La Belle Vie: Scoping the Big Apple
For those of you who religiously follow my column (hi, Dad!) I apologize for my tardiness with this week's post. My excuse is that I've been out in the real world conducting some "fieldwork." This past weekend, I went to New York City. For the very first time. Ever. As you can imagine, I was more than a little nervous about what to pack — this is the fashion capital of the United States, after all. On the other hand, I was looking forward to cracking out some of my more "fashionable" clothes that don't get much wear in Hanover — my Topshop jersey ("sweater" for all of you) and leather dress, for example.
As soon as we stepped off the bus at Grand Central Station, I dragged my poor boyfriend to Fifth Avenue. We grabbed some iced lattes and sat in Central Park watching the world go by.
- via maxcdn.fooyoh.com
It quickly became apparent that, if I wanted to fit in in the Big Apple, I needed to get my hands on a) a dog (preferably a Chihuahua or a Pomeranian) b) a Louis Vuitton handbag (possibly to be used to carry my dog) and c) a Platinum American Express card (to pay for the handbag and the dog). I'm not sure it will be possible for me to function without these things when I move to New York in the fall.
After that, it was time to hit the shops. Shopping in New York has something of a mythical status for me — the reason I've never made it to the city is that I'm still saving up for all the things I want to buy. Fortunately, the stores did not disappoint. Stepping into Zara was like crossing the gates of Heaven. Their spring/summer collection is a dream of whisper-soft fabrics and sorbet tones. I managed to restrain myself to just this skirt but I could easily have spent four figures in there. In Tiffany and Co., I took the elevator up to the magical diamond floor and gawked at the price tags, mentally calculating how long I would have to save up to afford any of them.
As a lowly student, I mainly had to content myself with window-shopping in the best stores New York has to offer, but it didn't dampen my spirits too much. The amount of enjoyment I got from checking out New Yorkers on the streets of Manhattan far surpassed the pleasure of hammering my own credit card. Having lived in Hanover for the past 8 months, I had forgotten that there are women in the world who wear red lipstick in the daytime, who put on high heels to meet their friends for lunch and who get blow-dries on a regular basis and not just as a "treat." These are my kind of women. I think I'll fit in well there.