Take me back...

I am desperate to go back to New York. The cosmopolitan and diversity of the city really excited me. There is a constant buzz that surrounds New York, and so many places to explore.

When I go back (which I will inevitably do), I would want to explore Williamsburg and Brooklyn. Due to our limit about of time we were unable to visit the area, as I would prefer to have a good number of days to fully explore it. 

I'd also be interested in visiting the Empire State building, and admiring the Art Deco interior they behold there. 

New York is such an inspiring place, hopefully I will return very very soon!

The magpie sparkles at the FIT

"What draws me to fashion is art"- Daphne Guinness.

Known to those in industry as the couture goddess, Daphne Guinness' fashion favourites were on display at the FIT museum in an interesting exhibition. 

Her clothes were segmented into sections, including Dandyism (devoted to Daphne's "absolute passion for men's clothes"), armour, evening chic, chic, exoticism and sparkle.

Items designed by Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Dior and Valentino were all readily on display. In the wise words of Guinness herself, "I don't do event dressing because everyday is an event," which was instantly noticeable throughout the exhibition.

Some notes and sketches I made throughout the exhibition:

window shopping

Urban outfitters window display featured a playroom environment, with cheap chairs and tricycles immediately noticeable. The holes in the wooden partition pragmatically made the store appealing as it shows it doesn't take itself too seriously. This theme is evident through the garments on the mannequins, such as the happy face printed tee and the clashing red socks with the printed floral dress.

 a different approach to the festive period was adopted at Sephora, as they emphasised the beautiful gold exterior of the store through the use of paper cutout snowflakes, a feature commonly associated with christmas.

Both Versace and Hollister had moving shop window displays, with Versace's mannequins rotating to show a 3D profile of the garment and Hollister showing the movement of the sea across all the screens to promote the California / surfer lifestyle. 

 an artist's studio was seemingly the inspiration behind Blanc de Chine's window display. I liked this display as it appeared to be a touch of irony, as shirt dresses are unlikely to be a crisp white when in an art studio environment.boring and obvious window display at Diesel as they incorporate the festive spirit through the use of stars and ball-balls.

Inside Nike's changing room, featuring photos and writing from some of Nike's key ambassadors. Inspiring visuals will encourage people trying garments on to purchase. Clever promotional strategy.

there's nothing square about these stores

Beauty store Sephora was the first store I spotted that used technology. They had a photobooth available for people to capture their makeup looks and upload it straight onto facebook for their friends to see, clever promotional tool! The lady that served us was very helpful, offering to put Emily's eyelashes on for her and perfecting her eyes free of charge! she stated that she was a "perfectionist" which was noticeable as she spent 20mins on Em, must say I was slightly envious, I was tempted to get some myself. She offered Els and myself some birthday beauty vouchers, allowing us to receive a free gift when our birthdays arrive. Don't mind if I do!

We visited M&M world to be welcomed by a giant M&M, and received free Hershey's chocolate sample when we arrived within store. Although these aren't new promotional tools, they are proven to be successful, and we are perfect examples as we all bought something.

Enthusiastic staff + interactive store = SALES!

Sohooooo

By far my favourite place in New York. The edgy buildings are occupied by high end brands such as Chanel and also mid market brands such as APC and Rag & Bone. The cobbled streets added to the personality of the place, and the street art made the area feel like a rebellious Covent Garden.

  We had to visit the DASH store whilst we were in town. Would be rude not to. Pictured is inside the DASH store. As expected their are pictures of the 3 Kardashian sisters on the walls, and the stock is organised into colour tones, such as neutral leading up to heavier tones such as red and black.

 the window display for Club Monaco featured ripped pages of old books. I thought this worked well with the relaxed, slouchy student feel of the garments on the mannequin. Immediately appeals to the fashionable student out there (uhuhmmm)

As I am a massive Alexa Chung fan, I was aware of the Madewell brand due to her collaboration with the brand. The Madewell window displays featured a Resolution board to promote the New Year, a clever way of interlinking the New Year and providing customers with options for a new wardrobe. I fell in love with some boat shoes in store and couldn't resist to purchase them! The staff were very friendly, I had 2 sales assistants ensuring that I found the right size and was completely satisfied with my experience within store.

High 5 Madewell, my new years resolution is to buy more stuff from your store!

completely in love with my new boat shoes!

























a free magazine was available within store, offering a variety of looks and styles using Madewell products.

Subway moves

poppin, lockin and dancin. these Brooklyn boys certainly drew a large crowd in the subway!

Times Square festivities

yes yes it's a massive tourist attraction, but everyone secretly wants to go. Times Square is bursting with colour and vibrancy. There's so much going on you don't know where to look! We managed to find a really cool hat shop called Lids, featuring vast displays of caps in different colours and sizes. 

We were served by a girl the same age as us, who was super confident and keen to help. The store featured music by Drake, and she comfortably danced and sang as it played- definitely don't see any of that in the UK. She was happy to search on her iphone for directions of the various places we wanted to go.

Bring this personality to the Uk please!

Only in times square will you find dancing bananas promoting the new Jamba Juice store and giving you gift cards for free smoothies. You'll be getting no complaints from me!