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The Coffey Break Guide to Fashion Week + Free Events

Hi guys!

Chelsea Coffey here. It’s a crazy awesome feeling to look back and see how much time has passed since my very first New York Fashion Week back in 2007. I know the experience can be a little intimidating, so I wanted to take the time to put together a guide to offer any pearls I’ve picked up along the way. Hopefully they will be of assistance to anyone in need of a little boost in confidence on how to approach things!

For starters, it’s important to understand the dynamic behind the production of events. This year the major New York Fashion Week venues will be at Skylight at Moynihan Station at 360 West 33rd Street and Skylight Clarkson Sq. at 550 Washington Street. For five years the major venue had been at Lincoln Center, and before that, Bryant Park. There are shows happening all around the city, and that leads me to my first point:

1. Be Intentional-

You may not be on the list for any of the shows around the city, but there are plenty of free events to take part in. Refinery29 celebrated their 10th Birthday with their 29 Rooms event, and it was completely free to the public.

Photo: Refinery29.com

Essence Magazine hosted a Street Style Block Party. It was chock full of vendors, fantastic looks, fashion show, the whole nine, all under the Brooklyn Bridge in Dumbo:

Photo: TheCoffeyBreak.com

2. Be Present, Build Genuine Relationships-

During this time, you’ll most likely meet A LOT of people and it may be tempting to feel the urge to want to bounce from person to person in an effort to not miss out on meeting as many people as possible. My recommendation is simple, be present when you’re with someone and focus your energy on making a sincere connection with the people you genuinely like. Quality over quantity. Always.

3. Trust The Timing of Things-

Serendipity, one of my all-time favorite expressions: The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. In other words, trust that whatever is meant to be will be. Everything happens for a reason, embrace that. As far as I’m concerned, the law of attraction is real. Speak those things that you want to see happen into existence, and watch God work. It will take a lot of the pressure off of you to be in the “right place” place at the “right time”. If it’s meant to be, it will come to pass. Focus your energy on enjoying the ride.

Below, Aimee Son of Song of Style. I just loved her look, and stopped to get a picture. Little did I know she’d become one of my favorite style bloggers.

4. Be Ready-

As much as I love the idea of serendipity, one can’t discount preparedness. Take the time to research like CRAZY. If you’re going to take a free spirited approach to life, life my self haha, you can at least make a point to know of as many events, shows and so on as possible. A few years ago, I was at a natural hair event. We were about to leave, and I saw this guy across the room wearing a fabulous two-piece graffiti print outfit. Not only did he happen to be from Houston, but it turns out it was Beyonce’s stylist Ty Hunter! I can honestly say that he is the sweetest person, and he couldn’t have been any nicer. The same can be said of June Ambrose. Only I knew exactly who she was when I saw her, and she greeted me with such a warm reception. I was even fortunate enough to interview the both of them.

In addition to being informed, it’s also smart to have general info cards made. Picture a business card, but personalized and tailored to whatever you would want people to know about you: your social media info, blog/website, contact info and so on. Be as direct as possible, so people know exactly who you are, what you do, and how to best connect.

5. Confidence Is Everything-

At the end of the day, people are people. Social media can make things a little tricky because in a few short years, we’ve gone from meeting people by chance to recognizing a large number of faces due to platforms like Instagram and YouTube. Nonetheless, perception isn’t always reality. Give yourself a pep talk, and push past any apprehensions about approaching someone you’d like to connect with. Be willing to walk up to someone, regardless of who they are, and introduce yourself. You’ll vibe with the ones who were meant to be, and if you’re anything like me, you won’t even remember the ones who weren’t 😉

With June Ambrose

Fashion Week in and of itself is just such a special time. Remember that comparison is the thief of joy. Own every inch of your being, and go forth with your head held high. There’s no substitute for a beautiful spirit and good energy. We attract what we put out. Hope this was helpful!

Happy Fashion Week!

Peace, Love and Sunshine ~Chelsea

Here’s a head start:

http://nymag.com/fashion/fashioncalendar/fashionweek/

http://nyfw.com/

SS16 CALENDAR

Coffey Break Chat: Protecting Your Peace

Hey guys!

