Kyleigh Kuhn (Next, NY) came from California to New York to model. She made the move to Next Models after a meeting with Next's founder, Faith Kates. I had the chance to shoot Kyleigh when she was new to New York, fresh off a Bruce Weber set. What follows is an afternoon in the life of a top model, highlighting things that characterize Kyleigh: not a runway, not an editorial, not a campaign. Just Kyleigh, pure and simple.
2:00 planning/scheduling her next trip to Afghanistan for her charity work
her living room wall
a close up of a piece on her wall, she decorated it all herself
those are real gun bullets she found on the street in Williamsburg
2:30 Kyleigh gets ready for a trip to the local organic market. She's an avid reader, showcasing her books alongside one of her favorite rings and pair of shoes
2:35 checking out her appearance before heading out
2:37 which included a side trip to her bedroom. I couldn't help but notice these vintage figurine cars and match boxes
2:38 and then notice this bona fide Fire Bat hanging on her wall
2:40 and all her jewelry choices
2:41 my favorites
2:45 playing around with her vintage cabinetry
2:50 Kyleigh has an interesting selection of hats to choose from. They indicate her personality as much as her choice in books and vintage card deck.
3:00 she's off to the local organic market with her boyfriend
3:15 Kyleigh comes out with a baguette, fresh cherry tomatoes, aged parmesan cheese, baby arugula, baby spinach, lemons, and basil
3:30 Kyleigh/caught sneaking a cherry tomato
4:15 dinner is served Entree--olive oil, tomatos, basil, pasta asparagus--fried covered on low heat for 15 minutes simmered in real butter bread--both sides dipped in olive oil and pepper, oven baked for 8 minutes with goat cheese salad--baby arugula, baby spinach, fresh squeezed lemon juice mixed with olive oil, pepper, and aged shaved parmesan cheese
5:15 last but not least, Kyleigh unwinds for some alone time on her fire escape, curling up with Hemingway and peace and quiet.
I have just finished my Friday morning voluteering in my son's classroom - stuffing the Friday folders.
I see my son and call him over to say good-bye. He is wearing a black cowboy hat, jeans and a pink cowboy shirt - as it is Western Day at school - he looks A-dorable.
I hug him and he lets me.
I leave and as I am walking down the hallway and about six classrooms away from my son's classroom, I hear footsteps running up behind me and my son saying, "Mom, Mom ..."
I turn in his direction.
He is a bit out of breath and he says, "Can I ... (*fake panting*) Can I ... have someone spend the night ....... (*pant, pant*) next .... weekend?"
I put my hands on my hips and looking into the eyes of the cowboy in front of me, I say, in a loud whishper "I know you didn't just come running out here from your class .... to ask me if you can have someone spend the night ---- NEXT WEEKEND!"
"I asked my teacher if I could come tell you something - she said it was okay," he's shuffling in his cowboy boots and fidgeting.
"Yes, but she didn't know you were going to ask me this. You have a camping trip this weekend - next weekend is 7 days away - we'll talk about it later. Now ... get back to class," I push him along and turn to go on my way.
Before I turn the corner, I hear, "Mom, Mom ..." in a loud whisper, and I look back.
He is standing in the middle of the hallway, turning on his cowboy boot heels and he says, "Thank- ya Ma'am," in a thick Texas drawl and then he reaches up to the front of his hat, grabs the brim between his fingers and tips it at me - like he's John Wayne talking to Miss Daisy in front of the Wild Rose Saloon.
A teacher, walking up behind my theatrical son, sees this Gun Smoke reinactment and she laughs.
I laugh.
The small cowboy bows his head, moves out of the way of the two ladies, turns and shuffles across the dusty road (*hallway*) back into the saloon (*his classroom*).
On the upside ... So, if all goes according to the cowboy's plan -- there will be a showdown (*sleep-over*) the following weekend. That is ... if he can convince Miss Daisy to prepare a room for one of his buddies. Miss Daisy never could resist the small cowboy - he most likely ... will have his way (*cue sun to set dramatically in the Western sky*).
Arizona Muse exiting the SS17 BCBG Max Azria show. She was virtually unknown at this time.
Want to know which show at New York Fashion Week will give the first clue as to who the next big face will be this season? Try BCBG Max Azria. It's on Day 2 of New York Fashion Week and comes before Marc Jacobs (mid week) and Calvin Klein (last day).
At this same time last season, Arizona Muse who was virtually unknown was already on Casting Director Russell Marsh's radar. She opened and closed BCBG Max Azria. Russell Marsh later cast Arizona for the SS17 Prada show and with Miucci Prada's final go ahead, Arizona Opened and Closed Prada.
