Last night Gradient Magazine frequency -2had their launch party at new hotspot Citrine. The party reached full capacity by 9:30, so you know it was a good one… The event was sponsored by Inocente Tequila that provided complementary signature drinks “sunrise” and “peach margarita” and the deejay provided mostly house tunes, that were a little too progressive trance for me, but everyone seemed to be enjoying it.

(l-r. Alan Vinogradov,Kipton Cronkite,Barris Vinogradov, Matt Fried)

The bar was packed, the crowd was a a good mix of your hipsters, your fashionistas, your socials, and everyone else who came to support Gradient Magazine (and the open bar). Overall, great crowd, great open bar, one of the better parties I have been to recently.

(Matt Fried & I)

The former fondue space called Dip got a makeover and is now a trendy sports bar in Murray Hill, called, how ironic, The Hill. I stopped by a few weeks ago to check this place out and to say hi to owners Perry Lee and Mike Zandman (The Hill is also co-owned by the owners of Dune).

What did I find? A packed house on a Friday night, lots of locals, you know your recent UPenn grads, grabbing a few drinks before heading to whatever hot spot of the moment is afterwards. The guys were watching the game on the countless flat screen plasma TVs found throughout this new bar, and the girls were sipping drinks at the several tables along the walls.

(Perry Lee and DJ Berrie)

The Hill isn’t your typical sports bar, as there was a deejay playing the latest hits and locals were dressed for a night out to the hottest club. I spotted DJ Berrie there on his rare night off, and after spending about forty five minutes here I was ready to head to the next drinking establishment and headed down to the LES to continue the evening. Not a bad spot to grab a drink and catch up with a few friends, before the real evening begins…

Last week I attended the opening of Anonymous Gallery down on Broome St. The event featured a debut exhibition entitled “PLAF–Autonomous Mechanisms” with works by groundbreaking “interventionist” artists Eltono and Momo.

I sipped on a cosmo / tequila drink, which was sponsored by Patron Tequila, while I saw art work that consisted of photography, videos being projected onto a nearby wall, and of course traditional artwork that was catching the gazers eye by its colorful display.  

(Timo Weiland and I)

While guests sipped on tequila based drinks, Arten was providing the music and copies of Spread Magazine were found throughout the gallery to provide some reading pleasure to the guests once they were doing viewing the artwork. After celebrating the opening of the gallery guests headed to nearby The Randolph for the after party.

(My cousin James and I)

Last Friday evening I attended a fashion show by new hot designer Kesh, held at the Anonymous Gallery down on Bowery. Kesh, a designer and DJ who hails from the UK, has found her fashion land on the backs of stars such as Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Lupe Fiasco and more…

The fashion show, which had a great turn out despite the unfavorable weather, displayed the hottest pieces from Kesh’s spring / summer 09 collection. The house music that filled up the Anonymous Gallery was provided by Chromeo and Marcus Udagwa. Complimentary copies of Fader Magazine found its way to the hands of the attendees, as did complimentary glasses of wine provided by Barterhouse.

Next up for Kesh is a clothing collaboration with Chromeo to be sold at your nearest Urban Outfitters.

My goodness, I am not going to lie, I had a slight tear run down my face when I heard the new Britney Spears song, Womanizer. Although the song, found on the Youtube video below, isn’t of the highest quality, you hear Britney’s new song, and it just brings a tear to my eye. It drops on September 22 at your local radio station, and her album is set to debut on December 2 (her 27th Birthday)!

She is happy, healthy, back with her old manager Larry Rudolph, and entertaining. The video below is of Britney Spears practicing her performance with her dancers. Tear. We <3 Brit Brit!!!

 I am not a big TV person, except for my Gossip Girl on Monday night’s; finding me in front of the TV is a very rare thing. Last night I made an exception as I was exhausted from running around all over the city, in four inch heels no less (why are there such weird people on Sixth Avenue?). I gave in and watched the first thing that appeared on my TV… “Project Runway”.

I don’t watch “Project Runway”, pretty much at all, I just know who Cristian Siriano is because he has an excellent publicist, but besides that… umm Heidi Klum owns it? And there was some drama that involved Nina Garcia and that was all over Perez Hilton?

Well last night (which probably was a re-run) Diane Von Furstenberg was on as a judge. And the first thing I thought was, “really? DVF? I thought you were… higher class than that…”

So is being on a reality show a sell out? Low class? You will never see Halle Berry, or Brad Pitt, or Tom Cruise do a reality show, mainly because they don’t need the money. In fact Brad Pitt donated $14 million to charity… So who is on reality shows? Umm people who need the money (and the fame), not exactly the upper of the upper class…

So to my shock I see DVF on there, with way too much plastic surgery done she isn’t able to really show any expression, and I just think “why are you selling yourself out?” It’s not like she is up and coming, or is going bankrupt anytime soon, but her? I would think Alexander Wang, who is still making a name for himself - and a brand- would be on there before her… I felt as if I was watching Valentino sell himself… but we all know Valentino would never do a reality show.

