(The United) State(s) of Style Summit

Last Thursday, I had the incredible privilege of attending StyleCaster's State of Style Summit at 92YTribeca. Let's pretend that didn't sound really sponsored-post-y and generic. Because this is not a sponsored post or anything, I write my own shiz guys, 5ever and always. 

The Style Summit was like the IFB Cons of da past, only smaller, cozier, and more intimate. And funnier. The CEO/founder of StyleCaster, Ari Goldberg, is quite hilarious and unafraid of profanity.

Much conversation was had, epiphanies occurred (somewhat), Tweeting happened (I know), bagels and delicious salad were et (et = the superior past participle of "eat"), and wonderful people spoke and existed in front of me. Among those people were Derek Blasberg, Joe Zee, Swin Cash (Olympic WNBA player and gold medalist, oh yes), the ladies of Style Like U (they are awesome. Like, really freaking awesome. More on them in the future, wink, wink), and a rabbi. 

Here you may find some photographic and cinematographic documentation of my day at the Summit. 

[Photos by me.]

Joe Zee, Mary Alice Stephenson, and Julia Samersova all discussed the importance and advantages of social media and its various platforms and incarnations. According to the panel, fashion used to be a "members only" sort of thing; thanks to social media, it's not like that anymore. Anyone and everyone can get involved. Even though social media pushes everything forward and is very future-looking, it simultaneously sends us back and makes fashion real again. It's no longer this concept that stays on a pedestal behind a glass case: it's at everyone's fingertips. The real question for me is whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's hypocritical for me to advocate a "soshul meediuh sux!" doctrine, because, HELLO! I'm a fifteen-year-old girl blogging from her apartment. But at the same time, Twitter, why are you a thing??? I may need to elaborate on this one a bit more in a full-fledged HuffPoPo article. This conflict was actually bothering me so much that I raised my hand and asked whether it's necessary to participate in that world if I don't want to. Their response was, "Why wouldn't you want to participate?" Welp, there's my thesis. Right there. So many reasons why not. Must. Restrain. From. Launching. Into. Tirade.

Words o' Wisdom: "It's not a popularity contest in high school." --Julia Samersova. Word way up to that, man. 

Swin Cash! Displayin' some sass! She only spoke for about ten minutes, talking about her life story, so there isn't much to report that you couldn't find on Wikipedia. But I spoke to her afterward, and she was mega ultra nice and completely a human. 

Nate Berkus and Derek Blasberg, who were so, so cute. It was amazing to watch them interact. So amazing, in fact, that I filmed a bit of their banter and you can see it yourself at the end of this post. Therefore, I shall spare you from hearing twice about how Derek's mom likes Nate more than her own son.

ISpyDIY's Jenni Radosevich talked to us about her new book launch and being temporarily homeless. 

You can see the list of people on the panel on that projector behind everyone's head, but pay special attention to the two women on the right (yes, your right), Elisa Goodkind and Lily Mandelbaum of Style Like U. You need to go look at their site and start watching their videos right this instant, because you will feel awesome. I am not an instigator of peer pressure, nor do I condone it, but this is the only time you will benefit from doing exactly as I say. 

They are actually the kyootest kids on the block.

'Twas great fun, I'll tell ya. Gr8 phun. 

It's Monday...so...hmmm... 

Why don't I leave you with some nice inspiring quotes from the Summit instead of being all bummed that the weekend could not be further away? 

“The way to cut through the clutter is to have an opinion.” --Brandon Holley of Lucky Mag

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“I think we're all balancing between chaos and order, intimacy and randomness.” --Brandon Holley

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“Scale doesn't matter, engagement matters.” --Brandon Holley

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“Follow your heart. You've got one shot and that's it. If you don't take it, you'll never know.” --Frederik Willems of Thomas Pink

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“Don't ever stop studying or learning, because if you stop doing those, you stop evolving. This whole business is about evolution.” --Uri Minkoff of Rebecca Minkoff

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“I used to think a runway was where an airplane landed. Now I know that it's a place where dreams take off.” --Rabbi Mendel Jacobson

Better, isn't it? 

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IFB Conference 2012: It's About Time

It's been almost two weeks since I went to the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference, and I have yet to write about it on this here blog. What's up with that? Well, I was planning on writing about it on Chictopia, and I'd done so (it was supposed to be online right now), but it didn't occur to me until afterward that they're kind of rival websites, so that's not gonna fly. So basically I'm just going to copy and paste what I wrote for Everybody Is Ugly and slap it in here. The writing is a little different from what I usually do here, but it's no different from my usual Chictopia voice. I also took a bunch of photos that are just scattered throughout. Without further ado...

