Twice a year in February and September, the top and up-and-coming designers of America get together for an intensive, week-long display of their best designs for the next season. Fashion moguls, models, and trendsetters all flock to fashion shows around the New York City area to catch a first look at new styles. Fashion Week is where what we wear on our body, face, and hair comes to life on the catwalk and is made available to us at our favorite stores.

Once an affair with events only for the elite, Fashion Week now can be enjoyed by even the casual vacationer. Most accessible is Fashion’s Night Out, where stores around the area hold shopping parties and live entertainment events. These parties highlight contemporary styles as well as offer fun, and sometimes over-the-top, concerts and soirees. One year’s Fashion Night Out at Macy’s included a tailgate party complete with musical sets by Train. Another year’s Fashion Night Out featured performances by a Broadway musical cast. These events are free.

Other events like the fashion shows are mostly by invitation only, but some are available to the public when purchased well in advance. These tickets can be reasonably priced—at a thousand dollars or more—but cheaper than one might expect. If you are highly into fashion, the cost for a ticket may be likened to splurging on a fantastic trip to Istanbul, someplace you’ve always wanted to go and for which you finally have the means to get there.

Entertainment and fashion stars are well known to make appearances at these spectacular events. They are, after all, the people who make clothes famous. They are also the ones who make going to the Fashion Week after parties so much fun. Many after parties are by invitation only, but there are also affairs available for entry with a ticket purchase. Ticket prices for these events are even more reasonable than the Fashion Week tickets themselves. This is likely because there are many unofficial parties going on around the city at the same time. If your only objective is to have a good time, any of these parties will do.

Beyond the parties, the music, and the usual fun, Fashion Week also inspires a flurry of activities, including contests, spin-off Fashion Weeks, and more. Each year in New York City in August, there is Pet Fashion Week, a week-long celebration of clothing design for pets. In July, there is Africa Fashion Week, where African and African-American designers get to showcase their designing talents. Aspiring models get in the game during February’s Fashion Week with the Face of Fashion global contest.