Caitlin

Jen, stick to the southern and central parts of Central Park (below 96th St), especially adjacent to the museums, and do not walk anywhere in the park alone in the early morning or at dusk or after, just to be on the safe side. At other times you will find plenty of company. No, women do not wear cocktail dresses out at night, unless headed to a specific andformal destination. They wear well-cut pants and nice but sophisticated skirts or dresses. In a cocktail dress you would feel distictly overdressed, especially at 30ish. Stick to dark colors, as has been noted, and you'll be comfortable. The best time to visit the Village and Soho depends on your agenda. Obviously, if you want to shop, go during the day. For people watching, anytime. Both areas have many bars, clubs, lounges, and restaurants for an evening scene. The bar and cafe scene is bustling but more laid back in the East Village. Best casual places to see live music are bars and small clubs; check citysearch.com, timeout.com, and villagevoice.com for listings, or when you're here, pick up the Village Voice (free) or Time Out New York (not) for listings. Unless at a true neighborhood bar, expect drinks to be pricey. For restaurants, what kind of food do you like? We have it all. Neighborhood restaurants and ones that serve food at the bar are best bets for feeling comfortable dining alone. Say something about what kind of food, prices, and neighborhood you want, and I'll offer some recommendations.

ignoretheramblings

F,

Pay no attention to L/Leone's obsession with black. He does not live in New York although at times he tries to make it appear that he does. He knows no more about NYC than any other tourist would.

I was in New York City for several days last month - people wear a wide variety of colors and styles in the summer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing shorts in New York during the hot days of summer. At night, I would dress up more but would not make an extreme effort to wear black.

I suspect L's aversion to shorts is that he has not got the legs for them - when you sit in front of your computer day and night like he apparently does based on his overabundant postings, you tend to be out of shape and would not look presentable in shorts.

Hey L - you left out Bob Dole in your diatribe this time - you know that guy that endorses those little blue pills that you love.

L

Ignoretheramblings ... not too bad ... well, stilted, dangling, obvious ... even reaching ... maybe tapped out for ideas ... and missing the target ... but, other than that, really not too bad. Hey, since you follow Bob, how about Bob and His Blues for a barber shop quartet ... they really dole out the hits. Have a good weekend. Ciao

ignoretheramblings

F,

As you can see L presents no defense against what I stated in my previous post - just his typical humor-challenged attempt at being cute.

At least he is smart enough to not challenge what he knows is the truth.

cindy

I live a few miles outside Manhattan, and have worn shorts and sneakers there LOTS of times! Especially on Saturday when I'm doing the tourist thing for out of town relatives. There are plenty of people wearing shorts--also designer outfits, jeans, rags, whatever... No one cares what you are wearing!!! Be comfortable--you'll be walking a lot.. I can always tell the tourists/out of towners because they're the ones wearing their sunday best to go to a saturday matinee! Now night time is different--I wouldn't wear shorts/jeans too many places (although jeans are fine for just walking around). I agree black is the way to go..

ME

Did someone mention black jeans for a night out?????

I dont think that person should go out because they are stuck.........in the 80s.

metoo

But what if they still fit?

fashionista

Leave them in the hotel room as a tip for the maid.

metoo

But I was gonna wear them to a wedding. They matched my two year olds' outfit.

steve

Don't obsess. Wear what's comfortable.

Don't visit the Village during the morning. Everyone is sleeping.

Nervous Nellie

Some of you are making me feel really aprehensive about visiting your fair city. My husband and I are 50+, from the deep South (temps in the high 90's), and my husband doesn't own anything Armani! One of my favorite things to pack for travel is a broomstick skirt. Is this going to be too outlandish? They are prints with navy, black. etc. background. My husband was planning to bring Dockers and discreet print or plaid shirts for daytime and a navy jacket for dinner in restaurants like Union Square cafe. Some of you more mature posters, please give me your opinions. We don't want to stick out like sore thumbs. We plan to attend some plays, go to museums, eat at moderate restaurants, but have no intentions of going to clubs.

joanna

Dear F,

Please stop obsessing! Just wear what you are comfortable in. Don't wear any moo-moo's, OK? Seriously, what you are thinking of wearing sounds fine. What makes NYC so interesting is that everyone wears whatever they feel like. Why should you lose your own style in favor of the masses? Wear whatever you think you look good in and go and have fun.