So why is DVF selling out? She has a promotional contract with American Express, she hired Whitney Port from “The Hills” and Socialite Olivia Palermo to be fake publicists at her company so they can film “The City” and now she is a guest judge on “Project Runway”, next to Michael Kors??? How many years ago did Michael Kors go out of style? Is DVF loosing a lot of money because of our rough times?? I don’t know what the back story is there but…really DVF?

 Reality TV is to make the Paris Hiltons of this world, people do it because they need a stepping stone to be where they want to be… you are already there. Trust me.

Yesterday marked history on Wall Street. And it isn’t good.

Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, after 158 years of being a top investment bank on Wall Street. This came after real estate and mortgage investments went sour, and although they tried to get someone to buy them out, no one wanted them. Instead Bank of America had to buy something, so they snatched up Merrill Lynch (in service for over 90 years) for a mere $50 Bill. Oh yea and $50 Bill in Wall Street is like saying you bought a Gucci Bag for $50. You know it is worth so much more, but you got it at a really good sale, and you know the price won’t be going up anytime soon.

I heard the shocking news yesterday morning on my commute to work. My mom called me at 8:30 in the morning; she never calls me that early. I actually expected the worse, and I thought right away terrorist attack. Thank goodness I was wrong, but the news she gave me wasn’t great.

Convo went something like this…

Mom: OMG I have some news to tell you…

Me: What’s up?

Mom: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy yesterday

Me: That’s crazy

Mom: Bank of America was supposed to buy them out, but they changed their mind at the last minute. They bought something else instead…

Me: Okay??… What did they buy?

Mom: Merrill Lynch

Me: WHAT?? I didn’t even know they were that bad…

Mom: I know I am shocked…

So that began my Monday morning. The entire day it was the talk of the office (I work in Finance, so this hits close to home). And the first thing that came to everyone’s mind? Holy effin crap, we are all screwed.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. And with dumb and dumber running for President, looks like D-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-O-N is going to be the slogan for 09….

( Vaughn Massey, one of the designers Lara Meiland, Kathryn Bohannon, Rachel Wolkowitz, and Maggie Katz)

 Last Wednesday, September 10, New York’s socials and brides in the making headed to Lara Hélène Bridal Atelier to celebrate the bridal brand’s feature in INSEAM, a documentary series that explores the real life business of up and coming designers.

The series is hosted by Eric Villency and sponsored by Cotton Incorporated. The documentary records the professional and personal lives of the design duo of Lara Hélène: Lara Meiland in New York and Lisa Hélène Meiland in London, where she resides.

( Rachel Wolkowitz and Carrie Cloud)

A fashion week party is nothing without the requisite army of guest hosts. Melanie Charlton Fascitelli, Carrie Cloud, Di Petroff, Vaughn Massey, Kathryn Bohannon, Maggie Katz and Rachel Wolkowitz did not disappoint in hosting duties, wearing their own custom evening gowns designed by Lara Hélène to honor the occasion. Kristian Laliberte also hosted the event, heightening the male glamour quotient, and Veuve Cliquot provided champagne to toast the occasion.

After the party, 69th Street was a sea of colorful cotton scarves, as guests welcomed the new chill in the air with the fashionable party favors provided by Cotton Incorporated.

( Kathryn Bohannon, Melanie Charlton Fascitelli and Maggie Katz)

 My MIA from the blog in recent weeks did not come from pure neglect, yet I was doing some much needed “soul searching”. What did I figure out? Soul searching is a waste of time, because things change, and that’s what I did. I changed a few things and tried to figure a few things along the way….A few changes I have made in my quest to “soul search”:

• I decided to quit my caffeine addiction (I was up to three cups a day). I did this through the “Master Cleanse” which I surprisingly lasted five days on.
• I joined New York Sports Club because exercise produces endorphins, and endorphins make you think just a tad bit clearer…
• I am reading more books, becoming more knowledgeable in different areas I never got a chance to learn while I was in college -Greek Mythology anyone? (Hey I graduated in three years; it was a get in get out fast kind of thing).
• Most importantly I am rethinking where I want to be in a few years (needless to say my daytime job hasn’t been keeping me too happy lately). I am thinking of creating an entirely new website, growing it and making part of “corporate America” to a certain extent.
• I have been looking to at different graduate programs at NYU
• I also have been planning my escape to Europe for sometime next year.

As you can see I have been busy “soul searching”, but I am back to writing my thoughts about life, this little city, and America.

 So here I am, back to expressing my thoughts, and here goes…

Hey Guys,

So I know I never do a “Hey Guys” post but I have been enjoying the last few days of summer like you wouldn’t believe.

So what have I been up to?

Labor Day weekend in the Hamptons, welcoming new employees (finally…) at my job, rooftop / outdoor bars and my favorite orange shoes getting some last wear. And of course the Gossip Girl premiere this past Monday, which was great, and this Sunday begins a new season of Entourage.

So with all the great shows coming back, which means time to be sitting in front of the TV and no more outdoor activities, I wanted to catch my last few days of being outside and having funnnn!!

On a side note - I hear there is a hurricane coming our way this weekend?? I guess once the Hurricanes start hitting the great NYC that is pretty much end of summer and everything fun.

But do we know what starts tomorrow?

Fashion Week.

Yes get ready, because Fashion Week is always crazy, hectic, and Bryant park visits will begin tomorrow!

Xo,

Nicolette