CURIOUSER NEW YORK

Here's a thing. As you might have heard, New York has many districts - [and I'm not even talking about the boroughs of the city: Brooklyn, Queens, etc.] - and each one of them has its own particular 'fashion' and/or street style.  LES (Low East Side) locals are completely different from the UES (Upper East Side) residents, and the only times they 'intervene' in each other's lives are when they have to co-exist at the shops, cafes, and bars. Or - professionally, sharing an office overlooking a tattoo parlor on St. Marks Street...  That's one of the many things that make the city so unique and diverse - is the way people dress that is so different district by district. So, here's my take on Hell's Kitchen vs. Upper West Side street fashion.  What would you say about the styles? How would you describe them? Hell's Kitchen...

It's good to see The Queen of Pop being back on the scene. I can't get enough of this video - both stylish and very energetic. Reminds me of the days of Vogue and Justify My Love . How do you like this new video by Madonna? Would you rather see her direct movies or doing music?

One of the most successful and genius artistic collaborations between a director and an actor of all times is Pedro Almodovar and Pelenlope Cruz. Last week I've attended a rather interesting - [and, a fascinating for me] - lecture-presentation at the Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) dedicated to the fashion in the films of Pedro  Almodóvar.

I wrote about Natalia Vodianova 's charity foundation Naked Heart Foundation before, and I'm writing about it again.  Vodianova fascinates me - not only as a fashion supermodel, who can pretty much make any clothing item, accessory and shoes sexy, but she manages to do so with three kids that, unlike many models, she had very young in the age.

Last weekend I finally opened the rollerblading - a.k.a. inline skating - season in New York!  I've been waiting for this moment all winter and early spring because this was going to be my come-back after not having skated in the city for more than six years. 

Continuing with the series of the great finds in the city, here's something I've discovered last weekend - a very cute shop of handcrafted gelato on a stick! Knowing me well, you'd know that I'm obsessed with gelato. I'm not a big fan of the regular ice-cream - especially the American kind that is too sweet and too heavy. I usually end up indulging in the real kind of gelato when I travel to Europe. My favorite gelato of all times is in Italy, I especially like the ones I tried in Florence. [By the way, as I learned later, it wasn't an accidental that I found gelato in Florence one of the best I've ever had - each year Florence holds a Gelato Festival , this year the festival will happen May 23-27, 2012. Visit and taste for yourself!] My personal favorite place for gelato in Florence is Gelateria de' Neri (Via dei Neri 22r), and I'm not the only one who says so! My favorite flavors are kiwi, hazelnut and pistachio, although I'll t

I really liked the classic look of this young woman this morning who very well combined a short trench coat with a very classic simple cut in neutral color and the rain boots. Despite a common opinion that rain boots ruin the overall dressed-up look, they actually can be rather stylish if they are combined very well with the overall look. Her rain boots, though, are not completely made out of rubber, only the soles. The top and mid part of them are made of the material that breaks them ideally to make them look as the dress boots. I'm sure, though, she carries a pair of nice heel shoes in her over-shoulder bag for the in the office attire. When do we get to see and feel the sun again?

A pretty stylish way to get around on a bike in the city. With the city becoming more bike-friendly, more and more young people are choosing to ride a bike around the city and since one should still stay stylish, even when riding a bike, many people opt for a variation of a simple old-school backpack. I found this backpack looking more like an oversize leather bag that one can easily convert in a carry-on bag once the bike is parked...

Bright pinks and blues, neon greens and yellows - the Spring has arrived and the fashion world is telling us that as much as we love our blacks, browns and beige, it's time to add some color to our wardrobes, just as the Japanese and Italians have been always doing it.

Photo: DKNY 2012 Spring Collection, courtesy of DKNY. I must  publicly  admit - [ or rather, declare?! ] - that Donna Karan has been always one of my favorite American designers. She seems to know not only what a woman wants - globally! - but she's actually one of the rare designers, who makes the clothes to fit any woman - any size, any age, any profession - she just seems to know the woman's body very, very well.

Is there a way to tell a story of a jean shirt?

