Fashion Week NYC — as usual — was as much about the famous faces in the audience as the fabulous styles on the runway.

The kick-off party - hosted by Van Cleef & Arpels at Hammerstein Ballroom - had a Paris theme (”Une Journe A Paris”) and featured a French band, caberet dancers, and some very American stars. Sarah Michelle Gellar, in particular, mentioned one specifically enviable point. She said she’d owned her Chanel dress for a while, but was just now wearing it for the first time.

“I’ve had this Chanel dress for a while but never had occasion to wear it. I thought tonight was a great excuse. You know, they’re always talking about the romance of Paris, but the last time i was there it was a girlfriends trip and I had so much fun.”

Wouldn’t it be nice to “find” a Chanel dress in your closet?!!

Stars have been in the front row of many of these shows, as well as backstage: J Lo, Gwen Stefani, Nikki Hilton, were just a few of the celeb-designers showing this year.

BCBG drew a number of young stars to their show - where the label showcased their signature up-scale look.

Jessica Simpson was backstage after the Michael Kors show, thrilled about the great designs, “especially the bright colors.” Bette Midler also showed up to Michael Kors - the songstress will wear Kors when she starts singing at the Colosseum in Las Vegas - when she takes over for Celine Dion.

Speaking of Celine, she was spotted along with Mary Louise-Parker at the Badgley Mischka show.

InStyle reports that Becki Newton (the fashion absorbed Amanda on Ugly Betty) fell in love with almost everything on the Reem Acra runway:

“Those last four looks, I was like, ‘I’ll take that one and that one and that one and that one!’” Fellow small screen stars Carla Gugino and Lisa Edelstein were front-row as well. Marly Shelton and Alicia Witt also sat at attention to watch the parade of bold colors, peek-a-boo tops and subtle gowns on display.

Some stars didn’t even have to go under the tent to get a great taste of fashion. Diane Kruger was on hand Sunday underneath the dome of the Celeste Bartos forum at the historic New York City Public Library to watch the models at the Phillip Lim show display the designer’s chic designs

A few more star sightings for ya:

Rihanna, Nicole Richie, Russell Simmons and Diddy were among the celebs who sat in on Zac Posen, along with Harry Connick Jr, and of course Vouge editor Anna Wintour (who many speculate was the inspiration behind Meryl Streep’s portrayal of “The Devil” who wore Prada, and her daughter, Bee Shaffer.