A similar pattern of virtually prophetic insight by Casting Director Russell Marsh can also be understood by looking back at the SS17 and SS17 BCBG Max Azria shows. In SS17, Russell cast a virtually unknown Frida Gustavsson and Jacquelyn Jablonski. And for SS17, Russell cast a rookie face unknown to the public at the time named Constance Jablonski.
Granted, there are other shows and many other factors that contribute to a models runway success, but BCBG Max Azria because of it's place on the New York Fashion Week schedule on Day 2 is the perfect place to begin looking for at least one big new face, possibly the next Constance, Jacquelyn, or Arizona.
Be sure to check back on the blog on September 8/9th for an update from backstage at the BCBG Max Azria show as I've just been confirmed by PR!
DAY 1 at NYFWBlouse: Vintage Skirt: Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent Trench: United Colors of Benetton Shoes: Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony Socks: Any Mountain Jewelry: Family Heirlooms
DAY 2 at NYFW: Fashion's Night OutDress: Topshop Shoes: United Colors of Benneton Belt: Made by her boyfriend's grandfather
DAY 3 at NYFWBlazer: Alexander WangGlasses: Toms
DAY 4 at NYFWShoes: Opening CeremonyTop: Top Shop
DAY 5 at NYFW Dress: vintage Shoes: Opening Ceremony
Kyleigh Kuhn (Next, NY) spent New York Fashion Week searching for inspiration for her next project to support the textile and jewelry industry in Afghanistan--it's called Twenty Four Suns. Kyleigh will be partnering with New York based designers, "to create capsule collections using the materials and craftsman and woman of Afghanistan to create very rad pieces."
I was making dinner the evening of Valentine's Day.
Little Billy was sitting in the living room watching TV.
Eventually, he came over to the stove, pulled up a barstool and sat down to watch me cook.
"How was your day today, Little Billy?"
He reached over and began stirring the pot of corn on the stove with a spoon and he says, "It was good. I gave my teachers their Valentine's gifts - they liked them," he never looked up. "I also gave a present to D."
I was surprised. "You gave what present to D?"
He looked up and cracked a sly smile and said, "A stuffed dog. One of those I bought with Dad the other day - one with a heart in his mouth - you remember," he said, batting those dark brown eyelashes over chocolate colored eyes.
"You did?" I poked him on the shoulder and he laughed. "I didn't know you gave her a Valentine's present. What did she say?"
Dropping the spoon now in the pot of corn and straightening himself on the stool, he says, "She didn't know it was me that gave it to her. I didn't put my name on it. I just sat it on her desk. Her mom says she's too young to like boys - so I didn't want to make her mom mad - ya know?"
I smiled at my sweet, romantic boy. "So ... she didn't know you were the one that gave it to her?"
"I think she knew," he said. "Everyone kept saying that it was me - but I kept denying it - but, I think she knew."
I continued to cook my meal and Little Billy sat on the stool and helped me out. A short time later, after I had mixed up the cold pasta salad with mayonnaise and put it in the refrigerator to chill, Little Billy says, "Can I have girlfriends now - Mom?"
I answered quickly, "No," and smiled. "What do want with a girlfriend? Do you think you are old enough for a girlfriend?"
"I think I am, " he said sweetly.
"What are you gonna do with them - kiss them and stuff," I leaned over and snuggled to his neck and kissed him.
He laughed and said, "No," and then thought for a moment. "Not yet," he said coyly. "Plus ... I guess I'll have to wait until next year to have a girlfriend, anyways."
"Why is that?" I asked, turning the sausage in the skillet with a fork.
"Because D's mom won't let her have a boyfriend this year - maybe she can be my girlfriend next year."
Finding this discussion very sweet and very serious, I say, "You would wait until next year to have a girlfriend - just so you could wait to have D for your girlfriend?"
He smiled and said, "Have you ever seen her, Mom? She is so worth it."
On the upside ... I just love that he doesn't have a clue how cute he is. I also love knowing that whatever girl is lucky enough to win my sweet boy's heart, is definitely going to be .... one lucky little girl!
It was just Alexis and I in the car. Her with her glass of Dr. Pepper in her lap, wearing the same jeans and t-shirt she wore the day before, hair a mess and her white Sunday shoes on her feet and me in the front seat ... not completely happy that I am having to stop what I was doing in order to go pick up my twins from a friends house - but I do!
As we pulled out on the road in front of our house, Alexis asked me several questions about where the girls were and did I know how to get there. Am I sure I know how to get there? How do I know how to get there? I explain all of this (that the girls gave me directions). "We'll get there," I assure her.
