schedule

PotD
What Are You Doing For NYFW
February 10, 2016

Playing dress-up begins at age five and never truly ends.—Kate Spade

 

charles i. letbetter - what are you doing for NYFW

With so many shows to watch, deciding where to spend one’s time is a difficult decision

New York Fashion Week, aka: NYFW, starts in less than 24 hours. I think I’m ready. There’s coffee. There’s chocolate. My phone is charged. There are pain relievers in my pocket. My comfy pseudo-dress shoes are ready. Everything is ready on Pattern for our reviews. Reading glasses, ink pens, photo editing … yeah, we’ve got this. I think.

Last year this season, we took it really easy, rarely doing more than two reviews a day. This season, we might be a little more aggressive, depending on the weather and exactly what we see from the different shows. There are a lot of new names on the official schedule this  season, so we’re setting our sights on shows that are dependable and saving the rookies as possible additions if they manage to really impress. If there’s someone you just really, really want to make sure we cover, then let me know ASAP.

No schedule is ever as firm as we might like. Marissa Webb has already had to move her show to avoid conflict with a loud-mouthed, attention-seeking, ego-driven rap star. The weather forecast for New York isn’t exactly friendly, either, which could impact shows scheduled for the Dock venue. So, what we’re highlighting on our schedule below are the shows we know we’ll cover regardless of circumstances. We’ll try to be as timely with our reviews as the process allows. Follow along and let’s make this fun!

What we’re doing for NYFW:

Thursday, 11 February

We’ll start our day with BCBG Max Azria. Lubov Azria is firmly in control of the brand now and as such we’re hoping to see some changes in the direction she goes for fall. Creatures of the Wind hits at noon and will likely be the highlight of the day. We can’t miss Marissa Webb early in the evening, especially since she’s changed her show time. We’re totally ignoring the big mouth showing at Madison Square Garden. Show off.

Friday, 12 February

Jason Wu is the big show to watch today. We were disappointed last season and are really hoping he steps up his game this year. Tadashi Shoji, Kate Spade, and Nicole Miller are also worth watching. Zoolander 2 hits theatres today, though, so cross-marketing surprises could show up anywhere.

Saturday, 13 February

Dion Lee has our attention in the morning. Then, Alexander Wang shows at 5:00 PM and that never fails to, at least, be entertaining. Altuzarra will keep us up late. There could really be some surprises in today’s schedule, though, so we’re trying to stay as flexible as possible.

Sunday, 14 February

Will we fall in love with anything we see on the runway? We certainly hope so! There are SO many choices here, and a lot may depend on weather and timing. Victoria Beckham, Public School, and Derik Lam all show in the first part of the day. Hood by Air,  Diane von Furstenberg, and Prabal Gurung show later. We may need an extra heart-shaped box of chocolates to get through this one. Public School is really going to be under a microscope.

Monday, 15 February

Another very busy day as Carolina Herrera and Tommy Hilfiger dominate the morning. I’m especially eager to see how Tommy implements his Instagram photographer’s pit. Real photographers are upset, so this could get messy. Zac Posen and Rag & Bone finish the day with a few new faces tossed in between. I wouldn’t mind seeing someone really break out of today’s pack.

Tuesday, 16 February

There’s a lot of activity during the day, and one newcomer to NYFW we’ll be watching closely is Ohne Titel at 1PM. However, the heavy hitters are much later, with Oscar de la Renta at 6:30 and Narciso Rodriguez at 8.

Wednesday, 17 February

Here’s where things could get really boring. Can Michael Kors show us anything that is really worth discussing? Jason Wu usually does better with BOSS than he does with his eponymous label but will he really show us any creativity? The guys at DKNY have a lot to prove this season if they’re given the chance, and Marchesa tends to like this season. However, they’ve all stumbled in recent seasons and left us yawning. We’ll see how it goes.

Thursday, 18 February

Only the big boys are allowed to play here. Ralph Lauren, J. Mendel, Calvin Klein, and Marc Jacobs. Of the group, though, only Marc Jacobs is likely to do anything really astonishing.

All the reviews will be on Pattern, so bookmark it now if you haven’t already. Follow us on Twitter (@charlesletbette) and Instagram (@charlesletbetter) to be alerted when new reviews are posted. It’s going to be an interesting month, NYFW is finally here, so buckle in and hang on!

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PotD
Back To Work We Go
January 4, 2016
charles i. letbetter - back to work we go

I put my heart and my soul into my work and have lost my mind in the process.—Vincent Van Gogh

 

charles i. letbetter - back to work

Work. Ugh. Welcome to the first Monday of 2016, the day we bid a fond farewell to some of our readers who joined us over the break but must now leave us in favor of gainful employment that frowns upon them spending time with pleasures such as this. It’s a whopping 27 degrees in Indianapolis as I write this and scattered snow showers across the city are threatening to make a mess of everyone’s first commute of the year. We’re getting off to such a great start, aren’t we?

Coffee. Thankfully, we’ve acquired a fair amount of that deliciously roasted bean over the past month. I’m not sure exactly how that happened, but I’m not complaining and it’s coming in especially handy this morning. Kat and I both crashed early last night, but the down side of that is we were up earlier than usual. Work without coffee would be inhumane, in my opinion. I’m fortunate to have never been in a situation where I couldn’t have a cup nearby. I know not everyone can, though, and for those people I truly feel sorry.

I also feel sorry for school teachers who are returning to the classroom this morning. I remember the trepidation Mother always felt when returning after the holiday break. Teachers don’t really get time off. When they’re not at school, they’re doing other adult things such as entertaining family which requires cleaning house and catching up on the piles of laundry that have been ignored all semester. The holidays were never that much of a mental break and today teachers get to welcome back all those darling little demons who have been running around wild the past two weeks. Teachers should get hazardous duty pay the first three days of this week. Be sure they’ll earn it.

Getting back to work after such a long period is never easy. Even if one was technically at work through the whole month of December, the atmosphere following Thanksgiving is different than the other eleven months. Despite the stress of working to complete year-end goals, there is still a sense of frivolity and an absence of the serious tones that dominate the rest of the year. At least, for most people that is the case. For those whose companies completely shuttered on December 31, you have our sympathies.

Here, too, we’re getting back to our normal schedule with some new additions. In case you’ve not already noticed, we’re doing more than just a single post each day. We’re keeping a very close eye on events in fashion, advertising, and music. We’ve only done one extra article per day over the weekend, and for weekends and holidays that will be the new norm. During the week, though, we’ll add articles as we feel appropriate. Fashion is barreling toward February’s Ready-To-Wear runway season, advertising’s eyes are on the Super Bowl ads, and there’s a long list of artists ready to release new albums in the first quarter. We’re watching it all and will comment where we feel we have something valuable to add to the conversation.

So, back to work we go. Bundle up, buckle in, and enjoy the ride!

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