New York New York - part 1

I visited New York City already many times and truly enjoyed it: I was there last year for Fashion week, went to the Opera and to the NYC Ballet, to the Ritz for afternoon tea, shopping at Barney’s and other department stores, went to ABC for work meetings... and what I noticed in all these different places or even just by walking in the streets, is that most people do care about how they look ... but in an "efficient way", with the bonus of letting professionals pamper them! 

New Yorkers surely don't spend hours in front of the mirror (they never seem to have enough time), but they go to the "Dry Bar" for a quick hairstyle (30 min. service), to departments stores such as Bloomingdale's for a fast make up application and to the salon for express manicures and pedicures as often as they can.

As I already mentioned in a previous article, black is the color preferred by New Yorkers (at least since the time Chanel made black an elegant color): this simple rule doesn’t really apply during Fashion week though and you will see in fact people wearing the most extravagant clothes and colors during that time.

I have been critic about American style and still am, but NYC, comparing to other cities in the USA, does make an effort to try and achieve elegance and even if the majority of people still manage to get the sizes of their suit or shoes wrong, there are some chic people too. After all, NYC is so cosmopolitan that you can meet different kind of people, who bring their own Country's particular style to Manhattan and overall create a sort of originality in the style, that you won't see anywhere else in the world.

Fashion week in February in NYC is almost always cold: last year it was snowing, so bring your pretty dresses and stilettos, but it will be essential a long black coat and possibly a pair of boots, although luckily is very easy to cab everywhere in NYC and you won't have to walk a lot in the street if you don't want to.

Men too in NYC love to wear long coats on top of their suit. 
Pick one black, camel or tweed, no other variations: if you are flying to NYC you don't want to bring with you more than 1 coat and only those 3 colors really go well with everything.

For the ladies, I suggest this long wool/cashmere Hugo Boss coat with belt:

or this soft Cashmere Max Mara coat (available in black too):

If you are a fan of the Max Mara cube it's a smart choice to bring it to your NYC trip: you can easily wrap it in a cube for your comfort when you go places and if you like you can embellish it with so many different accessorizes:

For the men, they have great long coats at Armani or Emporio Armani  (don't forget to stop at the Armani store in midtown Manhattan: a part from having an amazing interior design and a good quality selection of clothes, they also have a great restaurant on the top floor).

Emporio Armani Single Breasted Coat:

This type of coat is an investment piece: a long black coat will accompany you through the all Winter and will never go out of style, so buy something that makes  you look and feel great, something that looks elegant and at the same time is very comfortable, even when you wear it on top of a suit.

Tom Ford Coat (as seen in the last 007 movie):

Wool & Cashmere Paul Smith black wool blend tailored four button coat:

You will need to bring with you a scarf or two. I love this girly super soft cashmere scarf from Furla: it becomes a nice shawl too if you need to wear something warm on top of your dress once you leave your coat at the coat check:

Men with a classic style can surely wear a Burberry scarf, always perfect with everything and this is another item that will never go out of style.

Burberry cashmere scarf:

Or if you like you can go with something newer like this Faliero Sarti cotton-silk scarf and look a bit more trendy:

And how about wearing a hat with the Faliero Sarti scarf? Let’s be a bit different here from the crowd (but still classy of course), in particular if you are young or young at heart.

I came across this hat yesterday and I think it's cool! It's a black felt wool trilby with white ‘not dark yet’ cross stitched embroidery from Miharayasuhiro:

As for the shoes, girls bring with you a pair of leather boots, a pair of heels (neutral color or black) and absolutely a pair of ballerinas: Americans wear ballerinas to walk comfortably, but they change them into high heels once they arrive at the venue.

Lanvin Crystal-embellished suede ballerinas:

Yes, I know that some Americans wear sneakers too to be comfortable walking in the street, but luckily you don’t see many of those in NYC: it is so anti-elegant to wear them with a dress or a suit no matter what.

Undecided which handbag to bring with you? Here you definitely should choose something colorful to show off in NYC during fashion week. This year small is beautiful and I like the new Louis Vuitton Mini Icons:  don’t be afraid to pick red! 

Which dress is more appropriate for NYC during fashion week?

I would pick something nude, ivory, quartz with an original cut, like this lovely dress from All Saints:

Those light colors go so well with some vintage jewelry or nothing at all.

If you prefer to wear a little back dress, then wear it with a big necklaces (this year they are so in fashion and look amazing when you wear something simple and monochrome).

Elie Saab large necklace:

Valentino black dress:

Or if your skin looks better with warm colors, you can wear something fuchsia for example like this strapless mini dress from D&G:

to be continued...