Back to NYC for One Last Semester

Back to NYC for One Last Semester

And so it goes, the end of another amazing summer at The River and the beginning of my last semester at Parsons. My friends and family in California know that I am dreading going back, as my friends and peers in New York anxiously await my arrival. On a sadder note, I will be leaving Gidget behind to bask in the California sun as I hesitantly embark on yet another new chapter in my life.

Upon returning to the big city, I will be moving to Brooklyn. My San Francisco transplant friends that now live in New York have guaranteed me that I will enjoy my experience far more in Brooklyn than I ever did in Manhattan. I will be moving in with a new and dear friend of mine, Devin. He too will positively add to my New York experience, as my last roommate did not.

I have five internship interviews lined up and am hopeful for each one independently. Despite not whole heartedly loving New York, I truly believe that I am passionate about the Fashion Industry above anything else and therefore, will be staying in NYC upon graduating. Unless of course, I win the Lottery or meet a sugar daddy. Until then, the more networking and resume building I do in New York, the better.

Monday starts the grueling process of interviewing. "Tell me about yourself." "Why do you want to work in fashion?" The questions are always the same and consistently presented by someone at least 8 years my younger. Equally discouraging as frustrating, the internships are also unpaid, yet grant me school credit and a tremendous amount of contacts.

I will be interviewing with Phillip Lim, Otte NY and DL1961 on Monday. Followed by Acne Studios and Derek Lam on Wednesday. Ultimately, I will only accept (if offered) one internship. Unfortunately, I am not guaranteed a job position once finished. Again, internships grants cheap labor for the company and great first hand experience and networking for me.

Fingers crossed that one of these companies offers me an internship this semester and possibly a paid position in the future. This girl has a shopping addiction and major student loans to pay off! Here is a brief description of the companies I am interviewing with:

Phillip Lim:
3.1 is about clothes that refine instead of define. A refinement that's a bit classic in attitude, but imparts a sense of individual style without looking or feeling forced. Confident, chic, and most of all, effortless.
-Phillip Lim

Otte NY:
Otte is a luxury shopping experience for women with distinct taste for understated luxury and contemporary design. Finding inspiration on the streets of New York and abroad, Otte is committed to bringing the best selection of pieces to our customers in a speciality setting with excellent service. True to our aesthetic, Otte strives to provide customers with a beautiful, well-curated selection of pieces from both established and emerging designers.

DL1961:
DL1961 Premium Denim is a vertically integrated brand that is family owned and operated by individuals who have been producing garments for over three generations. It is because of their expertise in denim, their passion for cutting-edge technology and their massive global network of production facilities that they were able to create what is now fittingly called the most revolutionary brand on the market.

 

Acne Studios:
Founded in Stockholm in 1996 by four creatives, Acne’s ambition was to create and develop a lifestyle brand through the production of desirable products as well as helping others build their brands. This ambition led to diverse assignments in advertising, graphic design and television production. These are the foundations of Acne.

 

Derek Lam:
Derek Lam is an American fashion designer born in San Francisco, California and is of Chinese American parentage. Lam is known for his pretty, girly fabrics backed by clean, crisp silhouettes. Signature pieces include raw silk sheath dresses with plunging necklines, wide-leg trousers in various wools and dainty cashmere pea coats cinched with stiff silk belts.

SHP in NYC

Katie Bimrose and Lenee Howe certainly made my year by coming and staying with me in New York for the last four days of my Spring Break.  I am so grateful to have both of them in my life and to be able to have them as friends!!  We did not miss a beat and our stomachs and livers are still recovering one week later!!

River Besties

 They arrived late Wednesday night in which we caught up over wine and homemade paninis…we wanted to be well rested for a lengthy day of shopping and eating the following day in SoHo.  I am known to be a compulsive shopper, yet being the devout Catholic that I am, decided to give it up for Lent.  So I took the opportunity to style out Lenee, stunning mother of two that needed a little closet revival.  Topshop and Steve Madden proved to be a big hit, and she was a stylish city diva within hours!  See transformation below:

Sexy Lenee Styled by Yours Truly

Thankfully I didn't give up sugar like I had in years past, so we decided to make an afternoon stop at the famous Magnolia Bakery where we devoured cupcakes, bread pudding and café au laits….amazing!!  

