When we got to the Behnaz Sarafpour show at Exit Art at 2pm today, we thought it was strange that hardly anyone was there. Slowly, people started to trickle in, but even by 2:30, most of the seats were empty, and it looked like almost everyone had inexplicably blown off the show.

Which is kind of a shame - The clothes, though mostly somber and gray in keeping with the current mood, were invariably covetable, with a few choice little dresses we know everyone will want to wear to the Spring 2010 shows.

But the half-filled venue still bothered us all day. We know there’s a recession, but what was keeping everyone from getting up the West Side Highway? During the Narciso show (more on him later), Fashionologie pointed out that the Behnaz invitation actually said 2:30 (the official show schedule had her at 2pm, and we’re pretty sure that’s what everyone else only pays attention to, too) and so many people likely skipped to head over to Conventry (yes, more soon), thinking they wouldn’t have enough time between the two.

This could definitely be the case for some, though since Coventry was only ten blocks away, we wonder if it’s possible that 40% or so of the seated guests just didn’t come. Luckily for Behnaz, both Julie Gilhart and Meredith Melling-Burke (who ripped her name tag off her seat and stood by the door once she realized how late the show would start - guess she goes by the show schedule, too) were in attendance, and that’s probably all Behnaz needed anyway.