Returning to New York
Is it possible to get bored with New York? There's the traffic and the noise to deal with, but it's something I'd happily enjoy every single day to be back in the city.
When you see the New York skyline as you come in to land, you can’t help but feel the exact same excitement you felt the first time. Unexpectedly I had the opportunity to head back after my first trip to the states last year and I had my case packed and to-do list prepared quicker than my run for the final call to board. Hong Kong is the only other place for me that can generate the same level of excitement when returning to the same place. Never complete, never boring and never feeling any smaller.
In contrast to my first trip, this time I had Mat for company and a touch of familiarisation with some areas, but not all. Slightly more familiar, slightly less daunting, but no less exciting. We had three days in New York, which I knew wouldn’t be enough, but we divided time between trusted favourites, as well as spots I was yet to tick off. We went to the High Line for a tourist fix, MoMA for our culture intake albeit a little underwhelming, walked over the Brooklyn Bridge to top-up our tourist levels before leaving and I knew Happy Bones would serve up a good coffee to keep us going in the big city.
New York makes London feel so small in comparison. The high-rise buildings seemingly go on forever and for someone who’s from a small town, it always gives me that feeling of being just one very small person in a huge cog. A special mention has to go to CityMapper, something I am always indebted to, helping me navigate from one area of really tall buildings to another.
Whenever we typed in places we were suggested and wanted to go to, the pin often landed in SoHo.
"New York is a place that'll you'll never keep up with. There's always something interesting to see and do on every corner"
With time limited we didn’t get to go everywhere, but SoHo drew us in. Saturdays NYC, Paul Smith and Drake’s to name a few. Then further uptown C’H’C’M was a fantastic small store that I’m sure I would frequent weekly if I was a resident. Chaps are in good hands when it comes to menswear, but I can’t help but feel that most of Manhattan still swears by a traditional suit, loosen up the tie gents.
And you can see from the photos there was were still lots that escaped us. The Guggenheim is a definite for my next visit, as is a roadtrip to Coney Island. I’m sure when I’m next presented the opportunity to go back you can bet I’ll snap it up, ready again with another list and the exact same childish smile on my face as I come in to land.jbicon
Could 2023 be the ultimate year of sustainability for fashion? Probably not, but there are some positive things happening if you look for them.