Preparation
The day we were going to Coterie was a Wednesday and as we had to leave campus at 6:30am I wanted to go to bed early on Tuesday. I hoped to get a decent amount of sleep so I wouldn't be too tired on Wednesday and I'd be able to enjoy the day and get the most out of the trip. Of course that didn't really work out though. I got in bed at like 10:40, which is very early for me since I usually go to bed after 1am (not something I'm happy about but #college lol). Unfortunately I had such a hard time falling asleep though, probably because I'm not used to going to bed so early. Though even once 2am came around I still couldn't sleep. It's one of those things that of course because I wanted to sleep I couldn't. I even looked up ways to make you fall asleep and those didn't help. So finally around 3am I think I feel asleep. Then I got a nice 2.5 hours of sleep before waking up around 5:30.
In order to minimize what I'd have to do in the morning I chose my outfit the day before and packed the bag I was taking so that I wouldn't have to worry about or waste time or forget anything in the morning.
The Morning of the Trip
I was very happy that I prepared the day before so that I was a little less stressed on Wednesday morning. The day of the trip we had a very early start as we wanted to have enough time at the trade show and the drive from my school (in Massachusetts) to the convention center in NYC was around 5 hours! All of the professors and students met in front of the campus center and we waited for out buses to arrive. We needed 2 coach buses as there were about 80 of us going on the trip. We left my school around 6:30am. Some people brought pillows and blankets so that they could sleep on the bus, surprisingly at that point I did not feel very tired, I knew it would hit me later though.
The Journey There
We made our way to New York from Massachusetts through Connecticut. As I mentioned the drive is a decent amount of hours. I wanted to listen to music but I did not want to drain my phone battery so I only used it for a little while. I did try to sleep on the bus but was not very successful and so I just rested my eyes. We stopped at a rest stop in Connecticut about halfway into the drive in order to give the driver a break and so all of us could stretch our legs, walk around a bit after sitting for so many hours and grab a bite to eat. The rest stop was not crowded when we arrived as it was so early but the 80 or so of us definitely filled it up. There were really only 2 options for breakfast food though which meant long lines at each of them. This was a bit of an issue since we didn't have very long at the rest stop and people had to wait for their orders to be ready. I only got an iced tea and a muffin and didn't have to wait at all but some people who ordered more complex things had to wait. And as there were so many of us there was a backup with the food preparation and our professors were starting to worrying about timing. Once everyone had their orders filled and everyone boarded the buses we were on our way again. The buses were a bit more lively now as people were more awake which is understandable because we finally got food!
The Trade Show Itself: Coterie
As we were driving through Connecticut and getting closer to New York City the traffic started getting worse as was expected. When we finally arrived in the city we still had a decent amount of driving to do before we reached the convention center and the traffic in the city was so hectic. We were all so happy once we made it to the Jacob Javits Center and were able to get off the buses and get in the tradeshow. We all entered the building, checked in, and got our official passes. Then we took a group photo and were set free to roam around the tradeshow.
Coterie is very, very large and the trade show consisted of multiple floors. The main area was a huge open room with hundreds and hundred of booths set up with each brand having their own and displaying their collections however they wanted to. Some of the brands kept it more simplistic and others brought in lots of props and decorations to make the booth their own and convey the brand's message and image. Free People had a large booth and it was decorated gorgeously, very bohemian and lots of flowers everywhere. Alice and Olivia's booth was extremely colorful, fun and sparkly. They also had a large sign with the message "Empowered Women Empower Women" which I loved!
Each brand had a representative or a couple reps to show the lines to interested buyers and to talk to them about the pieces. Although we as students could walk around and look at everything the reps were not very eager to talk to us (since it is an industry event and we wouldn't be placing orders or giving them business). It was still an interesting experience though I feel like I wish I learned more.
After walking around the show for a couple of hours my friend and I decided to grab some lunch. The area of NYC we were in was very industrial as it is an area for conventions and our professors told us the best option for food was actually in the convention center. We came across a "food court" area (not quite a food court but I'm not sure what else to call it), it had a couple different stations for things such as pasta, pizza, and burgers. I ran into some of my professors and they mentioned that they got delicious pizza and so my friend and I decided to go for that option and we were definitely not disappointed. The pizza was amazing! It had mozzarella, basil, feta, prosciutto, balsamic and it was sooooo good! I would eat it everyday if I could! Okay Emily, enough about the food - back to the main topic.
After we ate we had a little more time to walk around before 3:30 when we had to board the buses to go home. I ended up coming across the booth for the brand that I work part time for. They had some new items on display and I was able to meet some of the people that work in the brand's NY office as I work in the MA one. They informed me about the new shoe line that will be out soon and it's exciting as the brand has never done shoes before, only apparel. Then it was time to meet everyone in the convention center's lobby and to head on home.
The Journey Back Home
Although it wasn't even 4pm yet the professors, other students, and I all were a bit worn out from the long day since we had been up and about for about 10 hours. We were all ready to sit and relax -well as much as one can while on a bus. The traffic leaving the city was horrible. It took at least an hour to get out of the city itself and took so much longer to get to Connecticut than we hoped it would. Once we had been on the road for a few hours we stopped at a rest stop and got dinner. I was not very hungry and had a couple granola bars in my bag so I did not get any food at the rest stop. It was then time to get on the buses again and continue our journey home. Luckily the bus had tvs and so we voted on a movie to watch which ended up being La La Land. This helped to pass the time and I really like the soundtrack from that movie! When we finally got back to campus around 10:30pm everyone departed and most people headed for their dorms. At this point I was hungry and knew it'd be wise to eat something. The dining hall on campus itself was closed but the late night grill area was open and my friend and I decided to stop by there to grab some food before going back to our dorms.
Ending Thoughts
All in all it was a pretty jam packed day with lots to take in and was a bit overwhelming at times. However I feel like it would have been more beneficial if my professors gave us more information and direction rather than have us just walk around the trade show somewhat aimlessly. It was also a little disappointing that we were not allowed to take many photos. This is understandable as the collections were not out yet and brands did not want to risk their designs or anything being copied. I also would have liked to be able to talk to people in the booths more and learn from them but as I mentioned they were not really interested in talking to students. I do understand that though, I did not want to bother them or take up their time that could be spent with buyers. But if a booth was empty of buyers I don't know why the reps were still so standoffish to students. Overall there were many more pros than cons to the trip and I am glad that I went on it and got to experience it!
Thanks for reading!
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