Dressful

2011 was an exciting and fruitful year for me as a fashion blogger.

In February I attended my first major runway show, Emporio Armani F/W 11/12 at Milan Fashion Week. Envisioning myself working in fashion before I started blogging, I thought I would have to spend years interning and assisting at magazines before my boss granted me a privilege to attend shows and write about them. I am my own boss at Dressful so nobody showers me with benefits, but thanks to the "democratization of fashion" we bloggers have become regulars at fashion weeks, be it catching street style photographers' attention with eccentric outfits or reporting from shows.

Concept Korea Spring 2012 presentation at New York Fashion Week.

In September I attended New York Fashion Week, which turned out to be a much bigger deal than I had expected. It's the collections shown in Paris and Milan that get the most international attention, but New York is the most blogger-friendly fashion week (Reuters claims that 40% of the press at NYFW are bloggers) and a great place for networking. As opposed to Milan and Paris, all shows take place under one roof in New York, which means you can hang out with people in-between events instead of wasting your time getting stuck in insane traffic jams.

When I started going to fashion weeks, I quickly realized there would be no way back, i.e. if I attend, I have to return next season to see more shows, meet more people and do better work. Due to unexpected health problems I didn't create as much content as I wanted to at NYFW in September. I will be attending NYFW again in February and I'm tickled pink to have a chance to improve. I haven't seen wintry New York in three years.

Invitation to the Emporio Armani Spring/Summer 2012 show
Celebrating Halloween with a Chanel pumpkin carved by my dad

Dressful has gained many new readers in 2011. I receive charming, encouraging emails from those of you who find it inspiring and I wish such perceptive and intelligent readers will accompany me in 2012 too. Constantly working on ways to reach more fashion enthusiasts, I'm satisfied with the direction Dressful is developing in. I've discovered that in my case, sharing original and quality content is the way to go. People like words and images they won't find elsewhere and I feel good expressing myself in different creative ways.

In 2011 I rejected various proposals that would have brought me money but didn't align with Dressful. I've been hesitant with monetization because I find some methods largely inefficient and because this blog is my personal space where I only recommend what I absolutely love and know well.

I have seen bloggers rush into monetization without thinking it through; in the end, they were not compensated fairly, the brand or product they promoted didn't fit their blog, the banner ads looked out of place … If done wrong, such deals can do more harm than good to the blogger, despite the money they earned. That being said, there are several types of collaborations I am interested in; I will soon create a separate page to outline them more precisely.

Sens(n)ation Maison Martin Margiela exhibition in Ljubljana.

I would like to thank everyone who takes time to comment on my posts; your comments are not of the "nice shoes check out my blog" variety; rather, they contribute valuably to the post and discussion. I truly appreciate it when you share my posts on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms – this is the easiest way to help me reach more people. Next to providing quality content, expanding my audience is my number one goal for 2012.

Though the world is far from perfect, the opportunities I've had in 2011 make me grateful to live here and now. Five years ago it would have been impossible to jumpstart my fashion career with a blog.

The blog is just the beginning.

I wish you happy holidays and lots of health, love, creativity and success in 2012.

Important notice: I changed Dressful's URL to http://www.dressful.com (with www). Please update your bookmarks. If I'm on your blogroll, I'd appreciate if you updated the link too. Thank you!

1. If you're in town during fashion week, you won't escape fashion week. Bumping into masses of people coming from shows is practically unavoidable no matter where you are. I promise this will happen to you even if you're not interested in fashion week and try to stay away from it as much as possible.

2. Some people dress eccentrically and hang around the shows to get noticed (without actually going to shows). It makes for a pretty awkward situation when they look at you and your camera because they want you to take their photo and it's so obvious. The Sartorialist and Jak & Jil phenomenon gone bizarre, I guess.

3. Every part of your body will feel the consequences of bringing heavy photo equipment to shows. This is why nobody ever does it (except me). By the way, my left shoulder is still bruised.

4. Taking a taxi is not the quickest way to get from one show to another. It might actually be the slowest. This is because the VIPs are taking taxis/chauffeured cars and they're all going in the same direction - the next show. The streets clog up in a matter of seconds. Taking the metro seems to be the best option in Milan (especially because Milan traffic is insane even without jams - it's best to skip it altogether).

Me outside the Emporio Armani Fall/Winter 2011/2012 show

I saw my first runway show at Milan Fashion Week last weekend. Emporio Armani Fall/Winter 2011/2012 was a dark hodgepodge of Armani's signature no-nonsense aesthetic and pure magic. Like I said in my previous post, it was also one of the most beautiful experiences in my life.

Moments before the start of Emporio Armani F/W 11/12

I arrived to Milan by train from Trieste on Friday afternoon. Being exorbitantly excited probably had everything to do with me not remembering anything before the show, save for the last minute glitch with my invite. On Friday morning I received an email from the Emporio Armani international office asking me for my Milan address so they could send me the (physical) invite. I replied, but when I checked with the reception desk in my hotel late in the evening, the invite still hadn't arrived.

