At The Shows With Mina-Jacqueline Au

What a somber morning it was yesterday as America woke up to be reminded of one of the most tragic days in our history — September 11, 2001.

The traffic was horrendous getting to the Bryant Park tents for a 9 a.m. show. I was literally sitting in a cab for half an hour before it moved one New York City block!

Yesterday's outfit consisted of a Chanel black knit dress with bell sleeves and a pair of Bruno Frisoni pony-hair leopard pumps (they were oh so hot!!). I looked great ... except for the hair ... once again, even though I was able to get a pre-opening appointment with my stylist, it was a waste of time and money. Just like the day before, within the first five minutes of leaving the salon doors, my curls were gone. COMPLETELY GONE! Blame it on the humidity.

Well, yesterday was a full and exhausting day. Here's a glimpse at my schedule:

9:00 a.m.: Tibi Show at Bryant Park

11:00: Ghita Show at Bryant Park

2:00 p.m.: Betsey Johnson Show at Metropolitan Pavilion

3:00: showroom appointment at Marie-Chantal

6:30: 2(x)ist Show at Metropolitan Pavilion

8:30: Henri Bendel Ball begins at the Highline Ballroom

9:00: Jayson Brundson Show at Bryant Park

10:00: Henri Bendel Ball at the Highline Ballroom

I was late to the Tibi show and entered backstage to avoid the war zone of people trying to push into the show in the front. I was taken to my seat and it was a relief to know that I didn't miss the show! Tibi was the show I have been looking forward to for weeks. I was seated adjacent to the charming and delightful Jackie Astier, socialite and fashion director at Avenue magazine.

In the few moments we had before the show began, we exchanged a few words about the ungodly humidity. Then the plastic covering the runway was pulled, folded and removed. When the lights dimmed to dark, the music came up and the Tibi show for Spring 2008 began.

Upbeat music set the mood. Healthy-looking models, hair pulled back, strutted past and each ensemble that was paraded in front of me — I wanted! There was nothing I didn't love about Tibi's newest creations. Everything was so chic and ladylike and most importantly, wearable. Wearable fashion can't get any better than this.

The best part of the show was when the Mina dress came down the runway. The Mina dress is a carefree Camino linen topstitch dress and it's now become my "must have" — the Mina dress! The collection was a visual feast — very 1970s but better, because it had a classic modern spin. There were a lot of form-fitting dresses, short sexy rompers and off-the-shoulder flirty blouses. Wow. I think I have my spring wardrobe planned!

After Tibi, I met up with my online business director at Bon-Luxe, Selvie, and we headed downtown for the Ghita show. We had some time to kill so we stopped by Le Pain Quotidien on 17th Street for a big bowl of coffee and toast. The Ghita show was interesting. There is always a photo frenzy for celebrities at the shows, but this one was just crazy. There was a mob, a continent of photographers and interviewers from E!, VH1, MTV ... they all surrounded the fiancé of Ghita's designer (Alexis Phifer) and celebs like Kanye West.

The Ghita show was an atypical fashion show. There wasn't a white runway, but a mirrored runway and rather than bright lights, the show was dark, mysterious and full of spotlights. It was a Hollywood production. The collection consisted of 1980s-inspired color-blocking in neon combinations. Quite different, not my style, but I guess there will be a lot of buyers all for the love of Kanye West.

In the afternoon, I was once again back in the tents for the Betsey Johnson show and saw Tori Spelling of "Beverly Hills 90210" fame up close. As always, Betsey's collection was fun, very girly and happy. After the show, I went backstage to congratulate Betsey on her success and then rushed out to an appointment at Marie-Chantal.

Marie-Chantal is a line of delicate and precious (the most precious) baby clothes designed by Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece. The line reminds me of the classic smock dresses and liberty print rompers my mother would put me in when I was young. Every season I select a few special pieces to sell on my e-shop. So I spent a good half hour there "oh-ing" and "wow-ing" over the line (see, it's not only Fashion Week for adults!) and placing a quick order. Then I sped off for a meeting with Selvie until my next show.

The 2(x)ist show was fabulous. It was a men's underwear show and the music was great. The bass was so loud that I felt like I was in a club. The show started with a parade of Chippendale-looking male models in briefs ... then mid-show, two girls came out and did a Cirque du Soleil-like act — flipping, turning and twisting off a slinky fabric hanging off the ceiling. Then mid-way through the show, there she was — Carmen Electra — on the runway and she too, was flipping, turning and twisting off of a hoop in the center of the runway.

Carmen was very sultry but her two-minute act passed in about two seconds and then the show continued. I must also mention the goodie bags. Those seated in the first two rows received goodie bags (as in any fashion show) and this one was amazing. I was like a little girl unwrapping Christimas presents. The bag was filled with haircare products (lots of them), a fizzy drink, a t-shirt, a spa certificate (I very much needed that) and a CD ... what a treat!

From there, I walked over to 16th Street, to the Highline Ballroom and checked in for the Henri Bendel 100th Birthday Brown & White Ball. I stayed for 10 minutes, had a drink and then jumped in a taxi to return to the tents. At 9:15 p.m. I was back at Bryant Park for the Jayson Brunsdon show. This season, Brunsdon's collection was inspired by "The World of Suzie Wong," the iconic novel and cult film about a beautiful call girl from Hong Kong. The shapes of his dresses were very modern spinoffs of Chinese choeng-sam (a very sexy, slim form-fitting dress), mandarin collars and coolie suits. It was quite a sultry collection with a lot of intricate detailing and an unapologetic sense of femininity.

After the show, I headed back to the Highline Ballroom to finish up the night. It was an incredibly tiring day. My legs are tired and heavy ... one more day of Fashion Week and then I am allowed to go in a coma for a good day or two. Then life goes on like normal. (I've been getting about two hours of sleep every night because there's usually more work to be done and e-mail to respond to after getting home from the shows).

Update: We have added extended photos. Click on the links below to view each image.