I attended the very first fashion week ever held at Bryant Park as a design student at Parsons School of Design. It had just been cleaned out of its drug dealers. A few XXX peep-show theaters still lined 42nd street.

So with a new venue officially christened, and a new season around the corner, how did it stack up to Bryant Park and what did I learn from the first time at Lincoln Center?

Dig out your invitations, New York Fashion Week won't let a little snow stop the show

Print everything last minute

Most of the shows used Fashion GPS. This was a sanity saver. You scanned your e-mail confirmation and little receipts came popping out. Unfortunately, like all technology, there were glitches. You couldnâ€t check in until 30 minutes before the scheduled start time.

This saved a lot of the chaos associated with Bryant Park tents as it cut down on the lineup. It also made it more difficult for stalkers and show-crashers. That doesnâ€t mean they didnâ€t try, and occasionally succeed, of course.

For many shows, seating assignments were not given until several hours before the show. If you had your original e-mail, the scan code may not have been current that day.

There was only one laptop set up to print. If you had an emergency, your best bet was to use the business centers of the nearby Empire Hotel or Kinkoâ€s at Central Park South.

Unfortunately, I didnâ€t learn until the last day that those with media credentials could scan at a different counter. It would spit out your entire dayâ€s worth of show receipts.

Patience is a virtue

It did not matter if you had a front-row seat. All seated guests were wrangled in a pen. Standing-room only guests were wrangled in a separate pen. Donâ€t panic. You will not miss your show. Average starting time was about 29 minutes after the show time listed on the invitation.

Supermodel Veronica Webb was asked to wait in the seated guestâ€s line outside of the Christian Siriano show. She was polite and did so graciously before being ushered into the venue by staff. Ms. Webb gave a new standard to “model” behavior.

On the flip side, please donâ€t scream and throw a tantrum at exhausted security personnel. They donâ€t care who you are. They donâ€t care about fashion. The really donâ€t care about the fact that you are best friends the designerâ€s intern. Throwing a diva fit while doing a poor imitation of the “Jersey Shore” cast will only get you thrown out. I personally witnessed this outside of the Richie Rich show.

Which brings me to:

Behave With Class

In the 1990â€s, Fashion Week was about being “fierce”. Attitude or bravado got you everywhere.

The Upper West Side location of Lincoln Center however, brought new expectations on decorum. Nothing gave away a newbie than the rabid swag-snatcher. The adult woman dressed in a prom dress, carrying three DHL bags, five copies of Daily Front Row and a Mercedes-Benz catalog will not be invited backstage.

While Fashion GPS made it a little more difficult for gate-crashers, it did not mean you didnâ€t have a chance to make the show. The new civility of PR teams dictated that they would accommodate a few people for standing room when possible. If you waited politely for the other guests to be seated, designerâ€s reps would likely assign you a last-minute entry. If there were a LOT of people competing for a few standing spots, who do you think the rep would choose? The rude, self-entitled lout or the smiling, appreciative guest?

Know Your Venues

The biggest venue was “The Theater”, then “The Stage”, next the “Studio” and last, “The Box”. Knowing that “The Studio” can only hold a limited amount of standing-room guests might save you some time if you are choosing which show to wait around for.

Almost all shows in “The Box” were presentations where models posed exhibition style. All patrons were listed as “standing”. This meant that this show was not worth your energy to insist to the PR rep that you were promised front row. This also meant that arriving towards the end of the presentation would mean significantly less wait time than those who arrived early.

Bring Survival Gear

Thatâ€s right; you will be standing a LOT. There was limited seating and lots of waiting. While wearing comfortable shoes is a contradiction to the Fashion Week dress code, I could not have made it through the week without my City Slips. They are foldable ballet slippers that pack into a tiny pouch. When it was time to switch the shoes, the pouch unfolded into a tote for my Louboutins.

