New York Style

Recognised as the style capital of the world, New York has always been the centre of the universe to New Yorkers, but since the glam lives of the Sex and the City gals were beamed into the house of every funky female around the globe, it also became the centre of most of our universes too. What self respecting female has not dreamed of New York and believes that deep down, she is really Carrie Bradshaw. Maybe just minus the never-ending wardrobe? That show, and ultimately that city, epitomised style. A lot of this was thanks to stylist Patricia Field, one of the biggest names in New York fashion, and stylist to the stars (check out what Patricia thinks will be the next big thing on http://www.patriciafield.com/ - you can also buy her label).  How many of us not living in NY would have sold our souls to be there when the producers sold the majority of the show’s wardrobe? I would have sold my sister’s too.

So when a girlfriend of mine invited me to her wedding on the east coast of the USA, the lure of shoes, glamour, and more shoes had me booking a flight in about three minutes. And of course I wanted to be at the wedding, too…

When you look past the tourists, the streets of New York double as catwalks. Knowing this, and despite recommendations from my boyfriend to pack practical shoes due to the amount of walking we’d be doing, no sensible footwear made it into my overstuffed suitcase. And hallelujah for that. Passing seven year olds wearing very trendy dresses with footless tights and cowboy boots was enough to enable me to live through the pain of my pointy 80s style ankle boots.

And the cowboy boots were not just reserved for the kiddies – these babies were everywhere! Cowboy (cowgirl?) boots were everywhere in the USA, and I made it through three states on my travels, so it cant be a passing trend. The style is beginning to slowly hit the stores again in Australia after a brief debut a few years ago, but judging by the number of trendies getting about in them in the Big Apple, no doubt they will be everywhere once down under's Autumn stock starts hitting the shelves.

The other obvious thing about New York’s style is how varied it is. Yeah, they have about triple the population of any of our major cities, but its obvious that everyone is very much their own person and the myriad of styles evident on any given street reflects this. Boho chic is everywhere in the likes of Greenwich Village, where you can buy vintage Mister men t-shirts for a hefty fee, to the Upper East side where women and their little girls make their way to Prada in matching leopard print coats. Yes, they actually exist, which evoked a rather large, wistful sigh from little old tourist me.

I couldn’t resist the lure of the shopping, and maxxed my credit card on day three buying fabulous boots. Not to be perturbed, my boyfriend was then instructed to foot the bill until I could resolve what was obviously a mistake by the bank. One of our especially fun days (although strangely not how he has since described it) started with a trip to Fashion Avenue, and a stop off at Jimmy Choo. Interestingly, the sales assistant in Jimmy Choo wasn’t actually wearing any shoes… figure that one out. The day continued with trips to Gucci, Abercrombie and Fitch, Bebe, Saks Fifth Avenue and of course Macy’s where a miracle in regards to my bank balance instead of Santa Claus would have been most welcome.

Shopping in SoHo for shoes did not disappoint, and although by the end of the day I was too scared to actually venture into the multi-story Louis Vuitton and Chanel stores, window shopping was also kind of fun, and provided inspiration to become a multi-millionaire in the near future.

The style capital of the world did not disappoint, and I had to purchase new luggage in order to get everything home. And the resulting fashion parade that has ensued since returning home has been generating the appropriate level of admiring comments from colleagues and friends alike (you’d want to hope so after the financial deficit I returned home with).

If you get the chance to head to New York, jump at it. Here are AskBronny's top tips for shopping in New York.

AskBronny's Tips
1. Luggage: don’t take an empty suitcase as many of your friends will probably recommend, as I can guarantee you won’t want be seen in even a remotely mediocre outfit whilst you shop for your new wardrobe.
2. Footwear: if you insist on taking sensible shoes, make sure they are trendy sensible shoes. The most practical shoes I had with me were ballerina flats, which many a New Yorker were also wearing. If you want to be taken seriously in Manolo Blahnik, even if you are just dreaming and drooling, you can’t be wearing your tired old sneakers.
3. HotSpots: dedicate at least several hours to trawling through Century 21, near the World Trade Centre site. This place is relatively unknown to tourists but offers designer bargains like you wouldn’t believe. Their shoe department may be through a maze so long you will feel like you’ve made it to Jersey, but at the end you have the reward of Marc Jacobs shoes at $300 less than
retail prices.
4. Finances: worry about the credit card later, as I am now doing. I may be living on beans, but worst-case scenario, I will be the best-dressed homeless person you have ever seen, and that old lady who lived in her shoes didn’t seem so unhappy by the way.

New York city is indescribably fabulous, and leaving New York is utterly depressing. But one thing the city does make you realise is that all those shopping possibilities means there really is no excuse for ever looking less than your absolute best, which I think would become a bigger stress in every girl’s life than worrying about how to pay off your credit card!