She then proceeds to count; something she does a lot of these days. Lately, counting backwards is her thing and so she rambles on about whether she should start counting from 109 or from 100 and which one I think she should start with. I pick 109 just to see if she can do it. So she starts. When she gets to 90, she skips 90 and goes straight to 89 and I say, "You skipped 90," and she says, "I don't want to say that one." Okay. So she proceeds and gets down to 60 and asks then for my help as she's tired and it's time for me to take over. So I try and give the next number, 59. That's wrong! So I try again and give the number 60. That's wrong! We do this for a few minutes; me trying to be patient and I then say, "I'm not sure what you want me to say." She then says, "Now I have to start all over again. 109, 108, 107, 106 ..." she counts down for the next several minutes - all the numbers. When she gets to about 60 again, she says, "I don't wanna do this," and she stops abruptly. I say "G-O-O-D," under my breath and laugh for a while about this episode because it is soooo representative of my life.
On and on they go about stuff - relentlessly. And most of the time ... I am very receptive to the games, the talk, the questions, the counting, as it is natural and so often kills time that otherwise might be filled with say ... crying or whining. I do prefer the gibberish to the whining! But ... there are moments when the gibberish drives me crazy, like it could have on this day in the car, if I hadn't been so intent on spinning it into a funny moment. I have to do that - spin these moments or I will go crazy!
After the counting numbers episode, Alexis went on to highways. Naming the one she knew and then asking me, "Do you know anymore highway numbers?" And then asking me to name all the ones I knew. Way too much talk about all the highways around our city.
Then she says, "Did you hear that noise (a squeak that came out of her mouth)?" I said, "Yes." She said, "Did it sound funny?" I said, "Yes," and she continued to make the squeaky noise too many times.
Then she said, "What's 211?" Not really asking me, just talking. "It's like 911. If you move away the 2 and put the 9 next to it, it's 911," she rambles. She must have seen this 211 on one of the road signs, because she then began to go on about the road signs; the colors of some, the pictures on some, the big ones and the little ones, blah, blah, blah.
Then she says, "What are cherries?" I said, "What do you mean? They're fruit." She said, "Are they the ones that have stems?" I said, "Yes." "Are they the ones that are a circle with the stem?" I said, "Yes," just as I realized that I had made the wrong turn and stopped to turn around. She says, "Do you actually know where you're going?" after I explained why I was turning around. I said, "Yes."
She then said, "Mom, is it impossible to drive with your windows open?" I said, "No." She said, "Why?" I said, "Because you can drive with the windows open." Then she started talking about schools. "Where is the girls' school? I thought they were at school. Do I go to school tomorrow? What is tomorrow? Is today Sunday?"
I tell this whole dialog that went on during this short trip with my little daughter, as a way of showing how my days are. These are the sort of topics and the pace that our conversations take. Mostly it involves a lot of questions and sometimes my children will offer useful, or more often ... foggy details about subjects that they know nothing about or topics that are of no importance to anyone ... but them.
And ... as much as these lengthy and sometimes exhausting exchanges take out of me ... I will try to never let my children know that it is this ... relentless discussions about numbers, highways and days of the week that can sometimes drive me CRAZY!
It CAN!
Sometimes it makes me C-R-A-Z-Y ---*109, 108, 107, 106 ... blah - blah - blah ....*
On the upside ... I have learned a lot of stuff about bugs and about dinosaurs over the past 15 years. I can name you most any dinosaur - big and small. And ... Pokemon ... I know some stuff about Pokemon ... (*sigh*).
We are driving home on a beautiful Saturday afternoon from my son's football game. I am in my usual jovial mood (*evil mother laugh*).
In the rear seats of my van are my son, my daughter and my niece.
I decide, as I often do, to strike up a conversation with my carpool passengers, as a way to pass the time and so I say, "Little Billy, what position do you play?" Something I should know, of course, but don't, as I have never asked (I'm such a good Mom).
He sort of mumbles something that I can not hear.
So ... I ask again, "Do you know what position you play, Son?"
Again, he doesn't answer so that I can make out what he is saying. And so I ask once again.
He wiggles around in his seat, looks at my eyes in the rear view mirror and he says, "Left - something," in a huff, and goes back to looking out the window.
Thanks so much, Son, for engaging in meaningful conversation - that's all I needed to know (left-something - ACK!).
In the very rear of the van sit my female carpool passengers - the lovely little girls.
My daughter suddenly yells up to the carpool driver, "Cousin is mad because she's got sparkles on her hand."
I look back at them in my rear view mirror and hold my breath.
There is an obnoxiously loud groan and then Cousin screams, "I don't LIKE SPARKLES!"
Daughter screams back, getting very close to Cousin's face, "THEY ARE JUST STINKIN' SPARKLES!," at the top of her lungs.
