Post by Frank Cierpial

On the night of Wednesday September 6th, I went home after school to put on My Jean Paul Gaultier inspired outfit that combined my old edginess with the chic style that I learned from the Parisians. I started with a sexy blue V-neck shirt and a pair of black slacks. I then dressed it up with a studded belt and pinned striped vest from Hot Topic. I then completed the outfit with a necklace with a “Celtic Heart” on the end, shoes from Zara, and a beret. As a man, it is usually only socially acceptable for me to wear “safe” outfits. I decided to take the opportunity of Fashion’s Night Out to express myself a little bit more than usuam through clothing, which in my opinion is what Fashion’s Night Out should stand for. That is why I was left slightly disappointed that night.

My NY-FNO goal was to see how certain French brands were celebrating the event in the Big Apple.The diversity was interesting.

When I got out of the New York Subway at Christopher Street in the West Village, I walked over to the new NYC men’s boutique of Christian Louboutin ready to celebrate his work and accomplishments in footwear. When I got there, there was a cold-shouldered woman standing outside with a guest list of sorts and customers were trying on shoes as if it were a normal business day. Since I do not try on Woman’s shoes, at least not in public anyway, there was not much for me to do there as access to the private event up in the back was closed to me. Classics and the fall collection were being displayed. They also displayed the special Fashion Night Out shoe that had a dragon design. It took me only a few moments to take it all in. I left hoping that the next boutique would be more exciting.

Lacoste WAS more exciting. The midtown store had a lot going on. If you wanted to, you could have grabbed a free bag of popcorn and a kind bar and played virtual volleyball in the corner of the store. Or, you could browse their new more form fitting and more comfortable blockbuster crocs (as a Sales Associate said it to me). Thank god, I did not have the money, because I loved them. As I said, they are more form fitting and have four buttons instead of the traditional three. One of the women working there complimented my outfit. The staff at Lacoste was very sweet and attentive.

After Lacoste, I headed down to try some samples of products from the South of France at L’occitane. A good outfit without good hygiene is nothing. The two go hand in hand and if you love the smell of lavender, you will love l’occitane. The manager Tom was incredibly sweet and showed me all that they had. I tried a variety of hand creams, and after I smelled one million times better.

I headed to Maje to end my night. The maje boutique in SoHo was absolutely the boutique that made my night. The manager and sales staff were so nice and allowed me to take pictures in the store. The manager at Maje also had a good understanding of Fashion’s Night Out. She understands that it is a night to socialize, and for new people just coming into the industry like me to learn. One of the girls working there was French. The fall collection for Maje is charged with electric blue pants, outerwear, and scarves. The clothing at Maje was very Parisian and took me back, and whenever something takes me back, you know the French flair is burning bright. In conclusion, Melissa Ladd said it the best “the point of Fashion’s Night Out is to make Fashion accessible to everybody”. The Elitist list plagued the streets of New York on Fashion’s Night Out and made that impossible and therefore made it impossible for me to give them a positive review. I was hoping that more boutiques would do something memorable to celebrate the designers. I have been going on a lot of job interviews lately, and the one question they always ask is “Why do you want to work here?” They always want to see passion of some kind; well I hope that Fashion’s Night Out 2013 gives us more of that.

Post by Frank Cierpial.