Real Friends, Real Gucci's and The Real Deal According to this PrettyFashionista

My time here is drawing to a close. I have exactly two weeks left in NY until I return in September. I plan on making frequent trips so I don't loose my buzz. Yes NY gives me a buzz :)

I went to Canal Street again and immediately after exiting the subways station a little Asian girl approached my roommates, their fam and I about out interest in buying purses. We confirmed our interest and followed this girl that looked to be about 10, 5 blocks from the station. Once we arrived at the unmarked building we were escorted down the hall of a building that held many "studios". We passed women who gave us advise. "Haggle, Haggle Haggle!" they told us. Studio 2 held some of the most amazing replicas of Prada, Fend,Gucci, Louise Vuitton, and Coach bags that you could imagine. The one that I had my eye on, a Coach scribble tote bag was $45 and came in multiple styles. Along with bags you could also purchase, sunglasses by everyone from Christian Dior to Chanel and even Tiffany toggle bracelets and necklaces. The rest of the evening we were courted other merchants of reproduction. Asian women would whisper to us as we walked by " Want Gucci, Coach, Prada??" Its almost interesting. A few weeks ago while shopping with Grace, a man proceeded to attract his clients by repeating "ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX" at litening speed. I must say, I was almost compelled by his persuasive marketing tactics to buy three or four... They were only $5.


This past Thursday I went to see Jaguar Wright with a former Spider, Jen Coles. The concert was nice and I'm glad I went. I would have otherwise went home had dinner while stealing glances at the cute NYU boy then chilled until gym time. It was good to get out and do something fun instead. I'm looking forward to my friends coming in the next few days, I know I'm gonna have fun with them. They're gonna help me enjoy and wrap up my NY experience. Tamara will be here and I know were gonna have tons of fun. Like I said earlier, go away and you learn who your friends are. I've known Tamara since the 9th grade back at John Marshall High School( JAYEM JUST...ICE) She really knows the meaning of KIT. When I moved to NOVA she wrote me, when I graduated from TC she came up, when I needed to go college shopping she took me, and though I haven't seen her in about two years or so, she's coming to visit me this Monday. Tamara is one of the most intelligent women I know. Ever since Mrs. Carters class, this girl has been on top of her game and handling business like a real women does. She's now graduated from William and Mary and progressing to bigger and better things. Real friends are truly priceless. Following one fabulous friend comes another. Mrs. Erica Engleman is coming and though she annoys the hell out of me most of the time I couldn't ask for a better friend. When you join a Sorority they tell you, or at least my organization told me, point blank, you wont like all of your Sorors. They tell you that you will get to know and you will bond with women that will change your life, well she hasn't done all that, but I do love her crazy self! Ask this girl anything, she's got something to say and has contemplated it to come up with the best solution she can. Why listen to her, well look at her she has her shit together. She is definaltey one of the UR women that I probably would not have known had she not been my LS. And though she is mean to me sometime like the following example...


Auto response from CassandraGarnett: My FRO is like WHOA:-*
covergirl322: ur fro is like no
covergirl322: I love you! Nite
covergirl322: :-D

...She's still fabulous. It's all good Erica, I love you anyway thin haired hooker
Next weekend will be a mini Rho Mu reunion, though missing many of Rho Mu's best we will still have fun like the good old days of yester year. After that its time to pack it back into the van and ride down 95 with the fam to back to Richmond. I'll get to see some of my other real friends who couldn't make it to NY but still show me love. I'll go to the India Arie concert, move into school, help my mom move, start work and prepare for my Fall 05 line . Well its 4 am and the sleepy that came from the 3 glasses of wine at dinner has returned so I'm going to bed again.

Peace

Random Stuff

Its been a crazy few days, doing a lot for work and just trying to enjoy the last weeks I have left. I cant believe that I've been here for 5 weeks. Its all a blur. I feel like it was just June 12th and I was arriving, matter fact it feels like it was just May and I was sad that all my friends were graduating. Time is on some otherness. Its amazing the changes it makes. I have two and a half weeks left and its gonna be a sad day when I gotta turn my back to the city until the next time I can get up here. I'm gonna end it real crazy though. I still have a few visitors on the way. Go away and you really will learn who your friends are. They'll be the ones coming to visit you and talking to you on a regular basis really keeping in touch.

I found an apartment, its a wonderful one bedroom with a home office, 1.5 bath, large living room, in Brooklyn. Its only $700,000 . Its gonna take me a minute to get that down payment.

I went to a tradeshow with Johnny the other day and got to see the buying side of the fashion industry. I SAW KARL KANI, he's shorter than I thought (isn't it funny what the camera can do to make a person seem larger than life but in person they're so normal) He was getting a drink from the bar at the Project Tradeshow and like everyone was spilling it on the floor. It was a men's show so there were tons of SEXXY MENS there and had I known I would have worn something more revealing (just playin) I guess I looked ok cause the press took my picture, I'm telling you the fro is like whoa, it gets them everytime! The best part was seeing all the little Asian men thugged out. Not thugged out on no stupid ass 50cent shit but on some Air Jordan, Nice Denims,and Soul Rebel shirts, baseball caps and a nice chill over the arm. A little thug is always good, you don't want your man running beside you when there's a bug that you need him to kill. I must say I got a little caught up with them and couldn't help but to stare. I have a friend who really loves Asian men and I thought she was crazy but these ones really had me lookin. I called Erica for reinforcement and she reminded me of the well known fact that our Asian friends aren't as well endowed as our black friends(which explains the Asian infatuation with ginseng and the WG groupie love that black men get) and you know that aint cool! So I called it off and started paying attention to more of the men's fashion instead of the men :(


I still haven't found MOS DEF!!