This morning when I finally succumbed to the idea that my cold is over and I'm ready for my 1.5-hour bikram (aka hot yoga) session, I didn't know that my day would turn out to be even better - even better than getting over a very bad cold and enduring a hot yoga, which every time I do it makes me 'hate it' during the process and 'love it' right after...  As I finished with the yoga, which I've finally come to accept in my life - [ being more a fan of cardio workouts, like biking, rollerblading, and jogging ] - I was walking back home, enjoying the second day of the absolutely gorgeous spring weather in New York , feeling the sun, seeing how the 'working Manhattan' is buzzing around like a busy termite's colony and indulging in the idea that it's time to take the zoom lens and the camera onto the streets and do some street fashion shots around Soho, West Village, Union Square... As I was walking and day-dreaming, I came about an inter

There's definitely a trend going on across many non-American stores these days - the simplicity in approaching the fashion, adapting the runaway looks and make them down-to-earth.  I've been also noticing a lot of 'safari' looks, which, as I assume are coming from the likes of Michael Kors , whose latest collection and running in print ads are all about safari. MICHAEL KORS - Modern Safari Collection from Watch Station on Vimeo . All in all, the simple lines in the stylish clothes look pretty universal as they apply to many life situations and occasions - from office attire to traveling apparel and leisure times out on a town. I do like the simple clothes, when they have a bit of 'oomph' in them, like the latest Spring/Summer line at one of my favorites - Uniqlo .

Continuing with the series of my personal discoveries of some great places in the city to shop, eat, see and entertain at that I promised to be sharing with you upon my unique discoveries, I'm pathetically happy to acknowledge the fact that yesterday I've discovered I might have been the last person in New York City, who didn't know what's become of the notorious dance club that has been so famous for its raging dance scene back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Limelight Church, which saw the best and the worst of the dancing crowd -   including the infamous claims that recreational drugs were so ever-present at Limelight that it became an equal conduit for those looking to score [and for which it's been closed forever!]  - is now hosting fashion boutiques.

The tight black pants, classically fashionable sneakers, a fitted jacket, an oversized scarf and... an over-shoulder bag - a complete stylish set that looks as fabulous on a woman, as  it does on a man. In this case - it's on a man, which I've captured the other day...

French Vogue: A celebrity smoking? - Yes. S&M? - Yes.  Wrong? - Maybe. But at least they are not hypocrates.  I'm back to talking about French, France and the whole how 'openly sexual' the French fashion journalism is. I can't get enough of how liberated the French press is about talking and showing the sexual images on both - the screen [mind you - on the public TV] and magazines and that does not make French youth more, how to put it in a respectful non-sexual way? - over-sexed than the youth in other countries... Well, France - and the rest of the world - is about to get one more liberated fashion magazine in stores.

I'm extremely excited and happy for my friend, Leonid Gurevich , whose hard work and unbelievable creative vision finally paid off last week, when he tributed his collection at Aurora Fashion Week in St. Petersburg, Russia .

The simple basics will always be in style. Despite the fact that in this season the color is dominating everything - from shoes to accessories, the simple basics are still very common, especially when one wants to feel 'safer' and/or to match the unmatchable.  It's a fact that the neutral simple colors of black and beige match absolutely everything and if one's clothing is rather colorful, in order to not look like a parrot, it makes sense to wear neutral colors on the feet to off balance the overall colors. Personally, even though I did colorfy my wardrobe for this season, I'm still going to keep wearing my basics - the black and beige flats, just as these girls are doing it with the jeans and black pants, because there are always situations when nothing else really goes with anything except for the simple basics...

Despite the fact that Spring does not seem to rush to the north-eastern hemisphere  of America this year, you can still make it very Spring-y, very summer-y. Just add a touch of orange, yellow and...orange. The neutral and black colors have got to go!

I totally dig the whole outfit, including the accessories on this girl: from high platform wedges and dark jeans to the motorbike leather jacket, big watch and the over-sized headphones that I seem to see more and more often in New York these days.  Personally, I prefer the small headphones, but I've longed to have the over-sized ones for some time now. I hear they can serve as ear mufflers during the winter and have a pretty good sound for those who want to both tune out the street noise and feel like they are in a club, alone . I was thinking, actually, of using them for jogging... What do you think about the over-sized headphones, are they still 'IN' or are they 'OUT'?

When I write about the lifestyle, I write about everything that is part of my life, including the traveling and photography. Including the fact, that I absolutely have to do a photo session of some sort - at least once a week - to satisfy the creative juices in me.  Usually it happens on a weekend day, as I have more time to go out, explore, discover, see things and people and pause to take a photo of my discoveries and/or something that captures me. Just as it happened last weekend, when on Saturday I ventured out to enjoy the re-arriving of the Spring in New York City, and on Sunday taking a photo morning run to capture the very essence of the Hudson River / West Side Manhattan as it appears to the joggers and bikers - to those who come to the riverfront for fitness purposes. Loving the fact that the Spring is here, and hopefully to stay, I've browsed through one of my favorite parts of the city - around the Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park to see how bot

