Everything I Wore Last Week: A Trip To New York
Everything I did, ate and, most importantly... wore
This post is in partnership with NET-A-PORTER*. I’m over the *moon* to be partnering with them on this newsletter.
Last week, I visited New York… again. This time around, it was for a trip with my husband, Mark, that we had planned many moons ago, where the itinerary involved nothing more than pottering around and eating a lot of very good food™️. Our yearly trip to our favourite city on earth to fill up on bagels, pizza slices and some of the very best vintage shopping. Here’s everything we got up to…
WEDNESDAY
My main aim for this trip was to pack light. The previous week, I’d been in New York for a brand trip, and my luggage on the way home was a whopping 39kg!!! DAYUM. It resulted in a very embarrassing ‘open your case in front of the queue’ situation that I wanted to avoid happening again, so I tried to streamline everything, including my hand luggage. I managed to fit all of the below into this very chic and new-in Toteme Bag*:
Passport, phone, purse and keys
Laptop (note - it peeps a little out the top)
Phone charger and battery pack
Water bottle and snacks (I like to ensure I have all bases covered - fruity, chocolatey and salty)
Sunglasses
Film camera
Airpods
Socks
A small makeup bag* with all my essentials (ear plugs, tampons, mirror, small perfume, hair bands, medications, blister plasters, tissues, lip balm, hand sanitiser, eye drops and this incredible face spray that halted my usual in-flight breakouts*)
I usually look like I’m about to take up permanent residence on the plane, so it was nice to saunter on with just the one tote. During the flight, I watched every single episode of ‘Nobody Wants This’ - Seth Cohen Hive, this is our TIME!!! It was wonderful, and I now have the urge to watch every single episode of The O.C. again. I finished off the VOGUE documentary on Disney+ too (Amy wrote a great piece on it here), so all in all a very enjoyable flight (I’m not wild on flying, but I find a tonne of snacks and a playlist you’re desperate to watch helps!).
We took a daytime flight, so I wanted to find the right balance of being comfortable in my outfit whilst still feeling put-together when we arrived:
RE/DONE T-shirt* - I tend to get a bit clammy on flights, so I went for the thinnest t-shirt that I own.
Toteme Linen Trousers (similar*) - Making the most of not having the little one with us and wearing white! The weather report looked good for our trip, so I thought these would be handy to have.
Toteme Green Cashmere Jumper* - A pop of colour and nice to throw on if I got cold - sometimes I fashion a neck pillow out of my jumper.
Toteme Belted Leather Tote* - As mentioned, just the right size. I only bought one bag for the whole trip and - SPOILER - this slotted into every outfit that I wore.
Secondhand Celiné Loafers (similar*) - What can I say, I’m a loafer girl these days?! These feel like wearing slippers, so they were the obvious choice for a day that involved a lot of walking.
Above is everything I packed for our four-night trip. I went heavy on the t-shirts due to the 20℃+ weather report. I’m sweaty! I need options! I packed more shoes than I normally would have because I KNEW we’d be doing a lot of walking, so I wanted to make sure that I could switch it up if any started rubbing in weird places. Plus, I had to factor in a fresh and pyjama-like outfit for the night flight home - hence the cashmere trousers. All I added:
A suede jacket. Whilst the days were due to be pretty toasty, the nights had a chill to them, so I needed an extra layer.
Jewellery. Just my usual Lié Studios* pieces.
Pyjamas, workout gear and underwear.
We like to stay in Williamsburg these days. It’s slightly more chill, there’s a tonne of good places to eat, and it’s quick enough to jump on the L Train if we want to head to Manhattan. So we dumped our bags at The Hoxton and went on the hunt for food. We first went to Misi, but without a reservation, it wasn’t going to happen, so our fallback was a trip to Misson Sandwich Social. Followed by a little sweet treat at Martha’s Country Bakery, and we were finally ready to pass out in bed. A few places we passed that I added to our ‘must-visit’ list:
Layla - looked like a very cool bar.
Fini Pizza - was absolutely BUZZING when we went past.
Esse Taco - whenever we walked past here, it was v.busy.
THURSDAY
I’m notoriously terrible at sleeping whenever there’s a time difference, but thanks to a little extra melatonin, I managed a full eight hours - that’s more than I sleep at home! Feeling fresh, we began a Google search for where was open that could provide us with the full American breakfast we were craving. We ended up at one of our favourite haunts - Sunday in Brooklyn.
The plan for the day was to divide and conquer. Mark had some bits that he wanted to do, and I wanted to pound the pavements for ‘research’ for my upcoming NYC shopping guide, and with only two full days here, it made sense to split. I put in almost 20k steps in the end, so just needed an outfit that felt comfortable and this ticked all the boxes (I ditched my jacket back at the hotel because it was HOT). Side note: I’d go two sizes down in this AGOLDE style* - I usually wear a 29 in other jeans, but a 28 in AGOLDE, and I’m wearing a 27 in the Ren.
I was out for most of the day (I’ll share my buys later in the week!), but I dropped my buys back at the hotel to change for a Solidcore class and my word. MY WORD. It’s three days later as I’m writing this newsletter, and I am still sore. It’s no joke. I genuinely did a loud sob/laugh multiple times during this class. Afterwards, I wobbled back for a shower and changed for dinner into this number that I loved - black t-shirt + cream silk shorts + leopard print shoes + brown leather bag + vintage beige suede jacket. I’ve met so many readers during this trip - thank you for saying hi; it’s made my WEEK! - and, on this evening, a reader said that she recognised my shoes before she recognised me. To be known for these leopard print bad boys?! That’s it. The pinnacle! I’m retiring now…
FRIDAY
Whatever type of holiday you’re going on, you need this kind of outfit. The sort that is soft, pyjama-like and perfect for mornings when you’ve just rolled out of bed but are ravenous. For me, this was the perfect formula.
