So here we go again. It's time for the Fall 2007 Collections of New York Fashion Week. I haven't hit the tents as a guest in a year as I chose instead to work backstage for the Spring shows in September. If you read about my prior experience shuffling from show to show, venue to venue, and line to line, you might be asking why I am chosing to put myself in this migraine-inducing situation again. Well, basically, I'm very curious to see how things have changed in the past year. There was a lot of hubbub surrounding Spring Fashion Week and how bloggers were gaining acceptance and importance in the industry, many receiving press credentials and invites to shows. So even though I am not technically a blogger, I wonder whether the impact of my fellow internet brothers and sisters will make a positive difference in my own week (translation: will I get seats?) or whether I am just treated like a barnyard animal again (translation: stand outside on the street in the cold and wait for my standing assignment).

My adventure this time around will definitely effect my decision as to whether or not I continue to hit the tents in the future (especially since by the next Fashion Week 7 months from now, we will have left New York to set up camp in Philly and I am wondering whether or not it will be worth the trip up to the Big Apple to cover the shows). It's make or break time, kiddos. But desperate times such as this call for desperate measures, one might say a stringent plan of attack and conquer. So to help me get through the upcoming week, I decided to make a Rules for Fashion Week Sanity that I am to follow in the hopes that my sunny outlook (and my feet) will remain fully intact: 1) Keep iPod on whenever possible to drown out the shallow banter of the trashionistas around me. 2) No matter how tempting, do NOT pick up a free copy of "The Daily" at all during the week. The vapid, poorly written day-by-day Fashion Week gossip rag just makes my stomach turn and inspires me to wonder whether anyone in this industry has an IQ above 75 or aspirations other than having their photo taken by Patrick McMullan at Marc Jacobs' party. 3) Read a book while waiting in the tents for the next show instead of "The Daily" (title TBD). 4) Scope out the most assinine, sheeplike, fashion victims, take photos of them, post on diary, mock. 5) Look cute, but wear comfortable shoes. If you look sloppy, you feel dowdy since everyone else is dressed in their "Vogue"-approved best. But aspiring to wear shoes with heels higher than 2" will always come back to bite you in the feet if you're clopping around in them for more than a couple hours. 6) Don't be tempted by invites to big parties. The lines are long, the weather is cold, the people are douchebags and no dancefloor is worth that kind of torture. But definitely consider smaller soirees as long as there is an open bar. 7) Invite or not, don't even bother trying to get into the Heatherette show. Let the fun times begin. You say you want a People's Revolution? Even before the first day of shows, things seem to be different. My stack of invitations appears to be considerably lower that a year ago. Is it because I'm getting more e-vites these days and it just seems lower? Are more high profile bloggers stealing my thunder? Was my absence in September a detriment (as in, out-of-sight, out of mind)? I'm not quite sure, but upon further investigation, I remembered that a great portion of the shows I went to in '06 were organized by the PR firm of People's Revolution. This year, I have not gotten a single invite to one of their shows. Hmmmm...what gives? Let's see. Although I never mentioned them by name in last year's diary, I did complain quite a bit about the blatant hierarchy in their organization of the guestlists. Might I have been black-balled? Doth thou protesteth a bit too much? Come to think of it, I never did get a Christmas card. I'll never know, but if they still regard half of their guests as sheep and goat, then I'm much better off grazing by myself. First Day Impressions: Suspiciously smooth sailing. Subways arrived in a timely manner, pick-up of credentials took all of a minute, entrance into shows was a breeze... what's up with that? The second I entered the Tent, there was a decidedly calm, less chaotic sense than in the past which made my day, dare I say, pleasant? Nary a wiff of drama, either. Were they handing out samples of valium at the corner of 6th and 40th? Whatever the reasons, I am definitely not complaining.