Afternoon Cupcake Break

That night we went to ABC kitchen for dinner and literally danced on table tops (in lieu of The Lodge pool table) at The Jane Hotel until 2am.  We decided to call it quits when a 23-year old wanted to take me home to meet his mother and Lenee and Katie couldn't shake some random British dude averaging five-foot-one in height.  We hopped in a cab, and before we knew it, we had gone from 23^rd street to 43^rd within minutes, when a car from the right hand lane nearly hit us and our cab driver had to swerve into the curb to get out of the way.  I quickly ushered us all out of the cab and proceeded to curse the cab driver out for what felt like forever.  My famous last words to him were “I just want to live!” which we continued to mimic for the rest of the trip.   

Pre-Cab Bitch Out

Friday was a whole other adventure in itself.  We went to The Standard Bar & Grill for lunch which would have been amazing, yet Katie’s salad arrived on the table with a large black hair in it.  When our waiter asked, “how is everything?” I exclaimed, “actually, there is a large black hair in my friend’s salad!”  Even though they didn't charge us for the salad, brought is out a complimentary dessert and endlessly apologized, I still felt that it was completely unacceptable for such a high-end restaurant.  We decided to burn off lunch by walking through The Chelsea Marketplace and along The Highline. 

  

On The Highline   

That night, our friend Gena from the city and Lenee’s sister in-law met us for dinner at my favorite spot on the Lower East Side, Schiller’s Liquor Bar.  We had one too many dirty dirty martinis and decided to walk to The Stanton Social and dance the night away.  West Coast hip-hop was on blast and we couldn’t be happier. 

 Dancing At The Stanton Social

Saturday was the day we had all been waiting for….St. Patrick’s Day!  Being one of my favorite celebration days in S.F., I was hoping New York wouldn't let me down, and it didn't!  We were off to a late start but put on our festive attire and walked to the Parade.  It was amazing.  So much pride, we loved it.  From there we walked to The Smith and had a boozy lunch and decided to continue the party at the bar where we met a ton of people!!  

St. Patty's Day Lunch at The Smith

Between the men in uniform and a couple of guys we met from San Francisco, we were having the time of our lives.  The beers were going down smooth and no sooner were we invited to go to The Rangers game.  We quickly hopped on board and left to experience a hockey game for the first time.  Taking a limo suddenly was being discussed and of course we obliged.  So the five of us hopped in a limo and off to Madison Square Garden we went!!  The game was out of control but by 11pm, we decided the day had finally come to an end.

Our New Friends

The next day, we woke up, had breakfast and Katie and Lenee went back to California.  I was so sad to see them go.  Having my friends here made me enjoy New York so much more and felt like I was in company of people who love me for who I am and vice-versa.  The River cannot come soon enough!!

xxx,

City Vixen

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun!

It has been way too long since I updated my blog, but between finals, applying for Spring Internships and preparing to fly home for a month, there just wasn't enough minutes in the day...even in the city that never sleeps.  After all was said and done, I received a 3.61 GPA, found an internship with the sales team at Alexander Wang, and manged to get Gidget approved as an emotional support dog.  Let's start there...

FYI, it is not that easy to have your dog approved as an emotional support dog.  It is different than a service dog; a service dog provides a service to someone needing physical assistance.  An emotional support dog, however, does just what it says; it gives support to someone in need of emotional stability, such as myself ;) After the shenanigans of the last flight with Gidget in tow, accompanied by panic attacks, I thought it was a good idea to have my therapist write a letter to the airlines stating that I needed Gidget for mental stability.  The letter is good for one year, she gets to sit on my lap and flies for free.

Gidget the Emotional Support Dog 

Even with all of this on my side, I still managed to sit next to a guy that was "allergic" to dogs.  Throughout the flight he managed to try and shew Gidget away with his hand and at one point asked me to move her, not to mention jumping violently every time Gidget moved and inch.  After about three hours of this, I said to him sternly, "do you want me to change the channel for you?  You're not even watching the T.V. and I'm getting real sick of watching you fiddle over there!"  He looked at me, turned his head away, and never said anything else for the rest of the flight.