This was their little sign. See all those famous blog names up there? Yeah, I admired met all of them from afar.

The first panel: What Are Bloggers Worth? 

It was quite a delicious panel.

The third panel: Your Blog: Your Dream or Just the Beginning?

The two guys on the left are should be my best friends. They're Travis and Josh of Street Etiquette, they're 22 years old, and they're super stylish. Their shoes were perfect. 

About two weeks ago, I went to the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference at Milk Studios in Manhattan. It wasn't my first time going; I went in September as a wee young blogger, when my blog was only five months old and I had less than half as many followers as I do now. Those were the days.

If you've never heard of this incredible conference, let me sum it up for you. Basically, independent fashion bloggers (no kidding) from all over the country and the world (there were a few Australians, no joke) gather at Milk Studios the day before New York Fashion Week begins. Jannine, the founder of IFB, brings together a bunch of famous bloggers and important people from the industry, like photographers, PR people, magazine editors, etcetera, and arranges them on panels. Throughout the day, we learn from them all we need to know about blogging. There is plenty of mingle time in between, of course: I've made several new friends and business contacts (here meaning that I thrust my business card into their hand and run. I'm sort of kidding.). The best part, hands-down, is meeting all of the bloggers you silently worship and only hope to meet in your dreams. At the conference in September I met the Man Repeller (a.k.a. my idol) and I think I thoroughly repelled her. It might just be me, but I think that takes some serious skill.

Katie of Today I Want. That is some fierce hair.

Jessica from I'll Take That In Purple. This girl's blog is knee-slapper, that one. She also featured my glitter platforms on her blog. Ten points for Jessica!

Abigail from James1542. That scarf was blinding in person. In a good way.

During our allotted shmoozing time, people usually do some “street” style photographing (this is a figurative street; the conference takes place indoors). As is customary for fashion week, people put on their wackiest clothing and walk around hoping to be noticed. It's a little ridiculous, but I won't lie and say it doesn't work, because it does. I actually met Phil Oh (the street style photographer) of Street Peeper at the most recent conference. He was just eating a sandwich and he looked really familiar so I went up to talk to him, and when he handed me his card, I was like, “Oh my God, I have your blog bookmarked on my computer,” and he was so shocked. He was so humble. It was like he didn't know that he's a big deal. Other celebrity sightings include: Natalie Suarez of Natalie Off-Duty, Bryan Grey Yambao of Bryan Boy, Emily Schuman of Cupcakes and Cashmere, Jenni Radosevich of I Spy DIY, Tom and Lorenzo, Andy Torres of Style Scrapbook and approximately a bajillion other crazy-famous bloggers and assorted important fashion figures. 

Carmina from La Carmina. Yes, that is a human on the left, not in fact a cat. A biblical cat, at that. (Rhymes!)

Bryan from BryanBoy! And some random Asian woman. Oh hey, guys!

Natalie of Natalie Off-Duty. This was the first of three times that I saw her during Fashion Week. We became bffs.  

Despite the fact that this all sounds like fun and games (if you consider socializing with fashionable strangers “fun and games”), there was some highly valuable information dispensed from the bloggers on the panels. The topics covered this time were: Making Your Blog Irresistible, Media Goes Mobile, What Are Bloggers Worth?, and Your Blog—Your Dream or Just the Beginning? Even though most of you probably didn't attend the conference, it doesn't mean you don't deserve to know the valuable tips I learned. Here are the ones that stuck with me.

Be consistent and true to yourself.

As cliché as that sounds, it's true. People aren't reading Leandra Medine's blog to learn about what someone else thinks about peplums. People won't read this article to read someone else's take on the IFB Conference. That's just silly. If you have content that you're happy with and represents your aesthetic, then people will like it. It has to be organic and real and not sound like those gross tabloid magazines, because truthfully, no one really thinks those are good.

Don't spread yourself thin by using every social media platform out there—use the ones that work for you.

This seems kind of obvious, but if you don't understand/like/see the benefits of using Twitter, don't use it. Some people think that just because everyone uses Facebook, Twitter, Bloglovin', Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, StumbleUpon, Lookbook and everything else ever created that they have to as well. I am guilty of this. I've made accounts on nearly all of the above, but I know personally that Facebook drives more traffic to my blog than Twitter and Tumblr do, so I use that more. Maybe you're a talented Tweeter, unlike myself. More power to you. One-hundred-forty characters is just a little prohibiting for me, since I tend to ramble, like I'm doing right now.