Olive Oyl

To [email protected], seeing as Leone didn't take up for himself, may I? I know him and yes, he definitely can wear shorts without a care, and the Armani T's too. If you think about it, someone as into style as he is, is not about to let himself go to pot....and he hasn't.

xxxx

This is New York we're talking about, not L.A. Unless you wear Hawaiian shirts, shorts with black socks pulled up to your knees, a floppy hat, carrying around your map of the city, with a camera around your neck you probably are going to blend in fine. No one really cares what anybody is wearing. If you really want wardrobe advice, though I usually feel comfortable in khaki or white pants and a black shirt almost anywhere except maybe someplace really fancy. Wear nice, but COMFORTABLE shoes. I don't like sneakers. That's me, though. A lot of people wear them. Wear what makes you comfortable. No one is going to point and snicker.

Howard

There's a lot hogwash on this thread!
Myth #1: No one wears shorts in NY. I don't know what part of the city some of you visit or live in, but just walk in any neighborhood on a summer weekend, and you'll a lot (most?) of residents walking around in, yes, shorts and tee shirts! Yes, these are the same people wearing suits, dresses and the like during the at work!
Myth #2: Only wear black. If that's all you see in NY, then perhaps your sunglasses are much too dark!

Just kidding

Do people wear sunglasses in N.Y.???

Samantha

Ok I was in Balthazar's last night considering this thread. For out of towners Balthazar's is a hot French (celeb spotting) dinner spot. I was concerned because I was in khakis and a red shirt. I was amazed at the casual dress inside. Yes you had your stylers in place. But I also saw a number of people in jeans, khaki's and stuff they might where to a diner. I work near the Peninsula so I know that this does not hold true for that hotel. Depends a lot on where you are. And guess what my feet are killing me because I did not wear sneakers. Don't sweat the sneaker thing if you are doing loads of walking. Your foot health is more important that the passing glance.

It does matter where you are as to what you will see on the street. In the downtown section of bway, not to be confused with mid-town bway, many people had on sneakers and all types of casual wear. Mix and match casual with dress. We have very big egos about dress and intelligence in NYC. You have some of the most competitive people in the country here this is why you see so many pompous responses. Take it in stride be who you are with a spare or two dress outfits if you are intimidated.

curious

Yes Howard, you will see people wearing shorts on the weekends in neighborhoods. You will not see them wearing shorts in midtown midweek however. I know guys could probably care less about how they look, but it happens to be very important to some. Just a difference in personalities, so if "duh" wants to fit in cut her a break and give her the information she wants. Don't try to tell anyone that they shouldn't care about what people think because obviously they do. You wear what you like, I wear what I like and everybody's happy!

Daniel Williams

HI

I think different places in NYC have different expectations of dress..if I'm going to Ess-A-Bagel or a local pizza joint, T-shirts/shorts are fine. If I'm going to a nightspot or a decent restaurant, I will not wear sneakers, shorts, Polo shirts or T-shirts. I will try to pick an outfit that seems appropriate. Nice sandals (not birks)or stylish black shoes, nicely cut pants (if jeans, definitely not acid wash unless going to 70s theme, etc...)and a shirt that seems a propos for the kind of nightspot I'm going to (jazz different from alternative different from techno/house, etc..). It may not even be expected, but this is how I feel most comfortable when other people are dressed up.

Some people think having to dress up in NYC to go out is a hassle, or think of New Yorkers as pretentious. I simply view it as a cultural difference between NYC and other places. Besides, I think that dressing up is fun and adds to the ambience of a place. In many ways, I find NYC *less* repressive sartoriallly than some smaller towns, because originality and creativity in dress are often (although not universally) appreciated...as opposed to thought of as *weird*. And don't think it's only the rich who dress up...living in stylish Montreal, my poorest friends were able to find really nice clothes at great bargains (Salvation Army even) that got them into top nightspots there.

Enjoy NYC; it's a great place! And even if you make a huge fashion faux pas, don't worry; in the grander scheme of life it's not the end of the world. You may end up at a nice pizza joint and have a slice of one of NYC's finest. DAN

Leone

Hey, IgnoreTheRamblings, how're ya doin', guy? Hey, didn't want to respond until I'd had a day or so on the beach to touch up my tan and check out the babes who register the looks, and I am happy to report I did okay. Your Ramblings are as such, and your humor is as such, and for nought. The cat was in mean gear and swinging, and when they played RedNeck Mother, I knew every word. And later I hit every hot spot on the beach, and it was fun, fun, fun city. And those legs got me where I needed to go, and in style. Never, never assume about folks you don't know. But I forget you for your remarks. You know, maybe you're just more observant than I ... I mean, it would never occur to me to sneak a peek under a table to check out somebody's gams. Just between us guys ... you don't take any gum for later, do you? Ciao