Pre-Clubbin' Cocktails at Hotel Utah

From the moment I landed in San Francisco, I lived everyday as if it was my last in "the city" I know, love have even a greater appreciation for.  I flew in Friday night on a red eye and no sooner was I back at my favorite salon and inspiration, DiPietro Todd in Mill Valley filling in at the front desk.  Amazing colorist, Angel Castillo and his glamorous assistant, Kara Corvi, made my hair as shiny and gorgeous as ever!  That same night, my DPT sisters and I went to a club opening at The Grand and danced our little hearts out one vodka soda after the next.  New Year's Eve was spent at the one and only Mas Sake with bottle service and lots of sequins!

New Year's Eve at Mas Sake

I think I did more eating than anything else while I was home: a home cooked meal with Erin, dinner out with Ericka, Nicole and Lauren in  Bruno, Laconda with Jackson, Bar Tartine with Whitney and Stacy, a boozy lunch with Lauren at Kuleto's, a New Year's celebration with The Boys at Don Pisto's, lunch with my mom and sis at The Grove, dinner with KTB and Jenny at SPQR, a thank-you dinner from Matt and Sapao at Bistro Aix, family dinner at Westlake Joes, dinner at Bungalow 44 with my AXO sisters, a birthday celebration dinner at Fat Angel with KTB again, and just when I thought I couldn't eat anymore, one last bottomless mimosa brunch with Kara and Jen at Farmer Brown.  This doesn't even begin to list the locations of cocktail consumption, however it does explain the new found tightness in my clothes!

Get Your Fitness On with Sapao & Matty

During my "free time" in the day, I was either waxing at Salon Bruno or hanging out in The Sunset...standard.  My friends Matt and Sapao own a Jiu Jitsu studio, Ocean Beach Barra Brothers that I love to workout at.  And although I didn't do much working out with the exception of a couple of yoga classes here and there, I helped them with their bookkeeping to keep busy. This brought on a whole other saga of eating!  After being ridiculed for loving the Sunset all these years, it seems as if the hipsters have caught on and are strongly moving in.  What the hipsters offer that surfers often do not, is great organic and locally produced food, see: The Mission.  I had lunch at Outerlands once a week, visited Noriega Pizza, had many a coffee at Trouble Coffee, Beach Side Cafe and Devil's Teeth Bakery and supported Noriega Produce and Judahlicious on the regular.  I will say I did quite a few beach runs to ward off some of these calories.  The weather was at least 65 degrees everyday and I soaked up the sun as much as possible!  

Fort Funston

After moving to the East Coast, I realized that the West Coast is truly spoiled.  I forget how much there is to experience in such close proximity.  My dear friend Stacy set up a wine tasting trip for the DPT girls, Brian included!  We took a limo to Boon Fly cafe at the Carneros Inn in Napa for brunch, then did some bubbly tasting at Domaine Carneros, where we were mistaken for models (no joke) and then onto some more tasting at a place I can remember because I drank too much.  Good thing we had that limo to drive us home and some roadside tacos to sober us up!

Bacon Bloody Mary's at Boon Fly Cafe, Napa

After four weeks of gluttony, I am back in New York to start my internship and second semester at Parsons. It was way harder to leave this time around.  I am so grateful for ALL of my friends and family, and realize how important my community is.  I will be back ASAP!!  Until then, keep reading to stay up to date on the latest New York experiences.  I promise not to wait so long!

xxx City Vixen,

Jena 

Hudson, New York...a little slice of heaven.

This last weekend I took my first trip upstate New York to a quaint little town called Hudson.  My dear friend Jackson flew in from San Francisco to visit his family and invited Gidget and I along for the trip.  We met at Grand Central station to hop on board the Metro North.  Gidget had to go in a carry on crate.  She hated it, but she managed.  We took a 90 minute train ride along the Hudson River and saw some of the most beautiful scenery.  Jackson's brother, Henry, picked us up in Poughkeepsie, and then we drove about another 45 minutes to Hudson.