I was more than a bit worried because being a fashion show neophyte, I didn't know if the physical invite was absolutely mandatory to go in or your name on the list was enough. Thankfully, it turned out to be the second.

The show took place at Teatro Armani, a wonderfully minimalist and spacious Tadao Ando building in Via Bergognone. I got there with my friend 10 minutes before the show (I was attending the first show at 10:30 and she the second one hour later), carrying a bag full of extra heavy photo equipment plus my Galaxy Tab with the email I'd received the day before.

Although someone had told me security was a lot more strict now compared to previous years, the number of security guards at the entrance still came as a surprise. I had to show my email to different security personnel 3 times until I reached the girls in charge of the guest list inside. I explained that I was invited but didn't receive the invitation. They checked the list, found my name and gave me a show pass.

I was in!

My show pass. ST stands for standing. 10:30 is when the show was supposed to begin.

I passed through a long hallway and found myself in a large room where people were already waiting in line for standing spots. I left my coat in the wardrobe and joined the queue (how British!). Some people had the pretty white invites, but some had been given the same passes as I (I later found out we hadn't received our invites because there simply wasn't enough time to send all of them).

Waiting to enter the venue. The space on the left is where guests were coming in to be seated.

In the above photo, the space on the left is where I saw Anna Wintour for the first time. She (and her bodyguard) was among the first to arrive to the show when most people were still outside. I think I started shaking when I saw her, it was just so unbelivable. Although I don't always like or agree with what she does, the amount of respect I have for this woman is tremendous.

The show was late, but I didn't care because I was so happy to be there. After the VIPs had arrived, they let us in as well. The venue was dark with just a little bit of light, some chilling music and a lot of chatter.

Photographers at the end of the runway

Then the show began. It was an amazing sensory experience: music blasted to the max, unbearable heat, super strong lights, everything I'd usually run away from, but it fit the occasion like a glove. When I saw Anna Dello Russo standing on the opposite side of the venue, I realized how damn perfect everything was and how I'd been wishing and waiting for this for so long. A few discreet tears rolled down my cheeks (they didn't even mess up my non-waterproof mascara), accompanied by a huge smile.

The best thing about the show was that I loved the collection. Imagine the horror of seeing your first runway show and not liking the very reason it was organized for? The collection is more serious than the usual Emporio Armani, which was brilliantly executed. All the clothes were black and accessories mostly colorful. I could relate to it well because I've been dressing this way (all black + one colorful accessory) for years.

Can you spot Anna Dello Russo?

This little dog had the honor to close the show.

As soon as the show was over, Anna Wintour was the very first to stand up and leave. The exit was on the opposite side from where she sat, so by the time she got there, a group of people had already amassed. Her bodyguard paved her way through the crowd and poof!, she was gone, just like Cinderella.

Most people left their invites on the seats or on the floor.

On my way out I bumped into Anna Dello Russo giving a quick interview. I love her vibrant fashion week outfits, she truly takes the art of standing out to the next level.

In the meantime, a ton of people had gathered outside - those waiting for the second show as well as photographers wanting to catch people leaving the first show.

Busy entrance before the second show.

The police outside Teatro Armani during the second show. The street was closed for all traffic unrelated to the shows.

I stayed outside until the end of the second show (I was waiting for my friend). It was mostly uneventful, except for a fascinating flash mob - about 15 people showed up on their bicycles and started ringing the bells. They did this for about 5 minutes and I thought we'd all go deaf. Then a boy came up to me and randomly asked me how to get into the show.

When I heard the loud music signaling the start of the second show, it hit me that "my" show was already over. I wasn't in an "I can't believe I was there!" mood because I knew I belonged there, it was just that the show had been my number one thought for so long and now that it was over I didn't have a clear idea what to do next.

On our way back to the center, my friend and I saw the super nice girls who had given me the show pass earlier at the metro station. They asked me how I liked the show and the only thing I could say was "amazing" because it was impossible to put all my feelings into one or two cultured sentences.

I hope I managed to say more with this post.

This was my outfit. I wore a Tadashi dress (bought on a very cold December evening in Gorizia), Marjeta Grošelj belt and Zara over-the-knee boots.

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Big thanks to:

- Everyone I've been in touch with at Armani in the past month (Ms P, Ms S, the girls at the show ...) - for being incredibly nice and professional.

- My mom - for going to Milan with me, and everything else.

- My brother - for lending me his photo equipment.

- My dad - for nothing in particular this time (I probably just can't remember), but it'd be wrong to leave you out.

- Most of all, Rosa.

I'm also very happy to say this is not the end of the fashion month for me. I'm flying to Paris on Friday for another event. I haven't been to Paris since I was 9, but for the past 6 months my sixth sense was telling me I'd end up there soon. As always, it was one hundred percent right.

Dear friends,
I have some wonderful news to share with you. I saw the Emporio Armani Fall/Winter 2011/2012 show in Milan this morning. I had wanted to let you know I'd be attending before I left for Milan, but I ran out of time.

The show was one of the most beautiful experiences in my life. I'm extremely honored, grateful and happy to have been a part of it.

Expect a more detailed update on Monday!