Congratulations sarahw from Montreal! The random generator chose you as winner of the Bare Necessities lingerie set. Please contact me to arrange shipping of your new undies. Enjoy!

Thank you Bare Necessities for sponsoring the giveaway.

Please watch Audi’s short video tutorial if you like to wear scarves. Audi skillfully demonstrates two knots that are fast, easy and very effective. I’m impressed with how clearly Audi explains her techniques and how well she ties the knots without a mirror.

The first technique is super for bulkier pashmina type scarves, whereas the second technique is ideal for narrower, slippery silky scarves. Audi has tied her scarves quite close to the neck, which looks fabulous on her body type. But you can also try the same knots tied a little looser and away from the neck if you have a shorter neck than Audi.

Thank you for sharing your techniques with us, Audi. I thoroughly enjoy your highly creative outfits, theatrical looks and arty sense of dress. I especially enjoy how your dressing style courageously and successfully challenges the environmental norm in your workplace. Very fab.

We all have “those” parts of our body. The ones that are harder to dress than the others. I call them our fussy bits. It is usually harder to find items to fit these parts of our body because they deviate from standard sizes in some way – shorter, longer, bigger, smaller, wider or narrower. In other cases it’s hard to satisfy our need for physical comfort. And sometimes we’re just self conscious about these areas so we’re extra picky.

I have two fussy bits: my feet first and my skin second. Finding  fabulous looking AND comfortable shoes that live up to my fast paced walking lifestyle is an ongoing challenge. It’s also a challenge to find  warm knitwear because my eczema-prone skin is sensitive to itchy, woolly fabrications.

I eventually find shoes and knitwear that fit my comfort and style needs, but it takes extra patience and perseverance. Sometimes I’m really frustrated when shopping for these items, but I refuse to give up because I firmly believe that there has to be SOMETHING out there.

What are your fussy bits? How do you cope with shopping for items to dress those parts of your body? Do you eventually find items that fit the bill, or do you sometimes give up?

We’re back home after spending a week in New York attending Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. It was an absolutely brilliant experience even though we worked our buns off (starting our day at 7.30am and ending it well past midnight). Getting back to the hotel a couple of times a day to sift through photographs and write up thoughts was tiring, but exhilarating nonetheless. It was definitely the best way to go about covering our experiences so that you could follow them almost in realtime.

The best part of Fashion Week was being there with Greg. We work well together, love each other’s company and have fun during the process. We were often the only people laughing and smiling along with the security crew — after all, a day without laughter is a wasted day.

The next best part was attending the shows. The anticipation of what’s about to come down the runway amidst the cameras, lights, blaring music and a few hundred other fashion-focused onlookers was extremely exciting. My heart raced at the start of each collection. And I couldn’t wait to interpret what I saw in the form of a blog post a few hours later. I was really in my element. Dianna of the Budget Babe took this picture of us on the runway after the last show we attended and the look on our faces says it all: tired, but happy.

Unfortunately we missed two shows on the first day because our flight was cancelled thanks to the blizzards in NYC. But we had our fill of fab fashion shows and I’ve come back loving two designers I knew very little about before the trip (Georges Chakra and Thuy Diep).

This was our first fashion week and we applied for a press pass somewhat late in the game. As a result, we didn’t get invitations for some of the bigger name shows. Next time we go we’d like to also see designers like Vera Wang, Carolena Herrera, Philip Lim, Donna Karan and Michael Kors. We hope that our coverage over the last week helps to secure these invitations.

It was also loads of fun to soak in the fashion off the runway, especially in the front few rows of each fashion show. The tents are filled with people who want to be recognized for their style and passion for fashion. People watching certainly made waiting in line for show registration a lot more entertaining. Never a dull moment.

Finally, I got a real kick out of seeing hundreds of cameras on the media riser at each show. It really brought home the magnitude of the event.

All in all our time at Fashion Week was a sublime experience and I’m already thinking about the next one. London or Hong Kong perhaps? We hope you enjoyed fashion week along with us. Normal YLF programming will resume on Monday.

In case you didn’t follow the posts last week, here is a convenient list. On the runway:

• Georges Chakra
• Irina Shabayeva
• Carlos Miele
• Perry Ellis
• Thuy

Off the runway:

• Fab fashion off the runway
• Comparing notes with the Budget Babe
• Shoes glorious shoes
• TV interviews
• Running like clockwork
• The photography