Jackson's dad is running for the mayor of Hudson, so we had a lot of social events to attend and met a lot of people in support of him.  Saturday night we cruised downtown (all 8 blocks of it) in Mr. Haddad's old station wagon to an art show at Jackson's mother's gallery.  There is a huge art community in Hudson and therefore brings an eclectic group of people to the little town.  From there we went to a restaurant called Club Helsinki to see Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings perform.  The show and the cocktails were amazing, the food...not so much.  We danced and drank our little hearts out!  From there we decided to continue cocktailing and campaign a little a couple of blocks down to a bar called The Red Dot.  I drank way too many vodka sodas, standard, so decided it was time to call it a night. 

Sunday, I dragged Jackson shopping downtown with me and hit every vintage, antique and jewelry store we passed.  I scored an amazing fur vest at Hudson Vintage for $75.  A great find!  We also confirmed Nick Hudson's votes at every stop.  We ate a lot of food and I drank a lot of coffee.  Earth Foods had amazing salads, Baba Louie's had great thin crust gourmet pizza, Swallow served local Stumptown coffee and Loaf had delicious fresh baked goods, La Perche was a quaint patisserie and boulangerie and then we made a final stop into Olde Hudson market to get salami, cheese and figs for appetizers that evening.  Shopping and eating can be so exhausting, but I could definitely get used to the way of life in Hudson.

Gidget probably enjoyed herself more than anybody else.  She ran through the fallen leaves and endlessly across the huge lawn.  She had her own little bed in front of a fire place and curled up there a lot.  There were also two birds in a cage in the entry hall that she just sat and stared at.  She was so intrigued and wanted to play with them so bad.  I feel so guilty now that we are back in the city!

I cannot get over the image of the town.  It was as if we were in a scene out of a movie.  Jackson’s parents renovated a church originally built in the early 1800's and turned it into their home.  Words and pictures cannot begin to describe how beautiful it is.  It is four stories and has artwork on every inch of the walls.  There was so much history behind the architecture I couldn’t help but to think everything that had gone on there over the years; simply fascinating.

Monday came too soon, along with class, Ann Taylor and reality!  I can’t wait to return to Hudson and live like royalty again…Gidget too!

P.S.-Jackson told me the gallery opening was cocktail attire...let's just say I looked like city girl meets country girl.  Oh well, a day in the life of a City Vixen ;)

To view all of the photos,click on this link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=115567999092431077491&target=ALBUM&id=5672428525821822593&authkey=Gv1sRgCO_D5bDPmPfyogE&feat=email

 

Officially an Uptown Girl

It's official, I am an Uptown Girl....but Downtown at heart.  It has been a little over a week at my new apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.  Not going to lie, there was minute there where I thought I was going to have to move home because it was so difficult to find a place to live.  Other than the residential locale, I ended up in an amazing place.  I have a roommate, Brooke.  She is from Florida, my exact age and has a finicky miniature Dachschund named Pewter.  Gidget and her are loving living together!  My rent is also super cheap for New York standards.  Typically, living uptown would cost more money, but not here in New York; downtown is where the action is at, so that is where people want to live.  What the Upper East Side lacks in cool bars and restaurants, they gain with Central Park, space and affordability.  Not to mention the four B's...Bloomigdales, Bergdorfs, Barneys and Bendels!  Tragic, I know.

I also start my internship at Ann Inc. this week.  Ann Inc. includess Ann Taylor and The Loft.  It isn't quite John Varvatos or Alexander Wang, but it is a position in Visual Merchandising which is the direction I want to head.  A Visual Merchandising team creates any visual marketing concept you would see as a consumer.  The lighting, wall decor, mannequins, etc. are all decided upon by the Visual Merchandising team.  I think it will be awesome to put my creative eye and visual mind to work!  I am super excited to start...the corporate office is in the Time Square Tower.  Kind of crazy to go to Times Square to work!  All internships through Parsons are UNPAID, however they look amazing on your resume, are a great way to network for future positions and I get two units for school, so it is all good.

