People Watching at NY Fashion Week

When Fashion Week is in full gear, not all of the spectacle takes place on the runway. The people who attend the shows and the people who cover them are another performance altogether. Case in point: We're suckers for a man who's not afraid to wear color. Quin is wearing a green suit, blue pocket handkerchief, and blue suede shoes. In our opinion, he definitely won the men's sartorial sweepstakes on that Friday morning.

Here's our second installment on Fashion Week, offering our take on the people we ran into when we attended the Concept Korea show.

The Women of Fashion Week:

We loved this woman's jacket, and shot from the hip, so to speak. You never know when your subject is going to walk away, or if someone will walk in front of you and ruin your shot, possibly irretrievably. So you know what they say - strike while the iron is hot. We've put her here because we serendipitously got a shot of the head of Quin's cane as a bonus. Smooth, sculpted wood. The perfect accessory!

Cocoa (whom you might remember we met at Bottega Veneta on Fashion's Night Out) is a triple threat: photography, music and blogging. When she was shooting the Concept Korea event, she matched the print on her pink leopard shirt to her fabulous glasses. Click here for Cocoa’s blog, Cool Cruel World.

We're dying to know the back story behind this cute couple. They appeared in matching all-white outfits on Friday morning for the Concept Korea show. (Sooo sorry we don't have a photo of that to show you. Turns out, each of us thought the other snapped that photo of them in white.) Less than an hour after that show ended, they reappeared in matching blue outfits. Hmmm.

Barbara Flood greeted us when we came out of the show. She was sporting a jacket by a Korean designer and interesting earrings that looked like small fragments of flattened aluminum cans.

We met designer Navarre in the Mercedes Benz hospitality space at Lincoln Center. Like so many others, she said that she recently had to close her atelier due to the economic downturn. These are tough times for everyone...

She looked great -- positively regal.

Here's a shot of Navarre's jewelry - an eclectic mix of stones and sterling.

We loved Audrey's look, especially her necklace.

Tamara B. out on the plaza looked fearless. And fabulous.

We also loved Betty's look -- she was wearing an example of the colorful traditional dress from her native Nigeria. She introduced us to her friend David, a drummer.

The Men of Fashion Week:

David was sweet enough to autograph a copy of his CD for us.

Out on the plaza, we met Michael Dumler, a photographer who recently moved to Los Angeles. Michael uploaded some pictures of us, which you can see here.

Casual, austere, confident, unselfconscious ... great look that this gent carries off really well.

Below is our first view of Gregg Asher. Is it global warming that's driving the trend in men's shorts that we've been seeing lately, or is it the natural progression of the body con movement? Note that Gregg's shorts are dark pin stripes, so perhaps one day we'll see them in a board meeting (with a matching short sleeved jacket, of course!). We were also drawn to the left sleeve of Gregg's shirt. If you look carefully, you can see it has layers of fluttering fabric sewn to it. That flutter carries over to the left front, as well.

Turns out Gregg has been on Most Eligible Dallas, on Bravo TV, and has his own blog, Fashion Baggage. Click here to have a peek at his musings on life and fashion.

At the Concept Korea show, we met this stylish gentleman and loved his eyewear -- and his shirt covered with pictures of one of our favorite cartoon characters, Betty Boop. What a combo!

Stuart Freeman approached us to ask to photograph each of us holding another beloved cartoon figures -- Astro Boy! Apparently, Stuart's Astro Boy has been photographed at many events in many countries in the hands of celebrities. Who knows where our images will show up?

Retired diplomat Shail Upadhya is famous for his meticulously tailored outfits, which he designs himself. We were thrilled to finally get a chance to see him in person, and he more than lived up to our expectations. We loved the black and white hat that he paired with his suit and bag covered in images of the "@" symbol.

What we're wearing:

Valerie: No hat! OMG! Shirt by H&M, vest by Issey Miyake, earrings and bracelet from flea markets, pants by Oska, shoes by Melissa.

Jean: Urban Outfitters' turban; Kyodan jacket; Ronan Chen pants (from Rosebud); Rick Owens shirt; Underground creepers; Illesteva Frida glasses; vintage Victorian gutta percha chain necklace; vintage multi-colored bakelite bangles and rings; black leather cross-body bag (from street vendor); and black and white polka dot shiborii bag from MOMA.

EPILOGUE:

Of course, after our fabulous outing we retired to a local cafe to refuel, and when we were choosing our cold beverages, a can of Coca Cola plummeted to the floor and exploded in a grand antigravitational display, spraying both our outfits, and necessitating a trip to the dry cleaners. Proof once again that one must suffer for one's art!