Last week was the first ever Fashion Forward conference hosted by Nicole Feliciano of Momtrends, Audrey McClelland of MomGenerations, Vera Sweeney of Lady and the Blog and Brooke Stewart of Power Moms Media. The conference was aimed at moms who don’t want to forego style, just because they are moms. There were inspirational entrepreneurs who talked about how to build and be a successful brand; to the Keynote Speaker, Jill Herzig, Redbook Editor-in-Chief of Redbook magazine who discussed how to create relevant content to another panel of experts who discussed how to create partnerships, and taking that first step in becoming a brand.
I had the pleasure of being an attendee at the Fashion Forward Conference AND being a mommy model at the fashion show.
Tweeting and Instagraming while getting my ‘do done by the awesome hair stylists from The Robert Stuart Salon of the Upper West Side here in New York City. My fabulous make-up was done by Evy Drew – who is able to make you look “done up” without being “over done”.
Gracing the red carpet in my LOFT Cheetah Print Dolman Sleeve Blouse dress (an affordable $79.50) and the LOFT Colorblocked Fedora ($34.50) which everyone wanted to steal from my head. Unfortunately, the fedora was Nicole’s personal sample, so I couldn’t swipe it. But it is so super cute and super wallet friendly that I have to get to a LOFT store ASAP!
Take a look at this gorgeous picture: What do you see? Women of all ages, colors, shapes, heights and hair colors — and we are all beautiful, smart and sassy! The women who were featured (and the brands they wore) in the Fashion Forward runway show were:
- Nicole Feliciano @momtrends – Levi’s and Snugli and Rent the Runway
- Audrey McClelland @audreymcclellan – Levi’s
- Andrea Fellman @savvysassymoms – Levi’s and Rent the Runway
- Sherry Aikens – @babypop – Sonsi
- Nancy Horn @mamamaven – Sonsi
- Linda Grant @nycsinglemom – Sonsi
- Beth Felman @rolemommy – Look sponsored by GM
- Julie Edelman @accidentlhswife – Look sponsored by GM
- Roo Ciambriello @roociambriello – Look sponsored by GM
- Melissa Angert @melissaangert – Look sponsored by GM
- Maria Colaco @pluslily -Ingrid and Isabel
- Nicole Daley @daleyprnews – Ingrid and Isabel
- Liza Huber @sagespoonfuls – Ingrid and Isabel
- Sharon Langert @fashion_isha – Eileen Fisher
- Clarissa Nassar @theposhparent -Eileen Fisher
- Pam Kirkbride @triplethreatmom – LOFT
- Jyl Johnson @momitforward – LOFT
- Lainie Gutterman @meandbabyi – Lauren by Ralph Lauren
- JoLynne Shane @jolynnes – Lauren by Ralph Lauren
- Serena Norr @mamagoesnatural – Maggie London
- Lyss Stern @divamoms – Maggie London
- Brooke Stewart @powermomsmedia – Jeans designed by Clorox
Fashion Forward’s co-founders: Nicole Feliciano from Momtrends, Audrey McClelland from MomGenerations, Brooke Stewart from Power Moms Media and Vera Sweeney from Lady and the Blog, who, unfortunately, couldn’t make it to the conference because she had to rest during her pregnancy.
Over 150 bloggers attended the event at the beautiful 404 on Tenth Avenue.
Amazing panelists from Michelle Madhok of SheFinds.com, Samantha Ettus of Working Moms Lifestlye, Kendra Bracken-Ferguson co-founder and managing director of The Digital Brand Architects and Julie Deane CEO of Cambridge Satchel were among the smart and sassy panelists who discussed how they started their business, the risks they took and how they differentiate themselves from the competition.
We were all listening, writing, tweeting, taking notes and Instagraming. That’s me in the center with Lisa from Mom a la Mode (in the pink jacket) and Jenna from Mommy in Manhattan.
It was a truly inspiring day with inspiring women. Being there felt so good because I knew we were all moving toward the right direction: of making the fashionable mom’s voice heard across industries!
Click to read Momtrends Fashion Forward Recap.