It was COLD. Wherever I sat, wherever I stood, I was under a vent. The absence of a hot coffee vendor (anyone else miss McCafe?) did not help. Bring a scarf! Itâ€s also an easy fashion statement when the rest of your ensemble is practical. Gift bags at the Temperley London show included their Aztec print scarf. That may be the best swag I have ever received in my life. With the current temperatures and predicted continuance of winter weather, I can only hope other designers are keeping the weather in mind as well.

Bring business cards. All the huddled wait time gave you ample opportunities to network. It was time to bring the social to social media. I saw the same people at other shows. Giving attitude to them at one show only to be smashed into them the next is just awkward. Make friends. If you are an avid fashion reader, you would find that you were familiar with many peopleâ€s work already.

You need a good camera. If you donâ€t have the budget for the professional models, at least have a good digital that takes successive photos… Trust me.

Have an Escape Route

Shows from 9 am to 10 pm? Thatâ€s exhausting. If you donâ€t have the luxury of minions to divvy up shows with, you need to take a break. The Performing Arts library is a sanctuary in contrast to the thumping base of the tents.

Stroll down to the Hudson River for fresh air. The Empire Hotel wonâ€t get you too much privacy, but the sexy lighting gives you a change of scenery. The same goes for Hudson Hotel. The most serene café options in the vicinity would be Le Pain Quotidien and Argo Tea.

Overall, I loved the new location. I have fond memories of Bryant Park, but have grown to embrace the new.  Bearing in mind lessons learned from last season’s shows, I’m ready for Fall 2011. Are you?

You may have never imagined a place where couture dresses are intermixed with Motor City inspired denim designed by Agatha Blois, mirrored tables and Shinya Kimura motorcycles all in a single retail environment  (that most would call an architectural masterpiece), but thatâ€s what youâ€ll find at DEVON.

Last month, Scott Devon made a mark on Los Angeles by opening DEVON, his first flagship store located in the iconic Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive area, with an event benefiting the LA Museum of Contemporary Art . The 10,000 square foot boutique and event space, located just off of Wilshire Boulevard  and Canon Drive, is the latest in a series of retail locations opening store doors and gradually starting to thrive in the luxury retail area of Beverly Hills.

The purpose of creating and opening DEVON was to enable a customer to find “any product in any category to make their heart beat faster.” This goal translates into a uniquely engineered store that offers everything from minimalistic motorcycles complimented by intricate menâ€s timepieces, to futuristic TRON-inspired jewelry that can be paired with premium denim that hugs a womanâ€s curves like nothing else.

The eclectic DEVON brand serves as a constant runway of luxury and modern masterpieces, ranging from world-record breaking super cars and motorcycles, to celebrity favorite rock-ready denim and leather, and flawless ready-to-wear and couture clothing, timepieces and jewelry. To gain better insight into the brand, I sat down with Scott Devon for an interview:

Devon is a design lab dedicated to creating innovative luxury products that exemplify the American spirit. How did your roots in the Los Angeles creative community inspire or influence the opening of your flagship store in Southern California?

Devon: Los Angeles, itâ€s always had certain energy about the city. Because LA is home to multiple industries – fashion, entertainment, music – it allowed me to launch a full lifestyle brand.  In the 60â€s, I was working with Jason Wilbur on a few automotive projects that involved a 1960s AC Cobra, and that project represented the birth of brand with the development of the DEVON GTX racecar.  Jason then showed me some sketches for a watch idea and in the true American entrepreneurial spirit we went and explored options to make these ideas come to life—we actually ended up finding an aerospace firm that could engineer the DEVON Tread1 timepiece.   We are in a place where everything is possible, and creativity and ideas are truly nurtured and allowed to grow into special products.

It seems DEVON is the culmination of all your experience with in luxury – from automotive to architecture to art – how did you use your knowledge and expertise to design the retail environment?

Devon: I had partners. Branding expert Peter Arnell and I developed the concept in Tokyo. We actually used images and products we found there to add an Asian influence to work we produced in Los Angeles.  When it came to the apparel team, I developed a creative team that could combine the style of modernism and industrial design into apparel.  I personally design the Couture, Ready To Wear, jewelry, and furniture, working with a great team including former Ralph Lauren designer Keith Lissner, legendary leather and denim designer Agatha Blois, and Amy Meadow Hochfelder, whoâ€s worked at Donna Karan and Rachel Roy. The overall DEVON vision is rooted in my passions in architecture, travel experiences as well as American and global cultures, which are reflected  closely in the design of all apparel and accessories found in the collection.

All of the apparel sold in DEVON is manufactured and produced in the US; what other models of sustainability and ethical production practices are incorporated into the store and its products?

Devon: Everything was designed with sustainability in mind, I want to amplify environments, not pollute them. The furniture is eco-friendly and designed from recycled aluminum from automobiles. Everything is manufactured in the US to maintain the highest quality standards process, and so my team and I can be as close as possible to the entire production process.  Productions cost are not an issue for me; quality is an issue for me, and having a eye and hand in the entire process allows DEVON to maintain quality assurance in every capacity.

The Southern California market is very unique in regards to permanent and visiting shoppers. When developing a luxury retail environment in California, what advice would you offer designer or retailers?

Spaces need to accentuate and reflect the product. Remember when Judith Lieber started to design her clutches? They were designed to sit on a table, they were meant to be focal points and conversation pieces, they were not meant to be set on the floor or on the side of chair. To this day, she maintains that.  I view the retail space as a product extension of DEVON itself—it should aesthetically and viscerally represent the DEVON brand. The retail environment should be a manifestation of your brand; the DEVON store serves as another avenue to translate my technical understanding of form, space, and aesthetic into all elements of my brand.

What are your fashion favorite brands? What online sites do you read on a daily basis?

I love Balmain, Alexander McQueen and Christian Lacroix – designers who arenâ€t afraid to take risks. I love shopping at Maxfieldâ€s and for reading, Fashionising and Womenâ€s Wear Daily online.

As mainstream designers embrace plus size fashion, journalists debate its existence, and plus size models grace some of fashionâ€s most prominent magazines, there were and have always been the few, the proud, the plus: the plus size designers who have long delivered fashion for the curvy gal before the rest.

One of those few is designer Yuliya Raquel, the designer behind Igigi. Pronounced “ee-zhee-zhee,” tha label has been at the forefront of plus size fashion with its contemporary fashions, timeless appeal, and uncanny attention to detail for the last ten years.

“Many customers write to say my clothes make them feel virtually invincible, like a goddess.  Thatâ€s what makes it all worthwhile to me.” – Yuliya Raquel

Raquel was a pre-med student before recognizing her personal and professional calling in plus size fashion. Amazed at the lack of fashionable choices for the plus sized woman, she recalls a beautiful woman coming in, trying on the dresses, falling to tears, realizing that even a size 12 can be just as beautiful as the size 2s that dominate most fashion coverage. Raquel was so moved with this transformation that she fully realized the tribulations and transformations plus size women endure every day.

“There isnâ€t much of a difference in designing for a voluptuous body versus a straight sized body,” says Raquel, who has designed for couture clients in the 2-10 size range.  “Ultimately, every woman wants to accent their best features, deemphasize their areas of concern, and be able to strut confidently in clothes they love.  My job is to do just that.”

While she enjoyed creating these one-of-a-kind dresses as a couturier, Raquel wanted to reach more than a handful of plus size women. That was ten years ago. Since then, IGIGI stands strong as a brand recognizing and celebrating the vivacious, alluring, and sensual curves of the plus size woman.

Beyond offering choices to an under-served demographic, Yuliya Raquel also pulls of two feats which have challenged many designers: most items are priced under $200, and the clothes are designed and produced in San Francisco. With garment districts in many cities disappearing as production moves to China (often for cost saving reasons), it’s triply impressive to find a designer offering collections that are success stories not only because of the market targeted, but for business  reasons as well.