MARC BOUWER I'm really not much of an evening wear connoisseur but given an invite, I shall attend the show. And from my eyes, everything looked pretty stunning. The show began with lots of black and lots of volume, a silhouette that can't be worn by most but proportionally looks great on tall reed-thin models. A full-skirted little black tea dress recalled 50's party frocks while the faux fur shrugs paired with column gowns had a more deco feeling. However, the showstoppers were the jewel-tone dresses in deep garnet, navy, and teal. In velvets and satin, the look was very lush and rich. The long lace gown with choir-robe sleeves was etheral and bohemian and perfect for a non-glamour girl (it stood out from the rest of the collection for just that very reason). Many of the gowns reminded me of something maybe Napoleon's Josephine might have worn as the empire-waist was very prominent (which despite being done-to-death the past few seasons, still manages to be one of my favorite shapes). Seat or no seat? SEAT!

AKIKO OGAWA The press kit mentioned Akiko's inspiration as "British rock star softened with feminine forms". But with models all sporting identical black bobbed-n-banged wigs, smudged eyeliner, and too-cool-for-you-scowls, it looked more like she was taken with a certain overexposed trio of NYC DJ's (who just happened to be seated front row and center) than anything British. But take that "inspiration" out of the equation and you get a show of wearable pieces that will have the wearer projecting more attitude than she knew she had. Proportion was key in this show and the "lollipop" shape was favored (brief and full on top, long and lean on the bottom). A raccoon-trimmed cropped parka with puff sleeves was paired with a skinny mini. A short tent dress had over-sized kimono sleeves. Fur sleeves gave weight to an otherwise long and slim turtleneck sweater. I also liked every piece that had military details (as I am wont to do). With the exception of a few obi-style cummerbunds and a Asian-floral frocks, it was practically all black, which no doubt will make a certain overexposed trio of NYC DJ's very happy (or at least mildly pleased). Seat or no seat? SEAT!

	NICOLE MILLER Nicole Miller has this knack for not being too trendy with her designs while infusing them with a couple of key details that keep them from looking staid and boring. For instance, this collection she showed classic menswear-style button-up shirts and peacoats but with small Juliet puff sleeves. Her suits were sharp and boyish with bumfreezer jackets but not at all overly styled. Even the little bowler hats were a nice touch. Another staple of Nicole's are prints inspired by whatever travels she has been on recently. This time around there was Peruvian embroidery and jacquard knits as well as a Native American vibe in the form of blanket stitched dresses and geometric print scarf insets. And like Marc Bouwer's show before, much of the evening wear had some volume, like the brown lurex bubble dress (even on Day 1 of Fashion Week, this seems to be a major trend from the past couple of seasons that shows no signs of deflating). Seat or no seat? SEAT (with my name on it)!
Something I never thought I'd hear in the Tents: One fashionista to another: "What are you doing for the Superbowl?" Jury is still out as to whether any of these ladies know the difference between a touchdown and a touch back, but I have to give them credit for knowing that the Bears and the Colts are the ones playing.

CABBEEN Attention all PR people: if you're running a show for a small, relatively unknown designer, when a member of the press asks if they can get a standing ticket, you shouldn't turn her down. You should especially not turn her down and in not-so-many words, tell her how irrelevant she is. One such spawn-of-Satan did this to me at Cabbeen. Look, press is press, and though I may not be WWD, Cabbeen is not exactly on most fashion editors' "too see" lists this week. Besides being somewhat obscure, he also designs menswear, which puts him down even further in the pecking order of "importance" in the fashion world (since unless you are Dior Homme or John Varvatos, no one gives a rat's ass). Because, if the cast-off editor is anything like me, she'll just give you an imaginary middle finger and figure out a way in anyway.

With that said, it's tempting to just dismiss Cabbeen and not give him a well-deserved plug. But since I dug the show so much, I decided not to hold Judith Agisim PR against him and give an honest review of the collection. My consensus: every guy should dress like this. Surely, the pretty models made it all look good, but this is gear that would look great on anyone. Cabbeen managed to walk that fine line of clothes that fit well and looked amazing, but were not too roomy or too preppy or too conservative or too wannabe rock star (neither malnourished street punks nor All-American jock-types were present on the runway). Colors were somber black and grey but with pops of color, like red and yellow. Velvet jackets came in midnight blue. Windowpane and pinstripe suitings were mixed with fatigue jackets and puffy vests. Trousers were slouchy but not sloppy and there wasn't an oversized top in the lot. And although I could have done without some of the logos and embroidery, I did swoon more than once. In the end, I came to this stunning realization: I may still be a rock girl, but I am so over the skinny rock-guy-thing. Bring me a boy dressed by Cabbeen any day. Seat or no seat? NO SEAT

