“I Heart NYC,” just like the T-shirts and bumper stickers say.
The pulse of Times Square still makes my heart beat fast, even skip a beat after all these years, and with each trip to New York City, I fall in love all over again with the bright lights of the big city.
Knowing I would only be in the Big Apple for three days last week, I went to all my favorite spots: Tad’s Steakhouse, Macy’s at Herald Square, Fashion Avenue, and I spent two nights on Broadway.
I stood between a girl with pink hair and a man eating one single piece of white bread while in the three-hour line for tickets to two musicals. Oh, my, Ricky Martin brought down the house in “Evita,” and one can never get enough of “The Phantom of the Opera.” Plus, New York City is the quintessential observatory for people watching. After all, it’s the city that never sleeps. It’s also the city where I never sleep; well, at least not that well because I can never seem to get quite high enough above it all for the sirens not to awaken me.
It’s true that tailgating might be on the minds of most Southerners, but I’m in a “New York state of mind,” and with good reason. Fresh back from Manhattan, I can report that fashion is alive. Women of all ages were stepping out of taxis, skipping puddles and ducking in and out of the rain with some hot trends for fall.
First, I fell in love with the staple accessory this season, which is without question vintage sunglasses. Think mod ’60s, tortoise-shell round frames, and you have got it. Yes, they are ostentatious and a bit dramatic — and totally on everyone’s must-have list in NYC.
Next, the skinny jean is all the rage all over the concrete jungle. On gals and guys, this symbol of edgy, youthful energy is to be found on every corner. Perhaps we can blame it on the resurgence of the boy bands, but the bright jean is over for fall, making room for the slim silhouette of the skintight, dark skinny jean.
Another trend beneath the towering skyscrapers is the preppy uptown vibe. Rolled jeans, belted argyle cardigans, suede saddle oxfords and fashionable ponytails punctuated the city’s landscape.
I love New York City, if only to inhale the fashion forward fumes for fall 2012 and bring them all home to the South.
According to the stylish shoppers on the seven floors of Macy’s Herald Square, fall is not cool without an oversized neon colored watch, a “say something” bow-tie for your guy, and a bright shade of lipstick. Red lips were to be found on every floor, and going up or coming down on the elevators, bright lips said, “I know I’m fabulous.”
So, there you have it, hot off the presses from the streets of the Empire State’s metropolis, and all because I don’t just love NYC. I take notes, too.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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