This past Saturday marked the second trip that I took with my Fashion
Forecasting class. Unlike last time, I avoided my Weather Channel app, and went simply with my gut in order to choose the best outfit.
I knew we’d be walking a lot, so I decided that my white hi-tops would be the most comfortable to stroll in. Alongside those, I slipped on my slouchy boyfriend jeans, a plain white tee (can’t get enough of those!) and an army green, peplum jacket. From the time that I stepped out of my house to get to the train station, I could tell that it was going to be a gorgeous day. Even though commuting to FIT has become a routine, there is a sense of excitement that always runs through me, despite the fact that I’m half asleep at 7:30 to catch my train.
As the escalator brought me out of Penn and inches away from the city
streets, a warm aura surrounded me. The sun created a yellow glow in the sky and I stood still for a minute just to soak up the warmth. After realizing that I wasn’t alone, and that there were some bystanders staring at me, I made my way towards 7th ave and 27th street, where my Saturday morning would officially begin.
That morning, my time in the classroom was short. Once my teacher and all the students arrived, we quickly signed in, and then set out on our voyage for the day. For this trip, we were going to visit JC Penney’s and Lord and Taylor. Our assignment was to compare the latest trends within these two stores and look at quality, quantity, and price point. While I was looking forward to our trip, I didn’t want to spend the whole time in the stores because it was so nice out. Lucky for me, or at least at the start of the day before my feet felt like they were going to fall off, we did a lot of walking in order to get there.
Some of the most common trends that I picked up were floral prints, orange hues, graphic patterns, strappy sandals, ballet flats, and satchels/structured bags.
All of these trends have been extremely prevalent in other stores as well, so I was not surprised to see them being displayed here. If I were to choose my favorite store out of the two, I would most likely pick Lord and Taylor. While Lord and Taylor is known to be pricier and carry more high-end brands, I felt that the store was a lot more welcoming compared to JC Penney’s. Lord and Taylor was very organized and clean, which made the huge store less of a hassle to walk through. While I was in JC Penney’s, I felt less comforted with the gray walls, tight clothing racks, and messy
shoe department.
Although this trip was solely meant for looking, I did happen to do a little
shopping. While in the Free People section of Lord and Taylor, I found the perfect white summer dress, which is something that I have been hunting for. In my opinion, a dress like this is mandatory for your summer wardrobe, because it can be worn with anything: leather jacket, cowboy boots, bright jewelry, literally anything.
When we got back to the classroom, I was completely worn out. After all that walking and having only eaten a protein bar that morning, I was both tired and hungry (the worst combination of all). After picking up my belongings, I dashed over to the café across from FIT, and bought the most amazing smoothie that I discovered last year. This concoction, called the Oreo smoothie, is filled with vanilla yogurt, bananas, milk, and of course, Oreo cookie pieces. I swear I drank the whole thing in less than five minutes, partly because I was so hungry and partly because it was so
delicious!
Now that I gained some energy after having a smoothie “lunch”, I made way
back to Penn to board the next train. Overall, I would say that my day was a
successful one. I got a ton of exercise from walking, looked at clothing for 2+ hours, crossed off an item on my spring shopping list, and treated myself to smoothie you can only find in NYC. Next class, I will have to present my final project, which will be a forecast of I trend I believe will exist in Spring 2014. And what is this trends you may be wondering? You’ll just have to wait and see!
xxx, Caroline