I saw a look alike last night at a party (which turned out to be a waste of cab
fare, no further comment). The look alike kinda walked up to the club and just stood there and that blew his cover. If it were him, I'd think he would get out of something nicer than a cab. I mean, I know he's not on that Landcrusier, Double R type deal but I know he has a fly vehicle and a small entourage of poetic soul croonies.

OH WELLL
Back on the Hunt!

America's Next Top Model

Today was such a busy day! I had to be at the publicists at 9:45am. All too early for my regular schedule of leaving the APT. at 11:15...ok more like 11:45(Been tryin to get this time thing together since Spring 04 ) I had a photo shoot today that I was the stylist for. I must say that it embodied all the stereotypes that you see on television about a fashion shoot. I had a girl act as my assistant that got in my way more than anything else, the photographer communicated like he was the only creative person there and explaining what he wanted was of no use to him. The hairstylist thought she was hot shit even though she kept doing the hair the opposite way of the photographers directions, and the makeup artist was cute but clearly gay (I guess that's what I get for fawning after Metro's) Though all the styles that Johnny and I picked out were hot, the photographer and the damn hairstylist thought they knew best. In the end the pictures came out wonderfully. The most interesting part of the experience was the foreign models who were on their first visit to the US. 6 foot 16 year olds who didn't understand" put this on", I ended up dressing lanky girls from the Czech Republic, and other places in that area. It was like America's Next Top Model in person. I kept hoping Tyra would appear so that I could ask her if she was serious about that song she put out earlier this year or at least Janice Dickinson so that I can see what's preserving her so well. Neither appeared though. Its funny how hair and makeup can change a person so much. They all came in looking like overgrown 10 year olds but left with bouncy hair and makeup that made them look like they were at least 25. We kept wondering why the cleavage just wasn't working and the sequence tube tops kept slipping down but later realized why, looks can be deceiving.

Madison, Park, 5th Avenue

This weekend I enjoyed the finer parts of New York City with my dear friend Grace Holcomb. New York has been her stomping ground in the past and she was more than delighted to come up for the weekend and show me around along with be a great mentor and friend from Richmond, which I miss so much. I was so glad to have her here. I felt like I was in a different New York. One that I liked better and enjoyed much more. New York can be such a lonely place, regardless of how many thousands of people are around. We visited all the fashion capitals of the fabulous NYC including Bergdorf, SAKS, Tiffany, Chanel, Dior, and Bloomingdales for the less expensive side of the fashion world. I enjoyed most Chanel and Tiffany. We visited a place called Serendipity for Frozen Hot Chocolate, which was very good and we ate at a number of fine restaurants that I can still taste! We also saw the Chanel exhibit at the MET and let me tell you, it was splendiferous. I love the city, I really need to be here as soon as possible. I spoke with my boss on Friday about where the best places were to live in NY and he suggested Brooklyn, I agreed with him considering it is the birthplace of my first love MOS DEF :) Maybe I'll end up as his neighbor and we can climb into each others window at night and make love. Just playing...No I'm actually serious...
Goodnight

Summer Summer Summer Time

I saw that video by Will Smith and its amazing how that song can really put you in the summer mood. Listen to it and you really feel like your on a hot July day in the old neighborhood trying to look cute for your summer crush, staying outside allllll day until like 8pm ripping and running. Anyway, I had a great time today at my bosses cookout. The invite was as follows...

Johnny and Patrick
invite you to an
Italian-American
4th of July
Celebration!!

Release your inner guido/guidette this 4th of July in Carrol Gardens, the heart of old-school Italian Brooklyn!!

BBQ starts at 2:30-ish and lasts until.....well, fuhgeddaboudit!!!


To Dress the Part:
Ladies: Big hair, big nails, beach baubles
Gents: Wife beaters, gold chains, smelly cigars

I arrived to find my boss donned in multiple silver chains a visor and silver shoes. I had so much fun as he encouraged me to take shots and try the "snausages" as he put it. We chilled for most of the evening, and I chattered with his over the top friends seeing, just how they got down as an Italian troop. When it got dark and I had had two drinks already we retired to the roof top to watch the fireworks which was definitely one of the top things to do on my "Do Before I Die" list. Really beautiful sight to see from that far up, much better than watching them on the television as I normally do in Richmond. After the fireworks I decided it was best I headed home, I didn't want to encounter all the Brooklyn crazies as I walked back to the subway. The train, coming from Coney Island was as the whole of New York seems to be, filled with young couples that effing make me sick. I stood in the middle of all of it and just held on the the pole waiting for Broadway and Lafeyette to arrive. One tear. No work tomorrow so I may just hang around the Palladium or go to the Beach with my boss and his partner. Everyone really should have gay people in their lives, they make it so much more entertaining. Next weekend Grace comes and the weekend after the next one Erica comes! I'm excited to have people I know around, they'll help me to really enjoy my last 5 weeks here. Time is flying by like I don't know what. Its July 4th already, before you know it, it will be August 1 and its all down hill from there. The count down begins and your sitting in somebody's class trying to remember how to write because its been that long. You'll be excessively excited about the (AKA, Alpha, Kappa, DST, Q, ... )Party at (UR, VCU, State, Norfolk State, JMU, UVA, William & Mary...). You'll rush to the nearest cheap clothes store to buy a cute shirt to wear with jeans and pumps and get back into the swing of college life. Next year will be my last year so I'll definitely by trying to milk it for all its worth. After that its the real world for this PrettyFashionista and who knows what else. NY ...for sure, Marriage...who knows, Kids ... well as my favorite Italian would say ,"fuhgeddaboudit"!!!

Peace Yall