection! So many girls around Lydia and I were winning but luck just wasn't on our side.  Then we proceeded inside the building where there were more outfits to scan as well as a fun coffee stand so you could get a drink in a fun Karl Lagerfeld cup.  After scanning for a while and not winning we gave up and decided to head out for some NYC fun. Some of the girls who worked for Net-a-Porter actually remembered me from the Affiliate Tea in July, so that was nice!
To finish up with the Karl part of the day, here are some of my favorite pieces in the collection, I tried to win some of them at the Window Shop, but sadly I only left with my bag, tshirt and gloves.  The collection is full of some amazing statement pieces that are also pretty basic. For example all of the sequin pieces, if you wore them all at once you would look like a crazy person, but wear the jacket with simple jeans and pumps and it is perfection! I love the edgyness and that it is only 3 colors: black, white and grey/silver. Click to view product pages.
[I should have bought the Burgundy dress...maybe if it comes back in stock...]
After the event we went to take our outfit photos (and we stupidly though "oh, we'll do our crossing the street photos later" and never did them...poo!) then walked for a bit and found an adorable cafe in the West Village called Doma where we went for lunch! I got DELICIOUS French Toast with sliced fruit and Lydia got an icky goat cheese salad thing ;) After we were fed and watered we headed out to do what any fashion bloggers would do in the city: SHOP!  Our first stop was Second Time Around, where I got the blazer I posted on Thursday.  Then we also stopped at Loehman's, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Zara and H&M before we were too pooped to walk and  had to head home.

The lovely Lydia (all photographs in this post, except the second one, are by her)

Sandals: Miu Miu eBay, Blazer: Moschino Cheap & Chic eBay $27, Jeans: Free People (Gilt Groupe) gift card, Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs (Shopbop), Watch: Michael Kors, Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs (Shopbop) gift card, Coat: TJ Maxx gift ($40)
Here is the story I promised on Thursday (this is very long winded and ends badly, so you don't have to read it.) As some of you may know, I have been saving up for a Chanel bag since I started my job, I will FINALLY have enough once my tax return comes through but Chanel is raising their prices by 500-600 dollars on February 1st (YUCK!) so I was hoping to find one in the city.  But as timing would have it, Rue La La was having a Chanel sale on Wednesday at 11am (aka right in the middle of the Karl event.) So at 11 I went to the app on my iPhone & tried to find a suitable purse. I found the perfect one: a vintage Jumbo Black Classic Flap in Caviar for $3,999, which is $1000 cheaper than the current purses ($1600 cheaper than they will be in a few days).

After agonizing and bugging Lydia about it for a few minutes I finally pressed "Buy It" but my credit card wouldn't work!! That's probably because I've never spent that much money in one transaction...EVER...so it thought my card was stolen. I couldn't call the company to let them know because I was in the middle of a crowded room, so I tried another card, still no go...and then the bag was gone! I was SO depressed.  My Chanel dreams were crushed and I gave up hope on ever getting my most coveted item.
[After we left the event I had to call my credit card company, but at least I got a good shot out of it that you saw above ;) Props to Lydia for taking advantage of my misfortune and turning it into an awesome picture!]

But when we were in Loehman's, Lydia pointed out a $16,000 Hermes bag and we drooled over it, I slowly looked up and there it was...a gorgeous dark purple (my favorite color) Chanel, on sale for $2800, so we asked if I could see it. As I held the purse I died a bit inside...SO soft, so amazing, but it wasn't a classic flap so I passed. Once again I was so close and had it ripped from my hands! VERY depressing. I just have to hope that a sample sale site will have another Chanel sale soon (doubtful). 