Cousin begins to cry.
And then ... the Happy Fairy flew right out the back window of our car... taking all of her sparkles with her.
On the upside ... Next time I will just know better than to allow these children to play outside on a beautiful Fall day with the sun shining and the breeze blowing - with their friends on the ball field and their little bag of snacks and juice boxes ... Next time I will just know better and keep them locked up in the house ... chained to the TV.
With fashion month just around the corner, I thought this interview I did with modeling industry icon Faith Kates would add some balanced insight into the world of modeling.
Faith Kates is a modeling industry legend. She started NEXT Model Management in 1989. Recently, we sat down to talk all things modeling. Needless to say, it was a great learning experience. Enclosed are few snippets from our conversation. And to Faith and the people at NEXT, thank you!
WHY THE SECOND SEASON IN A MODELS CAREER IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FIRST
Faith: Realistically, there's so many girls that have gotten ruined because they come the first season, they're not ready to do those shows and they do them. And the second season they're like, 'but she couldn't walk last season.' You know our job as agents is to prepare these models to get them out there, so that they do their job perfectly. ...we want to get them out there and we want them to know how to walk. I always say if you can get them a couple of good shows so they have some confidence. Think about being young from Latvia...this is the first time you've ever been on airplane and you walk out from behind the stage. You walk out and you're in shoes this high (gestures to a 5" stiletto) and there's a thousand people looking at you with cameras flashing. Think about that very first moment. See that's the story you should start talking to the girls about is, 'What do you fee like?' So it's a lot easier to do that exact thing in a smaller show and then another show and another show and then by the time you get to Prada, you got it.
Craig: So you might not necessarily try and book her for all the big shows?
Faith: Exactly. The first season is important but the second season is more important. Because the first season, lets say you got all the shows. You've got to keep them the second time. It's easy to get the first time. Now you have to do the editorial. Now you have to be out there the whole time. Because your only new once. (pause)
You are only a new girl once.
...you have to really know how to pace it. You have to know what you'll be able to sustain and not sustain.
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EDITORIAL IN A MODELS CAREER
Craig: How important is editorial?
Faith: Very important.
Craig: More important than campaigns?
Faith: It's all about VOGUE. If you are a VOGUE girl you are everywhere. Go into VOGUE magazine. You want to learn something, go in Vogue look at all the girls that are in the well. Go in Anna J, any one of them, Catherine, those are the girls that are doing all the campaigns. Those are girls that are in all the shows.
WHY GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH KEY PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE IMPORTANT
Faith: ...I think that in our world...when a girl starts, if you have one of the three or 4 really important photographers behind you, that's the girls that are making it. So if you have Steven Meisel, you have Mario Testino, you have a Craig McDean, you have a David Sims... you have one of those guys behind you, you're in.
Craig: So that's the goal then?
Faith: That's the goal.
Craig: Is that how you view your goal, moreso the photographer?
Faith: It is. You could walk in 1 show. I could get you to walk in Prada, you can walk in Gucci, you can walk in 1 show. But you didn't do good in that show. Or you know. You had the exclusive for the good show. I've seen girls have an exclusive to Prada and you never see them again. They weren't so great in the show. But at least if you are in a picture, it's out there. and it's out there for at least a couple of months and people keep seeing it. It's different. It's on the shelf its always there...with magazines while they're sitting out there, people are able to take them home and they keep looking and looking and looking at them....
Craig: The photographers are the key then?
Faith: The photographers and the magazines have all the power. Designers are important, don't get me wrong. They are very important. But I think it goes first with if you can get to the photographer. There are some girls that are really photographers girls.
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF A MODEL LIKING CLOTHES AND FASHION AS A NECESSITY TO SUCCEED
Craig: Does a girl with a genuine appreciation for fashion and clothing fare better in this industry?
Faith: You don't have to care about clothes...I don't think you have to love clothes. I don't think you have to dislike clothes. I just think you have to know how to wear clothes and know what feels good and right on you.
Craig: But like a girl who can get in touch with the artistic aesthetic of a Yohji Yamamoto because she's interested in style?
Faith: I don't think that matters.
Craig: It doesn't matter?
Faith: Not at all. I don't think it matters at all. I think that girl understands better what, and appreciate more what she's wearing but I don't think that that makes her a better model or makes her any better at what she does because she understands the dress
ON TWO TYPES OF FAME FOR A MODEL
Craig: How important is press as opposed to campaigns, editorials in magazines, and runways to a models career?
Faith: It depends upon the model. So there's a "high fashion model" lets call her that's doing all the campaigns and doing Vogue and doing all the shows. It doesn't matter. Because for her, her bible is the editorial, the Vogues of the world, and doing runway.
