what i did, what i wore: new york pt. 2

08: go-to hotels, favorite vintage stores and must visits in brooklyn

I just came back from a week-long trip to New York and for me, that is… long. I think it just might be the LA girl in me, but New York absolutely exhausts me. I truly admire those who live there who have that energy and stamina because it’s something I definitely lack.

I originally flew out for work — I shoot photography and consult on big picture social media for a hair accessories (and haircare) brand beloved by Gen Z and the likes of Hailey Bieber and friends called Emi Jay. I just shot their recent campaign in LA featuring @wolfiecindy and in New York, shot an upcoming product launch.

And because I was already going to be in New York, I decided to tack on more days to do a couple Seen Library things — an intimate book giving and dinner of 20 and a mini pop up at a chic cafe.

So maybe it’s not that New York is exhausting (it is), but that I put it on myself to do the most while there is what’s so exhausting… Below, I’m sharing what I did and where I went in my week in New York, along with what I wore.

Day 1

I woke up at the Public Hotel after checking in the evening before. While I prefer staying at The Bowery or The Ludlow, I do like that the Public Hotel has a pretty good location that’s walkable to a lot of hot spots. It lacks certain amenities that you’d get at other hotels, but I find that it gets the job done. The bed is comfy, the AC works great and because I’m not big on overpacking, I find their petite rooms totally fine.

Most of the day was spent shooting and for the rest of the evening, I kind of disassociated in the hotel room. The rest of the team headed to Bar Pisellino while waiting for their table for dinner at Via Carota.

Day 2

Another early morning start in Soho to shoot more for the brand. I got a smoothie at the hotel beforehand, but had some of the girls’ Leon’s Bagels — the scallion cream cheese on sesame was yummy. I know this is controversial… but of all the bagels I’ve tried I still prefer Courage Bagels in LA.

After the shoot, we visited the Vogue office (very exciting) and had dinner with a couple friends who work there at Rubirosa. The vodka pizza was incredible and I love how thin and crispy the crust was. I recommend. While waiting for our table, we stopped into Goods for the Study, a stationery shop, and a cute pen shop next door. Cafe Leon Dore is also nearby, which is a nice (and usually very busy) place to get a cup of coffee.

Day 3

I checked out of the hotel and headed to Williamsburg, where I was staying at a friend’s for the rest of the trip. I had the Seen Library dinner and book giving that evening so wanted to take it easy and use the day to prep for it. I had to go get flowers for the dinner and popped into Jubilee Marketplace, where I was lucky to find some simple calla lilies. I also stopped by Ceremonia Bakeshop, which is small family owned, for a bite to eat and to get cookies for the friends I was staying with.

I then headed to DAE, where the dinner (and mini pop up!) was held. The night started with charcoal yuzuade and book browsing and after the discussion portion of the gathering, we continued conversations over yukari chips with creme fraiche and trout roe, charred caraflex cabbage with coenjang butter and bottarga, salmon oroshi with seven grain purple rice and seasonal sauteed vegetables, and affogatos with matcha and tempura crisps.

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Day 4

After a busy few days, I decided to hermit in the apartment. I took a walk to get food from a grocery shop but other than that… I don’t think I went back outside.

Day 5

This was my catch up with friends day. I got lunch with an internet-turned-IRL friend at Simple, a cafe that serves French Algerian cuisine. They had lots of delicious stuff on the menu and their interiors were really cute. They also had a part of their space dedicated to home goods and some clothing.

Before dinner, I had a little walk around and visited Tangerine, which was actually on the list of recommended shops that I shared last year. They had a nice curation of apparel, beauty products, books and little objects. I then passed by Kijitora East, a Japanese owned coffee shop, and Nomia, another small business clothing store, before sitting down at Huda New Levantine Bistro, a neighborhood restaurant serving seasonal home cooking from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. I not only love their food and ambience, but that they unapologetically stand against the genocide and actively raise money for victims in Lebanon through fundraiser dinners. Their pita, kalamari mishwi and charred eggplant are musts. I want to go back to try more.

Other notable spots nearby that I had visited on my last trip: Land to Sea, an Asian American woman owned coffee shop and creative space that highlights local POC creators and Bonnie’s, a Cantonese American restaurant.

Day 6

It was the (other) big day! The Seen Library mini pop up at DAE, which was supposed to run from 11am to 3pm — except all the books and hats sold out before then. From sell out until 3pm, though, some of us hung back and continued chatting at the tables over lattes. It was really cool seeing so many people who had just met at the pop up put time and effort into speaking to and getting to know one another. I myself got to meet Grace of @pagesbeforesunrise at the pop up, who I left the pop up with to explore more books at Books are Magic and get food at Rua Thai.

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Day 7

My last day in New York. I met up with a friend I’ve known since college (and who I actually traveled to Japan with last summer) and we walked over to La Bicyclette for pastries and Kijitora for matcha. To be honest, I expected better, given both had lines for both — my pastry was a bit hard and chewy and my strawberry matcha tasted just ok. After chatting outside of the cafe, we did some vintage shopping. We headed first to Sorbara’s (which used to be called Chickee’s Vintage), a really chic, well-curated vintage store where I convinced my friend to get a lightweight black Prada jacket. I then visited Book Thug Nation, a secondhand bookstore, and Seven Wonders Collective, which had a great selection of vintage, before heading to JFK to finally come home.

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What I packed

As many of you already know, I am big on outfit repeating and versatile dressing for the sake of not overpacking. As I do with every trip, I always plan my outfits by trying on various pieces and making sure I can wear each one in different combinations to avoid overpacking. I then take photos of each outfit and keep them in a folder so I can refer back to them each morning in my new destination to save time and headache.

Below are the breakdowns of each outfit I packed for New York, including links to each piece, all packed in my brown Monos suitcases. While I usually lean towards black, white and gray for New York, as you can see in a previous What I did, What I wore, I opted for dark browns and taupes as it felt more fall and aligned with pieces I’ve been really loving (and wearing!) as of late.

Outfit 1

• Paloma Wool Sheer Brown Long Sleeve: It’s so sheer, I didn’t expect to get so much wear out of it but I’ve worn it so much with trousers and the Geel sheer brown skirt. It’s sold out, but there are other pretty PW options here and here. For more of that simple 90s long sleeve look, you can see here and here

• Gatherall Sticky Bra: I hate bras so these sticky alternatives are perfect for me, especially when I wear such thin tops like this one

• Paloma Wool Trousers: My new go-to and most worn trousers, period

• Madewell Silver Earrings: My most worn simple silver earrings that go with everything

• Brown Vintage Chanel Quilted Bag: I got this for $1500 at the famous flea market in Paris so it’s tough finding another online, but you can see similar styles here and here and another I just love here.

• Vintage Gucci Sandals: These are fall winter 2002 Gucci by Tom Ford monogram kitten heel mules with leather ropes that I got on The Real Real for around $100 or so because they had a broken heel that I got fixed… and it was so worth it. Here’s the same style in black and other cute similar vintage styles here and here.

Outfit 2