-Coco Chanel
First the Barneys Warehouse Sale and now New York Fashion Week...Temptations the likes of which I have only read about in biblical times! Thank heavens the majority of it is still housed a safe distance away in Bryant Park and has yet to enter its new home right outside my office window.
In all seriousness, this challenge would be a lot less interesting and well, challenging if I lived in say Dubuque, Iowa. For instance, my very fashionable friend K, moved out of New York almost a year ago and when she showed up to my house for a visit last summer she was wearing a polo, khaki shorts, and sneakers!?!?! Quelle horreur! Now I am not saying that my dear friend is any less fashionable, quite the contrary. And I know she still totally turns it out, but probably only on special occasions or on trips back to NYC (also a special occasion I might add). And why this change of a-dress? Simply put, it just doesn't matter there like it does here. Fashion in New York is just part of the general zeitgeist whether it is conscious or not.
So now that I have alienated and possibly insulted some of my readers, let me elaborate. I leave my house in Brooklyn promptly at 9:00 am every morning to make my pilgrimage into the City. Obviously most people have to be somewhere at a certain time Monday through Friday, so you tend to ride the subway with the same cast of characters. There are some I am sure I ride with every day and I could literally bump into them on the street and not put together the connection. Then there are the ones that really stand out. There is the tall, lanky, pointy-nosed version of Dita Von Teese with her black Betty Page bangs and ponytail, sky high shoes, and all black ensembles that always have some added funky twist. The gentleman in the fitted blazer, cashmere scarf, skinny jeans and impeccably polished shoes who has obvious similarities to Daniel Day Lewis in either Gangs of New York or There Will Be Blood-yes, mustache and all. Now for my favorite. She is Tilda Swinton-esque with cropped reddish hair and angular strong features. This winter she has been sporting a dark purple velvet coat over some sort of skirt or dress, opaque tights and big chunky shoes. Oh and she tops it all off with a black fur chapeau and a canvas Sotheby's bag which serves as her purse.
From my descriptions, one may come to the conclusion that none of this crew is obviously attractive, but they put it all together in such a unique and thoughtful way that you (or at least I) can't not be drawn to them. And even more importantly, their style works because it is just them. Their fashion is an example of their life, work, and personalities in the most fabulously effortless way. Also, it must be pointed out that none of them are obviously wealthy either as they tend to rotate around the same basic staples that they know work for them and express their sensibilities, and if there are labels anywhere they certainly aren't obvious. At a recent annual luncheon for donors at my work, I saw the age old example of money not being able to buy style. And I have never seen so many women trying so hard in my life!
So in an effort to "shop my closet" as they say and still keep up with my City, what will I be expressing for the next year in my day to day wardrobe? I am really loving the menswear look that was a staple on the runways for spring 2010 and seems to be carrying over onto the Fall runways as well. So limits be damned, I will shop my BF's closet in addition to my own and work an effortlessly chic, tailored yet bohemian, Charlotte Gainsbourg style. Oh and sorry, Dubuque. It wasn't personal.
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