This February marks my 9th year attending New York Fashion Week. In the beginning, I was challenged with immense imposter syndrome as I felt I wasn’t worthy of being in certain fashion spaces. But as I’ve learned more about myself and how showing up authentically is my superpower, I have managed to find my stride and get in my bag. Truth be told, NYFW is not for the faint of heart because it calls for you to bring it each and every season which can be exciting and overwhelming. As a fashion lover, I challenge myself to raise the bar every time because it’s such a fascinating art. This go-round, I wanted to center all of my looks around my outerwear since wintertime in New York City is no joke.
Outerwear is such an essential staple during the colder months and they are a surefire way to make a statement without saying a word. In a world full of bland jackets and coats, I just want to stand out in the most unique pieces. Ahead, find the fly outerwear I donned during the fall/winter season of New York Fashion Week.
Coming In Hot
Courtesy of Joce Blake
When I read the product description for the Willa Red Vegan Fur Leather Coat from Finesse, I knew I had to have it: “Having the WILLA red will give you the diva card. She’ll be leaving her red lipstick kiss as a memory.” And all I ever want is to make a lasting impression at New York Fashion Week, so I coupled this fiery red coat with a blue-striped button-down top from Kahlana Barfield’s Target collaboration, maroon vinyl pants, and denim Air Jordan 1s.
To bring it all together, I switched the white laces out for red ones and grabbed my red puffer Telfar. It gave exactly what it was supposed to give especially as I started my morning with the Black in Fashion Council at Christie’s to celebrate the legacy of our superhero, Andre Leon Talley.
Solid Gold, Baby
Courtesy of Joce Blake
Since metallics are having a moment right now, I wanted to center an entire look around a gold trench coat. I looked to LBV. Official for their Metallic Vegan Leather Trench Coat, which was designed with pronounced shoulder pads, a classic waist belt, and adjustable wrist belts. For accessories, I copped a custom NY hat from Rebel P Customs embellished with gold applique and threw on my ever-so-stylish Brandon Blackwood bamboo tote.
All of the gold accents coordinated like a dream, especially since I selected gold cowboy boots to bring the look to completion.
I Can Buy Myself Flowers
Courtesy of Joce Blake
One thing about me, I am going to give myself flowers. That’s exactly what I did with this Neon Rose oversized belted padded jacket in the most gorgeous floral print. The aprés-ski aesthetic is prominent every winter, so I decided to pair it with leather lavender pants, a furry top, and white booties. The runways are proof that this winter trend is here to stay, as evidenced by designers like Miu Miu and Prada.
Keep It Collegiate
Courtesy of Joce Blake
Nothing is more essential for streetwear than a varsity jacket. Just call me captain of the bad bitches because this jacket had me feeling like I was leading my team in style with this black and green varsity jacket. I tapped Finnesse again for this piece because their products are just too good and this Bobby Black Varsity Jacket was no different.
Between the striking green lettering and the fun quotes like “Purrrr” embossed on the coat, it really speaks to the way the collegiate Americana style mixed with streetwear flair has infiltrated fashion trends.
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Featured image courtesy of Joce Blake
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Maat Petrova, the founder and owner of the feminine care company FemMagic, teaches about feminine energy and helps to empower women through her social media posts, Instagram Live meditations, and products such as her Coocheewaa feminine wash and Vagelixir. In our conversation, she broke down this essential question.
“Femininity can be like wearing the red lipstick and having your nails done and, you know, the way you carry yourself. I see femininity as more so an external thing and an external derivative of feminine energy. Feminine energy is the source,” she tells xoNecole.
Maat PetrovaPhoto by @islandboiphotography
“Many women can look feminine or have femininity, display femininity but are completely tapped into their masculine [energy.] They got the look, they got the clothes, they got the hair, the nails, and they’ll even have the tone, but they are broken, in their masculine energy.”
When it comes to feminine energy versus masculine energy, Maat says everyone has both and describes it as yin and yang. As women, we should be feminine with a speck of masculine. However, due to circumstances such as our environments and careers, we often get so consumed by our masculine energy that we forget to be in our feminine energy. Maat experienced this growing up in NYC, and it took her moving to Atlanta to make changes.
“Sometimes you change from the inside out. Sometimes you change from the outside in. There’s no method or specific way that anyone’s journey is supposed to be. So for me, when I moved to Georgia, it was an outside-in journey, where my environment changed me,” she explains.
However, both energies work in harmony to manifest the life you want. “The characteristics with feminine and masculine energy is masculine is more assertive where feminine is just being, masculine is doing—feminine is more nurturing, masculine is more logical,” she says. For example, when it comes to accomplishing business goals, doing the physical work, such as networking or creating an LLC, is masculine, and the mental work, such as visualizing it and thinking of creative ideas, is feminine.
Manifestation is often described as the act of attracting something tangible into your life, whether that be a romantic partner, a new career opportunity, or meeting a financial goal. A popular manifestation method is the law of attraction, which according to thelawofattraction.com, means like attracting like. Another method that Maat has successfully used is meditation.
Maat PetrovaPhoto by @islandboiphotography
Maat shares that she had a goal of making a million dollars in a year, and so one of the first things she did was meditate every morning, specifically using visualization meditation. From there, she began meditating on Instagram Live at 6:45 a.m. each day, and she was joined by many others who had similar goals. Positive Psychology states that visualization meditation is a positive image or guided imagery visualized in the mind’s eye, and it can help “strengthen focus,” “enhance creativity,” and “improve self-image.”
“Manifesting is an extremely feminine energetic thing. The work you have to do to support the manifestation is the masculine,” shares Maat. “So again, feminine is being, and masculine is doing. So, when I manifested my first million dollars– when I say manifested... I was already making high six-figures with my company FemMagic, and I started a meditation called ‘Manifestation Meditation’ in Feb 2020.”
She continues explaining how a workshop inspired her to start daily meditation. “I went to a workshop. The workshop was like, do something every day. Commit to one thing and just do it every day, and I chose meditation. I’m like, I already have my diet on point, I’m already working out all the time, what else can I do to increase myself?”
According to Maat, more opportunities began coming her way, and she gradually began seeing a financial increase without having to do extra labor, such as filling more product orders. “I didn’t make more products. I wasn’t working physically. I was working mentally and spiritually,” she explains.
Meditation is a centuries-old spiritual technique that can help ground you and connect you with your feminine energy. But if meditation isn’t your thing, Goop listed a few more ways you can achieve similar results. This includes journaling, breathwork, yoga, and drinking tea.
If you don’t know where you fall on the scale of masculine energy and feminine energy, Maat has some suggestions.
“Look at the definition of feminine energy. Feminine energy is nurturing, it's patience, it's grace, it's being, it's allowing, it's receiving. Do a scale from 1-5 or 1-10 and rate yourself on each of that,” she says. “Look at the list of feminine characteristics and rate yourself. Then, get the list of masculine, assertive, aggressive, action-oriented, angry, doing, and rate yourself on that.”
For more information about Maat, check out her websites Femmagic.com and Maatpetrova.com. Maat is also having her third annual Feminine U Goddess conference on October 28, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Feature image by @islandboiphotography