Since the interview process has began, I have been inside the corporate offices of companies I have only dreamed of.  I would say the most exciting has been Christian Dior which is a part of the LVMH group.  LVMH is a huge conglomerate that owns companies including Louis Vuitton and Sephora.  The position was for Boutique Management, so it wasn't really something I wanted to do, but the opportunity was awesome.  In addition to Michael Kors, John Varvatos and Vince for which I interviewed with previously, I have met with Rebecca Taylor and worked Market Week for Alexander Wang.

Alexander Wang was the coolest thing thus far.  The showroom is beautiful and located in China Town.  The walls are all painted white and has really high ceilings.  New York is all about "pre-war" buildings like it is some sort of social status...this building was pre-war, but not sure why that really matters?  Anyway, the decor was very simple and modern.  Alex's favorite candle burned not only in the bathroom, but on at least ten tables in the showroom.  We later did some research and found out that each candle is $75.  No big deal when your Alex.  Alex is only 27 years old, went to Drew School in San Francisco and is also an alumni of Parsons.  I saw him walking through the showroom a couple of times; pretty surreal.  Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be experiencing these things.  I assisted the sales representatives in their meetings with buyers on the showroom floor.  Buyers consisted of big name companies such as Nordstrom, Bloomies and Gilt Groupe, but also in smaller boutiques from all over the world.  The interns received $100 a day to Alexander Wang's sample sale, so it was totally worth it.  We also got lunch everyday, but in the Fashion Industry that doesn't say much.  Let's just say I was starving per usual.  Working with one of the most popular designers today was an opportunity of a lifetime for sure.   

New York continues to be crazy and challenging everyday.  Although I often try to remember why I am here and all the amazing opportunities that have come my way solely because I am a student at Parsons.  I absolutely love it, but know that my heart is in California!  xxx jena

PS-No, I haven't fallen in love yet.  Not even trying.  So you can all stop asking ;)

And the Beat Goes On...

It has been nearly a month here in Manhattan, and I feel like it has been a year!  Time flies and every minute, of every hour, of every day is completely exhausted.  I have not once gone to bed before midnight and I wake up super early to take Gidget out for a morning walk.  The city truly never sleeps...an neither do I!

Classes at Parsons have been amazing, and I am so happy with my decision.  I am currently taking two Fashion Marketing classes, Fashion Merchandising, Textiles, Color Theory and Fashion Design.  I go to class for six hours, three days a week.  It is pretty manageable.  There is a lot of reading and projects, so I am super busy.  All the while STILL looking for an apartment and trying to find a job.

Since I have been here, I have gone on two cocktailing interviews in The Meatpacking District.  Neither of which I was hired for.  Astonishing in my opinion.  Clearly I am qualified, but I get the feeling that New Yorkers do not love Californians?  It's really weird.  In one interview they asked me what bottle service consisted of in San Francisco?  As if I was from another country?  In the other, they asked me what my knowledge of champagne is?  It's bottle service.  Pretty sure the customer isn't going to test me on my champagne knowledge?  Anyway, guess I am over that idea! 

I also found out that I am qualified as a licensed Esthetician in the state of New York because I have been licensed for over five years.  All I have to do is fill out a form and send in $50, and I am New York licensed Esthetician.  Super stoked except for the fact that there isn't a single Esthetician job hiring.  So it hasn't really done me any good.

On a happier note, I attended Parsons Internship fair last week and walked out with three interviews lined up.  One, I just had, and was for production with John Varvatos.  I think it went really well.  Then on Monday I have one for a an assistant to the President at Michael Kors and the other is a showroom sales position with a company called Kellwood.  They own lines such as Vince & Rebecca Taylor.  I also met with Gilt Group for a styling internship.  Hopefully these are more promising than cocktailing,

In the meantime, some of you may or may not have seen my pictures from Fashion's Night Out.  FNO is like Mardi Gras for the Fashion Industry.  Essentially, every major labels (and even not so major) open their doors to the public and have one huge party with free cocktails, dj's, food and entertainment.  When FNO started, it was to promote shopping and introduce new lines to customers.  Now, I think people just go for the free cocktails!

