I Went Shopping With A Model For NYFW — Here’s What I Learned

If you've ever looked at model-street-style roundups and said to yourself, Gosh, I could never afford that, or even, Yeah, but they get all that stuff for free — think again. Because for the most part, the days of paying models in clothing is over, so dressing for the cameras pretty much means they're on their own. This might explain the rise of the "model-off-duty" aesthetic that mostly consists of jeans and T-shirts with the occasional Chanel "Boy" bag thrown in for good measure. But this season, model Teddy Quinlivan plays our truth-teller, here to set the record straight on what it's really like to dress for Fashion Week.

It might sound like a lot of pressure, but Quinlivan puts it plainly: Looking expensive is their job. Sure, not everyone can afford $900 T-shirts (most of them actually can't, by the way), so that's why we asked her to drag us through New York's vintage scene to see what a model's wardrobe requires when all eyes are on her. Ahead, we spoke with Teddy on the state of model-off-duty style, how to dress for multiple castings in a day, and when to (and when not to) splurge.

Special thanks to Ritual Vintage, Resurrection Vintage, Trash and Vaudeville, and Tokio 7.