Shop the Look:
If you followed along on Instagram, you may have noticed that I had a little two foot tall accessory at New York Fashion Week. đ It’s probably not the most common thing to bring your baby along with you to fashion week, but I like to live on the edge. While Annie didn’t attend any shows, it was SO wonderful to have her and my mom there in between the fashionable fun/chaos. Today I’m sharing details on this look, day three of fashion week plus how I managed to conquer NYC with a baby. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, but totally worth it!
Shop the Look:
While this was my most casual look of the week, it was also my favorite. You’d think the dressier the better for NYFW but that’s not necessarily the case. All trends, styles & level of dress are appropriate. There were fashionistas in the audience in jeans, sneakers and simple knit tees too! The embroidered boho top I wore was another Rent the Runway find. Designed by Tory Burch, the details are absolutely exquisite. Of all the things I’ve rented from RTR, this boho blouse was the hardest to say goodbye to! (Currently stalking this NetAPorter version until it hits sale!!!) To dress up the top, I paired dark wash skinny jeans with a velvet bow clutch and black bow kitten heels to match.
NYFW Day 3
My third day in NYC was the busiest of all. I kicked off the morning bright and early with a shoot with the lovely Angie Garcia at the Flat Iron district. I’ve shot with Angie in Dallas a few times and she is the absolute sweetest. I not only love how she captures her style photos but she also got Annie to grin from ear to ear & I couldn’t be more thrilled!
After the shoot, I popped on over to the BaubleBar headquarters for a quick meeting. Conveniently located right by the Flat Iron building, the ladies of BaubleBar have it made location-wise in NYC! To stroll out of your office and be only steps away from Madison Square Park? Hello, what a dream! The BaubleBar team is always so welcoming and sweet. I stopped by their showroom to see the latest collection in person, as well as to get a sneak peek of holiday. Lots of fabulous sparkly bauble are coming your way, my friends!
Next up was a showroom visit uptown with the Eliza J team. Eliza J has the most gorgeous collection of dresses that are available at both Nordstrom and Anthropologie. Seeing the fall collection in person and hearing about the inspiration behind it was such a treat. Several other blogger friends of mine happened to be there at the same time. We all sipped on coffee & munched on pastries while chatting fall fashion.
Day three was capped off with this red dress & the Style Collective blogger party. I finally got to meet my insta friend The Fashionably Broke Teacher in person! She is seriously my style soulmate. That evening was also my first official & legit “girls night out” since Annie was born. Once again, thanks mom for being the best babysitter!
NYC with a Baby
Speaking of the best babysitter, I could have never done New York Fashion Week without my mom. I’m still breastfeeding Annie so being apart from her for that long just would not have been fun. (Plus, I’d miss her terribly!) And my mom and I have always jumped at the chance to go on any sort of vacation or adventure. When I was running around the city for fashion week events, my mom & Annie would be at either a park or a coffee shop just doing their thing & having fun. Most of the time, they would post up only a few blocks away from wherever I was, so I could meet them in between shows or meetings. It was such a surreal feeling to walk out of a runway show and then get to hold my smiling baby shortly after.
After spending a week in The Big Apple with a baby, I definitely learned a lot and have a lot to share if this is something you might be thinking of doing too! A few of my biggest tips are below.
- Pack a baby carrier. In taxis & uber’s its the norm to just hold your baby as opposed to using a car seat. CRAZY, I know. It was hard to wrap my head around at first but it really did make the most sense logistically. I wore Annie in her carrier each time that we hopped in a cab. This way she was strapped to me while I was strapped to the vehicle. It was terrifying, yes, but I honestly can’t imagine how we would have toted a car seat and base around with us throughout our stay.
- If you are taking the subway, make sure you plan ahead. Try to find stations with elevators in addition to stairs. Carrying a stroller up and down several flights of stairs is no fun. (Especially when you find out you’re at the wrong station in the first place … which totally happened to us!) Also, try to avoid rush hour at all costs.
- Not all restaurants are baby friendly. Sure they like babies and would be happy to host you and your little one, but there is seriously just no room for all that a baby entails in many NYC eateries. We strolled through SOHO looking for a place to eat one afternoon and everywhere we stumbled upon was tiny, crowded and had absolutely no room for either a stroller or a high chair. Most of the time we would just try to find cafes with outdoor seating so we would be sure we’d have enough room for us & Annie’s paraphernalia to be comfortable.
- Stroll with confidence. We packed Annie’s UPPAbaby G-LUXE “umbrella” stroller with us. It was great because it is so lightweight, easy to fold up and throw in the trunk of a cab, can be carried down the stairs if needed & it was small enough to fit in a lot of tight spots in restaurants and shops. After spending a week in the city, there were definitely times that I also wished we packed our UPPAbaby Vista too. I noticed that so many moms stroll with their babies facing towards them instead of out. With so many people walking the streets of NYC, there were moments I was so wishing Annie was facing towards me instead of out towards all the passersby in front of her. Not that I thought anything would happen, I just think it would have just made me feel more comfortable having her facing my way. But seriously, I can’t imagine doing NYC without the lightweight G-LUXE, even though she faced out. If I were lucky enough to live in NYC, I think I’d most likely use the VISTA stroller every day. (I did miss that added storage at the bottom, that’s for sure!)
- You never know where you’ll change the next diaper. In Houston, if I’m in a pinch, I’ll change Annie’s diaper in the trunk of my car. I also can always trust that most bathrooms in public places down here are going to be big and will almost always have a changing station. Something that is definitely not as common in New York. Starbucks are your best bet for changing diapers. But most Starbucks also come with bathroom lines longer than those for coffee. We ended up taking advantage of park benches and sometimes even changed them really quick right there on Annie’s stroller. Desperate times call for desperate measures?! New York with a baby totally requires you to be flexible & up for whatever challenge may come next. PS: always fill your diaper bag or purse with extra napkins & wipes. You’ll thank me later!
Hope the tips helped and thank you so much for following along my NYFW adventures. Still a bit more to come as well as some fun fresh fall content too!
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xo, alice
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photos by Angie Garcia