The Coffee Shop's Lump Crab Avocado Mango Arugula salad... The other day over a brunch at one of my favorite cafes in the city The Coffee Shop - [ remember The Sex and The City's girls' favorite place? ]  with my girlfriend - [we had the same - the yummy Lump Crab Avocado Mango Arugula salad and their signature mixed berry mojitos], we got into talking about, how a lot of women these days are concerned with the designer's brands and labeling themselves up. [ It was easy to do as the perfect outside seating of the Coffee Shop allows for plenty of people-watching... ]

I've been always fascinated with the people, who come to work with a home-made breakfast and/or lunch. Despite the fact that I've been bringing my own home-made yogurt-granola parfait to work every day - [ and only because I like it a very particular way, while most of the places make it very sweet, like it's a desert, not a breakfast item ], I no longer bring any 'lunches' from home, since there are so many options to eat lunch at in New York.

I can't believe I'm so behind on some of the coolest and free fashion events that there are in New York City - the Museum at FIT events. Last time I was there was for the Daphne Guinness amazing exhibition of personal fashion collection, much of which was a dedication to her favorite Alexander McQueen.

... and it slowly turns into an evening gown . I wish we could all say that about our Friday outfits at work! Fridays in America are usually the casual days sans the sneakers and sweats, of course. On Fridays the office workers are usually allowed to wear jeans and casual shirts, just as long as it's still within the 'office attire rules' acceptance. But here is a thing, while most of us - especially the people who work in the corporate America - long for Fridays to wear the casuals, it's a double-end sword, because usually on Fridays one goes out right after work.  So, how can you stay casual and dressed up enough to hit all those fabulous lounges, parties, events?

Last night I've spotted rather interesting booties on two different people in completely two different settings - at a store and on subway.  Two different styles. Totally caught my attention. Very unique. Very particular. I'm wondering where they've got them. I should have asked, if I weren't carrying 50 pounds of bookshelves at that moment.

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous. There's absolutely nothing not to adore this woman for. She founded one of the oldest and most prominent fashion houses in the world. She defined what classic, proper femininity is. She made clothes, accessories, footwear and perfume that made a woman, a girl - a true lady. She was the muse of many poets, writers and the inspiration to many designers to come - for decades to come. And on top of that - she was one witty woman with a lot of simple, but deep truth to what she was saying...

What's with the French fashion that they feel more free to publish semi-naked sexy photos in their fashion magazines, why can't the American Vogue do it?   

I could not not share this quote with you... “Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” – Paul Theroux There's a reason why companies and boutique hotels like Mr. & Ms. Smith and Quintessentially - [ the founder of which I've met in Paris back in 2006, when he wanted to discuss some projects that I could do for them ] exist.

  Every self-respected New York woman has at least one pair of stilettos in her closet. That's just how it is. We, New York women, love our stilettos. We are even loving them at the expense of our feet - we love our feet, but we can wear them to tear because we seem to love our stilettos more .

Call me color, call me black - call me any color you can think of... It's a delight to see that, finally, those rubber rain boots that were so not fashionable just a few years ago, became such a fashion statement. Thanks to the boots makers - [ I talked about them as I prepared for the Fall's rainy weather in Washington, DC] - and high-end designers, they brought back the old fashioned rain boots and made them very stylish, which was a relief for all the fashionistas around the world, who were in major footwear crisis once it was raining. Now, they can safely wear the stylish rain boots and feel adequate enough to show up on the streets wearing their stylish clothes with the rain boots without any guilt of consciousness that they are breaking the fashion rules.

Apparently the question that I've raised last September still holds the truth!  The buns are in and they are here to stay, which, as I said before, makes me very happy as a bun is the only solution I could find in many years to battling the bad hair days. It solves it all and is pretty versatile across the climate, places and times - it's as great for the beach, as it is for the work-outs. Not to mention that it actually can look quite stylish, if well-put together.  As a matter of fact, I'm wearing one right now, which is not surprising, as it's happening more often than I'd like it to. But there are certain days, when you keep pushing the morning alarm sound on hold, over and over again, realizing that you have just enough time to get dressed and zero time to do your hair. Buns - are the essential day-saver in those instances!

  Last weekend I got myself a new puppy - a.k.a. a new TREK Mountain Bike 3500 , after my old one 'died' on the road to New York City by flying off the roof of my friend's car. I mourned it for a day as I looked at the left-overs of my biking days in Washington, DC - a helmet, two locks and two tires, all that's left from the bike. And of course, while everyone was enjoying a Sunday brunch, I actually ventured out early in the morning - and went shopping for a new bike - [believe it or not, but I actually got up early on Sunday to go bike shopping; there are rare occasions I'd be forced out of bed on an early Sunday morning! ].