Then there's a whole other group of girls that, they are famous because of the press. They probably were not really famous models. But they became famous because they dated somebody that was famous, they were in the right place at the right time, they dated a basketball player, there was something about them that made them famous.
...There's 2 different kinds of famous. There's fashion famous which is what every model, I hate to say it , aspires to. They aspire to being in the well of American Vogue, they aspire to being photographed by Craig McDean, and David Sims, Steven Meisel, photographers Bruce Weber, like that.
And then there are girls that you know that their dream was to be in Sports Illustrated or to be in Victoria's Secret. Its a very different kind of famous and its a different kind of fashion. So its completely different. So there's two types of fame.
ON THE INTERNET AND PRINT
Craig: ...how important is the internet going to be to a models career as opposed to print publications?
Faith: I think we've all been struggling through it for the last 7 or 8 years. I don't see the print magazine or the newspaper or even the written book going away. As hard as I try to read and kindle it was the same as turning the pages. I think the internet becomes important because every day you can change it.
I do believe that the print magazine never goes away. I don't think VOGUE ever goes. I think that they are going to do business a bit differently.
AND FINALLY: THE BIGGEST NAMES NEXT HAS DEVELOPED FROM SCRATCH
Craig: The biggest names you've developed from scratch?
Faith: Milla Jovovich, Molly Sims, Joy Bryant, Diane Kruger (the actress), Angie Everhart, Anja Rubick, Anna Jagodzinka, Catherine McNeil, and Jessica Miller.
I am at Alexis' gymnastics class. My mother and I are sitting in the waiting area that is in this little room behind these wall-to-wall windows where you can see the kids in the gym. The chairs are all lined up in rows about 10 chairs to a row, about 6-7 rows deep. We are sitting, our legs crossed, just watching Alexis in the gym.
Then the CRAZINESS begins.
These two boys (whose mother is MIA) begin to chase each other all around this very crowded room. They run, they race, they yell loudly. They squeeze in front of my mother and I, and run on down the isle. My mother grunts.
Then ... they did it AGAIN! Even louder, even faster ... right over our feet and purses. My mother grunts andhuffs.
And ... AGAIN! They run past us, squealing loudly, arms flapping, spit flying, squeezing through and trampling our feet. My mother wants to say something - badly - (I want my mother to say something) but ... she just mumbles and then huffs and then grunts.
I just move my legs.
I do look around the room - wait patiently for the mother of these unruly children to save us - wait for some mom voice to say, "Get. Over. Here. Now!" It never comes - no voice.
So, I get up and go to another room, near the front desk and front door (leaving my mother behind). I find a seat and get out my laptop.
Now ... there are 4 boys - screaming, sliding on their knees in the lobby, racing their small cars on the floor and banging them loudly into the walls, climbing on the chairs and jumping off. Four, loud boys ... about ages 8 down to 3 years old. All cute ... but very loud. The littlest one kept screaming, I mean SCREAMING, "Ethan. ETHAN. ETHAN, I NEED YOU TO LISTEN TO ME!" While Ethan - totally ignored him and just kept running his Hot Wheels car across the window next to me (SKREEEEETTTCCHHHH!!!)
I gaze on this MADNESS, laptop on my lap ... and watch ... and wait ... in complete astonishment. In my head I am thinking (WHERE. IS. YOUR. MOTHER?). I stay quiet.
Finally ... the girl (about 18 years old) behind the front desk, says, "Boys, BOYS, BOYS, BOYS - You are going to have to keep it down," and then turns and goes back behind her desk.
Two of the boys sat down and the older of the two got this very fearful look on his face. The little one sat next to him and followed what his brother was doing - nothing, but sitting, at this point. Ethan and his loud little brother, remained rowdy even after the 18 year old reprimanded them once again.
Mind you, I am sitting ... with my laptop on my lap and only looking up at this CRAZY MADNESS every so often - hoping soon it will all disappear. I am minding my own business.
Suddenly ... she appears.
The mother.
A mother.
She sees her two boys sitting quietly in the chairs close to me and she says, "Why are you sitting down (I swear!) - Did they make you sit down?" and she looks at me. She means me ... I know she means me ... but I do not look up - I am minding my own business!
Her son just grunts something inaudible - he is embarrassed that he had been reprimanded by the 18 year old girl. The mother begins to pace a bit and ... I fully expect her to address me at any moment. I am fully prepared to ... raise my hand and point at the 18 year old girl ... but I never have too.
The CRAZY mother - gathered up her CRAZY kids - and left. I could hear her drilling her boy as they walked out the door, "Did they tell you to sit down? Did they?" and her annoyingly LOUD voice then faded ... into the darkness of the night. Along with her CRAZY boys!
