Oh, the places you’ll go!
Times Square
One reason for my blogging hiatus, dear reader, is all the traveling associated with my new job. Tampa, New York, Nashville, Miami….I’d get off the plane and forget where I was! But now that I’ve had time to reflect, I’d love to share my observations with you, Dear Reader….
First, New York City, the city that never sleeps, where the lights of Broadway shine! I actually lived here, ~15 years ago, and a LOT has changed! For one thing, the crowds seemed much more manageable! Typically you can barely squeeze yourself through the crowds, and here I was, hauling my gargantuan suitcase up 7th Avenue right in the thick of Times Square. Also, the fashion seemed waaaaaay more laid-back than I’d remembered. I recall hopping on the #6 line to get from the upper east side to midtown, feeling self-conscious in my conservative pant suit purchased from Filene’s Basement, while the ladies around me wore - just about anything! Crazy combinations of pieces that I’d never have considered pulling into a single look, and somehow these confident young women were able to pull it off. I nearly broke my budget trying to imitate them (I guess not much has changed after all). Now however, you are more likely to see a T-shirt and jeans with flip-flops than anything I’d consider designer, the current streetwear trends notwithstanding. Times Square has been overrun with “basic” brands like the Gap and Victoria’s Secret. Still, New Yorkers carry with them a certain je ne sais quoi, that is difficult to describe.
The vibe in Nashville could not have been more different! I’d heard that everyone in Nashville wears boots, which I thought was just a stereotype, but no - it’s for real, y’all! Jeans, boots, cowboy hats…..the ladies in cute little crop tops (like the kind I wore in the 90’s, tied together in the front) layered with a jean or leather jacket, and the men not too dissimilar in their tailored tops and/or T-shirts. Good thing I was somewhat prepared - right before my trip I hit the local thrift store and picked up one pair of ankle boots with suede fringe, and another pair with a kitten heel in red patent leather….those were the hit of the conference! And by the way, if NYC never sleeps, neither does Nashville - the bands are setting up as early as 9am, to play to the crowds already gathering in the honky tonks lining the very aptly named Broadway Street. SO much fun but let me tell you…this is not the type of town in which you order a cosmo.
Oh, and how could I possible forget New Orleans? Pre-Katrina (for those of you who remember), I’d go on the regular, with my bff, to hit up the Voodoo Festival and enjoy the crazy Halloween costumes on Bourbon Street. This time on Bourbon Street it was (again) less crowded than I’d remembered, as in I could carry my drink down the street without getting it spilled all over me. Outside of the French Quarter, the architecture of the city was much like that of Nashville, sort of a hodge-podge of historic and new-build. Nothing really jumped out at my style-wise, but to be fair I stayed inside the convention center most of the time.
Thank you for sharing this journey with me! I hope you enjoy traveling as much as I do. There is nothing like venturing outside your own little bubble to better understand humanity - all the beautiful ways in which we can be different, but also very much alike underneath our wardrobes - whether those include boots or stilettoes.
