If new shoes and extra caffeine won’t put you in Fashion Week mode, Taxi TV will.

Jason Wu popped up on screen last week, and even when you mute the mini-screen it’s hard to miss Kim Kardashian’s-hanging-from-a-swing fragrance commercial, and despite fashion overload, it’s the only time of year we don’t mute Taxi TV.

Last season Cynthia Rowley debuted a short film and this season, Alternative Apparel’s airing their new video.

“I Kind of Love You” was shot in Laurel Canyon, but it’s inspired by French pop culture circa 1960 - more specifically the romance between Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin.

The film will show off Alternative Apparel’s spring collection of cotton basics, which - unlike the shows you will have just seen - you won’t have to wait six months to buy.

This season’s invites range from boring cardstock to controversial military medals and as usual, our favorite comes via Band of Outsiders.

They sent out their dreamy Polaroid late last week and it looks like the perfect escape from all the madness.

So far, the other winners include Mulberry’s glittery invite and a little notebook from Ports 1961 with a pack of rosemary seeds.

Rachel Antonoff sent a page ripped from a book with her presentation’s info highlighted among the words and while Abigail Lorick’s invite wasn’t mind blowing, we loved the silhouette sketched on the card.

Other than that, most invites look the same as last season, or even less exciting, so here’s hoping the shows themselves are mind-blowing.

Fashion Week starts tomorrow, sort of, and we’ve spent the weekend resting, hydrating, exercising, eating and gathering our survival packs.

Some things - water, caffeine, internet access - are obvious necessities.

Everything else - scarves, candy, inspiration - stuffed into our bags is there to keep us sane, smiling and looking at least somewhat pulled together.

Our individual lists of essentials, after the jump.

There are people who request tickets to fashion shows because they want “to cover for their 900 Twitter followers,” or because they need to “update their Facebook with all the latest news in fashion.”

Even this is floating around the Twitterverse, “Dear PR, I command a seat for my mistress, the Princess of Cantaloupe, or else my country declares war on your office!”

(That’s a joke in response to something almost as nuts.)

What’s not a joke is the girl from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida requesting tickets on behalf of French Vogue. She’s sent an email to publicists, complete with clips and editorial from Bazaar, which is quite possibly the total opposite of French Vogue, and asked the PRs to send all tickets to her address in Florida.

Fashion publicists should be able to name everyone on Carine’s small masthead and they’ll know if yours isn’t one of them. Also, if you’re going to waste your time hatching such a complex plan, at least go out and buy a copy of French Vogue.

Though really, if you’ve learned anything this week, it’s to ditch elaborate plans (and if you must, sneak in quietly).

Julia Frakes, aka Bunny Bisous and Paper’s ubiquitous fashion reporter, is throwing Peter Jensen’s first stateside party.

He’ll show his AW10 collection on Valentine’s Day and celebrate that night.

Nina Persson of the Cardigans will DJ with Nylon’s Rajni Lucienne.

And if that’s not enough to fulfill your Valentine’s Day party quotient, Barneys, Thakooon and Phillip Lim are throwing a bash for Richard Chai’s Love collection, which the store’s picked up for Spring.

Much better than a heart shaped box of chocolates.

Carolina Herrera and Marc Jacobs have virtually banned celebrities from their front rows.

But when it comes to labels such as Miss Sixty and Rock & Republic, it seems like the more A, B and even C-list stars they can get, the merrier.

We tapped industry insiders to break down the cost of putting of celebrity in your front row by class of star.

Yes, Fashion Week’s mostly work, but for a few hours each night we get to party, too.

We’re not sure what’ll rival September’s Alexander Wang-surprise-Courtney-Love-in-a-gas-station concert, but random news is trickling in.

We hear Narciso Rodriguez is throwing a bash at the Standard’s Boom Boom Room, which’ll maintain its Fashion Week status.

Meanwhile, Timo Weiland’s afterparty, held at the equally beloved Wooly, will featured The Postelles. The band, who counts Albert Hammond Jr. as a sometime producer, will also play at Karolina Zmarlak’s presentation, too.

On the 16th, Becka Diamond’s hosting a party to launch the new label Equipment at Saks Fifth Avenue.

And rumor has it something huge is happening at Rose Bar, huge. Stay tuned for details.

There’s yet another group of pseudo-celebs that you’ve got to compete with for fashion week tickets.

Jersey Shore cast members have been requesting seats for next week’s shows, according to Page Six.

In general, we kind of enjoy those Jersey Shore crazies. Although we’d see rather them on TV, not at work.

We’re making unofficial bets on what shows they’ll show up at:

• Kim Kardashian for Bebe (100%)
• Custo Barcelona (60-40)
• BCBG (50-50)

We’re looking forward to your guesses in the comments section.

Yet another mini-fashion week has caught my eye: Fashion Week by Berns in Stockholm, which wraps up today.

Sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and Max Factor, many of the designers that showed Monday and Tuesday are personal favorites, including Fillipa K, Cheap Monday and Whyred. This afternoon, Acne hits the runway. (I’d say that 25% of my wardrobe is made up of these four brands.)

Technically, New York Fashion Week starts next Wednesday.