Shortly after she left ... MIA mother #2 showed up and casually rounded up her hooligans, Ethan and baby brother ... and slipped into the darkness as well.
The 18 year old girl, stood up, leaned over the desk, looked at me and rolled her eyes and smiled. I just shook my head.
On the upside ... It's a good thing my mother bit her tongue - she would have never won that fight (these were two really BIG women)!!
The On The Upside family has had a fabulous summer!
The kids are now back in school and as much as the mom should be happy about some time alone - she is not ready for school to begin.
Alexis was ready!
She coudn't wait to start 2nd grade!
She didn't even look back.
Little Billy headed off for his first day of middle school. I must have told him 100 times to make sure he takes notes - write EVERYTHING down!
"I got it, Mom - I can handle this," he insisted.
I certainly hope so. He's got 7 teachers this year and ... I do not have the time to spend my days going from class to class with that boy!
Then there were those teenager girls. Courtney and Chloe are juniors this year and driving themselves to school. I was so nervous - I made them call me yesterday to tell me they made it there alright. It's really the parking that worried me most.
They called - they made it! Now they just have to make it there and back again tomorrow and the next day and the next day .......
They are driving the Pathfinder we bought for them to use until their daddy finishes that '69 Mustang. I think they want the Mustang finished, but ... they were awful happy to have their own car to drive to school.
Like I said ...
I should be happy to have the kids out of my hair.
I do like spending my days doing things that I need to do - getting things done while they are at school.
I like the peace and quiet.
I like making lists and getting busy on chores and projects - filling the fall months with days of cleaning and organizing - shopping and changing things in my house.
I like working in the yard with no one yelling "CAN YOU COME MAKE ME SOME LUNCH?"
I like going to lunch with my girl friends.
I like all of these things.
But ...
I like summer ...
BETTER!
I AM NOT ready for summer to end!
It flew by too fast!
We spent a lot of time at the lake, but ...
We never made it to the beach.
We spent many mornings sleeping in.
We watched a lot of movies and way to much TV.
We spent fun times with family and friends.
We didn't do all the things we had hoped we would get to, but ...
I am headed to the BlogHer Conference in San Francisco from Thursday through Sunday.
I am planning on posting everyday I am there - updates on what is going on, who I've met, interesting or funny stories.
I'd love to be able to keep up with all of my readers and blogging friends while I am away, but I don't imagine that will be possible.
I hope you will still check in with me over the next 4 days and I will be back to visiting you all early next week.
Have a great week and weekend - see you when I get back!
PS - I want to thank every single one of my readers and friends that are always so kind to me. I appreciate every visit that you make to my site and the time you take out of your lives to read my silly stories, involve yourselves in mine and my family's lives and for the heartfelt and wonderful comments you leave. I can't tell you how lucky I feel to be associated with so many fabulous women.
Okay, it's no secret that at The Fashion Spot, members compile lists of their favorite girls as a season progresses to see how many shows they opened, closed, and walked in total. Models.com took it upon themselves to organize the top 10 most active girls from information assembled at the fashion spot forums. The list is compiled from participation in shows from New York, London, Milan, and Paris Fashion Weeks.
Here are the top 10 most active girls with there being a 4 way tie for 5th place. Information attributable to models.com and The Fashion Spot forums.
Is it just me ... or do those Duggers have (too many) A LOT of kids?
To date ,they have 17 children, (10 boys and 7 girls) Joshua, Jana & John-David (twins), Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah & Jeremiah (twins), Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah & Jennifer.
Don't you imagine they must sometimes say, "What. Were. We. Thinking?" Surly they do.
I was watching them a couple of nights ago on TV and there they were - all 19 of them - heading out on a cross country trip in a newly purchased RV. Yep - a road trip with 17 kids!
When I watch them on TV, I catch myself counting all those kids (3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ...), like I really don't believe there are really 17 of them.
They really could only be labeled as a "freak show" (in my opinion), if there was this beer drinkin', tobacco chewin', harmonica playin' dad, with his head always under the hood of a truck, barefoot and stringy haired children that each had unique talents (like the yo yo, hula hoop or bird calls), gerbils or ferrets living in cages in the corner of the kitchen, as many cats in the house as there are children and a mother that obviously seldom bathes, has a tramp stamp tattooed on her lower back and slurs all her words in a twangy dialect. No ... they don't quite meet my criteria of "freak show" - but they certainly are a crazy phenomenon.
I don't really get it. I have four kids and always tell people, "Four kids is way more kids than anyone needs - two is plenty." How does that woman do all of it with 17 kids?
On the show the other night they were all lined up next to the RV (like soda bottles) - all wearing matching outfits.
