They were wearing black! Of course they were wearing black…. Or navy blue…So what I really noticed were the accent colors – the bright pops of cheer that stood out in the crowd.
Please note that I did NOT ever go up to someone and ask them what brand of whatever they were wearing; I took careful notes, and have attempted to recreate their overall look as well as I can with the tool at hand. I suspect that if you were to see the same women, in the same outfits, you would recognize them immediately!
This first woman was business lunching; she was able to stride down the street with her male companions without any problems, thanks to her flat shoes. (I’m going to share with you tomorrow my observations about shoes in New York; I’ve concluded that you only need 4 pair of footwear to survive there!)
necklace – Talbots; navy dress – Lands’ End; cardigan – Lands’ End; bag – Talbots; ballet flats – SoftWalk
This woman was on 5th Avenue, and turning heads! It was among the boldest ensembles I saw all weekend:
sunglasses – Vow London; bag – Chirada; tee – Lands’ End; pants – J.Crew; cardigan – El La; boots – Balenciaga
Another woman lunching with a group of men. We were staying very near the United Nations, and that might have been the reason we saw so many women dressed really… dressy? for the day. They looked lovely….
necklace – Fallon; dress – J. Crew; cardigan – Cruciani; briefcase – Bric’s; flats – AGL
This young lady was working in a store – her socks absolutely made the outfit:
Shirt – Topshop, cardigan – Mauro Grifoni; pants – L.L.Bean; socks – Y’s by Yohji Yamamoto; oxfords – G.H. Bass and Co.
What caught my eye here was the coordination between the weave of the Missoni scarf and the deliberate zigzag earrings – I love that kind of thing!
scarf – Missoni; earrings – Lana; dress – L.L.Bean; cardigan – Lands’ End; ballet flats – Patricia Green
This last outfit delighted me – I thought that this woman was sort of madly dressy, at first. But she sat down at the cafe table and peeled off her cardigan to reveal that she was wearing a polo shirt! I loved her confidence in mixing pearls and polo…
polo– Lands’ End; earrings – Erdem; pants – L.L.Bean; cardigan – Vanessa Seward; bag – Monsoon; sandals – Eileen Fisher
If I ever get to live in New York, The Vivienne Files will become an endless “Chic Sightings” festival…love,
Janice
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I love all of the bright cardigans! And the flat shoes too. Thanks for being our eyes on the ground in New York. – nancyo
I'd wear any of those outfits and be very, very happy. Just further illustrates what a difference accent colours can make to our neutrals – I really want that striped shirt!
Thanks for this! I always dress casual, but we anticipate a formal event this summer. I have a navy dress, almost identical to the first one. There is likely to be both indoor (i.e. air conditioned) and outdoor parts to our event, but I was unsure about wearing a cardigan with my "dressy dress." Now I can wear one with confidence! THANKS!
Delightful post! But am I the only one having trouble with the web links?
It's not just the shoe links for me–plus, I've had trouble the past few days for some of the others. Today, many more though, including the Chirada bag, the pink socks, Vanessa Seward cardigan.
I had trouble with almost the links, also.
My Link provider dropped the ball in a BIG WAY – I love it when an essential partner goes rogue and doesn't tell me… I think they're all fixed! Please don't hesitate to let me know when these things happen – my livelihood depends on those links!
hugs to all,
Janice
Me too!
Me too.
Love this post ! But for some reason, none of the shoe links are workIng…
Thanks for sharing your trip to New York!
I am d lighted that you saw so many "dressy" business women who wear cardigans instead of jackets. cardis ars so much more comfortable and versatile. Maybe jackets for women are going out of style! Is that your impression from visiting New York? Would love to know what you observed as I'm going back into the business world to give presentations. Janice Collins, Washington DC
The jackets that I most noticed were sort of the Chanel style – tweedy, cardigan cut with "edge-to-edge" fronts. I love those, but they're not the most easily wearable for many women, and I seldom see them at reasonable prices. I saw almost no blazers, nor skirted suits. And note that the cardigans that I saw were all nice quality, and were in gorgeous condition – none of that "hanging on the back of my desk chair in case the air conditioning goes haywire" kind of look!
I can't swear that the neighborhood in which we stayed was among the dressiest in the city, but it was pretty nice… The men at the United Nations looked gorgeous, too… swoon…
hugs,
Janice
Can you provide some examples in a coming post of these edge to edge jackets? Sound appealing but I'm not quite sure what you mean. Thanks
These are fantastic! The strength of basics and neutrals with a shot of color.
These are all great but that green one has my name all over it :)
Thank you. You have encouraged me to go back to black, French blue and very dark chocolate and cream…..now I can add interesting colours and shapes and texture to the basics…have fun and be more cohesive. Plus my code for myself with my colours is food: licorice, blueberries, dark chocolate and clotted cream.
Deb from Vancouver
Ooh that's my favorite neutral pallet too!
This is such a fun post. Those bright cardigans make me smile. You've taught me that having the basics in black or navy or grey can be so versatile. Changing out a scarf or cardigan is a great way to switch up a look. Thanks for all your advice over the years.
Today's outfit. Sandals, tan pants, white oxford and a hot pink scarf.
This is a great post thank you for all your careful observations. I am not going to New York..but these outfits would look great anywhere!
I really love the navy and green! It's one of my favorite colors, but I find it hard to wear with anything but white.
It's the end of the opera season, so I'm on my way to NYC tomorrow for the weekend. Dinner w/friends at Benoit tomorrow night, brunch at le Pain Quotidien on Saturday and a matinee opera (Der Rosenkavalier) at the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday afternoon. Yes, you have definitely nailed it as to what the well-dressed NYC woman wears — neutrals with splashes of color that can be removed — a bright cardigan, scarf or blazer. When you are dining, you keep the interesting pieces towards the upper half of your body, since you are sitting. When you are at the opera, you go for it all over so you can be admired head-to-toe during intermissions while you sip your champagne.
Love this post, Janice.
Gros bisous, Marie-Thérèse
Must…Have…Chirada bag!!!!
What was your observation about the proportion of cropped pants vs full length? It definitely impacts shoe choices.
I love the street sightings posts! I'm glad New Yorkers are adding bright splashes of color to the black and navy "uniforms" of the past. So pretty and just the right feminine touches. Those green boots! WOW! LOL! I would be interested in the different pant lengths too. I struggle with what shoes go with the different pant lengths. I have asked my granddaughter's advice! : ) Thank you Janice!