Sound the bell and close the FW15 books, for as the sun set in Paris on Friday, fashion month finally came to a close. Air France air jets destined for LGA and LAX are loaded up with lucky exhausted fashion market editors who  just underwent an immense intake of fabric and aesthetics – not to mention loads of pop culture (thanks Kimye).
And you must be thinking – what does this have to do with me? If you’re not fashion obsessed and choose to NOT spend your time trolling Pinterest for Street Syle pin-speration or style.com to try to figure of out what number look you loved most at the Chloe show, you must be wondering what all the fuss is about.

There’s this marvelous scene in the movie The Devil Wears Prada where Miranda Priestly, a powerful fashion Editor, tells her plebeian executive assistant, Andy Sachs, who could not care less about the editorial world that she’s stumbled into, exactly why fashion has to do with her.  “You’re in fact wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room.”

She really wasn’t exaggerating.

Fashion Week gives us all a sneak peek of what we’ll be wearing this coming fall or, in some of our more midwestern or southern regions, in two falls. No matter if you pre-order runway looks via Moda Operandi or dash to Ann Taylor LOFT and H&M when you have a free 45 minutes, you better believe all looks will be replicated. I like to take NYFW to study and plan ahead for what my wardrobe will require in six months. I get it, this is not everyone’s life and may sound completely absurd. But put yourself in my shoes – living in a Fashion Hub and working in the industry requires a certain reflection of knowledge and current events, like any other profession would require. Kind of like in Devil Wear’s Prada when Andy doesn’t start to find favor in the workplace until she showed that she “cared” about what was happening around her. It doesn’t matter if you paid $500 or $15 for that cute little top, some version of it was worn by a model at some point during fashion month.

An avid fashion follower would also note that Fashion Month tends to reflect the general mood of culture. More recently, the fashion world in general has been trying to reroute priorities and focus on real topics. Karl Lagerfeld sent a woman’s revolution down Chanel’s Spring 2015 runway and a week ago, Dolce & Gabbana celebrated mothers and the impact a tender relationship can have on all of us. A few years ago, things were all dark and broody and now it seems that a shot of optimism has been infused into this realm of “pretty things.” Beauty (and yes, slowly but surely, even size) is celebrated here. Who said the fashion industry was out of touch?

And at the end of the day, Fashion Month celebrates individualism and the spirit of outwardly expressing yourself. We didn’t see the same looks at Oscar De La Renta as we did at Alexander Wang, but why would anyone expect or want that? The fact that so many people are wanting to create something transcending or elegant or striking is staggering, but the fact that this desire manifests itself in SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS is inspiring.

All this aside, don’t we care about those amazing street style shots the most anyway? Fashion Month is the time to ditch your go-to/un-inspired looks and find the ensemble that makes you feel your coolest and boldest. So don’t worry about policing Instagram or Refinery29 or WWD like your life depends on it – that’s why the girls at Style Me Perfect are here! We’ll break it down for you and tell you exactly what you need to know. Just please know that Fashion Week is an actual thing with impact, and yes, it does apply to you.

Ready to shop? Give me a shout if so!

Cheers,

Haley Hoover, SMP Stylist