The It Bag Cemetery.

When I arrived at a new and snootier middle school in the upscale town of Wellington West Palm Beach, I instantly earned favor with a group of girls who's parents lived in mansions on lakes and took quick weekend vacations to Disney World within an hours notice. Oh, and had maids. After a few weeks of relaxing poolside in crochet bikinis and gossiping about gangly thirteen-year-old boys, I realized for the first time in my life that I wanted to keep up. My three best friends (We will just call them A, C and J) owned BMW golf carts and wood paneled refrigerators. But that wasn't what I cared about. 

I became convinced that if I had a Dooney and Burke purse like my friends, my problems would disappear. Mind you, these were middle school problems. The heart saturated bag would finally bring me my period so I would be a grown up, give me a less bloated belly and make my color coordinated braces disappear. I was sure of it. I was fixated. 

A few months later, I received the bag as a gift. When I first opened it, I was ecstatic. When I strutted into school swinging it on my arm, I was disappointed. No one seemed to notice or even care. I was two months too late. I looked around and noticed everyone wearing Coach messenger bags and nylon Nike drawstring backpacks. I vowed to myself then that I would abstain from getting a bag just because everyone else has it. 

It bags are fantastic. Well-made. Accepted as a valuable item and sought after by those who have not yet purchased it. It makes you feel important for a moment in time-- when that bag is still loved and advertised but once the trend is over, you feel almost ashamed to wear something not "in" anymore. Why? Because we all want to feel respected and accepted. 

What goes up must come down. I still use my Alexander Wang Rocco bag not because it's currently in style but because it's my favorite black bag. And it looks great with a fur poof attached. What is an It Bag eventually becomes just another bag and the only thing worse than feeling lame for wearing an item is feeling lame for wearing an item you paid a ton of money for, only to wear it for the season. 

My old bags were handed down to younger cousins and sent to consignment shops. But I always wonder, what happens to those bags we once adored? Where do It Bags go to die? I hope they're at peace. 

Have you ever bought a bag just because it was on trend? Which was it?

How To Pretend You'll Be At Fashion Week

As I type this, it's 2:12 pm on a lackluster Thursday (Scratch that-- My mom just pulled into the driveway with food. Afternoon is no longer lackluster) and my Twitter and Instagram accounts have been flooded with photos of #tbt posts, featuring last year's Fashion Week highlights. It is all overflowing with Showroom Pulls (aka hashtag FWpulls) travel beauty essentials, plane tickets, and various other hints that all the people I follow are getting ready for the style capital: New York. 

Unless you live under a boulder, you already know that next week is New York Fashion Week. The streetstyle is exquisite, the collections are gorgeous, bragging about so-and-so invites becomes acceptable and everyone makes sure that every single moment is documented on social media--large wine glass in hand and after party outfits included. 

Guess what? I'm not going.

And you shouldn't feel left out if you aren't either although you probably will. Why? Well, because as your friend I've come up with some ways you can stay in the know during NYFW. Because you are kind. You are smart and you ARE important. 

1. Follow the Fashion Week schedule so you know which day which designer is showing. My favorite to follow is fashionweekonline.com. 

2. Type the hashtag into Twitter and turn on your notifications. Expect your phone to vibrate every few seconds with updates. Let these vibrations fuel your confidence. 

3. Despite your current location, dress up in what you would wear if attending. Street sweeping cream trousers in white linen that never seem to get dirty, check! Have a friend that owes you a favor to take some snaps of you preferably in front of a brick wall or in the middle of the street. 

4. Follow the big bloggers on Instagram (and me too, obviously) like @Man Repeller, @KristinaBazan, @Songofstyle etc. And the big magazines & publications like @Voguemagazine, @whowhatwear, @Refinery29, @Harpersbazaarus for behind the scenes shots and streetstyle photos. 

5. Drop phrases such as, "Oh, I can't wait to attend Cushnie this year." and, "I just hate having to hail cabs in between shows! I might miss the photographers." 

6. Live vicariously through the show's live streams. Who's the real winner here: the girl trudging through the crowds in the snow or you crying watching from the comfort of your own cozy bed with a hot latte?

7. Grab a glass bottle of red wine, sit at your laptop, watch the live stream, write your review articles while simultaneously sipping said wine, explain your favorite collections to your dog. She will listen. 

Finally, here is a list of things to tweet and/or text your friends. 

• - Is it just me, or do all these blouses resemble vaginas?
• - SO glad I did a two week cleanse before going to these fittings.
• - I just loved that Sarah Seven dress. You know which one! With the white, and the ruffles, on that blonde girl? Such craftsmanship. 
• - Ohmygod. I just totally got lost searching for the bathroom before Lacoste!
• - Did you hear that normcore is dead? You can definitely tell. 
• - Two words: Baja East. Right? Right. 

Now it's your turn. How do you keep up with FW from the comfort of your bed?