What I Brought/What I Bought: 5 Days in Manhattan

Hot Town, Summer in the City

One of Maggie’s final photos here at home, taken by Marc Mauldin.

Hello friends. I’ve been having a rough go of it lately. We laid to rest my 14-year-old golden retriever, Maggie last Tuesday. The immense grief I am still feeling comes and goes in waves — she was my constant companion since I was in my early 20s, and not hearing the tippy tap of her little toenails on my floor sometimes makes me feel like I can’t breathe. If you would like to remember her with me for a moment, please visit this post on my Instagram.

My boyfriend is hurting too, so when the opportunity popped up to visit with legend/Editor/thought leader Atoosa (more on our shared history here) for an all-women publishing mind-meld in New York, we made it into a long weekend trip for emotional survival.

We stayed at Soho House in Meatpacking, which proved to be a festive decision for the Fourth of July — the rooftop pool party was pretty much always going. It really kept our spirits up and proved to be a welcome distraction. Many Aperol Spritzes were consumed.

Plus, it was a great place for entertaining friends: some new, like the lovely couple sitting next to us at Carbone on Friday evening, some new that feel like old (hi Venita), and revisiting some outright well-worn old-shoe friendships (hi Fred). I also think I met a new favorite stylist! (I loooove a good stylist’s input.) By the way, I link their names because their Instagrams are fabulous and worth your follow. As is Atoosa’s Substack. All resources within their own rite.

As expected, the city was near-empty and serene, most of the locals having flown east. It was magical being able to zip around with no traffic, grab last-minute dinner reservations, and not stand in any lines.

However, it was HOT. I found myself wishing I’d packed differently and shopping not for pleasure, but as a necessity. Plus, we impulsively extended our trip by a couple of days, so I was short on duds. Here’s what I brought that worked the hardest — and what I bought to fill in the gaps.

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Daytime

This poplin Toteme mini dress was undoubtedly the hardest worker of the trip, and the most complimented — followed closely by a good pair of flat sandals I bought on day one. I found the blue woven bag at Marni Market, the brand’s Meatpacking outpost of limited-edition, handcrafted accessories (at great prices). I always bring a black bottom and a button-down in every suitcase, too. For this trip, it was a super-packable Anine Bing mini skirt which looked great with a pair of platforms. The chartreuse bag by Little Liffner is surprisingly roomy for its size. I was able to fit my wallet, sunglasses, and lip gloss comfortably. All of my jewelry lately is by Dorsey!

This La Ligne set was a last-day purchase after seeing almost every girl at Bergdorf’s in some combination of a chic matching set or a color-saturated cotton shirt dress. #Influenced. The slouchy Nylon bag was purchased after seeing a woman on the street make it look so great and so New York, I looked it up on the spot. #InfluencedAgain. This white Khaite dress was a sale find for around 70% off — the open back and light cotton made it a serious winner for walking around the city without looking like the sweaty slob I felt like. The coordinating red sandals were a find from the same sale. The beauty counters at Bergdorf’s were also good to me! I found a perfect shade of the sought-after Hermes lip oil, and what might be my favorite eyeliner ever by Byredo, where I also picked up a new perfume. The bamboo-handle bag also worked great against the backdrop of the city — summery in shape, sleek in practice. And you know I had to do a cute heart earring. This is The LOVE List, after all.

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Evening

Nighttime garb was a mix of black and white with pops of color, making it easy to mix and match. This Sportmax blazer has an incredible fit and looked great styled with bike shorts and sparkly heels. An oversize cardigan, huge 80’s-ish earrings, and a stretchy slip dress made for an easy whoa-I-ate-too-much dinner look, and I always bring a black blazer on every trip… because I always end up using it.

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Gifts and Souvenirs

Marni Market was ripe for gift shopping, I found a wine tote that I’ll deliver with a bottle of rosè to a newly-engaged girlfriend and a sweet handbag for one of my employees. Bergdorf’s has a La Bouche Rouge engraving station on the beauty floor, which means for around fifty bucks you can give someone the very luxe gift of a monogrammed lipstick in a refillable leather case. For a small but meaningful gift, stationery or colored pencils from The Met Store. In my bedroom, Soho House left a little case of its new skincare line, and I’m especially impressed with the renewal serum. I feel like it would work for anyone’s skin and would be a great little gift — I used it every day. And at Eataly and Zabar’s, I picked up iconic tote bags for gag gifts and stocked up on house teas, Marabissi biscotti, and Amaretti cookies of every flavor to stash away for Christmas stockings. For a special splurge (like for my Mom!), a timely cashmere sweater.