dispatches from the first week

there are many things to like about new york city. like miss sarabella i hail from a small town, and the sheer size of NYC allows for near-constant stimuli. i am if nothing else a compulsive list-maker, so my mind has been ablazin' with a running tally of things i like about the city. i could go on and on if i felt so inclined but i will be brief, and instead of a laundry list i'll name a few things that i have been noticing and appreciating these days.

- really dapper old men
if i were of a sneakier lot i'd have photos to show you to describe what i mean, but i do feel a little uneasy just whipping out the camera on the subway and surreptitiously taking pictures of old fellas. let me paint you a mental picture instead. the men i am talking about are the elder statesmen of class. they wear the suits, the ties, the hankerchiefs with the kind of poise that young men try to emulate but never quite succeed at. suits, hats, bow ties... pin stripes, patterns, the occasional bold color to add something extra. it's amazing.

-lack of sweatpants
yesterday marked the first day i'd noticed someone wearing sweatpants in public. granted, it has been hot here but for some unknown reason sweatpants seem to be the article of clothing that transcends temperature and becomes universal. no good, i say. i am something of an anti-sweats crusader, so the near-complete dearth of the accursed things was definitely something worth adding to the list.

-simplicity
god help me, someday i will be able to leave the house without piling on the accessories. i feel so naked without them, you know? however, recently i've been noticing a spate of women who run out in button-down shirts, simple earrings, leather sandals, plain bottoms- jeans, monotone pencil skirt, etc. and look completely pulled together and effortless. call it the birkin effect, if you will. i like it, and it gives me hope for my own future pared-down sartorial endeavors.

i'll leave it at that for now, but there will be more, i promise...