Teen Vogue Diary

During my time shadowing here at Teen Vogue, my main point person has been the wonderful and charming Andrew Bevan, style blogger and associate features editor of the magazine. On a typical day, my main responsibility is researching various feature stories at a desk in the office, which has been a wonderful change of pace from my usual fourteen hours of roaming around different sets. This week however, I got to spend the morning with Teen Vogue’s market editor, Mary Kate Steinmiller, hopping around town to several showrooms to collect photo stock of the recently revealed resort collections.

Our journey began with a stop into Sandro, an international brand founded in France, who will be opening their first American flagship stores this summer in the Soho area of NYC. The line debuts an extensive collection each season that includes several different themes; this season ranges from Americana prep to classic Parisian chic. If you live in New York, keep your eyes open this summer because this label has high quality designs at a very affordable price!

After Sandro, we walked over to the brand new Aritzia store on Broadway, something I had been excited for since first arriving to New York in May. Aritzia is a Canadian store that originated in Vancouver and quickly expanded all over the country but has only slowly started to infiltrate American cities in the past couple of years. New York was a big one for the brand! It is my favorite store in Toronto, and this space is much bigger than any other Aritzia I've been to back home, so I was in fashion heaven. The brand started several different clothing lines under its umbrella, each one having its own style and theme, so there really is something for everyone. I'm so proud to see a Canadian company making waves in the fashion industry and taking a huge step in exposure and success. Congrats, Aritzia! Now get over to LA already, please and thanks!

We also popped into the Rag and Bone offices in an amazing old warehouse on the west side, which is where EVERYTHING for the brand is centered. From production to design and PR brainstorming to lookbook photo shoots, this is where all the Rag and Bone magic happens. After watching Mary Kate quickly snap shots of the many new pieces for resort/holiday, we headed back to the industrial elevator to set off to the next one and ran into the designers, Marcus Wainwright and David Neville. The guys were headed to their sample sale at Chelsea Market and kindly invited us along for the ride…an invitation we obviously couldn't turn down! Both Mary Kate and I picked up some new R&B digs and though a brief shopping trip isn't exactly part of the job description, the opportunity to mingle with top designers is a lovely perk! You, too, can pick up Mary Kate's new dress, also spotted on Michelle Tratchenberg, or mine!

Thanks for letting me tag along Mary Kate!

xx S.

Read More http://www.teenvogue.com/style/blogs/fashion/2011/06/shenae-grimes-teen-vogue-diary-showroom-hopping-with-the-marvelous-mary-kate-steinmiller.html#ixzz1QIpSPOiI

Source: Teenvogue

Teen Vogue Diary

Temporarily living in the fashion capital of America, and arguably the world, has certainly presented opportunities a fashion lover like myself can only dream and read about while busy working year-round in culture-dry Los Angeles. I’ve always envied our CW East Coast counterparts on Gossip Girl for their access to the fashion industry’s brightest talents and biggest events. However, since hopping on a plane over here a few weeks ago, I’ve finally gotten a chance to scratch that itch and share in the luxury. I’ll be back in LA far too soon but until then I’m enjoying every moment of being exposed to the community of NY’s fashion elite and the culture they’ve created for themselves here.

The biggest highlight to date was the CFDA Awards, where I was Rebecca Taylor’s “arm candy” for the evening! Not only did I get to experience first hand the night I’ve awed over online for years but I was also dressed in a custom piece by the designer, inspired by her latest collection and my own personal style! It was such an honor to be invited by Rebecca, whose collections I’ve marveled at on the runways of New York Fashion Week for years. As a long-time admirer from afar of everyone in the room, I was extremely nervous about the night. Thankfully I was in great company with Rebecca and her good-humored and laidback energy made the red carpet fly by with ease.

I have always been interested in design and have even made custom pieces before just because I couldn't find garments on the rack that I've envisioned in my head, so the creation of my outfit for the night was a particularly exciting element for me. It began with two sketches: one floral, floor-length tank-dress and one strapless lace-bodice pantsuit… of course, being the tomboy I am, the choice was a no-brainer and the construction process for the pantsuit started immediately as we only had a week and half to get it right for the event! I went by for several fittings where my measurements were taken and re-taken to ensure the shape and fit were perfect. When the final product arrived at my front door Sunday night, I was thrilled with the '70s glam-rock inspired jumper I was going to be donning the following evening! Very chic, very classy and still very me.

The event: It was a star-studded night with fashion’s elite and their well-dressed celebrity arm-candy mingling in every direction you glanced! One of the highlights of the ceremony was the Swarovski presentation when all past Swarovski winners (a series of awards for new designers) graced the stage together, laughing and embracing accolades for successes since their wins. It grounded everyone in the room to see the likes of Alexander Wang, Proenza Schoueler , and Zac Posen standing all together on stage--a group of influential designers who have skyrocketed to the top of American fashion from similar humble beginnings, only years prior.

The most memorable award of the evening, the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, was given to Marc Jacobs this year and although his speech was short and sweet, the archival clips in the video presenting him gave everyone chills. He truly is a master of his craft and longevity is hard to come by in an industry so constantly evolving.

Major congratulations to Marc, it was an award well-deserved. It was an amazing night all around, thank you endlessly to everyone at Rebecca Taylor for truly making a dream come true!

xx

S.

Read More http://www.teenvogue.com/style/blogs/fashion/2011/06/shenae-grimes-rebecca-taylor-cfda-awards.html#ixzz1PM2xTxUS

Source: Teen vogue

Teen vogue

I've only been in town for less than two weeks and already this heat is getting to me! I know, I know, I live in California so I should be used to the blazing sun, but in LA we have dry heat. Here, I assure you there is not a dry face in sight!

The humidity in NY leaves a thick blanket of hot air looming over the city and there is just no escaping it, particularly on your walk to the train station to get to work every day. My first week at Teen Vogue had me walking into the building every morning looking like a melted version of the girl I once was. I desperately needed to find a solution to this dilemma!

So, how do you walk into the office looking as cute and presentable as you were a mere 30 minutes earlier, before you left your air conditioned apartment?

I stopped by the beauty shop this weekend to pick up a few tricks. Check out what I found!

xx

Shenae

Read More http://www.teenvogue.com/style/blogs/fashion/2011/06/shenae-grimes-teen-vogue-diary-sweats-and-the-city.html#ixzz1P03aMxp1

Source: Teenvogue.com