VENEXIANA With all the hoopla surrounding the anorexic model debate, you'd think that designers would be a little more thoughtful when casting their shows, if only to remove the criticism away from their own runways. Designer Katy Stern must not have gotten the memo because more than once I gasped in my seat at the sight of sternums so sharp I thought they'd pop through the models' skin. Unfortunately, it was really hard to focus on a garment when xylophone-like chest cavities are yelling out, "LOOK AT ME!".
	Still, there were enough great pieces in the show that covered up enough skin to somewhat detract from the underfed bodies underneath. For her Venexiana line, Katy says she likes to combine materials that might not initially seem mixable. For fall, she did just that and came up with a look that could be called Modern Medieval. A mid-calf tan dress has an oversized velvet collar and low-slung belt. A cropped double-breasted jacket with extended cap shoulders recalled the shape of a suit of armor. Enormous leg-o-mutton sleeves adorned a wool cable-knit sweater. Square necklines and empire waists added to this Middle Ages wench-look. And as for the formal dresses, when I wasn't counting ribs and clavicles, I was thinking how some of these dresses would blow away many of the boring bombshell gowns we're used to seeing on the Red Carpet: floaty, non-clingy, with lots of movement. But after seeing the amazing silver lace puff sleeve number, I dreamed up several occassion on which I may have to wear it (though I could not come up with a way to pay for it or grow the necessary nine inches in which to fit best into it). Seat or no seat? SEAT!

My New Least Favorite Fashion Week Demographic: Tween girls. Teetering on their high heels with footless tights and mini skirts, I am reminded of that episode of "Sex and the City" where Samantha is doing PR for a 13-year-old's party and the girl and her BFF's all wear too much make-up and too little clothing and talk waaay too much about blow-jobs and stuff. I think I was still making clothes for Barbie at that age.
Current Accessory Obsession: While most in fashion circles can barely contain their anticipation of what kind of handbags Marc Jacobs will be unveiling on his runway, I am absolutely enchanted by the little suitcases shown at Lacoste. With one glance, I was transported back to 2nd grade when similar carry-ons were most popular, usually with the likes of Rainbow Brite or Snoopy emblazoned on the side. Lacoste's version was a little simplier, with just a single little signature croc on the bottom corner. But the Crayola box shades were just as vibrant.

These Boots Were Made for Talkin' White Boots: "I know that you are trying to stand-out from the crowd here at Fashion Week, but that doesn't mean you need to dress like my grandpa's old woody wagon." Two-Tone Boots: "Funny. What, did you just come from the gym and forget to take off your athletic socks before throwing on those old boots? Just because they're white, doesn't make 'em right." "Nice rhyme, Vanilla Ice. And anyway, you KNOW I don't go to the gym". "I was being sarcastic. Nice cankles."

RAG & BONE I fell in love with Rag & Bone when I worked backstage on their last show for spring. And the reasons that I was smitten with that collection pretty much hold up for fall as well. Of most of the clothes that are out there right now, this is gear that is closest to my personal style: not very girlie, not too conceptual, not terribly trendy. And for a self-proclaimed tomboy such as me, I can say that they do the "his for her" aesthtic better than anyone. And when stores are currently overrun with dolly trapeze dresses and platform shoes, Rag & Bone is a very welcome change. Men's wool suiting was the fabric dujour and everything from stovepipe pants to double-breasted jackets to button-up dresses was crafted from it. I'm totally jonesing for the grey vest with matching trousers combo, which is a great alternative to a more traditional suit. According to designers David Neville and Marcus Wainwright, there was no real "inspiration" except that they wanted to mix classic English tailoring with American biker bar. This was more evident in the menswear, which was a vast improvement from spring's somewhat safe collection. Fitted black leather jackets, military peacoats, cut-away blazers, and tweed coats with workman's pants were on order. Many were topped with paperboy caps which gave the entire line a little bit of an impish prep school quality. Seat or no seat? NO SEAT