How does she get all those kids to cooperate long enough to pose for any picture and how does she convince them to wear matching outfits? How does she keep that smile on her face? How?
I have to believe that there has got to be some screamin' goin'on in that house, but from the way they are depicted on TV - you'd never know. She's got kids doing chores without complaint - helping with the little ones without complaint - helping cook and doing laundry without complaint ... and there are kids going in every direction, doing who knows what and all the while there she is with her soft spoken voice, easy-going manner - just a smilin'! It's bizarre.
If you've never seen this show about the Dugger family, you need to watch it sometime. Just about the time you feel you have your hands full - you'll be introduced to a woman that has 17 kids, wearin' clean matching outfits, all cooperating with one another and her in the kitchen cooking beef stew and biscuits for 19! Just about the time you think you've got it all under control - Mrs. Dugger will show you ... in just one episode ... the true failure that you really are.
On the upside ... I'm glad I don't know her personally. It would be really shameful if she lived right next door (me always out in the yard screaming at my kids, "Will you get in here before I come out there and k*** you.").
We were to meet at a small sandwich shop for lunch.
I got dressed in a comfortable and yet stylish outfit, with matching shoes, purse and jewelry. I did my hair and makeup. I grabbed my PTA binder and got into my big blue van ... and drove off happily to lunch.
When I pulled up to the shop I could see that my friend was already inside, as I could see her standing just behind the store front windows. I searched and searched for a parking spot, but the lot was full. I drove down the side street, but the street was full as well. I returned to the front of the shop and decided (naively) that I could manage to maneuver my BIG BLUE VAN into the only spot now available - a parallel spot.
This is when the humiliation began (*sigh*).
*eeeeeeeeee* - No, I'm not quite right - back up. *eeeeeeeeeeeee* - Back up a bit and then forward and then back - *eeeeeeeeeeeee* - Look in my rear view mirror, look at the curb - still not at all right - *eeeee eeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeee* - Now it is even worse ... back out and try again. *eeeeeee eee ee* - Look in my mirrors, look out every window - back up, pull forward - look at the people in the shop staring at my futile attempt to park this BIG D**** BLUE VAN! Pull all the way out and try it again.
This went on faaaar too long. I never did get in the spot straight. I failed ... to properly ... parallel park.
But, I left it that way (part of the van in the spot and part of it out - at an extreme angle) and stepped out of my BIG BLUE VAN, got my purse and binder and walked as proudly as I possibly could into the shop. As I moved through the front door, I could see my friend (a VERY tall blond) standing with another woman that I know (another VERY tall blond) and I waddled over. In my head I was saying, "That was me ... the moron in the parking lot trying to park that BIG BLUE VAN in that little tiny parallel spot - did ya see me? Am I ridiculous or what?" But, I didn't say that out loud. I went with the tactic of trying to laugh the whole thing off (I'm so silly), as I felt like a high school Drivers-Ed flunky and looked like (standing next to ... two, perfectly pink flamingos) -well ... like a very short PTA mom, holding her PTA binder and rather ... pelican like.
I should have never tried to park in that spot! I knew I could not park in that spot! What made me think I could get that BIG BLUE VAN into that spot?
I, at all costs, avoid, every single other time in my life, parking in parallel parking spots! But on this day, in front of a wall of windows and customers sitting contently at their tables and in full view of two of the most beautiful flamingos - I proved ... once again ... that I am incapable of parrellel parking, and also ... that I am certainly no flamingo.
A flamingo would have never tried such a ridiculous manuvere! A flamingo would have sat gracefully by, in a sleek convertible of some sort ... and waited for the next reasonable spot. A pelican bird, on the other hand ...
On the upside ... When lunch was over and I waddled on out, on my short pelican-like legs, to my BIG BLUE VAN - I pulled out just fine. It was at the exact perfect angle to just back on out and ... fly the h.e.c.k ...outta there!
It was a ceremony where I was going to be on stage to present awards.
I had taken my time to pick out a nice skirt and sweater and even chose the perfect pair of high heels - for the occasion.
I fixed my hair and makeup, put on my jewelry and touch of perfume and went downstairs to leave.
As I was about to walk out of the front door, my little son, sitting at the dining room table doing his homework, looks me up and down and says, "Hey, Mom. You look small."
I looked at my husband - standing next to me by the front door and we laughed. I said, "Small's good," and we laughed again.
I left my house believing and feeling that this was a compliment - while offered by a 10 year old boy that generally has no clue what he is talking about - about anything - I was feeling SMALL and that made me quite happy.
So ... the night progressed, the ceremony commences, I presented the awards - speeches were made - pictures were taken ... and we went home.