A classmate, and now friend of mine, talked me into skipping class and going to FNO.  Best decision I have made since I have been here!!  We stumbled into one boutique in SoHo because they were offering champagne cocktails.  Before we knew it, Nicky Hilton was standing in front of us promoting her new jewelry line!! 


After that, we went to Mulberry's new Flagship store.  It is amazing.  They were serving mojitos and cookies...I had two of each.  Oops!  Another classmate of our was working at Alexander Wang wear we went and watched a talent contest.  It was lame, and they had bottled water and coconut water.  My guess is that Alexander is a recovering alcoholic?  I did see him and three models however. 

From there we must have gone to at least a dozen other parties.  I held a snake outside of ASH shoe store and sipped more bubbly and went in the photo booth at Ugg.  FNO was huge success in my book and I have the pictures to prove it!

What a Crazy Week

I have officially been here for ten days and it has been crazy!  Apartment searching, an earthquake and then Hurricane Irene....what a welcoming.

Apartment searching in New York is something I would never wish upon my worst enemy...it is awful!!  I feel like I am on the amazing race.  Meeting with brokers and being pressured to apply that very instant, otherwise being told that the apartment will be gone by the next day.  Getting on the subway to go uptown and then downtown and every direction in between.  It is literally a full-time job.  I am exhausted!

In addition to chasing down apartments, New York has this crazy thing called a broker's fee.  The broker gets paid anywhere from 10 to 15% of the YEARLY rent and all they do is open a door for you.  I find the apartment I want to see on Craigslist, set up a meeting and then pay them thousands of dollars.  Makes sense right?  On top of the broker's fee, it is standard to pay first months rent up front in addition to a security deposit (equal to one month's rent).  And don't forget the non-refundable $100 application fee.

Decent apartments downtown New York are starting at $1800 for a studio and $2900 for a 2 bedroom.  One bedrooms fall somewhere in between, but are just not in the budget for me.  In order to be approved for any apartment, you have to prove that you make 80 times the monthly rent.  So for a studio at $1800, I would have to prove that I make $144,000 a year...sounds about right.  Such a joke!  Since I am a student, I need a "guarantor."  Pretty much what we call a co-signer in California.  The guarantor basically takes on the financial responsibility of the tenant if they can not make the payments.  Some building won't even accept guarantors.  Bottom line is don't move to New York unless you are filthy rich, which I am clearly NOT!

My best friend Lauren had some work to do in New York, so I was stoked when she said she was coming.  She willingly went all over Manhattan with me on this crazy search while we occasionally dropped into some stores along the way.  There is nothing worse for a fashionista such as myself than going into stores and not being able to buy anything.  Pretty much my worst nightmare!

We did however get to experience a NY earthquake...well kind of.  We were on the subway and when we came out everyone was crowded in the streets.  I thought there was some festival going on.  Silly me, there was an earthquake!  People were frantic, all the while Lauren and I were laughing.  Earthquakes happen while we are sleeping in California and we don't even think twice about it.  Evacuation of buildings just seemed so unnecessary.  We had a great time together none the less, and I was sad when she left.

Then Hurricane Irene decided to hit!  I was kind of excited for some action, but I guess I was expected to be scared?  I am staying in SoHo, which was categorized as Zone C, further inland than Zones A &B.  We did no have to evacuate.  Everything in New York completely shut down, including the subways.  Stores boarded their front windows an everyone was told to stay inside.  After two days of that I felt like I was going to go crazy.  SO boring!  Nothing happened none the less...kind of like when they told us we were going to be attacked by killer bees, die from swine flu or come into contact with SARS.  I never bought into any of these by the way.  Total hype!

Tomorrow I start my first day of school.  What am I going to wear?  People are very disheveled looking here.  It's like they rolled out of bed and put on the first thing they found in the dark.  No make-up and their hair is definitely not done.  This will take some getting used to.  I like a very put together look...we know this!  Stylish outfit, hair blown-out and a full face of make-up is pretty standard.  I am going to try very hard to stay true to my San Francisco self.  Stay tuned!

xxx City Vixen