I am through-and-through a creature of fall and winter. They are absolutely my favorite seasons – give me a jacket over a swimsuit any day.  So when it came to picking my 5 favorite collections from NYFW, well, I struggled. But I made it through to the other side! In no particular order, here are my favorite shows from NYFW fall 2013.

1. Phillip Lim 3.1: This was a natural pick for me, seeing as I would wear every single piece in this show. The neo-bohemian Harley Davidson inspired girl pulled at my heart strings. Lim named the collection “Sono Mama” which is a Japanese phrase for “as you are” which describes this show perfectly. All the outfits had the feeling of being haphazardly thrown on to create the perfect devil-may-care biker attitude.

2. Marc Jacobs: What can you even say about this show? There was so much to love. The glowing sun-like orb. The topless model. The glam. The hotpants. It brought me back to my 16 year-old self obsessed with glam rock and David Bowie (who am I kidding, I still am). Not only was the presentation out-of-this-world, but so were the clothes. Bravo, Marc, Bravo.

3. Prabal Gurung: I have to admit, sometimes the whole military theme in fashion really bores me. It has been a recurring theme in fashion for a long time, and recently, I had had my fill of it. Prabal Gurung has thoroughly changed my mind. I love the tailored feminine silhouettes combined with the masculine military colors and harnesses! Though Gurung’s collection moved me visually, it was the back story that sealed the deal for me. He created his army of “confident, self assured women” based off the Ukraine’s Asgarda, a group of women trained in martial arts to fight the culture of human trafficking in their country and empower their women peers. I’m not sure if the Asgarda is a real thing, but it’s totally badass, just like Gurung’s collection.

4. Proenza Schouler: This collection oozes of maturity, refinement, and sophistication, and I love it. This collection is such a 180 from last season, where their show was filled with vibrant, kaleidoscopic prints. They grew up a little bit with this collection, and it worked out beautifully for them. Their pieces were simple and vintage inspired, and reminded me of 50s couture, but with textures and shapes that made them more unconventional.

5. Kate Spade: It was a surprise for me, putting Kate in my top five, but it happened. I have always liked Kate Spade, but something about this seasons cheeky patterns and 80s bubblegum prints really got me. And really, who doesn’t love big hair? I’m normally and all black kind of girl but you may see me in fall prancing around in a doughnut sweater. Maybe.

Fashion Week! We love it so much. So even though NYC ‘s forecast predicted a major winter storm, you better believe that we were on a plane all the way from California to bring another Style Studio to NYC. Nemo was lame anyway, totally unimpressive blizzard!

We partied all night with our favorite bloggers, gave away a ton of free fashion and beauty swag and had a blast while doing it! Take a look below for some snaps of the fun and shenanigans!

Emily of It Girl Rag Doll, Erin of Calivintage and Bianca of  Avant Blargh.

Tieka of Selective Potential and her beau. Such a darling couple.

NYX Cosmetics is one of our personal faves and they were so awesome to send over two super talented makeup artists to provide eye and lip touchups.

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(Image courtesy of Style.com)

Even if an Italian vacation isn’t in your near future, you’ll get all the excitement of planning one when you see the Missoni SS 2013 collection! This warm-weather collection features a sprinkling of Missoni’s signature candy-colored zigzags, but is surprisingly toned-down with neutral frocks, tops, and swim low-lighted with understated bits of color and pattern. The vibe is like a newfangled playground located on the grounds of an Italian villa, and there’s plenty to appeal to both mothers and daughters.

(images courtesy of Vogue Italia)

Take a seat in the front row of Ulyana Sergeenko‘s Spring/Summer 2013 Couture runway show!

The 32 year old Russian fashion designer, photographer, and former model has been one of the biggest stars on the map for 2012, and things are getting to a steamy start in the new year. In fact, you’ll find as many pictures of the ultra-stylish Ulyana herself as you will of her nostalgic fairytale designs. Her latest collection has been quoted as “Gone with the Wind meets Wizard of Oz” where models walked out from a gigantic open storybook and down a glittering gold runway (à la yellow brick road). Olivier Zahm of Purple Diary takes us there!

(images courtesy of purplediary)