A Fashionable Night Out...

Last night was the start of New York Fashion Week, and to kick it off there was the  Fashion's Night Out event.

I had no idea what it was all about, I didn't even know it was Fashion Week but the very fashionable Miss Turner informed me that it was a bit of a big deal and that there was LOTS going on all over Manhattan.

During Fashion's Night Out lots of shops (not just clothes shops) had special events going on, there were parties in the shops with DJs playing, goodie bag give-aways, celebrity signings and special offers on certain items. There are also a load of Pop-Up shops that appear for the night, selling special items in unusual places.

After work we headed to the Meatpacking District (Fashion Central) to find the Milano Blanick (? Ask Abi) shop where Sarah Jessica Parker (from Sex & The City) was going to be signing shoes... Admittedly it's not the first thing I would have thought of doing on a Thursday Night, but the buzz in the Meatpacking was amazing.

There were lots of Fashionable types strutting around, a lot of people who wanted to be looked at. Apparently a lot of modelling scouts and important fashion people go to all the events to find the next big thing and the next big person (or skinny person)... so it was a bit of a massive catwalk really.

Unfortunately for Abi we didn't find the Milano Doodar shop, but we DID find a rather special Taco Truck run by Gap?! It's part of a new promotion they're doing, the truck goes round promoting their 1969 jeans - and last night they were selling 2 Tacos for $1.69, with a free drink and then you got a $20 voucher for Gap! Brilliant.

They were delicious - even more delicious knowing that they were such a bargain.

We had a walk around to see what else was going on in the area, all the shops were buzzing and all felt very exclusive, lots of red ropes over the doors and stuff and bouncers on the doors, music blaring out, there were even DJs in the street.

Right in the middle of the Meat Packing District was an Armani Pop-Up Shop, selling sunglasses and doing little photoshoots with people...

There were lots of food trucks and promotion cars and limos driving around too, I loved these Jack Wills Land Rover Discoveries...

The food truck behind the second Discover is usually a posh ice-cream and tea truck, but last night it had been transformed into a little Pop-Up shop selling ridiculously over priced tshirts and necklaces ($200!!!)...

There was all sorts going on, there was even a fashion photo shoot happening in the Apple Store...

As we walked back to the subway station we went and had a look at the Pop Chip Pop-Up section, it was like a mini funfair in the middle of the street, with a bouncy castle and funny mirrors and mini big-tops. The real reason we went over there was they were giving out free packets of crisps and Abi needed a little rest...

Just as we were leaving we spotted someone famous... although I can't quite remember her name, it's Vannessa Hudgens I think, but she was in High School The Musical and some other films...

We also saw some big fashion designer lady called Diane Von Furstenberg (?) milling around her fancy shop being snapped by lots of people with their camera phones. I think she's pretty important in the fashion world.

It was a really fun evening - I wasn't expecting to enjoy myself too much, but it felt like a whole nother side to New York that I hadn't experienced, the whole fashion side. I did however feel rather out of place in my jeans and tshirt with my laptop bag, but it didn't matter, we had fun people watching.