Not so technically, there’s tomorrow night’s launch of Olsenboye, Thursday’s Chanel Iman-hosted Sonia Rykiel for H&M knitwear party, Tuesday means Cartier’s fragrance launch and Sundance’s Full Frontal Fashion party poolside at The Standard - well basically, it feels like it’s already started.

So what do we know so far?

— Alice & Olivia’s presentation, at the Gansevoort’s new Provocateur, will feature music from the Misshapes and a live performance by Mickey Avalon.

— Jeremy Scott’s show is called, “Hanger Appeal,” and his invite is the sketch at left - the best thing we’ve seen so far (except for Cynthia Steffe which came with a bar of Mast Brothers chocolate).

Two weeks ago, we broke down a few Fashion Week myths.

This time around, we asked a handful of publicists what they’d like to tell the world about how to act during fashion week.

RULE #1: BE NICE

Bonnie Morrison, who went from Publicity Director at KCD to Special Projects Editor at Men’s Vogue and back to PR again, is handling Chris Benz’s AW10 show. She says, “People outside the industry forget that it’s a trade show (not a circus, discotheque). People inside the industry forget that it’s not a contract or hostage negotiation (with a set of conditions, demands). Like anything in life, the fundamental rules apply: be nice, play fair, say please and thank you. People really do remember it…and they remember its opposite even longer.”

We’ve seen people throw tantrums and we’ve seen people ask nicely - the first tactic always fails.

Having the Olsens and Alexander McQueen show their collections within the same New York Fashion Week is like not having to choose between the Alexa and the PS1 - but better.

KCD, the PR firm responsible for both McQueen and McQ, usually holds market appointments for select editors to check out the new McQ collection during New York Fashion Week, but this season they’re staging a proper presentation at Milk.

Does this mean Alex himself is coming to NYFW pre-Paris?

The answer we got is almost better than yes.

MAC & Milk is hosting 32 by-invite-only runway shows and presentations, but for those who haven’t weaseled their way onto every guest list just yet, there’s a brunch on the premises Sunday, February 14. It’ll take place on the 8th floor at the Surf Lodge pop-up, an outpost of the popular Montauk restaurant.

Chef Sam Talbot will be manning the kitchen, offering up new plates that haven’t yet made it on the Montauk menu.

There isn’t a set guest list, but seating is EXTREMELY LIMITED and will be exclusive to those invited to at least one show at MAC & Milk. When we mean extremely limited, we mean no more than 40 people at a time, maybe less. (They’re not even done building the space yet.) There will be designers, makeup artists and maybe even some celebrities on hand enjoying the feast—and you’ll certainly get a chance to mingle with them. Brunch is on from 11-3, but the cost of specific dishes is yet to be determined.

If you are indeed interested in breaking bread with some of fashion’s finest, be sure to get there early—the event is first-come, first-served.

Mini fashion weeks may take place from Miami to Moscow, but few resonate like that of Berlin, which wrapped up on January 24.

Why?

Well, for one, there’s plenty of demand, so the supply is more refined. Germany is Europe’s largest economy. That means for brands like Allude, a contemporary knitwear label based in Munich but with a following across Europe, it’s smart to show there. Learn about our favorite collections after the jump.

PHOTO COURTESY JAK&JILFashion Week is getting closer, so we’re starting to prep our site and our wardrobes. To help you get the best understanding of life in the tents, I’m revealing the truth about five fashion week misconceptions.

1. Cocktail wear is necessary wear.
Street style blogs will lead you to believe that everyone shows up in their Givenchy booties and minis, accessorized to the nines, when realistically most non-editors don their chicest casual wear. Think less right-off-the-runway Chanel and more Wang mixed with TopShop and vintage. The point is to look cool, effortless, and most importantly practical. Bryant Park is one of the busiest places I’ve ever been—there are people hustling and shoving, all the while putting on their best “photograph-me” faces. As someone who has been squished between strangers in line for check-in while wearing five inch heels and a mini-dress, believe me, it’s not the best situation.

2. You have to wear the designer whose show it is.
Going to Marc in Marc or Zac in Zac may seem like a great idea to pay homage to the designer and make sure your outfit is stylish, but who has the time for all those costume changes? When dressing for fashion week you should look like the best version of you, not an ad. Designers know what their clothes look like. It’s better to have on something cute and original that will set you apart than to look like you just walked off the runway.

Couture starts this Sunday, in Paris.

A few lucky editors will transition through from men’s fashion week, the rest are heading to Paris now.

Aside from the shows themselves - Dior, Armani, Givenchy, and Chanel will carry on with a very gaping Lacroix-shaped hole - Paris is gearing up to host both the fashionable elite and the richest of the rich.

Natalia Vodianova’s staging a runway show at the Ritz for her Etam lingerie, Rihanna and Charlotte Gainsbourg will perform. Meanwhile, Anne Valerie Hash has whipped up an exhibition to accompany her SS10 couture collection. She’s asked a few legends including Gaultier, Charlotte Rampling and Daphne Guinness to donate particularly special pieces of clothing and she’s re-worked them for what Hash calls, “a new take on couture.”