conflicted over fashion's night out

New York. The clothes shopping mecca of the US (there are those who would argue but lets not get into that here). Every brand, store, label, you name it, that I have ever wanted to own/wear can be found in this city - new pre-owned, vintage, whatever. It is located somewhere on this small island.

Granted, I can't afford most of what I would LOVE to wear, but what else are parents visiting for the weekend who feel guilty because they can't see you often enough for?

The opening of a new store is an event in of itself. When I went to the opening night at Topshop with my friend, the line when almost all the way around the entire block - and that was at 6:00 pm. I can't imagine what it looked like first thing in the morning.

Enter Fashion's Night Out. It is being marketed as an event to 'help' the ailing fashion industry and 'save' several thousand jobs. Personally, in an industry that can sell spandex biker shorts for over $300 dollars just because it has a 'name' attached to it, does not need to be saved so much. But at the same time, they are collecting clothes for charity and raising money for charity through their t-shirt sales, not to mention that there are some great parties to go to with live bands, guest appearances (though that includes the Olsen twins - what are they doing now besides 'appearing' anyway?) and a lot of fun.

So what is a girl to do?  Buy in to the hypocrisy or make a statement that no one will really care about?

Some others opinions on the subject:
Cheap Jap: Fashion’s Night Out: The Grand Poobah of Publicity Schemes
Nitro:licious: Fashion's Night Out NYC 2009
New York Magazine: A Frugal Guide to Fashion’s Night Out