Good morning, Monday. Many of you are back at it today- G-d speed.
And I'll tell you who else is at it for the first real work week of the year- our new mayor, Bill de Blasio. I was intrigued by Cathy Horyn's piece in the Sunday New York Times entitled, "The de Blasios: A Simple Outfit". The piece explored how our new mayor and his family wore nothing special to the inauguration- sure Dante's afro and Chiara's head wraps (and drug problems) have been trending, but for the most part, in terms of style, this family looks "just like us".
Sure the look of a progressive may not be big news, and after all, as Ms. Horyn notes, our last mayor, though worth gazillions, never equated power with designer duds. But what's interesting to me is the fact that as New Yorkers, we really don't dress up much contrary to our image as on the go style stalwarts in tutus and Manolo Blahniks. (Seeing de Blasio in that get up would surely be interesting).
When my in laws came to town this past holiday, they asked me what they needed to pack. I told them not much- that most places we were going to would not require them to dress up. Even a night out on the town in New York (take our night to go see Sandra Bernhard at Joe's Pub followed by dinner at Indochine) did not require a high heel, a jacket, or much more than some lipstick. I feel very comfortable in New York walking around with my hair in a ponytail, in a chic but understated outfit of mostly black. When I went to London last Spring, I noticed how many people there dress for dinner, as in, REALLY DRESS. Though I appreciated the effort, I found my style was less equated to a Russian oligarch heiress and more akin to a casual, urban New York thing. To not get dressed up in New York is actually a sign that you live here- you may be too busy working and surviving and running around like a lunatic to go home and sit in front of a dressing table and actually "get dressed". Plus, there's some kind of cred to being too rich or powerful (I fall in neither of those camps ps) to worry about looking like a fashion victim. True money doesn't wear it that way- I'm always reminded of Si Newhouse, the very powerful media tycoon and owner of no less than Conde Nast, driving himself around in a VW Beetle. And both Bloomberg and de Blasio prefer taking the subway over blacked out Escalades. New York powerhouses- they're just like us.
I remember living in Soho many years ago and walking around my neighborhood on the weekends in sweatpants. As the hordes of well dressed tourists turned out to shop and lunch in over the top designer this and that, my statement to them was that I actually lived in Soho, and moreover, in New York City, and any attempts to dress up were trumped by a more functional and insider approach to fashion. If you look around the next time you go out to the latest bar or dinner spot (Adam Platt gave a great list in last week's New York mag by the way), you'll no doubt notice that we are not a dressed up tribe, us New York types. And though I always kept a pair of heels at my office for "just in case" scenarios like after work parties or openings or dinners, I rarely put them on. Usually I was in too much of a rush to get where I was going after work to risk breaking my neck on some high heels. Most days, if I knew I was going out after work, I'd wear something even more basic- a simple palette of black that could go anywhere and do anything without offending anyone or feeling entirely wrong. It may sound boring, but it's true. And it's not that we'd ever dress badly- it's just about looking cool, street smart, and sophisticated vs. overly styled, dressed, or precious.
I will say that Christine Quinn, who was once touted as a shoo in for mayor before she lost the race to de Blasio, did not focus on fashion either, but perhaps in the wrong way. Her bright red hair and Chico's ensembles did not do her any favors- this is still a city where style counts, a lot, so be mindful about the whole thing- it's not about "not caring" about fashion, it's just keeping it all very low key and simple. I'll never forget watching "The Devil Wears Prada" and thinking just how off the movie was in terms of the way magazine editors dressed- most of them (almost all of them) are not fashion victims in any way- they tend to skew more minimalist chic, if not slightly conservative, with a little room to play when it comes to formal dress.
And when I have to get dressed up, as in really dolled up for a wedding or some such dressy event, I tend to panic. I'm not a fan of it and prefer my ponytail, quick dash of makeup, and any variety of grown up dark hued Garanimals that comprise my wardrobe- being overdone is pretty well over for me. Because if you really want to look like a New Yorker and not a tourist, don't dress up. We don't, so why should you? Cause that's what's up this keepin' it casual kind of Monday in the 212. I'm taking cues from the mayor and my years of living here- you have to dress down to keep up. Yours, in New York style. XO
(PS there's big exceptions to this of course- Lord bless those who still bring it, and bring it hard. We need you more than ever, because most of us don't have the energy. Thank you for keeping things interesting).