Know your worth and use that to your advantage.

If you think you're a fabulous blogger, make that very clear. Don't sell yourself short. If someone's offering you $25 for a sponsored post and you think you deserve $100 (or even $600, or $1000; a lot of professional bloggers charge that much), ask for it. If this request is in line with how talented you are as a blogger, then people will accommodate you. Don't make ridiculous demands, though—we're not superstars and shouldn't act as though we're the coolest kids on the block. Just act like you're a kool kat, and you'll be okay.

Interact with you readers.

Your happiness shouldn't fluctuate based on how many followers you have. The point of having readers in the first place is to connect with them. You reach them with your blog, and they reach you by commenting and Tweeting and whatnot, so don't just ignore them. If you respond to comments, emails and Tweets, they'll keep coming back because there's that personal connection. Everyone wants friends, so if your readers feel like they have a bond or friendship with you, they will be loyal to you. It's also an excuse to be on the computer: “But Mom, I'm networking!”

There you are! Awesome people, helpful information, great style, delicious food and free goodies all make for an incredible day. The perfect start to the most hectic week of the year, New York Fashion Week. And so it began.  

Clothes courtesy of J. Brand. Not free? Not interested. Just kidding...sort of.

One of the super-cool women from Teen Vogue who photographed me and my friends for their blog. She was totally rocking the skant à la Proenza Schouler, and I just had to get a photograph.

She's a famous blogger, but to be honest I don't know who she is. 

Work that fur vest. Own that dead animal.

Margaret of Peach Provocateur. I actually saw her at a few shows during NYFW throughout the week. When I say "saw," I mean caught glimpses of every few days in the crowded Box at Lincoln Center while clamoring for photos of the models. She also very kindly featured my feet on her blog. 

That is one fine shoe. Can I have it?

I was obsessing over her turban for about half the day until I finally tracked her down and was like, "I NEED THIS. CAN I TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF YOUR HEAD" and she was like, "Yeah, sure."

It was a fun day but I am glad all this madness is over. I haven't left my house all day and it's great.

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IFB Conference 2012: A Taster

I realized how often I use colons in my titles. I feel like that might get annoying. Thoughts? You know where the comments section is.

Anywhoozles, today was my second IFB Conference, and if possible, it was better than the first one. Except that I met the Man Repeller at the first one, so I don't know what can top that. I did meet a bunch of fantastic, creative and inspiring bloggers today, though, so I'm not complaining. I have one problem though: I think I left my free protein bars there, and that made me surprisingly unhappy. I was really excited about them.

I can't say much about it right now seeing as it was such a long day and Fashion Week officially starts tomorrow plus I'm now behind on my schoolwork, but I will leave you with this photo (one of the only ones taken of me today--silly Odelia forgot to ask her friend to take some outfit pictures):

Photo via Design Within Reach. 

You can't really see what I'm wearing too well, but you can see my DIY glitter platform shoes. Those got a lot of compliments today. 

Dress: Urban Outfitters Belt: (it's invisible right now but I promise it's there) my mom Blazer: New York & Company Tights: my mom (they're very Marc Jacobs F/W 2011) Socks: my sock drawer Glitter platforms: DIY 

Happy Fashion Week, everyone!

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Oh, How I Love IFB Con

As you may remember, on September 7th, I went to the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference at Milk Studios in Chelsea. 


And let me tell you, it was one of the greatest days of my life. 


Here's a quick recap: You could get your hair done and/or your nails painted for free, there was food and ice cream galore, giveaways, a giant doll/puppet wearing Missoni for Target and tweeting on her humongo iPhone 4, and of course, the bloggers. And I'm not just talking about the bloggers that were attending the conference, I'm talking about the ones who were on the panels, or just showed up for fun, and are ridiculously well known. 


Here is a list of who I saw: 
The Man Repeller
Natalie Suarez from Natalie Off Duty
Sammy Davis from Sammy D Vintage
Vahni Georgoulakos from Grit and Glamour
Coco Rocha from Oh So Coco (yes, she's the same Coco Rocha who's the extremely famous model)
Aimee Song from Song of Style
Tina Craig from The BagSnob
Nadia from Froufrouu
and MANY, MANY MORE. 
Those were just the bloggers. There was also Joe Zee, the Creative Director at Elle Magazine, and people from other magazines and websites and blogs. It was freaking incredible. 


