After a quick trip to NYC, I remember why I love the big apple so much!! Great food, great people, amazing fashion... what more is there to life? While visiting the city that never sleeps, we worked the Intermezzo and Moda Trade Shows held by ENK at the monumental Javits Center. Picking up holiday, resort, and spring collections from Velvet, Robins Jean, Chan Luu, and Vivienne Tam (along with many more) was more fun than work... booth hopping and shmoozing with designers was a great way to pass time. Trendspotting helped with forecasting future fashions (next season is all about python, motorcycle gear, and rompers!) and allowed us to seek some new labels to add to our arsenal of brands.
After hours, the standard was cocktails, dinner, then more cocktails. This trip was less about visiting my old favorites than it was about trying new things. Luckily, I had friends to guide me through the evenings (Thanks V and Hayley!) and led to discovering a whole new slew of hot spots. Some old revisited favorites included the St. Regis and Peninsula Hotels for after work drinks, however I visited the Peninsula's rooftop bar for the first time and it was a blast. Being surrounded by the skyline at sunset was quite a nice way to end the day after working for nine hours, and a great place to see old faces and meet new ones.
After apres-work drinks, came delicious Italian feasts! Forget the sceney Da Silvano's... instead we opted for local favorite Nello's off Madison, where the Calamari was the best I ever had, and the Asparagus special was too die for!! Our second night we were treated by our friends at The Palace Hotel to reservations at the uber-swank and nearly impossible to get into Il Molino downtown. Not only was the food and ambiance just what I look for in old school italian places, but the staff was so sweet I can't imagine going back to NY without visiting this fine eatery. Now if only I could get back in! Thanks to manager of 27 years Claudio, yours truly can rub elbows with celebs and socialites again...
Some other notable New York moments include:
-Bendel's making the change of becoming all accessories!! Sad but true
-Crumbs Cupcakes on Madison, they made it to California and STILL taste like heaven!
-The Blue Room at the W on Lexington for late night cocktails was the place to be
-brunch at The Peninsula is a great way to start off a busy day of work
-the Redeye to Newark is the only way to go
-my adorable new red patent leather clutch from Bendel's
-the always delicious street dogs, New York City's finest food!!