As we entered my house, I turned to my mother - who was also at the awards ceremony - and asked, "How did I do? Did I do okay? Did I look okay up there?"
Now ... keep in mind. My mother is always complimenting me on this thing or that and always generous with her compliments. She is, however, often ... just as generous with her ... MEAN OBSERVATIONS! Also ... keep in mind that she has been dieting for the past several months on Jenny Craig and has shrunk quite a bit - thinks she's SOMTHIN' ELSE!! She says, "You did good. But ... you looked sorta fat."
(*Awkward pause*)
(*blink-blink*)
"FAT!" I screamed. How could I look SMALL to the 10 year old boy just hours before and FAT to my shrinking-Jenny-Craig-dieting-mother NOW? I said it again, "FAT?"
"Well, maybe it was that you were wearing a shorter skirt than you usually would wear," she begins to try to SAVE HERSELF!
"I didn't look fat?" it was more a question than a statement.
"You looked fine," she said, and then she opened the door - and went home. Leaving me and my FAT self standing there in the foyer by the front door.
I raced around the house looking for my husband. He had the camera. "Did you take any pictures of me tonight," I was frantic. He indicated that he had and so I took the camera from his grasp and RACED LIKE A MAD WOMEN UP TO MY BEDROOM TO VIEW THE PICTURES. SEE IF ... IT WAS TRUE!!! SEE IF IT WAS TRULY POSSIBLE THAT I HAD JUST STOOD UP ON THE STAGE OF MY GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL IN FRONT OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE - A BIGFATBLOB!!
I sat at my desk, flipped on the power button to the camera and sat there scrolling through the pictures of the night until ... I came to those of me.
On the upside ... It's true - I looked fat! There's no upside here - nope - none at all.
(*Note to self: NEVER EVER, EVER take the word of a 10 year old boy! The word small to a 10 year old boy, when describing how you look, is most likely not a good thing. Next time ... ask the boy, "Small? Small compared to what -----A HIPPOPOTAMUS?")
(*Additional note to self: Avoid wearing short skirts - not that the skirt had a thing to do with your FATNESS - but avoid them nonetheless!)
Arizona Muse (Next, NY) exiting Balenciaga in Paris
Arizona Muse was arguably the new phenomena to watch this last show season. She captured the hearts of a wide set of Casting Directors from London's Russell Marsh to New York's James Scully. She's from New Mexico in case you are wondering and her show credits include opening and closing both Prada and Miu Miu, opening Chloé and closing YSL. I'm sure the Faith Kates team at Next NY will generate some amazing off season action for this new wonder.
Bo Don (Marilyn, NY) exiting Roberto Cavalli in Milan
Dutch wonder Bo Don first debuted on the runways at the Fall/Winter 2010 PARIS shows, but this Spring/Summer 2018 season marked her first full circuit of shows. Her appearence in Balenciaga marked two consecutive seasons in the show and her walks in the most directional shows like Cavalli, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs and Chanel point to what is surely going to be a colorful career to manage for the team over at Marilyn.
Britt Maren (Women, NY) exits Isabel Marant in Paris
Can you say "Hej Britt!" That's Swedish for you guys out there who want to show love by speaking in Britt's homeland language. I'm sure she'll get lots more love from the Women Model NY team lead by agency head Louie Chaban (the genius behind Agyness Deyn). With appearances in the most directional shows cast by a wide set of influential casting directors this season from opening Alexander Wang (Anita Bitton) to Balmain, Lanvin, Marc Jacobs (Michelle Lee) and Donna Karen (John Pfeiffer), I'm sure the editors at the worlds leading magazines will be taking note of her as well....perhaps Steven Meisel soon too?
Bambi Northwood-Blyth (Elite, NY) exits Balenciaga in Paris
Do you come from the land down under? Bambi does and somehow I think her booking value will be up and over the top in the off season. She's got a famous boyfriend (Ksubi co-founder Dan Single), plays in the social scene (maximizes her exposure), caught the eye of Casting Director Ashley Brokaw when she walked Balenciaga, channeled some Lagerfeld Love at Chanel, and apparently is a favorite of LOVE Editor-In-Chief Katie Grand enough to exclusively walk shows Katie styled in London.
Jessica Clarke (DNA, NY) exits Elie Saab
New Zealand hits the radar! Jessica debuted by walking a Calvin Klein exclusive. Scoring a Calvin Klein exclusive is like winning a New York Fashion Week MVP award. Past Calvin Klein runway exclusives have included Karlie Kloss (SS08), Natalia Vodianova (SS07), and Lara Stone (SS07). Jessica walked a tiny selection of other shows this season too, cherry picked from the best London, Milan, and Paris had to offer.
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