I spontaneously made my way to NYC a few days before New Year’s after receiving an urgent message from Alisa, a NYC-based styling client I worked with while I was in the city in September during Fashion Week, thanks to my dear friend Rachel Mcpherson. Alisa wanted to surprise her fiance Vic with a Style Girl shopping package for Christmas so I packed my bags, booked my ticket on the Bolt bus from Jersey and spent the next five days ringing in the New Year.
Here’s the Top 10 from my first few days of
2012 as a temporary New Yorker:
1. Shopping John Varvatos and Billy Reid with Vic at Bloomies where he came home with his first vest!
2. Meeting up with Wilmington design darling Gay Adair and her daughter Flannery to see Johanna Hickey’s “Candy Canyon” exhibit at 108 Leonard + climbing to the roof to admire the view.
3. Monopolizing the photo booth at The Ace Hotel and serendipitiously finding our way to the El Quijote, Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe’s haunt during the heyday of The Chelsea Hotel (next door).
4. Ever since visiting Malin Landaeus’ vintage boutique in Williamsburg two years ago, I’ve been dying to go back. On this visit, I picked out a reversible jacket Malin hand-dyed. Her equally gorgeous daughter Nova demonstrated that not only is my new jacket reversible but if I turn the sleeves upside down, it can also be worn as a bolero!
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5. Yummy pizza and margueritas at Serafina at 55th & Broadway before a nightcap at The London Hotel NYC
6. Finally made it to Aritzia after coveting several of their poncho sweaters featured on Chloe Touran’s Instagram.
7. Visiting UK-based All Saints Spitalfields always makes me long for London. Scored an oatmeal cashmere “jumper” with “Rebels” emblazoned on the back for 50% off.
8. Photographer Jason Riffe graciously invited me to join him to view emerging designer Omar Salam’s brand-new collection at Omar’s beautiful home off Central Park West. Omar says, “It’s too early to say what my signature is but I’m focused on movement and (the clothing’s) relationship with the wind as a woman moves.”
His exquisite work speaks for itself.
So excited to see what’s next from Omar!
9. Must-See: My Week with Marilyn (watched it at the 42nd Street AMC, near the circus of Times Square).
10. After bunking with my friend Rachel’s mom, her mom’s best friend and Rachel’s sister in a studio apartment, I spent several nights in my own apartment on the Upper West Side (thanks to Wayne Adams, who happened to be spending the week at our house in Wilmington).
+ As I was checking out at another of my favorites Comptoir des Cotonniers, the shop girl said she loved my style and wondered if I was the owner of Jessie James, a cherished boutique of hers in The Village. Of course, I had to go so I braved the blistery winds on my last day to meet another “outlaw.” Turns out it’s a husband-wife team named Jessie and James with law breaking style to spare.
January 14
