NYC #1 - New York Snippets

New Yorkers treat the whole city as if it's their living room - with that many people jammed up against each other, you just have to do whatever you need to do where you are. So folks change shoes mid-street next to trendy outdoor cafes and tighten up their bra straps on the subway while eating large, unwieldy sandwiches. Conversation isn't politely contained in whispered corners, and the snippets us tourists heard wandering by made us wonder what's happening upstairs where it is private (The two examples that made both Neil and I turn our heads were: "Are you the whipper or the whippee?" and, a block, later, "Well, it was rodeo season, so..."). New Yorkers embrace trends quickly. Fyi, skinny jeans are SO in, and rolling up your jeans to expose your ankles a la highwater pants, "geek chic," seems to be catching on. Only in NYC will a 25 year old wear a bow tie. But they will also wear pretty much whatever because, hey, it's their living room, so the guy that looks like he's wearing the pajamas he slept in last night, well, he probably is. The models may have on the 4 inch heels and little black dresses, but the average joe has his t-shirt and sneakers. They're both black too, of course, because everyone wears black in the City.

After stuffy, status-ridden Washington, DC, New York was a treat. Where else can you see things like this?:

New Yorker advertising:

and creatively-phrased grafitti: