My New York Fashion Week Pick for most fun show? @kyboeofficial #KYBOE #KYBOEStyle #NYFW

New York Fashion Week 2016 is in my rearview mirror, and I got to 'front row at the Fashion Show' for quite a few shows this year, but you know it is my custom to share the show I found most unique first.

This year's pick is definitely KYBOE! who offered a very 'timely' show. Pun definitely intended as they are a watch brand!

Want to see how does a 'timepiece' does Fashion Week?

Here are shots of mine in action:

From Left to Right: Three Bloggers Showing off their new KYBOE! Watches, I'm the one in the center, no surprise I picked Rose Gold right? (Notice the Rose Gold Ring). In shot two I'm checking the time, don't want to be late for the show, shot three - the BOWL neon sign is from Lucky Strike where the After Party for the Fashion Show was held (one of the After Parties anyway there were actually TWO) and the last shot was taken at Lucky Strike Bowling Alley pointing to a sign that reads: "Stay Out of The Gutter" - very cheeky!

A Quick Slideshow Video of the Show (using only my own photos) - there are WAY more photos and I promise a Pinterest Board will happen once I come up for air (when it does the words 'Pinterest Board' will actually be clickable)

MY TAKE:

KYBOE! is definitely a brand to watch, their timepieces are fun, unique and fashionable and can easily take you from work to play with ease.

I still prefer a quality watch to checking my cellphone for the time, and I love that KYBOE! Watches come in a wide variety of colors and if you are feeling really fancy you can get the version of the watch that offers crystals around the dial. I also love the one touch button to light the watch up making it easier when you are checking the time in a dark room or out and about at night. (See photo four in the photo collage above - the shot on the far right shows the watch lit).

And aren't you proud of me butterflies? I veered away from selecting the typical 'NY Black' watch. (Honestly I was torn on colors - I also wanted the 'spearmint' color because I have a pair of sneakers in that color - but ultimately went with the White/Rose Gold Option because they match my favorite headphones - remember THESE? - I will take a shot of me with the watch and headphones on at the same time so you can see how cute they go together!)

Readers Sound Off: Check Out Their Site and Let Us Know Which Color Would YOU choose for your KYBOE! watch?

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FTC Disclosure: I attended New York Fashion Week as Media and was a guest of the show, while no monetary compensation has been received to share this post, I was provided with a Watch for Editorial Consideration. Always Remember: This Luxe loving Lifestyle Editor can be bribed in custom made fashion, handbags, shoes, boots and electronics. I'm a very *simple* girl. LOL All opinions expressed herein are 100% my own. Ascending Butterfly partners with brands that would be of interest and offer values to our readers. See our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for full information.

Did you miss the @FashionLawInst #Fashion Show during @MBfashionweek? Get the highlights from The Box Here! #NYFW #MBFW

I tried to take on less shows this year and take on the ones that had what I felt was a unique back story or voice, so when I got an invitation to check out The Fashion Law Institute's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week show at The Box and read up on the designer's that were going to be included I couldn't resist taking in this show and I am so glad I did.

The Fashion Law Institute is the world's first center dedicated to law and the business of Fashion. It is a non-profit organization supported by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and it's President is none other than Diane von Furstenberg. The Institute provides training for fashion lawyers and designers, legal services for design students and professionals, and offers information and assistance on issues facing the Fashion Industry. They provide educational programming and also free legal consultations!

The Fashion Law Institute is located at Fordham Law School, across the street from New York Fashion Week's home at Lincoln Center in New York City. For this show in celebration of their 3rd anniversary they selected a small group of designers that they had assisted through their Fashion Law Pop-Up Clinic Program to join them during New York Fashion Week in the tents at Lincoln Center and showcase their respective collections. Featured Designers included: Blaise Kavanagh - women's sportswear, PHYN - stylish surfwear, Cabiria - Plus Size Fashion, A RAY - sustainable fashion, Ex Ovo - modern jewelry, Sievering - Evening, Bridal and Post-Mastectomy Designs. 

Not sure if you guys remember but we had actually already featured Cabiria when we met them earlier this year at the Madison Plus MP Select Press Preview. Eden Miller made history by being the first Plus-Size Fashion Designer being featured at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. While New York does host a "Full Figure Fashion Week', this is the first time that full figure fashion was actually included at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, and in my opinion it's high time, it's about time, and it is LONG overdue. America's average dress size is a size 14, and I hope this is the beginning of Fashion Week becoming inclusive and approachable to women of ALL shapes and sizes!

Sponsors included: Edmundo Castillo, EMC2 Emmett McCarthy, illy issimo, mizu (hair), MSA Models, Norma Kamali, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics applied by independent makeup artists: Keila Rivera, Felix Davila, Tamara Janeli, Maria Ortega, Nayari Abreu & Allyson Vienna, Oribe (hair), Priti NYC, Lee Van Put and Wilhelmina Models.

Check out the You Tube Video Below:

And here are some Photo Highlights:

My Take:

I tried not to over-schedule myself this year, and if I had to select one show that I would have regretted skipping, this would have been it. I am so glad I got the chance to take in this show. All of the designers really brought 'heart' into it and I am super proud to see Cabiria's debut on the MB Fashion Week runway. As a curvy Latina who even at my smallest number on the scale will always have 'killer curves' it's great to find designers that want to see me celebrate my body and not just 'cover' it.

What is your favorite Spring/Summer 2014 style or designer featured during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week this year? 

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a Sponsored Post. Nor is this a compensated post. I was under no obligation to share my event recap and all opinions expressed are 100% my own. There were no gift bags offered during this event either!

Highlights from the @ShopNMRKT @StyleList #streetstylerunway show during #NYFW Sponsored by @AOL @tide @absolutvodka

I'm cramming in as many shows as possible as I won't be able to make them all due to my travel schedule (you'll find out soon why I'm ducking out early on Fashion Week this year!) Last night I had the chance to hit the NMRKT & Stylelist Street Style Runway Show held at Tequila Park at the Hudson Hotel in New York City, and guess who made their New York Fashion Week Official Debut? TIDE! Tide Pods was one of the sponsors along with AOL and a new drink was also introduced by Absolut called 'Absolut Sparkling Fusion Tune'  - It is a sparkling fusion of Absolut Vodka and crisp white wine, specifically Sauvignon Blanc and it is currently available in select US Markets. (I love Absolut and I definitely love White Wine, I really enjoyed it and I will be on the lookout for this one as I don't think my nearby stores have this one yet).

Here are some photo highlights from the show:

Getting ready to try the new Absolut Tune Sparkling Fusion

Most people who didn't see the sign thought it was champagne, but it was actually Absolut Tune Sparkling Fusion served chilled in a champagne flute!

Model is to the far left wearing white #streetstylerunway

#streetstylerunway during #NYFW

#streetstylerunway during #NYFW (Don't you love the pop of green?)

#streetstylerunway during #NYFW (Spring/Summer 2014 styles during Fashion Week September 2013 is making me want to be on a warm, sandy beach right about now, how about you?

#streetstylerunway during #NYFW

#streetstylerunway during #NYFW

#streetstylerunway during #NYFW

End of #streetstylerunway Fashion Show during #NYFW at Tequila Park at the Hudson Hotel in New York City

End of #streetstylerunway Fashion Show during #NYFW at Tequila Park at the Hudson Hotel in New York City

Who is that I spot in the crowd? (Do you recognize that man in the center of the action?)

Left: ME! Tracy from Ascending Butterfly and Right: Mark Cuban at #streetstylerunway Fashion Show during #NYFW at Tequila Park at the Hudson Hotel in New York City

Tracy from Ascending Butterfly holding up her super cool swag bag from #streetstylerunway Fashion Show during #NYFW at Tequila Park at the Hudson Hotel in New York City

My Take:

This was a truly enjoyable show featuring approachable Fashion that can definitely be worn straight off the runway! NMRKT, StyleList, AOL, Tide, Hudson NYC, and Absolut Tune did a great job making sure it was a fun show! The gift bag offered great swag from Kiss which included their premium eyelashes, Kiss Nail Dress, Shea Moisture Argan Oil and Raw Shea Hand & Body Scrub w/Frankincense & Myrrh Extract (which I can't wait to break into!), Lipsyl beeswax lip balm, Epicurean Discovery Protein Mist Enzyme Toner as well as their Lip Balm with SPF 15 and Tea Tree Oil, and what had to be a nod to the cocktail host, there was also Hangover Resqwater! There was also a gift card with $20 gift credits to Uber (way to go guys, it's a great way to ensure everyone gets home safely! They should be in every gift bag as far I'm concerned) and of course last but certainly not least Tide Pods in scents I have not yet tried were also included! SCORE! I should have made my Shark Tank Pitch to Mark Cuban! :-)

Whether you are attending New York Fashion Week or keeping track from home, which has been your favorite show so far? What brands will you be shopping for after having seen great stuff from their show? Don't forget to share your NYFW favorite shows and scores with us!

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a compensated or sponsored post. As a member of the Digital Press I am given press access to various shows during New York Fashion Week. We were offered no incentive to share our recap and I did receive a swag bag which did not influence my opinion of the show or the Fashions Featured. See our full disclosure page for additional information.

Why should @polyvore send @Tracy_Iglesias of @Ascending1 to New York Fashion Week? #NYFW #sendmetoFW

Like by clicking HERE and pressing on the red heart!

Polyvore is sending one member of their community to New York Fashion Week and of course they came up with the neat contest idea of having members create a Polyvore Board that answers: Why should @polyvore send you to New York Fashion Week? and this was my board for my contest entry! If you think it's as cute and cheeky and totally butterfly fabulous as I do, head on over using the link above and press on the red heart to give my Polyvore Board a like!

Wouldn't you love seeing your favorite NYC Butterfly Loving Blogger covering what's hot on the runway as a Polyvore Correspondent?

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a Sponsored Post, this is only a contest entry, I have not received any incentives for sharing my contest entry for Polyvore's New York Fashion Week Contest. I just really hope I win!

If you like your Fashion Shows with Ineptitude and a Side of Pretention then by all means @Moroccanoil sponsored @GenArt is your kind of show!

It's been exactly FOUR years since I encountered a level of ineptitude so annoying it warranted a post. I avoid snark like the plague, and normally follow the centuries old sage advice that if I can't find something nice to say about something or someone not to say anything at all. And normally that's exactly what I do. Today I break my amazing record.

Above is the visual image of the invite that I received for today's GenArt's Fresh Faces in Fashion show, below is the email I received inviting me to the event:

=============Original Message======================

On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 6:13 PM, Jeter, Page (LAN-RCN) wrote:

Hello!

Please submit your request to attend GenArt’s Fresh Faces in Fashion presented by Moroccanoil at New York Fashion Week on Sunday, September 9 at RUNWAY @ Pier 57.  If you have already RSVPed, you will receive a confirmation shortly.

3:30 p.m. - Red carpet media check-in

4 p.m. - Red carpet/Cocktail reception

5 p.m. - Fashion Show

6 p.m. - After Party

The 14th Annual GenArt Fresh Faces in Fashion presented by Morrocanoil will be held on Sunday, September 9 at RUNWAY @ Pier 57 (25 11th Avenue) in Manhattan.  The 2012 Fresh Faces in Fashion program at New York Fashion Week will feature Spring 2013 collections from women’s and men’s ready-to-wear Anne Sofie Madsen, Amanda Lew Kee, Chloe comme Parris, COMEFORBREAKFAST, Gretchen Jones and A-morir.  This year’s Fresh Faces will also feature designer Katungulu Mwendwa from Kenya selected from this year’s GenArt Global program that launched in May.  Moroccanoil will work closely with the designers to create their runway hairstyle looks with special emphasis on hair trends for Spring/Summer 2013.  The Fresh Faces program is the largest and most recognized fashion event of its kind and is a catalyst for emerging designers in the industry, and over the years, many notable designers, such as Rodarte, Vena Cava, Zac Posen and Phillip Lim have participated in the program for their very first runway fashion shows.

Page Jeter
Group Manager | ROGERS&COWAN
8687 Melrose Avenue | 7th Floor | Los Angeles, CA 90069

=======================================

I submitted my RSVP to both the address on the invite AND the rep, Page Jeter. I even tweeted after sending my RSVP to both @GenArt and the Sponsor @Moroccanoil, perhaps now in hindsight I should have seen it as a sign that @GenArt didn't even have the courtesy to reply to the tweet, but the show sponsor did, here is their reply:

Moroccanoil Aug 30, 11:55am via HootSuite

We're stoked too! MRT @Ascending1: @GenArt Just put in my RSVP I am super stoked for the @Moroccanoil sponsored GenArt Fresh Faces...

===================================

It was shades of my recent nightmare experience with Samsung at BlogHer all over again (while I didn't write about that, I did tweet about it, Samsung told me and a few other bloggers during a holiday preview they were hosting we were not 'real press' but anyway I digress, back to today's #failwhale), I arrived early, well before 3:30 pm to be told that 'legitimate press would get the red carpet' and 'just bloggers' were being asked to line up and wait until 4pm to get in. Fine. We were asked to form a line to the left, and then separate people were told to the right, and then just before a quarter to 4pm, they tell us all the line should form to the right, so those of us who were already lined up on the left had to join an existing long line that had been formed on the right despite us all asking which line was the right one. The women at the door couldn't find my name on the list, they ask me to stand to the side, and after watching more than half the line go in, I asked again to speak to Page as she had sent the invite.

I then get told to make another line inside called the 'media line', they also couldn't find my name, and they too asked me to 'stand aside'. I was standing next to the mother of one of the designers who they also wouldn't let in. But oddly enough it seemed if you weren't on the list but was wearing a skirt whose hemline barely covered your underwear, you could just walk right in. The person who took my card kept asking Page what to do, and Page kept walking away and not answering. Finally one grabbed her arm, and said but Page the person said you invited her (this is all within earshot by the way), and she glances at me and said 'I highly doubt it.'. I'd like to know why she highly doubted that SHE invited me? Hopefully the email above will jog both hers, ROGERS&COWAN and GenArt's memory.

Finally they let the designers mom in and since I was standing next to her, I was told that Page said I could just go in and 'stand and watch the show' while people who arrived well after me, some also who weren't on the list were sitting. REALLY? As the young lady was very helpful, I politely declined the option to stand and watch the show and did alert her that she should let Page know that Ascending Butterfly would be posting TONIGHT.

I opted not to stand and watch the show, and stop and post about the abominable treatment instead.

Where in the invite above does it say I was invited to stand and watch the show? I for one don't see it and I can assure you I didn't cut out or edit their email in any way.

So apparently both GenArt and Samsung don't feel Bloggers are 'legimate press'? There are blogs whose monthly site hits run rings around many magazines at this point!

I don't want the generic statement back from anyone at GenArt saying not to hold them responsible for the PR Firm's lack of organization. I won't accept that as a response because I spent a majority of my professional career in conference management and I took responsibility for the actions of each and every member of my team, from door staff to wait staff to account managers. I trained and empowered my staff so when something above and beyond a piece of paper went down they knew how to handle it.

I am absolutely outraged by the pretentiousness, the obnoxious attitudes and downright ineptitude of GenArt's PR firm, ROGERS&COWAN and the so called 'Group Manager', Page Jeter. Honestly, SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!

I am so thankful that I never wanted to niche myself, and today was exactly the reason why I never wanted to, I am so glad that my content is not dependent on any single person, event or brand to remain current, fresh and resonate with my readers.

And it couldn't be more odd that this happens literally days before a twitter party where I am a Featured Guest called:  

Bloggers to Brands: Best Practices for Working Together 

The twitter party will be hosted this Thursday, September 13th at 1pm EST, and I encourage all my fellow bloggers as well as brands and PR firms to get in on that chat and learn how to work together, NICELY!

Readers thanks for letting me VENT. I rarely ever need to, but I'm glad you guys are there for me when I do!

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FTC Disclosure: This is obviously NOT a sponsored post!