New York City – Stylish Heath

Stylish Favorites from NYC

Sunday night in the city is extremely quiet and a much slower pace than the day.

{Steel Globe at Columbus Circle on a cool summer Sunday evening}

There is always so much to see and do while in this vibrant city, here are a few favorites that I enjoy returning to upon each visit!!

Sunday in the City
Sunday night in the city is very quiet; this fast paced town slows down quickly and becomes so enjoyable to get out and walk, which it is the best way to see New York.

The quaint tearoom Ladurée on 398 W Broadway {SoHo}, and do not forget when in Paris pick up a few macaroons!

{Pastries and delicacies on display in Ladurée’s SoHo branch}

Ladurée in SoHo
Whether in New York or Paris it is imperative to schedule time for lunch in a quaint tearoom, where you can select a delicious pastry from the bakery in the next room to enjoy with a freshly brewed cup of coffee after your meal. This is the most civilized way to relax, review notes from the day, all while enjoying the atmosphere of those being served high tea. And you must absolutely order a small box of macaroons to savor once back to the hotel.

Conrad Hotel-New York, 102 North End Ave in Battery Park

Me posing on our arrival in the lobby of the Conrad after a long journey

Lobby of the Conrad Hotel in Battery Park
The location of the Conrad in Battery Park is strategically placed to many shops, museums, subways and the Freedom Tower. And the view of Jersey City is fabulous!

Beautifully crafted graffiti on the side of a building off of Elisabeth Street in SoHo

Graffiti
It is great to come upon art no matter what form, even in the guise of graffiti while walking down Elizabeth Street in Soho.

The poster of the Yves Saint Laurent movie at the Film Forum in New York.

A Movie or Show
We had the opportunity of seeing the held over movie about the fabulous Yves Saint Laurent at the Film Forum on West Houston. The film captures the French designer’s life from the beginning of his career after the death of Christian Dior in 1957 to when he meets his lover and business partner Pierre Berge at his first couture show. The film progresses to how these two built the YSL Empire and the first “ready to wear” collection, which completely shocked the world of fashion!! The scenes of Paris are worth the movie alone, as was YSL’s allegiance to Algiers during their war for independence from France in 1954-1962.

Travel Stylishly,
K

August 13, 2014

Kathleen4 Comments

Destination: New York

During the month of August scheduling time to getaway is a must. A few weekend getaways were planned to break up the monotony of summer, as it is so important to get away from the ordinary to reset your approach to thinking.

First on our list of weekend exertions is New York City, which is always exhilarating to experience, the impressive skyscrapers, the Hudson River with Lady Liberty, and the eclectic list of museums. And for the piece de resistance, attended my first WordPress Conference in Brooklyn {WordCamp-NYC 2014}.

Ai Weiwei: According to What? at the Brooklyn Museum of Art

Two works of Ai Weiwei, triptych on the back wall “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, 1995/2009” and in the forefront, “Colored Vases, 2007-10”

Moon Chest, 2008 by Ai Weiwei at the Brooklyn Museum of Art

Moon Chest 2008- 7 chest made of Chinese quince (huali wood). The upper and lower openings in the chest align so they create the effect of teach phase of the moon.

In order to accomplish all that was planned a master schedule was devised to fit all the to-do items into manageable portions. Arriving in the city, we hit the ground running, heading immediately to Brooklyn for the final three sessions of the Saturday conference. It was great to meet fellow bloggers whose experience ranged from professionals for WordPress to beginners. Everyone was able to contribute an idea or technique, which made the day a learning experience.

While in this Borough the next stop was the Brooklyn Museum of Art to see the creative expression of Ai Weiwei’s exhibit: According to What? Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist with prolific political and cultural views that are conveyed throughout his work. I saw Ai Weiwei’s work in China a few years back and it was great to see this exhibit in the United States.

August 12, 2014

Kathleen4 Comments

A Few Bites Out of the Big Apple

{NYC Freedom Tower in Lower Manhattan after thunderstorm}

{A shot of Jersey City & Battery Park from the Conrad in Lower Manhattan}

Last weekend was all about the ultimate getaway with a few days spent in New York City. There is nothing like exploring new options, checking out a few haunts and partaking in a delicious meal or two. As always, there was a lot going on in Manhattan and our excursion began with dinner Friday evening at Bistro Alexandra in Greenwich Village which is an organic establishment that made the most delicious scallops and an organic martini called the “Death Star”.

{Metropolitan Museum of Art}

Next, we are off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Impressionism, Fashion & Modernity exhibit, which is on display until May 27^th. Viewing masterpieces by Renoir, Manet, Monet, Baaudelaire and Tissot along with various articles of clothing from particular paintings, one can truly see the major influence fashion had upon these artist and their subjects or muses. Since, Paris had emerged as the style capital during the start of the Impressionistic era around 1860- to mid- 1880’s with the advent of department stores, ready-made wear and the production of fashion magazines, fashion trends were brought to new heights by these artists who gave expression to the modern or contemporary nuances taking shape within society. Some of the artists would accompany the women they painted to the couturiers or milliners to assist with color schemes or accessories for paintings.

{The home and shop of DVF in the Meat Packing District}

After the Impressionists, we viewed the Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibit which just opened at the Metropolitan and will be on display until August 14th. This is the 2013 spring Costume Institute exhibit to study the influence of punk’s impact on the fashion industry from the early 1970’s to today. There were lot of “do-it-yourself” hardware designs, as well as originals from Vivianne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, and Zandra Rhodes were displayed along with photographs of the musicians such as Sid Vicious, Patti Smith or John Lydon who wore the various articles of clothing on stage. The parallels of the original punk outfits were illustrated to show how haute couture and ready to wear designers borrow a lot of the punk visual symbols such as the Union Jack, pad-locks and a great many safety pins. The streamed music and videos were quite electrifying and made for a thrilling display.

{Times Square from a Taxi ride during thunderstorm}

After museum hopping, it was time to shop and unfortunately a serious thunderstorm was brewing over the city. As people were clamoring to get off the streets when the skies opened up, our closest destination was Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth. Starting on the top floor, we worked our way down checking out the latest fashions, especially the swim-wear while drying off. Since, we had spent the entire day walking and wanted to completely relax, it was suggested that we go to Taiji for a thorough massage with Madames’ Lily and Su at 153rd W 27st Street near FIT. This was the best deep tissue massage since visiting Shanghai’s Green Massage in the Xintiandi District.

{Flapper dresses from the Great Gatsby movie at the Prada Boutique in SoHo}

As this trip has focused primarily on fashion, Sunday was the last showing of dresses designed by Miuccia Prada and Catherine Martin for the Great Gatsby movie at the Prada Boutique on Broadway in SoHo. The glittering collection of “Flapper” dresses were a fabulous site to experience since, you could move between the pieces, and each outfit had placards near the mannequins to fully describe which character wore the designs on screen. I had a chance to speak with the security guard on duty who stated the exhibition was being sent to Japan at the end of the day.

To round out the trip, we had dinner at La Promenade located in the heart of Chelsea on 23^rd Street and it is the perfect French Bistro in the iconic London Terrace. Their “steak frites” and “roasted chicken” were cooked to perfection along with the sides of asparagus and spinach.

Until the next getaway, bon vive!!