We recently spent 56 hours in New York City. That’s me on the extremely windy ferry headed to Governors Island.
The reason for our quick short trip up there was for a fun “work trip” if you will. And by “work,” I mean we got to run around the city, sightsee, and do the tourist thing to capture footage using a brand spanking new Samsung Gear 360º video camera for The St Giles Hotel group and their “Be Central” campaign. (More details on that at the bottom of this post.)
As I packed for this trip, I did think strategically as to what my must haves would be for walking around the city, in the summer heat, with three children. I needed to be comfy for all the sight seeing we would be doing, but obviously didn’t want to look like a slob. I mean, we were filming ourselves the entire time! A girl has to look somewhat put together!
Here were my 5 style must haves for the streets of NYC :
- Two different pairs of sunglasses.
- Bold lip colors.
- Metallic tennis shoes.
- Backpack purse & crossbody.
- Loose lightweight clothing.
#1. SUNGLASSES. I took a large clear pair (similar pair here) and a black pair of inexpensive aviators here. I like sunglass options, because not only do they actually keep you from squinting in the sun, but they add interest to your face and cover up the fact that maybe you didn’t spend as much time on your eye makeup as you would have liked. Ha!
#2 BOLD LIP COLORS. Bold lip glosses and lipsticks can dress up your face in an instant. They’re easy to carry along with you even while sightseeing, are simple to reapply throughout the day, and can change up your look immediately. And they make a great impact on camera:) Remember my Insta video about my 5am travel makeup look here? It required a red lip to make me look awake while boarding an early flight to NYC!
My bold choices I packed were : MAC “Lady Danger”(bright orange based red), Nars “Schiap”(shocking hot pink), NYX butter gloss in “strawberry cheesecake,” (bright sheer strawberry red) and NYX soft matte lip cream in “Prague”(deep raspberry). Obviously Vivian is the one who will always honestly tell me, “Mama, you need your lipstick on!” Even if we are in the dark in the middle of Times Square trying to make our way to the Disney Store at 10pm at night. That’s my girl.
#3 METALLIC TENNIS SHOES. Why specifically metallic? Because metallics are basically neutrals in my opinion and can go with a lot. Plus gold and silver always makes any outfit more shiny and fun! Of course sneakers are a must for running around any city, but especially the bustling streets and subways of NYC. I wore my metallic high tops which I created on Nike iD.com and my other silver/baby blue Nikes are super old but I found some similar cool metallic styles here , here, and here.
Nail color of the summer by the way – Essie “Bikini So Teeny.”
#4 BACKPACK PURSE AND CROSSBODY BAG. Carrying a purse by the handles while you’re running around the city trying to keep 3 kids safe is not practical. But being hands free while carrying your sunnies, lip gloss, and wallet with you IS practical! I loved having my Vera Bradley leather backpack purse and my Gigi New York crossbody for this trip. Especially when I made my first trip into Rickys NYC – having my purse on my back allowed me to grab as many beauty products as I could get my little hands on!
#5 LOOSE LIGHTWEIGHT CLOTHING. It’s summer, and it’s hot, I was going to be sitting on a plane going and coming, so that means I didn’t want anything super tight and heavy, obviously. I chose to pack comfortable pieces like a chambray romper, Free People sundress, and denim cutoffs with printed tanks. All easy to run around in but not looking like I gave up on my wardrobe or choosing to wear yoga pants as real pants!
All in all, I packed pretty darn smart for a short trip up to the Big Apple! The only thing I was missing, was I forgot to pack a lightweight scarf/pashmina that would have been nice to have at night. Mental note for next time.
And if you want to hear more about exactly where and what touristy places we hit up in NYC, go check out my husbands blog post HERE.
Like I said, we were there to collaborate with the St. Giles Hotel group to capture our adventures all with this crazy cool sphere shaped 360º virtual reality camera, shown by Scott below, who was in charge of all the filming!
We stayed at The Court in the Murray Hill district (for the 2nd time, first time here back in March) during our 56 hours there.
The St Giles had enlisted a select few hotel guests and bloggers in cities around the world where St Giles properties are located. They were asked to share their travel experiences in 360º or Virtual Reality to help bring awareness to the St Giles’ brand. We were a few of the lucky ducks that got to basically show off how centrally located our hotel was to getting anywhere and everywhere you want to go in the city.
We are big fans of the St. Giles anyway and just adore the staff they have there at The Court and Tuscany. So accommodating, the suites are humongous and great for families, and their location on East 39th and Lexington could not be more perfect with anything and everything you could want around you. Grand Central Station is just a hop skip and a jump away to taking you all over the city…once you learn how to navigate the subway system!! After traveling to NYC more than 15 times, I’m still working on that part…hahahaha!
If you want to check out our Day 1 of our trip, my first vlog is up on my YouTube channel here. (Keep an eye out for Day2 & Day 3 and don’t forget to subscribe while you’re there watching it!!)
What are your New York City summer style must haves? Did I miss any?
