model in window at Ace Hotel
When my friend suggested we check out Fashion’s Night Out this year, I jumped at the chance to tag along.
He had covered the event last year and had a great time. This year would only be the 2nd annual time they would do it and so I thought it would be a great event to experience.
We spent the week beforehand talking about what we wanted to do (our game plan: check out as many venues with free goodies, foods and cocktails as possible). The day of we composed a plan and set a time to meet. I even drew up a little map of the top spots we wanted to visit- you know, in case we got lost.
Marie Antoinette woman at Ace Hotel
Our first stop of the night was Ace Hotel, which promised a Parisian-style pop-up flea market. I was really excited to check this event out, until I saw the line outside.
There was at least 200 people waiting to get in and, although we got there a couple minutes past 7pm, we didn’t actually make it inside until 8:15 at night.
I’ll admit that, at first, we considered leaving. But eventually we decided to stay because it seemed like a great event and we all wanted to check it out. So we settled on this event being our one “big one” and then we could check out other things afterwards.
The event at Ace Hotel was definitely pretty cool. In the windows, while we waited, there were random models doing poses and getting their pictures taken. Inside, there were a ton of little boutique-style shops to check out. My favorite was definitely this woman looking like Marie Antoinette, who was selling some Keds.
stuffed snake at Ace Hotel
My second favorite was definitely this (presumably) formerly alive snake that has been stuffed and mounted inside of a glass case. It was really cool to look at, though unfortunately the rest of the booth wasn’t memorable enough for me to even remember what it was that they were trying to sell. Sorry!
But despite the fun flea market feel, there wasn’t much else to be enjoyed. The atmosphere was decent but not worth the wait. The one fun thing that had come out of it was that two of my friends got some cute vintage-looking photo booth pictures together. But I didn’t want to pay for a drink or spend lots of money on shopping, I just wanted to enjoy myself. And I did- but only because I was with three good friends.
label on a $1600 jacket at Ace Hotel
Not even this absolutely adorable and hysterical “Commi Busters” (a la Ghost Busters) lapel on a jacket could cheer me up or make me think that the one hour wait was worth it.
However, we didn’t give up yet and decided to head down to SoHo to check out some more stores. We first went into Mango, where we were greeted with fun shopping and a unique cocktail which they named the Cointreaupolitan. But they ran out right in front of us after we waited in another 30 minute line (Argh!).
So, we left and headed for rag & bone, only to be swallowed into a huge crowd of screaming fans. When we asked what was happening, someone pointed out that Halle Berry had just exited the store. It was exciting, sure, but not really what I had come there for. Frustrated, we finally left the scene. And as we walked away from SoHo’s main shopping area, we realized- none of this was really all that fun. Plus, we didn’t get any free goodies!
By that time, it was 10:00pm. We were pretty much starving and a little bit angry, so we headed for the taqueria at La Esquina. The streets were still plenty filled with young fashionistas running around, but we were done for the night. After our delicious tacos, we decided the game plan would have to change for next year. I think going to one great event much earlier in the evening is a better bet. Just pick one, go there for a while, and then head out to dinner with friends. That’s my plan, anyway.
