November 17, 2008

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show!!!

Apparently my travels haven't ended for the year. This past weekend I had a wonderful opportunity. Last week, a friend of mine who works in the fashion and beauty industry as a publicist, stylist, image consultant, etc called me and asked if I was interested in working at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show this past Saturday. I knew she was going because she had told me about it and she works as a dresser in lots of fashion shows.

Well when she called me, my immediate response was a resounding yes. I have been wanting to get into more fashion show production work and this was a great opportunity to gain some experience. Plus, the show was being held in Miami and I don't need that much of an excuse to go down there. She called me Tuesday and early Thursday morning I hopped into my little Civic and got on the road to Miami. It's a 10 hour road trip that's definitely not for the faint of heart but I was excited to go.

When I got there, I got a bit lost making my way to the hotel where we were staying but it didn't matter too much. I was in Miami Beach and it was HOT! By hot, I mean hot in temperature. It felt like summer had never left. This was a bit disconcerting since it's November but I adjusted fairly quickly and put my air conditioning to use.

I found out that I didn't have to work until Saturday so I had an unauthorized vacation in Miami to enjoy. I got to the hotel and rested. Unfortunately I had caught a cold on Wednesday so I had to stop by the CVS and buy some cold medicine. I chilled in the room and waited for my three roommates to arrive/return. When everyone got there, we struck out for dinner. We ended up at this cute little restaurant with tables outside on South Beach. It was very chic and cute so we ordered some small meals and enjoyed being outside. Unfortunately other people enjoyed the outside by smoking cigars and cigarettes freely, which we are not used to because in New York (where my roomies are from) and Atlanta, smoking is prohibited a lots of places.

The next day, we had to go get our credentials for the fashion show and we had a prep meeting for the show. We also knew that there would be a grand opening party at the hotel where the show would be held and we wanted to go. We got dressed and headed out for the meeting and party. We were very unsuccessful at getting our credentials so we thought the party was a no go. We headed for the meeting. After the meeting we headed downstairs and discovered that we could "blend" into the party. So we blended.

It was a very interesting mix of people. It was definitely a star studded event. The appetizers were gourmet and the bar was open. We enjoyed a nice performance by Terrence Howard as we watched the celebs mingle. Like a big dork, I made a list of all of the celebs that I recognized and knew their names. Like to see it, here it goes:

Kim and Chloe Kardashian (Kim is so cute!)
Brody Jenner and Frankie (for those fans of The Hills)
Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna of the new 90210)
Martha Stewart
Russell Simmons
AJ (formerly of 106 and Park)
Terrence Howard (I also saw him after he performed...lovely man!)
Robin Thicke
Whitney from America's Next Top Model
Sophia Delgado (I think that's her last name)
A-rod (sans Madonna)
Brett (Heidi's former boss from The Hills. for those hard core Hills fans)
Enrique Murciano from Without a Trace (I'm a fan of the show)
Charro
Mariah Carey (she performed)

I'm not one to be star struck but it was very cool to see so many "familiar" faces. After Terrence Howard performed, we heard that Mariah Carey was going to be performing in another room. It was an even more exclusive party. We got in with one of the models that my friend knows. Once in, we were just in time to see Mariah Carey perform. I'd never seen her live and it was really cool. She sounds awesome in concert but I figured she would. Here are a few pics of her performing.

After she performed, we headed out. We hopped in a car to go get some rest for the next day. We got up Saturday and prepared to head out for the day. Since me and Amaris didn't have our credentials, we had to head to the hotel early to get them. After we ate a late lunch, we headed down to the Fontainebleu to get ready for the show. It only took 10 minutes for us to get our credentials after which we headed down to the fabulous lobby to enjoy some down time before the show. While we were headed into the lobby, we saw George Hamilton. He looked really orange in person.



At 5, we headed upstairs to get ready to work. When we were escorted backstage, I was excited. All of the models racks were set up, ready to go. I was assigned to assist another dresser with her model. It was cool because it was my first show and that made me feel comfortable. We dressed Izabel and she had two really cute costumes with extra pieces that were a bit complicated. After the first show, I realized that I would enjoy being a dresser for other shows. After the second show, it was all over. It was the most fun! I can't wait to check out the show when it airs, December 3 at 10pm EST on CBS.
The drive back was horrendous but I pushed through it and now I'm back home.

November 06, 2008

The President Elect of the United States of America is...

Barack Obama! It was the greatest feeling in the world to see a candidate that I wholly supported be elected into office. It was an awesome feeling to have been a part of the process in electing the first black president of the United States. I put together a collage of sorts to commemorate the occasion.