In this week’s Coffey Break Chat, I’m discussing a concept I live, eat and breathe by: Protecting Your Peace.

We’re constantly confronted with situations and circumstances that have the potential threaten our inner peace, and I’ve come to a place where I feel like all I can do at the end of the day is set the tone, and be as best prepared as possible to confront those situations.

Join me as I share tips on how to protect your peace. Enjoy!

Peace, Love & Sunshine ~Chelsea

Let’s connect?

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecoffeybreak
Instagram: http://instagram.com/thecoffeybreak

Really Love Them…

Really love them… I’d like to consider myself fairly resilient, but the truth is that I’m sensitive, really sensitive, and after all these years, I’m seeing that there are things that stay with you. Years and years can go by, and yet, there are still those moments when I slip into that hidden vault of whatever offenses, disappointments, hurt feelings, embarrassments tucked away in the recesses of my mind, and sometimes, it’s just enough to trigger a ping reminding me of why those boundaries are there in the first place. It’s ironic, because those same defense mechanisms possibly cheat me out of who knows how many meaningful relationships and experiences..Thankfully, life is a filter. So regardless, I couldn’t be more thankful to the ones who continue to break down those walls and show me how to connect, commit and trust the beauty of relationships. Vulnerability is a powerful thing… Ya, the risk might be higher, but the same can be said for the reward.

Have a great day you guys! Peace, Love & Sunshine ~ Chels

Praying For Discernment

Man.. The timing of this devotional is perfect. I can’t even tell you guys how much time I’ve spent trying to get this whole hearing the voice of God thing down… Jesus Calling is one of my daily devotionals, and I love it –But I really want to feel like I’m in sync with where God wants me to be. So, I’ve been reading an awesome, awesome book on prayer called the The Ultimate Conversation. I just got back into the groove of meditating, like actually devoting time each morning before I get started with everything else to quiet the world around me and hear whatever it is God is trying to say. The trickiest part for me, has always been discerning his voice from all the other thoughts flying through my mind. I once heard someone say that we need to be intentional in our efforts to discern between the voice of God and our subconscious will. Those things that you want, but maybe aren’t talking about

Natural Hair How-To: Protective Style Two Strand Twist Updo

Hey guys!

It’s the funniest thing how it seems that the most random of hairstyles draw the most attention. I was hoping to get my hair braided to give it a break from all the maintenance, but it fell through and and this style is what I came up with as a replace for a protective look.

Ironically, I’ve been getting stopped. A lot lol And I’ve had quite a few people tell me that they’d –never be able to do something like this. Lies! It’s SO easy that I wanted to do a quick how-to!

Step 1: Section off the hair. There are three ways that I typically stretch my hair: blow dry, flat-iron or bantu knot. In the case of this style, I had just washed my hair so I had already blow dried it, and it was already paired off into sections. I generally split my hair into 10-12 sections of two strand twists and I determine the part based on whichever way I want the style to fall.

Step 2: Stretch and/or smooth the section. I flat-ironed each two strand twist from the root to about halfway to the end of the section. I did this because whoever is braiding my hair moves a lot faster with the hair smooth at the root. *Feel free to skip this step, but I will add that I’ve really liked watching the style progress from a more sleek look to a more textured look due to the rain we’ve been having over the last few days. It’s like two styles in one 😉

Step 3: Twist, Tuck & Roll. So at this point there are 12 sets of two strand twists. To get the crown affect, decide which side you want to work on first and have you bobby pins ready. Then twist the two strand twists with the next two strand twist section, working your way towards the nape of your neck and pin at the center. Repeat the same motion on the other side adjusting accordingly moving down towards the nape of your neck and pin.

Step 4: Final Tuck. At this point, you may have a little hang-time at the nape of your neck from the two sides. I generally tuck each piece into the opposite side and pin.

*Disclaimer: This is my first how-to so please don’t hesitate to ask whatever questions or offer suggestions that may be helpful. I’ll definitely take more photos of the process and even record a quick video so you guys can have more visual aids!

I hope this was helpful! Have a great week!

Peace, Love & Sunshine ~ Chels