It was like this but fully quilted like the classic flap

Here's hoping that I get amazingly lucky and find my perfect Chanel for under $4000....highly unlikely. (I want black, purple or dark burgundy...black would be ideal but those are hard to come by in Classic Flaps)

All photos © to Lydia!! [except the Chanel bags and goodie bag shot]

This was a wild week, but only because it was split up by my jaunt to NYC!  Two days of work, one day of whirlwind travel and then 2 days back at work...it makes me tired!  Don't worry, I'll be posting my recap of Wednesday's event this weekend! But you get a sneak peek by seeing my outfit! (photo by Lydia)

This weekend will be fun though, my sister and I are visiting with mutual friends we've had since elementary school (she was friends with the older one, then I became friends with the younger one and all 4 of us hang out). We're staying at the oldest one's apartment near Yale so we'll be hanging around New Haven. We're also going to see Beauty and the Beast tomorrow before heading over there! :)

Monday: Sweater: H&M $20, Flats: Missoni for Target $30, Belt: Kenneth Cole Reaction $7, Watch: Michael Kors, Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs	Tuesday: Dress: McQ by Alexander McQueen gift, Turtleneck: French Connection gift, Wedges: R2 (DSW) $35, Watch: Michael Kors, Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Wednesday: Blazer: Moschino Cheap & Chic (eBay) $27, Sweater: TJ Maxx $10, Jeans: Free People (Gilt Groupe) gift card,  Sandals: Miu Miu (eBay), Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs (Shopbop) gift card, Watch: Michael Kors, Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs	Thursday: Pants: Glo (really old), Sweater: Inis Crafts (TJ Maxx) gift, Flats: vanEli (DSW) gift, Watch: Michael Kors, Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Friday: Dress: Marc by Marc Jacobs (eBay) $27, Sweater: The Limited (TJ Maxx) gift, Boots: vintage (eBay) $11

Super quick post today since I am DEAD tired from my trip to NYC, I promise a more detailed post soon! But I do have a confession...I am a HORRIBLE blogger and didn't take any pictures, luckily Lydia did so I will be stealing her photos (she also took some amazing shots of my outfit, and I took some okay ones of hers...I'm not as good of a photographer...see her post here) ;) I got an iPhone on Sunday... FINALLY...so I took some photos with Instagram!

My shoes (I lasted half the day before changing into flats)

The line at the KARL event

Lydia and me!

Cute model at the KARL event

Lydia at Doma Cafe in Chelsea

My delicious french toast from Doma

And here are 2 that Lydia took:

Our nails matched our purses!

Me taking a picture of my tasty french toast from Doma!

Lastly I only bought ONE thing while in the city (would have been more but you'll get the full story later). We stopped at Second Time Around (on Mott Street), which is a consignment shop. They had so many awesome pieces but I feel in LOVE with this blazer, it was a splurge at $50 but I love it, it's so unique! I'm not entirely sure what designer it is by...the tag says: The Extreme Collection - Privée - Limited Edition ...any ideas?

UPDATE: Thanks to Tracy I know it is actually called "The Extreme Collection," imagine that... [I'm such an idiot, why didn't I think to search that instead of Privee]

Another one picture post. Sometimes it's best to let the photos (and fashion) speak for themselves (itself).

The Sartorialist

Today I thought I would keep things simple and post one image with no text (except this) As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words...what does it say to you? [to be continued tomorrow]

The Sartorialist

On Friday I got a very exciting email from net-a-porter inviting me to the launch of KARL by Karl Lagerfeld for net-a-porter on January 25th in New York City. I hastily asked for the day off and thankfully it was granted!  At first I thought it was an exclusive event because my email said to RSVP, but then I got a general email in the form of a net-a-porter newsletter and it is actually an open event, so you guys can go too! There are pop-up store locations in 5 countries, I posted the information below.

The only problem is to shop the collection you need an app on your iPhone or iPad 2 and I have neither...it may finally be time for me to bite the bullet and buy the iPhone4s...I've wanted one for a while but just didn't want to spend the money.  I only have 3 days to get one though and I hate going places after work...so we'll see if I can make it to the store today or something.

Now the next problem is...WHAT DO I WEAR!? This is my first time going to an event like this, the past 2 times I was able to go to a fashion event was  an affiliate tea and my Outnet Photoshoot, nothing as big as this. I've been agonizing over what to wear and so far I was thinking of a simple look with some pop. I have to decide what to wear UNDER the blazer though...and I'll probably need a coat...perhaps my leopard coat?or would that be too leopardy?

