A major part of my reasoning for moving to New York was to find my place in the fashion world. One of the many things that I've discovered thus far is that my personal, everyday style has to be tweaked to accommodate my new surroundings and routine. The key difference between Atlanta and New York is transportation, which I'm sure comes as no surprise. In the great city of Atlanta we drive everywhere; hence, we can wear vertiginous heels for the most trivial of outings. It is a common practice for me to wear 5 inch heels to happy hour to socialize with my friends in Atlanta. Here, not so much. There is so much walking involved in my daily commute from Jersey to Manhattan, so there is no way I would be willing to sacrifice the integrity of my shoes or my feet for that matter by wearing stilettos on a daily basis. Fortunately I attend FIT so I am exposed to some of the most stylish people on this great little island known as Manhattan. Here are a few style notes that I've taken:
It is freakin cold! Therefore, keeping warm is the first priority. The best way to do this without looking like the kid from A Christmas Story is to wear layers underneath your clothes. I wear American Apparel leggings, wool socks, and a tank under everything on the days that the temperature dips down into the teens.
Boots are everything. Not only because they keep you warm, and you get more wear out of them in this colder climate, but they are the only way I can wear heels at the moment. The trick is to get a boot with more of a block heel. Initially I was turned off at the mere thought of a block heeled boot at my age, but they are actually rather trendy and cute here.
Black is the new and the old black. I fully understand why New Yorkers stereotypically wear a lot of black. Black is much easier to keep clean in a city where people are constantly bumping into you and the streets are covered with dirty snow that has become dirty slush. This really just makes it a tad easier to accessorize so that you can add some flair to your look.
Fur is your friend. *Looks around for PETA reps* Faux fur is permitted, but it has to be good faux fur. I do not co sign on you wearing poorly imitated fur.
You can make as many fashion mistakes as you want. The city is moving so fast with so many different people that no one is really even going to notice if you look a mess. This means you can take fashion risks and really uncover your own style.
Well that's it for now, since I'm still trying to figure out my NY style.
PS: If you are one of the lucky souls with lucky soles that can afford to take a car service or taxi everywhere, then disregard.