Visit Igigi on Facebook to learn more about the brand.

Thinking of getting married in the country of your dreams? How about just a honeymoon?

Many people around the world dream of a destination wedding where they can be married abroad. With a small wedding party, the prices of certain locations can make this seem easy to achieve (or at least no more than the cost of a larger local wedding). Then you discover that the place you’re most keen on wonâ€t allow you to actually be married. Here are a few of the romantic destinations that are happy to play host during your honeymoon – as long as your first wedding takes place somewhere else.

The Maldives

Visually attractive scenes from some of the most luxurious hotels on the planet – some at relatively affordable prices, have made the Maldives one of the honeymoon capitals of the world. With over 1000 islands making up the Maldivian country there are many resorts to choose from, each more beautiful than the last. Because of its precarious situation with rising sea levels the Maldives has grabbed the worldâ€s attention in seeking ways to help keep the islands alive, but this is another matter.

The more immediate issue for anyone planning a wedding in the Maldives without sufficient research could result in frustration (not ideal for a wedding). Allow me to let you into a little bit of “Geek knowledge” to put the next part of this article into perspective. Thousands of people from over the world search on the internet for “Maldives weddings”, which returns millions of results, each one offering you the wedding of your dreams in the Maldives.

Whatâ€s disappointing is that not many of them will give you a key piece of information: simply put you canâ€t get married in the Maldives. For foreigners, there is no such thing as a Maldives wedding unless you or your partner is Maldivian. You can have a non-legal blessing, which is as the name implies not legally binding. This country is of strong Muslim faith, which is part of the restriction on marriages for those from outside the country.

Also in the list of can-dos are wedding vow renewals. This will grant you a certificate, also non-legally binding, but less imperative for couples who’ve already had their “til death do us part”s legally recognized in their home countries.

France

Another tricky one is France. Now this is not really as bad as the Maldives but can be quite frustrating. As with the Maldives, religious weddings are not legally recognized by the French government but you can have a blessing. Most French couples are first married at their local prefecture (a kind of district headquarters) in a civil ceremony, even if they later have a larger event. If you have your heart set on a Paris (or any other French) wedding, many people have a simple civil ceremony at home before coming for a religious blessing.

If you are adamant about having a religious wedding in France, there is in fact a way that you can still have your dream wedding. Be warned: it’s much more complicated than your average civil ceremony, and can be a lot more expensive. In order for your wedding to be recognised as legally binding, you need to have been a resident in France for at least 42 days. From the US, you can stay up to 90 days on a tourist visa, which doesn’t make this impossible, but good luck telling your boss that you’ll be taking 6 weeks off for romance in Paris. This makes France a very difficult place for anyone to have a wedding but it is an incredible place to have a honeymoon. Paris is the city of love and the location of the lusty. Even if you and your partner cannot have the wedding of your dreams you can spend a length of time admiring the view, the attractions and of course each other.

Mexico

If you want a hassle free wedding abroad, and your dream is to be wed in Mexico, can I recommend reconsidering your options? It isnâ€t that Mexico isn’t a lovely place to get married, but it is quite time consuming. Weddings in Mexico require that you both take a blood test to confirm that you are both healthy and living well. This is to make sure that potential future children will have better odds of being born healthy. Iran and the US states of Connecticut, Indiana, Mississippi and Montana have similar requirements, though these arenâ€t the usual destinations considered in a search for luxury wedding destinations.

These weddings can become lengthy and although the procedures are there for your own good it can be a bit of a downer on the wedding experience. The honeymoon experience however is one of the best in the world. Quite literally, you will be treated like royalty receiving lavish pampering at prices that won’t keep you in debt past your first anniversary. An experience at any of the 5-star resorts is bound to be on par with anything  the Caribbean islands would offer.

