I Miss The Old New York
Final installment of my NYC photo diary.
The next day, we stayed in a lot longer than we wanted and my aunt had to eventually kick us out of her apartment to get us to start exploring. We managed to catch up on some much-needed rest and only snapped (literally) four pictures. The rest of day, er, what was left of our day, was spent grabbing dinner again at Eataly and stopping by Saks Fifth for a campaign - which we didn't even get to complete at that time.
This time, we opted for another suggestion (Thanks, Max!) - their gourmet pizzas. Each slice was cheap, huge, and filling. Plus, each choice had unique flavor combinations that you'd never expect on a pizza and for it to taste good. We honestly couldn't help but order a second round.
We also stopped by a dessert shack hidden in the back of the floor to get small bites for later.
We returned home again only to binge watch the entire Princess Diaries series and proceeded to sample our snacks. Definitely not enough, only because we ended up wanting more.
Everyone needs their rest days and ours, well, wasn't so shabby.
Our busiest day started early. We were sent to NY Now to meet 25togodesign's Oribagu booth. There, we played dress-up with the bags and got our hands on their catalog we were grateful to be featured in.
Justin and I walked around the floor, exploring and meeting other brands and their products before the show closed up. My only regret is not going there a day earlier to explore more. The creativity in the room was booming. It was unlike anything I've seen.
If you haven't checked out NY Now and are a fan of design, art and creative lifestyle products, definitely check it out.
We hadn't eaten all day and were barely holding out. On our way to next meeting place, we had to stop by a B&H Photo store (Justin geeked out indefinitely) and a ramen spot I've been meaning to try - Ippudo NY.
I definitely think the ramen is a little over priced for what we got but the bao was everything I wanted and more: the softest bun and the most flavorful sauce. If I were to go back, it'd most likely be only for that. I've been craving bao ever since.
We walked around a bit and had a quick shoot (on a one-way street, of course) trying to kill time before meeting with our clients at Bibble and Sip; another spot we heard lots of, but quickly realized it wasn't the best place to have a meeting. It was cramped, loud and uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, the pastries were incredible but maybe not so much the drinks in comparison.
We decided to grab dim sum with our clients instead for our meeting. Protip: always bring food into the mix; it makes everyone happy. However, we couldn't stay to finish our meal as we had to run over to another dinner with another client.
Oddly enough, I dropped my phone in the men's restroom (women need to stop taking their time. When a girl's gotta go, a girl's gotta go) and the screen shattered into pieces. Just my luck.
On our way to Private Label NY's office, I got an email from my photo professor that he was dropping me from the class. Rather than heartbroken, I was more annoyed because I planned this trip accordingly to school guidelines and there was no way in hell, I was going to let this happen.
TL;DR: If you show that you are not a force to be reckoned with, people who are aggressive are easily disarmed. Basically, I screenshot all the school policies and syllabus, sent it to him and threatened to take matters up with the school board if he still wanted to withdraw me from the class.
Flash forward to next Monday, and I've never seen a man act so nice to me after trying to enforce his authority on me.
Ps. Seeing Justin's photos blown up like this despite the drama really makes a girl proud.
We woke up to snow on our second to last day and immediately, we set out to shoot. After another meal with my aunt, we went off to the Rag and Bone preview with our clients from the night before, which we never found after trekking through harsh winds and snow. Remind me to find a better pair of shoes to use in colder weather.
We then tried attending a celebration for the opening night of NYFW, in which we made it to until our clients realized one of them forgot their ID in their other purse. At this point, it seemed to me that my dreams of attending NYFW for the first time wasn't meant to be.
Looking back at it now, I think that's okay. These are opportunities we were grateful to have and opportunities I used to kill myself over. I still pine to witness the debut of amazing fashion breakthroughs and to be swarmed by strangers with cameras, all of who know my name.
But for now, I believe it's meant to be my dream still only so I could work even harder towards it.
We spent the rest of the night posting up in a cafe to warm up and chit chat. I developed relationships that, although will be long distance for the majority of its existence, will stay with me for a long, long time.
There were trials, tribulations, heartaches and heartbreaks all throughout this trip. It was a real test of me as Mariel and me as Polydeux. Although I felt like I sacrificed a lot throughout this trip, I wouldn't take it back ever.
NYC, I'll see you again soon, and NYFW, you will be mine next season.
