My NYC + NYFW Recap

Beauties,

I wondered if it was too late to share my NYC trip recap with you all, but after sharing my thoughts on Twitter, I was told it is never too late. I'm excited to share this trip with you all because honestly, it was one for the books. This was my second trip to New York City and my first time at New York Fashion Week. The trip itself came together like a whirlwind. I did not know that I would be attending until two weeks before, but it all came together. I am forever grateful to my husband and my mother for gifting me this trip for my birthday. I spent three days in NYC and I literally did a week's worth of events in only a few days. It was worth every single penny!

So if you're wondering how my trip went, it went a little like this...

Day One - theCURVYcon + Dallas BBQ

I arrived in NYC bright and early Saturday morning. I met up with my friend, Nekeyeta, at the airport and we headed to our hotel. We stayed at the New York Hilton Midtown, which was such a gorgeous hotel. Unfortunately, I spent so much time outside of the hotel room that I did not capture pictures inside the hotel; however, I highly recommend this hotel. It was extremely quiet and spacious, which was shocking to be so close to so many attractions. After we dropped off our bags, we headed to the last day of theCURVYcon. Due to heavy traffic in the city, we were only able to enjoy a few hours of theCURVYcon.

As soon as we walked in, I saw so many bloggers that I have followed online for years. It was like a family reunion! SO many hugs and laughs. I also had the pleasure of meeting some of the plus size designers from JCPenney, hung out with Carol's Daughter, attended a workshop on how to pose in photos and listened to the hilarious, Gabourey Sidibe. theCURVYcon also had a dope after party where we danced, enjoyed drinks and of course, had delicious hors d'oeuvres. After the party, a group of us walked to Dallas BBQ in Times Square. This was my second time having Dallas BBQ. The service was awful, but as usual, the drinks and wings were pretty good.

Day Two - Girl With Curves x Lane Bryant Pop Up Shop + Essence Street Style + Sweet Chick

On the second day, we got to sleep in bit before heading to Manhattan to the Girl With Curves x Lane Bryant preview. As a Lane Bryant employee, I had been hearing about the collection and seeing the pieces in our store for a few weeks. Girl With Curves is one of the first plus size bloggers I began following years ago so I was excited to meet her in person and celebrate the collection. The pop up shop was easy to find and it was so much fun! I enjoyed meeting Tanesha of Girl With Curves and seeing so many ladies trying on the collection in store. I also got to meet so many sweet ladies from Lane Bryant employees to fellow bloggers. I made a lot of new friends to say the least!

After the pop up shop, we headed over to Brooklyn to the Essence Street Style event. I actually purchased my ticket for this event months before I had confirmation that I would be going to NYC because early bird tickets were only $20. I am so happy I did this because it was almost like having another free event to attend that weekend. It was a very rainy Sunday in Brooklyn, but I am really glad I attended the Essence Street Style event. Inside the event, I was able to shop at so many black-owned businesses. I was also able to see so many dope styles. I purchased lipstick from The Lip Bar, pins from FLY by Knight and a cute two piece outfit from RUE107.

After leaving the Essence Street Style event, we headed over to Sweet Chick in Lower East Side for an early dinner. I had delicious shrimp and grits that had a bit of tomato sauce in them, which was so good. I loved Sweet Chick because the service was great, food was yummy and the atmosphere was dope. We were rapping and eating. It really doesn't get much better than that.

Day Three - Photoshoot + Visit to Absolute New York

There was absolutely no way I could come to NYC and not have a photoshoot. After admiring Skovro Visuals on Instagram for weeks, I decided to reach out to Marta for a photoshoot while I was in town. Thankfully, she still had availability. We shot early Monday morning near the hotel. She was so easy to work with and the pictures she took were so beautiful. I definitely plan to contact her again next time I'm in the area.

After the photoshoot, I still had several hours before my flight that evening so my friends and I headed to the mall. As we were walking, I looked up and saw the Absolute New York flagship store. I'd seen the store on Instagram, but had no idea I was so close by! Of course, I had to go inside. It was a Monday afternoon so we were the only customers in store. The staff were so incredibly nice and even blessed me a free gift including some of Absolute New York's most popular makeup items. The store was so beautiful that I wanted to just stay there. After leaving, we did a little more shopping at Manhattan Mall and then grabbed slices of pizza. I got home really late Monday evening, but it was an amazing trip! I am already mentally planning for next year.

If you are contemplating attending New York Fashion Week next year, here are just a few tips I would share to prepare for the trip:

1. Save, save, save!

While I didn't find eating in New York to be particularly expensive, there are so many pop up shops and shopping events happening during the week that you want to be able to indulge if you can. Plus, New York has a variety of transportation options. If you are in a hurry, you want to be able to grab a cab or Uber at your convenience. You definitely want to have a savings set aside for transportation, food and shopping. If you were to be in New York for a three day weekend like we were, I feel having $300-$500 is a good amount to be able to enjoy yourself as well as indulge here and there.

2. Book early.

One of the hardest pills I had to swallow was paying for my flight. Because I didn't know I would be attending New York Fashion Week until two weeks before, I had to pay double what I would have normally paid for my flight. I would highly recommend booking at least four weeks in advance for your trip. Also, compare prices. Since I am in Greensboro, I often check flights leaving from Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte to see what is most affordable. Typically flights out of Raleigh are the most cost effective; however, I got the best deal leaving from Greensboro. Also, pay attention to baggage fees. With Delta, I was able to have a carry on and one personal item for free so I paid zero baggage fees. Also, if you do plan to attend theCURVYcon, I would highly suggest you arrive the day before the conference starts. I wouldn't fly in the day of the event again because a parade was happening, which we didn't expect and it cut our time at the conference short.

3. Create a schedule.

One of the things I am most proud of for this trip is that I really made the most out of it! I created a schedule for each day to make sure I was able to attend all of the events I wanted, but it was also loose enough for time to do other things. I actually did everything I planned to do on this trip and it was awesome.

4. Be yourself!

Since I'm naturally a country girl at heart, I didn't really know what to expect out of New York Fashion Week. I often wondered if I was dressed up enough or should I have done more. After coming home, I realized that I am so grateful that I just did me. I was just myself with not only my clothing, but my personality. I made more connections than I could ever imagine and had the time of my life. Just go, be yourself and watch everything fall into place!