Honeymoons

As with everything to do with a wedding, and in particular your wedding, it is important to remember that the most enjoyable part of your magical experience comes after the “I do.” Not to say that the wedding itself isnâ€t a great moment in life, but the party doesnâ€t start till afterwards.

Everywhere in the world offers you the opportunity to enjoy a honeymoon. It is also possible for you to have a mini ceremony or a renewal of vows in any of these countries too; it will however just be for you and your partnerâ€s benefit (surely there is nothing wrong with this though).

As with everything important in your life, make sure that you have everything you need to take with you on your wedding overseas. Birth certificates and passports are key for you to get married abroad, and double check with your travel agent or wedding specialist that you have any other items that may be required by the country of your destination. One last tip; some countries like Greece will marry you off, but you will need to get your birth certificate translated to make it all valid.

Fashion + the Plus Size Woman= Plus Size fashion

If you were to read the latest magazines, newspapers, and fashion blogs, it would seem as if plus size and fashion have only recently met. With the latest coverage and inclusion of plus size models in high fashion editorials, eyes have only recently opened to the fact that curves have the potential to be chic, edgy, and fashionable.

As fashion moves forward for the discerning plus size woman, new designers are taking note of her and her vivacious curves. However, there have been quite a few designers, both mainstream and niche who have stayed ahead of the curve, in dressing and designing for this oft overlooked, fashion starved, plus size woman.

One designer consistently delivering contemporary high fashion is UK designer, Anna Scholz. No stranger to the plus size fashion scene, this German born model turned designer launched her eponymous label in 1996. A graduate of Central St. Martin’s, the renowned art and design college that also includes names like Alexander McQueen and Johh Galliano among it’s alumni roster, this label includes none of the drab, shapeless clothes that have too often been the norm in plus size fashion.

Dresses from Anna Scholz's Black Label Range

Luxurious cashmere, sumptuous silks, and boldly printed charmeuse fabrics are only a few of the fabrics chosen to drape her clientâ€s curves in curve embracing shapes – no tents here. But even more eye-catching are the high fashion photo shoots that accompany the collection: highly editorialized, pointed, and edgy. When asked about her choice of fashion spreads to display her collection, Anna Scholz offers this dignified response; “Weâ€re a fashion label. We are no different, I donâ€t know why people take such ugly shots, we are a fashion label- weâ€re in the business of fashion. Big women are not an alien species.”

Looks from Scholz's premium White Label collection

Innovative, barrier breaking, chic, and edgy is this plus size designerâ€s forte when it comes to fashion. Unapologetic, celebratory, and inspirational Anna Scholz dares to be, as over the years she has provided the discerning curvy, confident, and chic woman clothing that keeps her ahead of the curve.

Leave the diaper bag, laptop case, and backpack at home.  This stunning Louis Vuitton is the perfect size for holding everything from books (net or text) to baby bottles. The beautiful burgundy color goes with everything and masks any and all stains.

L Mahina Leather {Louis Vuitton}
$2800

If you’ve ever worked in a predominantly male office, chances are you’ve experienced the mysterious temperature divide that always leaves you freezing, while the guys walk around in t-shirts complaining about how hot the 60 degree room is. Staying warm is no problem with a versatile cashmere-silk cardigan over a tank and fitted pants.

V-Neck Cardigan {Martin + Osa}
$99.50

This simple Lee Angel piece pulls the entire outfit together with just the right balance of rhinestones, feminine fabric details, and twine accents.

Glinting Bois Necklace {Anthropologie}
Lee Angel
$178

There’s no need to completely forgo comfort for style. GAP’s skinny stretch pants feel great yet look polished.

Skinny Stretch Pants {Gap}
Available in petite and tall
$49.50

Whether you’re running between meetings, classes or chasing after a little one ballet flats are a timeless, classy and stylish option. Want to sneak in a little extra comfort? Go half a size up and insert an athletic insole.

Abby Toe Cap Ballet Flats {J.Crew}
$128