Da Fashionista.com

The Scene
At age 11, I was the tallest girl in my class, wore glasses, won science fairs and loved New Kids on the Block. It was probably the peak of my nerdiness.


That was about the same time Mrs. McIntyre entered my life. In sixth grade, she transferred to my Catholic grammar school from public school. I found that all kinds of exciting. It made her downright dangerous in my goodie two shoes mind. Plus she was blonde and blue eyed and I was kinda a sucker for All American back then.



We became close friends over night. She was adventurous and outgoing and boy crazy - everything that an 11 year old girl looks for in a bestie. One of the cornerstones of our bond eventually became our New Kids on the Block fanaticism.



Mrs. McIntyre was convinced she'd marry Joey and I somehow fell under Donnie's spell. I know, I know. How could I? Donnie was the derrrrrrty one. I don't know something about his swagger and confidence was really appealing to my burgeoning womanhood. I knew he was a bad boy and I liked it.

Plus Jon was too nice and Danny had a rat tail and Jordan...well...I was convinced he was gay. And believe you me even at 11, my gaydar was pretty dead on.


Mrs. McIntyre and I watched NKOTB videos breathlessly after school, tore out their posters in Big Bopper, wore T-shirts with their faces emblazoned on them, recorded all their TV show appearances, learned dance routines.



We played their Christmas album year-round. Seriously how much fucking fun does that sled look????




When we found out they were touring we devised a surefire plan to go to the concert: we'd win tickets on the radio. Duh!

When calling in to every radio station in Los Angeles didn't work, I got RELIGIOUS. I figured praying would work. When that bore no fruit, I thought maybe praying THE ROSARY would work. Yep. I was THAT Catholic.

When after a a month of PRAYING THE ROSARY didn't get me NKOTB tickets, I kinda gave up. Think I lost a little faith in the guy upstairs too. Can't believe it never occurred to me to just ask my parents for tickets. What a dope.


Fast forward nearly 20 years and The Kids are back. Somehow The Peeper and I got to talking about them and we revealed how much we loved them back in the day. We talked about getting tickets and made grand plans. But ultimately they didn't pan out. I was crushed all over again.







But then last night my prayers were answered. I got an email from a college friend Ms. USC who I hadn't talked to in 8 years. She just happened to have two extra tickets to the concert!!!!







You see her adorable hubby had bought tickets to surprise her. But she ended up winning her own set of tickets ON THE RADIO! Amazing!











So The Peeper and I snatched up the extra tickets. All day today we IM'd and watched NKOTB videos on You Tube and swapped nerdy teenage girl stories. She had not been allowed to buy their tapes so had to go over to her friend's house to listen to their angelic voices ;)






When we met outside the stadium, I was seriously feeling weak in the knees. When we made our way to our seats, I feared I might keel over from pure unadulterated joy. Have never seen that much estrogen at the Staples Center. I would say the sold out crowd was about 97 percent women between the ages of about 25 to 35. Lots where preggers. All were giddy like schoolgirls.




Natasha Bedingfield (the chick who sings The Hills theme) was the opening act. Poor thing. Everyone couldn't have cared less about her. Some girls read their New Kids programs during her entire set.





And then it was magic time. The New Kids took the stage. They performed a few new songs but knew that we were there for the oldies: You've Got the Right Stuff, Hanging Tough, I'll be Loving you Forever, Step by Step! All that glorious cheese that defined our adolescence.



All the boys were looking hot. But The Peeper's fave Jordan looked the best. Warning: this gratuitous video could make you seriously hot and bothered!






The entire stadium stood for two and a half heavenly hours. Screaming like banshees the whole time. At one point I thought I might start crying hysterically like one of those Beatles fans you see in old film reels. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.




The music instantly transported me back to my childhood. Felt carefree and full of life and super nerdy. Here's my tone deaf ass singing along to Please Don't Go Girl - not caring who was listening. That's also me that lets out a gutteral scream 9 seconds in. That is the sound of loins on fire.






It was incredible seeing so many women come together, united by memories of friendship and first loves. I think the New Kids phenomenon showed the buying power of little girls in the early 90s. Paved the road for today's teeny bopper Hannah Montana/High School Musical culture.







Dream come true of a night. Sooooooooo glad I got to share it with another NKOTB nerd. Thanks so much, Ms. USC!!!









The Outfit
American Apparel latex leggings
Emporio Armani blazer
Ellen Tracy tank top

The Accessories
Chanel earrings
YSL Tribute heels
Forever 21 scarf
Marc by Marc Jacobs clutch

The Grade
A-




The Commentary
The Peeper and I were in a panic last night about what to wear to the concert. Ugh. We had to look just right for our boys.





I would have loved to wear a NKOTB t-shirt from back in the day. Alot of ladies dug theirs up and wore them proudly tonight.





Others made their own. LOVE!






I decided to keep things simple and a little sophisticated and a whole lotta sexy. Went with all black and sprinkled in pops of bright 80s color. Perfect.










The long animal print scarf made me feel very rock and roll.



Very Nicole Ritchie, very Steven Tyler.








Decided this was the perfect occasion to debut the new YSLs. Aren't they GORG??? Probably not the best idea since I ended up standing for over two hours and having to walk a few blocks to my car. But god, did they look hot tamale paired with the AA leggings!










Very JLo.








A little Carine.









This clutch is a delish burst of life for all black outfits.







Never imagined I'd get so much wear out of it.








This tank was a hand me down from a friend of my mom's. Love love love it.




Reminds me of the Alexander McQueen sequin leggings I've been fantasizing about for months.















Planned to buy a tasteful pin at the concert to NKOTB-up my outfit. Unfortunately there's nothing tasteful about being a NKOTB fan. The only pins for sale were the size of my head. F.









But THE best accessory of the night award goes to The Peeper. She brought binoculars. What a genius, what a peeper.