watch #NYFW from the comfort of your home (or the W)

Not in NY? Don't want to wait for Style.com to post the shows? Follow these steps for instant access to #NYFW:

1. Follow Leandra Medine. AKA the Man Repeller. She'll show you what she'd wear (which is kind of everything, but in the best way). Not only is she witty and smart, she has a sharp eye and does not hold back. @manrepeller

2. Follow your favorite designers that actually post things (other than glossy magazine ad shots) on Instagram, like Creatures of the Wind @creaturesofthewind  or Maison Martin Margiela @maisonmargiela or BCBG MAXAZRIA @bcbgmaxazria or Mara Hoffman @marahoffman.  Don't waste time searching for them on Instagram--just go here, click on the designer for profiles and official social links.

3. Follow Mercedes Benz Fashion Week @mbfashionweek because, well, they have a vested interested to show you everything.

4. Follow Solange Knowles @saintrecords  Just because.

5. Watch live streaming of four shows at the the W Washington D.C. Living Room starting tonight with Diane von Furstenberg! RSVP to wfashion@brandlinkdcrsvp.com and find show listings here.

And the color of the year is...

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One day, a long time ago, my little sister was painting her room. She picked out the colors herself and spent all day working. I would go in periodically to check, but she wouldn't let me look. Finally, when she was finished, she pulled me in to see her masterpiece.

I scanned the walls and told her she did a great job. But then, I noticed some blue on the cherry railing. In fact, the whole cherry railing was the color of the tape blue. I said, maybe you should take off the painter's tape? And her face just melted. There was no painter's tape, she just picked paint that was the exact shade of painter's tape.

I laughed so hard that eventually she turned from embarrassed to mad and kicked me out of her room. I still feel bad about that, but she did later admit the shade was awfully close. Which is how I feel about Pantone's 'dazzling blue' (18-3949), one of the proposed colors of Spring 2014. A bit like painter's tape, don't ya think? I love it in these pieces nonetheless. You never know what gets stuck in your memory.