A year and a half ag I was invited to my first Kitty Bradshaw event. She is a fashionista and lifestyle blogger, recording her New York life from a California native's perspective. Kitty is outrageous and hilarious, often live tweeting her adventures and having discussing online about her dating experiences. Recently she hosted an event for her top 45 professional bloggers and I was honored to be invited.
Us bloggers attended this Meet 'n Tweet to network, have drinks, and interact with over ten companies that would give a presentation on their products. Aka: Just hang out, have a few drinks, talk to other bloggers and take home a wicked goodie bag!
Now, I am not the first person you'd think of when attending this kind of event. I admittedly don't know squat about fashion: my attire is typically yoga pants and a superhero shirt I bought from the kid's section at Target. I wear heels and lipstick only when cosplaying, and I happen to think stockings are the devil.
I also am horribly anti social. I'd much rather stay in bed on a Friday night in sweatpants reading comics than go out to a party. Which is why I found myself in a surreal situation, sitting in the swanky cool downtown Manhattan offices of nRelate, holding a glass of wine, and looking around the room at the other bloggers. I was also in a black mini dress, heels AND stockings. Talk about being out of my element.
But I said to myself, I did not get all dressed up to just sit here and stay on my phone all night. I suppressed my anti social tendencies and scooped the room. A few bloggers were talking to each other but most were buried with their noses in their phones. These are the kinds of people I'd get along with.
I approached an Asian girl, which bleached blonde hair and a wicked outfit who was texting on her iPhone. I asked her where she got her rubber bunny case and the conversation shot off from there. Turns out her name is Tineey and runs a fashion blog! We talked a bunch about the event, how we knew Kitty and where to find the best iPhone cases.
From there I found my groove, thanking people when they complemented me on my shoes (I wore the heels from my Peggy Carter costume, I needed a little bit of bad ass to bump my confidence). I, on a rare social occasion, then befriended the quiet girl sitting next to me. I met Tiffany, who runs the blog
www.loveandstudentloans.com about life after college filled with dating mishaps and all those damn student loans.
The products that were presented were great! As I've mentioned I am not a fashion blogger, which is who most of these products were for. But I realized that I could take a special new twist on these items, because geeky tomboy girls need fashion things too! The following are my favorite products from that night:
1.) nRelate is a cool way to advertise on your site! I use it on my blog, I signed up as soon as I got home from the event. You can see it on the bottom of all my posts, and increases page views like mad!
www.nrelate.com
2.) Squeem is a corset type of product that is no stranger to ladies and drag queens. It's a great way to avoid a muffin top, but Kitty swore by this particular brand Squeem because it fixes more than a muffin top: it fixes your "soufflé top!" At the event I was given the wrong size and I was extremely disappointed to find out it didn't fit me when I got home. The reps on the site were fantastic though! I emailed them asking if I could have a different size and they sent me one right away, emailing me multiple times to double check they were sending me the right style, size and color.
I am, at this very moment, wearing a beige Squeem vest and I must admit that it does everything it promises to do. It not only takes care of my "soufflé top" but also fixes my posture. I have a horrendous posture, all those years of sitting curled up in a chair or hunched over a computer. But this immediately makes me stand up straighter, without being uncomfortable or constricting. It makes my boobs look worthy of Jessica Rabbit. ;) Squeem also promises to help you lose weight. Because it's constricts, it makes you eat less. My favorite part about this product is that it is VERY comfortable. I can sit, bend out, run around in it. You can even work out in it! It reaches all the way down past my hipbones, making sure none of that soufflé escapes. I highly recommend it for every day use, but especially when cosplaying. Spandex reveals everything, but for other costumes it would fit seamlessly under your outfit, making sure you look sleek and slim for those photo shoot that end up all over the Internet.
www.squeem.net
3.) Pencil Me in Cosmetics show cased their eyeliner, which is infused with vitamins and anti-oxidants for your eyes! I brought home a sparkled black and a shiny silver pencil that have a sharpener included in the cap! #Genius
What’s unique and innovative about this company is that they also do pencils specifically made to color in hair shaved designs such as this Spider-man! I had a discussion with the owner, Linda, about how she made the pencils specifically to last long on your skin. I told her it would be perfect for cosplayers that do extravagant face designs and body styles such as a Poison Ivy Cosplayer that wanted leaves drawn on. You can visit her site here:
http://www.pencilmeincosmetics.com/
4.) Emergen-C is a vitamin drink mix to help ward off that lingering cold this winter. They taste good and easy to add when on the go. My favorite part about this product is that they work with special funds, such as Surfrider Foundation. Surfrider is a big part of my family, because my whole family surfs. (I bet you didn’t know that.) I grew up spending my summers on the North Shore of O’ahu, surfing and visiting my friends who own a surfing school on the island. Surfrider is a great organization that helps protect the beaches in the country, and I am very proud to be a member. For every Emergen-C Blue packet purchased, 20 cents is donated to this organization. So fight the flu and help save beaches!
http://www.emergenc.com/index.php/fund/blue
5.) Hanes Hosiery is the accessory I did not know I needed. We were given a pair of Silk perfection opaque tights and it was
heaven. As I mentioned above, I hate tights. They are the devil and completely uncomfortable. But this pair of Hanes was like slipping on liquid. They look great on me and felt incredible. I will be sure to buy them for every event and every convention I attend in the future.
http://www.haneshosiery.com/SilkReflections/
Overall it was a great night, especially Kitty called me out in front of the whole room that I was a comics blogger. After that, many bloggers came up to me and wanted to know more about how "such a pretty girl got into comics". It was pretty neat to find out that all these fashion fans were interested in the comic book world too =)
Here is a list of the notable bloggers I met that night!
And of course
"This book was published on January 11, 2011. I had heard about the release of this book from The Strand’s newsletter announcing a book signing with the author in February. The full title of the book immediately caught my attention, as I am obsessed with novels where the setting of the novel is New York, especially Manhattan.
