I felt like I won a vacation when Crew Scheduling changed my schedule to include a 40 hour stay in NYC. A 2 nights paid for hotel in the fashion capital with a great deal of time on my hands? Thank you!! I had not had a true “visit” (as opposed to quick layover) to NYC in 16 years!
I used to live in NYC on two occasions. The first was in 2004 when I was an intern at Harper’s Bazaar fashion magazine during college (Bowling Green State University in Ohio). The second time was in 2007 when I worked as a freelance fashion assistant at different companies, mostly J.Crew. I have so many fond memories of these times in NYC, especially in 2004. I used to walk the city for hours and hours with the fascination of a girl from Ohio who had not traveled much. I feel like yesterday I captured that exact same feeling as at age 19, and I had great nostalgia. I also had brand new experiences to create new memories. Here are some of the highlights of my day.
Shopping at Mood Fabrics – The Ultimate Fashion Designer Store!
I spent close to 3 hours looking at all of the colorful and inspiring fabrics and trims, many of which were high end designer remnants. I made it my mission to find fabric to make a red skirt suit with leopard print trim. I found exactly what I was hoping to find, in this wonderful shop featured on Project Runway. I wrote more about my trip to Mood Fabrics in this post.
Visiting the Museum at FIT : Designing Women: Fashion Creators and Their Interiors
I had never been to the Museum at FIT, which is FREE. I was delighted by the exhibit on Designing Women: Fashion Creators and Their Interiors. There were some stunning designs to look at, and I enjoyed seeing how the fashion designers decorate their personal homes or work spaces. I was happy to see Anna Sui was featured, as I have been a fan her opulent rich boho hippie designs for years. I would have thought Betsey Johnson would have been a good example as well, but I think they were trying to evenly curate the collection over a long timeline.
Browsing Beacon’s Closet – A Vintage & Designer Second Hand Store I Used to Frequent
When I was 19 years old and I lived in NYC, I would visit Beacon’s Closet in Williamsburg, Brooklyn several times a month. Some of my favorite finds there were a silk bias cut Betsey Johnson Dress with a strawberry print, several true vintage dresses featuring feminine roses and such, and boucle jacket by a contemporary designer, Irregular Choice shoes ( as a 19 year old in 2004 that was very exciting to me!) among other garments I can’t remember now.
I really enjoyed going there, and I have such happy memories associated with it. Well that location is no longer open, but there is a location close to where I was walking and I decided I had to check it out. One thing a bit funny is that there was a line outside waiting to get permission to enter. I suppose it is because this location is seemingly smaller than the large warehouse I used to visit, and to be honest it was a bit unpleasant shopping in there because it was so incredibly crowded. The clothing assortment was just as fun and exciting as I remember however! I did not buy anything because I am trying hard to only sew, not buy, clothing this year, but nonetheless I am glad I visited.
Took a Photo of Carrie Bradshaw’s Apartment from the Series Sex and the City
In the West Village I thought it would be fun to see the apartment filmed to be Carrie Bradshaw’s in SATC. It is located at 66 Perry Street just off 7th Avenue. In the West Village I also stopped for coffee.
Explored the Macy’s Flower Show
I saw the Macy’s Flower show once before in Chicago and when I saw that the NYC 2003 Flower Show was currently going on, I made a point to add that to my very fashionable to-do list for the day. Look at how beautiful and whimsical it looked at Macy’s!
In addition to these I stopped in Nordstrom off the rack, I had lunch outside at a cafe table, and enjoyed walking around since it became a nice sunny and warm spring day later. I got back to my hotel room about 8pm and slept so well from all that walking. I will relish the memory of this particular layover for a long time!
By Adrimar