DOEN cardigan* - the colour of this knit?! Divine. I popped a LESET T-shirt* underneath.
Toteme trousers (similar*) - you want something built with a lot of ease on the waistband.
Flip-flops (similar*) - a slip-on simple shoe that’s kind to your feet when you’ve been walking here, there and everywhere.
The plan for the day? Just a stroll around Williamsburg without any major plans. The sun was out, so this formula did the trick - black vest + wide leg camel jeans + black loafers + brown tote bag - a nice mix of neutrals, and the DOEN cardigan* around my shoulders added some texture when I was in the shade. Of course, we just ended up doing our favourite thing… eating.
Our Williamsburg mini-food tour included:
Bakeri - Right by our hotel so a good place to grab a coffee and a pastry for on-the-go. However, if you can snag a table outside it’s a great spot.
Nem’s - Lots of outdoor seating - it felt like we were on holiday! A Japandi Bistro, the lunch menu looked great, but we just picked up some smoothies.
Dépanneur - I’d walked past this place so many times and not spotted this cute market shop. Mark laughed because I picked up the ‘always mentioned on Substack’ Graza Olive Oil.
L’Industrie - The line looks intimidating, but this is a well-oiled machine, and we didn’t have to wait long for our pizza slice. I’d argue that it’s the best slice we’ve tried (Mark disagrees and his vote goes for Joe’s).
Trader Joe’s - Going to Trader Joe’s is my happy place. Of course, I had to pick up a tote and a restock of the ‘Everything But The Bagel’ seasoning and the epic Snacky Clusters (little nuggets of chocolate and potato chips - sweet and salty perfection).
One place I did have on my list was Sorbara’s. Formally Chickee’s Vintage, they’ve rebranded and are now in a slightly bigger space just down the road, and the grand opening was on Friday. Perfect timing! It was meant to be! If you’re after a higher-end curated selection of 90’s pieces, then it’s well worth a visit. A lot of the womenswear skewed too small for me, but I found some gems in the men’s section. I’ll report back.
We took a moment to chill at the hotel (and watch the latest episode of Slow Horses!), then headed back out to watch the sunset over the road at Bushwick Inlet Park. It was one of those moments that genuinely felt like we were in a film. For dinner, we went to Rule of Thirds - a place we visited last time and LOVED - and scarfed down our whole meal in record time. Ending the trip on a dinner high! I wanted to feel a little more put-together than my usual t-shirt and jeans look, so instead wore the AGOLDE jeans* with one of my vintage buys from this trip - a YSL silk tank.
On the first night, we met a lovely reader, Felicia, who shared some of her top Williamsburg finds. She suggested going across the road to Caffé Panna for a scoop of ice cream after our dinner, and holy moly - what a great recommendation.
SATURDAY
Another Felicia recommendation was to take a stroll up to Nick + Sons Bakery through the park, and that morning might just have been my favourite thing we did all holiday. The sun! Cute kids everywhere (made us miss our little one)! And the best croissant I’ve ever eaten. NO JOKE! I wanted a chill outfit, so I pulled out a jumper that I bought from Sorbara’s and wore it with my wider-leg Slvrlake Jeans*, although if I were to do this look again, I probably would have worn it with leggings for an even more relaxed vibe. We sat on a park bench, ate pastries and watched the world go by.
We went back to the hotel to pack, and I’ll admit that I was tempted to call it a day, curl up with my book and wait until our flight. But we mustered up the energy for one final wander, and I’m so glad we did because we discovered new ground that made me want to book our next New York trip immediately upon our return. Felicia had also recommended a walk up Franklin Street in Greenpoint, and as we made our way there, we bumped into another reader, Elise, who echoed the same thing (and recommended Paloma Coffee, which Mark gladly took her up on - he said it was great!). So off we went and stumbled across gorgeous bookshops, cafes and Tacqueria Ramirez, which I’ve put on my list for next time. Being in a bagel mood, we headed back to Frankel’s for our final meal.
The temperature hit the mid-twenties on Saturday, so out came the shorts again and let me tell you, I did not regret this outfit at all. It was HOT. I felt I managed to pull my three words together - classic, polished and undone - in a way that was practical for the heat…
For the journey home, I changed into a fresh t-shirt*, tied my Toteme jumper* around my waist, slipped into the Allude cashmere trousers*, repacked the Toteme tote*, wore my trusty loafers and took one of my new secondhand jumpers with me to fashion a neck pillow out of. I felt so darn cosy. New York treated us to the ultimate skyline sunset as we chowed down on Trader Joes Snacky Clusters and flew off home to the little guy.
It goes without saying that it was a *joy* to put together. Normal ‘Wardrobe Diary’ activity will resume again next week and if you like what you see then make you subscribe!
Anna x
Hi Anna, I’m signed up for notifications on your Vinted so notified when you list, and sometimes I see things that I remember you buying and loving on your YouTube or Instagram - and always think to myself, oh I’d love to know why she decided to sell this on. Part nosiness part to learn from as trying to minimise my wardrobe but struggle to part with things that I haven’t worn in a long time or never worn at all! I was wondering if it may make an interesting post - items you decided to sell on, why you bought it/loved it at the time and why you decided to part with it. This may be interesting to no one but me, but thought I’d mention it x
Love that Doen blazer and you’ve inspired me to pop over to Sorbaras. Also— a weekend in BK + Slow Horses in the hotel room? Bliss!