Sandals: Miu Miu eBay
Blazer: Moschino Cheap & Chic eBay $27
Jeans: Free People (Gilt Groupe) gift card
Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs (Shopbop)
Watch: Michael Kors (25% off at Lord & Taylor)
Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs (Shopbop) gift card
(I will obviously have flats in my purse for when my feet start dying)
And yes, this is sorta a copy of something I wore 2 weeks ago, but when something works why not wear it again? ;)

I am also freaking out because I've never caught a cab on my own before...as many of you know I am VERY shy so whenever I go to NYC alone I walk EVERYWHERE and avoid talking to people. BUT if I walked to this event it would take forever, so that is not an option, ha ha. But now that I did this post there is no chickening out because you all know I'm going ;)

This week started off nice and easy but yesterday some garbage happened at work and I had to stay late...so annoying! Oh wells...that's what happens in the real world. I wore a lot of red this week, so funny how that happens, do you ever end up wearing the same color scheme for a few days.  So far I have no plans for the weekend apart from going to my Grandma's on Sunday for our weekly lazy day.  I might go see Beauty and the Beast in 3D with my mom and sister but we haven't decided yet.

And my roommate has people coming over tomorrow (including my other best friend) so that should be interesting...something crazy always happens when she goes out. I've been woken up at 2am plenty of times to her jumping on me saying she loves me, ha ha...gotta love drunk people. I personally don't drink, but that's mostly because I hate the feeling of alcohol...it burns, ha ha.

Monday: Sweater: Madewell via ShopBop gift card, Jeans: Mudd (circa ~2001), Coat: DKNY $75, Watch: Michael Kors, Purse: Mulberry won from The Flower Girl, Clog Sandals: Target $12, Cobra Necklace: Vanessa Mooney won from Sterling Style, Turtle Ring: Forever 21 $5, Other Rings: used to be mom's/grandma's	Tuesday: Sweater: The Limited (Marshalls) gift, Skirt: Old Navy hand-me-down, Heels: Marc by Marc Jacobs via The Outnet gift card, Watch: Michael Kors, Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Wednesday: Pants: Elie Tahari via Shopbop gift card, Blazer: Necessary Objects via the desert fox blogshop $30, Tank: Bella via city brewed giveway, Booties: Alexander Wang via The Outnet birthday gift, Watch: Michael Kors, Necklace: etsy, Rings: mom's	Thursday: Sweater: Tahari (TJ Maxx) $20, Jeans: Free People (Gilt Groupe) gift card, Heels: Tahari (DSW) $24, Watch: Michael Kors, Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Friday: Jeans: American Eagle gift card, Turtleneck: French Connection (TJ Maxx) gift, Cardigan: Ralph Lauren (Goodwill) $8, Wedges: Crown Vintage (DSW) $35, Watch: Michael Kors, Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs

 People are always talking about monochromatic outfits so I decided to wear a duo-tone (meaning 2 colors) outfit! Yesterday I decided to be a little wild and wear my velvet Tahari pants with my Alexander Wang booties.  Since my bottom half was a bit extreme I wanted to keep things simple on the top.  I'm also trying to wear more jewelry, every day I am going to wear the same 2 rings (along with my watch) and then add a necklace or something.  Need to get into the habit of accessorizing, I never do it. I even wore a darker shade of lipstick, not like you can tell. But I felt weird so I wiped it off before work, ha ha. I like VERY simple makeup if you haven't noticed...I also don't wear it half the time because I'm lazy.

Pants: Elie Tahari via Shopbop gift card, Blazer: Necessary Objects via the desert fox blogshop $30, Tank: Bella via city brewed giveway, Booties: Alexander Wang via The Outnet birthday gift, Watch: Michael Kors, Necklace: etsy, Rings: mom's

This is how I actually wore my hair today. I tried my old standby of taking my shower at night sleeping with my hair in a bun. This was the first time I tried it since cutting my hair and thankfully it still works!

And here is my usual audience watching me take photos. There were many other viewers today (people walking pets) too...very awkward. [UPDATE: It isn't my cat]

P.S. Sign the petition to stop sensorship on the internet. The SOPA and PIPA laws are supposed to fight piracy but they will end up doing much more than that, we need to stop them from passing!

image from tumblr

As we all know Clemence Poesy is one of my girl crushes, she is gorgeous with impeccable style...makes me so jealous!  She was the cover girl of Glamour UK's February issue and I am in LOVE!






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