The Last of It, For Now

by Whitney · October 9, 2012 · 6 comments

New York DIY via Freshlygiven.com

New York Fashion Week via Freshlygiven.com

NY Empire Hotel via Freshlygiven.com

New York VIntage DIY via Freshlygiven.com

New York Vintage DIY via Freshlygiven.com

NY Buildings via Freshlygiven.com

These are the last of photos from the NYC folder on my cpu. And there’s no point in not sharing them. Have you had enough yet? I almost titled this one “And You Never Will.” It’s kind of an inside joke but it stemmed from one of the craziest moments I had in the city. My sis and I were on the train and saw a man with hand-made (home-made?) underwear showing ABOVE his jeans. We laughed thinking someone could have said “Well I never” and the guy replying “and you never will.” Or the title would be appropriate for what my husband will say after he hears about me getting hit by a bike. I forgot to mention that to him. My next trip will for sure be vetoed. Solely for my safety.

—
Patterned Suit: DIY using vintage dress
Sweater: sister’s
Earrings: Freshly Given

NYFW: Nolcha .2

by Whitney · September 25, 2012 · leave a comment

// Mariana Valentina //

// Pamela Gonzales //

// Adolfo Sanchez //

// YBCouture //

// Aisha X Artini //

Dresses! Who agrees we need to wear them more often? And not just for playing dress up. Runways can be great places for inspiration and realizing that I err on the jeans and a tee side. I can’t help but think, still, that I’d need a special place to go. If I passed you in the mall wearing one of these, you’d either think I was coming or going. Not staying. Or maybe crazy.
Now I need to convince my husband to sign us up for all of his fancy work functions. Or you can invite me to yours.

Oh, the many expressions of femininity.

(Thank you to Nolcha Fashion Week for the great presentation)

NYFW: Nolcha .1

by Whitney · September 19, 2012 · leave a comment

Freshly Given New York Fashion Week Spring 2013 Nolcha

// Priti by Design //

// M. N. Aloush //

// Angelo Balek //

// Gulshachereli //

// Stephen Goudeau //

And the beat goes on. Running Stilettos, Lights, Techno-ish Hits, Walking Stilettos, Ewws, Awws, Clapping, Next Show. It was a crash course on how to shoot strutting models in beautiful garments without annoying my neighbor. Now I know why the front row is coveted. Better planning next time.

Really, who can ignore the heart that goes into design and innovation. The mixtures of materials and L.E.Ds (didn’t catch a great shot of that) make the off beaten path irresistible. Sure, Lincoln Center boasts headliners, but it was great to see a show of raw talent and supporters of the emerging designer.

There are many more photos to be edited. Which means I have a part 2 to this post. Follow-up on these designers and show your support. My photos likely don’t do justice to the beauty that was on the runway.

Thank you to Nolcha for the generous invite to cover the shows this year.
HUGE HUG to Priti of Priti by Design for using Freshly Given jewelry for her show. Totally not planned, but it’s called being in the right place at the right time.

Posers

by Whitney · September 13, 2012 · leave a comment

Freshly-Given-New-York-Fashion-Week-Spring-2013

Anywhere else you’d think a person was crazy to pose, unsolicited and out in the open. Which warrants an “Only in New York.” Leaving the train, on my way to Lincoln Center, my expectation was to find photographers and celebs everywhere. Partially true. Ironically there were more “normal” people posing for photographers than celebs. These were mostly bloggers and their subjects on the prowl for street photography. The posers, no pun intended, wanted (needed?) to be seen. And they were beautiful and patient. I’m thinking people ignored the wet behind the ears girl. Whether I had the correct equipment who knows or cares or has time for all of that. I jumped in with the big boys, and girls.

Hours later, I was off to catch my next train and couldn’t my ticket. “Someone GOT me for my pass!” I said it just as you read it: loud and crazy-like, dazed with arms flailing.

Only in New York.

Stir Up Dust

by Whitney · August 20, 2012 · 5 comments

This weekend I spent 90% of my time with family. One of the highlights being my Grandma pushing out a huge 10 gallon tub FULL of photos. “And just to show you how much I love pictures” is what she said. I hustled out the door. Not because I didn’t want to shuffle through some odd years worth of photos and dust, but because I knew I’d get carried away with ewws and ahhs. Plus I was already late for the next family function.

My cousin posted this picture of our grandmother that same day. I kicked myself for not staying, but it got me thinking. 1. Will I have a tub of photos to dust off with my grandchildren OR will I be subject to years of failed hard drives and cloud stored images that end up in some bought out company’s abyss. 2. I need to “make more pictures” as my Grandma puts it. And no, not on instagram, but tangible pictures to file away…

A Call for Photos:

Do you have funky old photos of bell-bottom clad parents/grandparents/uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. etc.?
Whatever the era, as long as they’re old, send them my way.

1. Scan the photo and send a high res(aka: high quality) image to whitney@freshlygiven.com
2. Also include some sort of description
3. I’ll post them here on Freshly Given with hopes of encouraging people to make their photos tangible.

Let the fun and dust stirring begin.