I am a New York girlie — I have been since the first time I visited the city, and I always will be. Maybe the fault lies with Carrie Bradshaw, or all the long weekends I spent with my great friend Susanna at boarding school, but either way: I love New York.

Right now, New York is the place to be. New York Fashion Week is coming to a close, and while I haven’t been able to sit down and go through the collections yet (I will soon, I swear), here are some highlights from what I’ve seen so far:

1. Peter Do’s debut collection for Helmut Lang is the most Googled show of NYFW so far, according to “Data, But Make It Fashion.” Under major pressure as a fashion prodigy to help revamp the brand, he went above and beyond as critics raved about Lang’s new and refreshing collection.

2. Palomo Spain’s play with lace and gentle masculinity has become a favorite for the general public and media sources like i-D and Vogue Runway. Taking inspiration in the “duality of human desire,” the collection is a wonderful and sensual embrace of delicate darkness and animalistic conflict.

3. Sandy Liang’s new collection features her iconic soft expression of feminism and, as she told The New York Times in early August, “the big business of dressing like a little girl.”

4. Mirror Palais debuts another classically romantic collection that feels like the materialization of hazy Lana Del Rey summers, red lipstick kisses, drunken dancing in Italy and Monica Bellucci.

5. Street style and backstage photos of Christian Siriano’s ribbon corset hair and floating eyeliner à la Khaite and Eckhaus Latta, once again, have me falling to my knees as my head gets filled with new ideas for outfits.

One show that everyone was excited about (emphasis on “was”) was the return of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. After getting canceled in 2019 because of controversy about their lack of body inclusivity and overall diversity of models, it is finally returning — kind of. The company is releasing a documentary about five mini fashion shows around the world titled “The Victoria’s Secret World Tour” to stream on Amazon Prime Sept. 26, featuring the ‘OG’ angels like Candice Swanepoel and Adriana Lima, along with fresh faces like Julia Fox, Lila Moss Hack and Adut Akech.

However, consumers wanted the same fantasy feel of the angels with more diversity, not a realistic take on the show itself that was popular for its extravagant themes and ethereal inspiration it served. To better recap the lack of enthusiasm, The Cut just released an article titled “The Victoria’s Secret Show Could’ve Been an Email.”

To make up for it, though, Poster Girl’s Spring 2024 campaign is a scrumptious apology from the New York fashion scene. According to Fashionista, the vision of these celebrities gallivanting around New York and caught in court for their “crimes” was “a nod to the Winonas, Lindseys and Britneys of the early aughts whose scandals intrigued us and a wink … [to] feminine rebellion.”

Featuring stars like JT from City Girls, Cindy Kimberly and Alana Champion, the models posed in jewelry stores, on the iconic side streets and eventually, for their “fashion crimes” in court — in one shot, Kimberly was stylishly giving a testimony under oath on the stand. Some fans have been beefing in comment sections over poor styling or skimpiness of the clothing itself, but I have to disagree. Poster Girl went viral for its ultra-sheer and ultra skin-tight dresses, so the cuts and shapes of the new collection should be no surprise — and the styling, as my wonderful friends Kimberly and Emma would say, “slayed boots.”

A true fashion crime, though, is the “Tabi Swiper.” In a questionable crime of fashion passion, a man met up with a woman he matched with on Tinder. After getting some drinks and spending the night together, the girl, Lex, woke up to a heartbreaking surprise: Her thousand-dollar, Tabi Mary-Jane shoes from Maison Margiela were gone. When remembering that he wanted to show her a playlist last night, she went through her phone to get his contact information, but turns out when he was “showing the playlist,” he also deleted his contact information from her phone.

Once again, the power of social media comes in: she makes a TikTok about it that goes viral. It goes so viral, in fact, that a girl reached out to Lex on Instagram, claiming that it may be her friend’s boyfriend who randomly gifted her the pair of Tabis a few days ago. After sending some digital proof of the shoes, the girl confirmed. Soon after, the shoes were returned, and the girlfriend of the “Tabi Swiper” broke up with him — as she should.

New York is such a refreshing and exciting place: “Gossip Girl,” sewer rats and silky ribbons all at the same time. While these stories definitely make New York seem like the most exciting place to be, it still has its many faults — high crime rates, unaffordable cost of living, gentrification and impossible traffic. Still, isn’t that all part of the fun anyway? After all, nobody — and nowhere — is perfect.

Hadyn Phillips is a junior writing about fashion in the 21st century, specifically spotlighting new trends and popular controversy. Her column, “That’s Fashion, Sweetie,” runs every Wednesday.