I also met some girls my age-ish who were there, which was fun as well. I'm a skillful writer, I know.


I took several pages of typed up notes throughout the day, which you will find out more about below. Keep reading, you'll find out soon. We have other matters to attend to first. 


Here's the stuff I've been dying to show you (it's been a rill hectic few days, from IFB Con to the first day of school, to FNO and now today is the ADAM fashion show): da picz. And awaayyyy we go! (If you were disappointed by my lack of actual written content so far, keep your pants on, there's more a-comin' your way.)

 Here was the first panel, "Bloggers Tool Kit." This was one that I learned an über amount of delicious information from. 
From left to right: Leandra Medine, Man Repeller, Alisa Gould Simon of Pose.com, Erica Chan Coffman and Lauren Kolodny of Honestly WTF, Sammy Davis, Sammy Davis Vintage, and Vahni Georgoulakos, Grit and Glamour (she's hidden on the far right, my camera couldn't capture all of them). I talked to the Man Repeller and Sammy Davis afterward and gave them both my card (eeps!) 
Oh P.S., I asked a question at the end of the panel and Leandra answered my q!! And also Sammy Davis. 

 Here's the big ol' Missoni doll/puppet I was telling you about, just tweetin' away, all day erry day. Livin' the hard life.

 He was someone who was working at the conference, but I thought his bowtie was incredible, so I asked for a picture. I did this a lot throughout the day. More to come.

 Another panel! "Is the Social Media Industry Broken?" This one was a lot about advertising and monetizing, all this crazy stuff that I just don't quite understand yet, but I've got notez anyway. 
Panelists: Mark Beeching from Digitas, Meghan Donovan from Wit & Whimsy, Carol Han from Milk and Mode, Yuli Ziv from Style Coalition, and Bryce Grober from The Luxury Spot.

 Nadia from the blog Froufrouu!!!!!!!!!! Wuddup. 

 Aimee Song from Song of Style. How much do you love her outfit? Answer: a lot. 

Natalie Suarez from Natalie Off Duty. Bein' a model. 

 Cocococococococo Rocha!!!! She's the one on the far right. Does she look familiar? Maybe from the Karl Lagerfeld for Impulse ads, perhaps? 

 And anotha panel! This one was rill interesting. Super good. 
Panelists: Natalie Suarez from Natalie off Duty , Annie Tomlin, BellaSugar, Aimee Song from Song of Style, Kristina Medhus from Pretty Shiny Sparkly,  Ari Goldberg from StyleCaster and Coco Rocha from Oh So Coco.

 Oh yeah, also saw Susie Bubble from Style Bubble. Nbd. 

 This is my friend Beryl, who I met at the IFB Con. I love her bag. Neon pink bag=winning!

And the final presentation was the keynote speaker: Joe Zee, the Creative Director from Elle Magazine, interviewed by Tina Craig from The BagSnob. 


I have many, many, many, many things to post about, and I'm currently about to start cutting out more business cards for the show today, so I must bounce. But remember to read, enjoy, follow, talk to me, have a dandy time. You know the drill. 


The notes I took during the conference, in PDF form (I've never done this before, let me know if it doesn't work):

Bloggers Tool KitBalancing Act- Business & Blogging
Evolution of Fashion Media
Is the Social Media Industry Broken?
Keynote Speaker-Joe Zee

IFB Conference Live Stream

Gooooood morning, readers! I'm up bright and early today for the long-awaited IFB Conference!! As you read this, I'm either on my way there or I'm already there. I scheduled this so that you'd have time to see it before the live stream of the event starts.

So, ducklings, here's the dills. IFB is offering a free ticket to the next IFB Conference and an all expenses paid trip to New York for the next NYFW to the blogger who gets the most "streams" of the event from their blog (meaning the amount of people who watch the live stream on my blog). Since I live in New York already, they're offering us New Yorkers either free car services to drive us to and from fashion shows or an $1000 American Express card to buy clothing (what else would we buy?). Chances are, I'm not going to win, because I have approximately 20 followers, but it's worth a shot, no? The answer I was looking for was yes.


Watch the IFB NYC Conference 2011 below!

Watch live streaming video from ifbconference at livestream.com

Don't worry, there will be intense coverage going on. You will see pictures. But I don't know when, since NYFW is such a krazy kat. A wild child, if you will.