A Backward Glance: My NYFW Outfit Review
New York Fashion Week, the biannual pilgrimage of editors, buyers, celebrities, and the bons vivants from across the globe converge to the isle of Manhattan (and recently Brooklyn), has once again come and gone. It can be thrilling if you have the right contacts or a sobering seven days when you realize you don’t. I’ve been in both camps, but this year, I wanted to take a different approach to the week. Since I wasn’t reporting or writing for anyone as I’d hoped, I decided to forgo the fashion shows, opting for the events and the dinners where I could connect with my peers in this wonky and occasionally glamorous industry.
This Spring/Summer 2025 season, I decided to shake off the disillusionment of “NyFw iS dEAd” (another conversation for another time) and lean into the week's novelty, seeking out the electrifying energy akin to prom or a class reunion in earnest. Since I was forgoing the very foundation of fashion week, the shows, I had to find another raison d'être. Not only would I solely focus on relationship building and genuine connections, but I would also make it fun by waiving my customary pre-fashion week shopping. This September is the first fashion week I purchased not one new stitch of clothing, and you know what? It felt nice. I looked like myself, and I didn’t lean into the fashion week peacocking, so I felt like myself. Below, I will review a few of the outfits** I wore and adored last week, elaborating on the circumstances that put them on the list. Be forewarned, I used the word comfortable a lot!
(** I was gifted two outfits from Damson Madder for their pop-up, but none of the other recommendations or pieces are gifted or sponsored.)
I just finished watching Pride & Prejudice (2005) when I received an email inviting me to the Damson Madder pop-up launch party. (This will matter soon, I promise.) Of course, I said yes. I’m a huge fan of their separates. Soon after, I received an email asking if I’d like to be dressed for the party. You don’t have to guess what my answer was. One of my selections was this beautiful berry and aubergine striped pants set with a top with a bust that made me feel like I could fit in on the countryside in Georgian England. (See? I connected the points.) The outfit is extremely cozy and made gallivanting to three separate events a breeze. I got a ton of compliments on the set and I expect to rotate it through my wardrobe with some regularity until the weather cools.
I got invited to the Miu Miu Vinyl Club, possibly the closer to Miu Miu’s Summer Reads project, an attempt to get the fashion girlies to pick up a book beyond the Tom Ford coffee table book. (I swear that thing is the fashion equivalent to 48 Laws of Power.) I had a great time and got to know a few new people. I was also one of the lucky (see: on time) few who walked away with both a vinyl AND a disposable camera. For the occasion, I wore a white maxi dress, Margiela Tabi mary janes, and a Damson Madder leopard print jacket I snagged the day before that made me feel like I was on fire (I got the last laugh when the temperatures dropped later that night). I liked this Phoebe Buffay goes to a fashion party moment. Beyond the comfort, I took a risk with the silhouettes and print. The only thing that could’ve made this outfit better was the Simone Rocha Nano Pearl Egg bag. It’s a cliché but apt selection.
The day I wore this outfit, I’m pretty sure I was hungover and worn out from two days of gallivanting, and fashion week hadn’t actually started yet. I had to run from my house uptown down to Canal Street because TheRealReal was having a morning of matcha and counterfeits. The objective was for guests to guess which three bags were real, and the winner would win a $500 gift card. I knew I stood no chance due to exhaustion, but I didn’t let that stop me. My “Obsessions” tab on TheRealReal app is overflowing and it’s about time I bring some of my possessions home. I guessed wrong in the most comfortable Gap tee (that I wrote about in the last dispatch), wide-legged jeans with the deepest cuff known to man, Acne Studios shoes from TheRealReal, and a vintage leather handbag I bought for $22 at my favorite thrift store in Tallahassee when I was last there for my mom’s graduation. This outfit gave me Nora Ephron at Newsweek, Toni Morrison running errands on a weekend in between editing autobiographical works at Random House, or June Jordan on a Saturday reading/writing poetry in her Brooklyn apartment. I loved it. It was very me. Low fuss, high style.
…and it landed in The Cut!
The final outfit was my most daring, not because of styling or silhouette but because of climate. When I was getting dressed for the Diotima presentation (Rachel Scott makes the most fabulous clothes!!!), I thought it was much cooler outside than it was. I woke up that morning and had to don a sweater, so I assumed the temperatures would be cool throughout the day. *Egh! Wrong answer, forehead!* I inadvertently wore thrifted red leather pants in 73º weather, and I couldn’t change because I was running late! It was a horrible mistake that looked so good. I paired the leathers with J.W. Anderson Bumper sandals and a no-name thrifted top and bag. I felt reminiscent of the aughts when leather pants had no season. It was such a fabulous look that felt equally amazing when I could finally peel those pants off!
Honorable mention is this outfit I wore on the second to last day of NYFW. It made the honorary list because I am very proud of making boxers and tabi pumps work in public! It was also a favorite of mine because think my Margiela pumps are finally breaking in after two years of pure hell on my big toe.
There you have it! Those are my favorite fashion moments of fashion week. I now realize that I leaned further into vintage and secondhand than I intended, but thrift store finds are some of my most fun, unique pieces. Which outfits did you like? What would you have worn? Let’s talk in the comments. I love hearing from you all! Please share (or talk shit) with a friend; I don’t care as long as y’all are reading. Thank you for reading this dispatch of Frontal Lobe! I’ll see you in two weeks! 🧠
10/10, no notes!
that vintage bag you got from tallahassee though!!! 😮💨 stunning. i love how much vintage and second hand you’re repping at fashion week this year!
my favorite look is that striped set from damson madder, it’s got a whimsical feel.