Low Key Pretending to be in New York

Helmut Lang blazer
Maison Labiche tee
One Teaspoon shorts
H&M heels
Gucci handbag
Celine sunglasses
& Other Stories necklace (similar)
Urban Outfitters earrings (similar)
Location: The Ambassador Apartments – Winnipeg, Manitoba

I was eighteen and suffering from bronchitis on my first trip to New York. It was still memorable, but a trip spent coughing and sniffling my way through the city didn’t inspire me to rush back. In fact, it wasn’t until my thirtieth birthday that I returned to New York – and immediately fell in love. If I had to choose my favourite US city, I think I would still pick Chicago, which I know is a controversial statement to make, especially for a fashion girl. But I adore New York. Soho, Canal Street, Brooklyn, the Lower East Side… all of it. And somehow, through a little luck and a lot of planning, I’ve been able to spend time there every year for the past three years…

…which means 2018 will be the first time in a long time that I haven’t visited NYC. There is so much that I would love to go back and do, even if I’ve done most of it before. I want to eat bagels from Kossar’s and stand on the Top of the Rock and visit the Sezane store in Soho and walk across Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise; I want to sit on the steps of the New York Public Library with a cup of tea and a book. More than anything, I just want to walk the streets of Manhattan until my feet ache, then stop for pizza and walk some more. But all of that will have to wait until next year.

Next week, I’m headed to Halifax with mom. It’s a trip I’m undeniably excited about – one of my dearest friends from high school lives in the city. We’ve been lucky to see a lot more of each other in the past five years than we did in the ten before that, after she moved home to the Maritimes with her parents when we were in grade twelve, but with multiple provinces, and sometimes an ocean, between us, it still never really seems like we have enough time together. I can’t wait for our upcoming reunion. Even so, Halifax is not New York. Which means I have to settle for pretending to be in NYC while I wait until I can visit again.

Winnipeg actually makes that kind of pretending surprisingly easy. Downtown Winnipeg often doubles for Chicago and New York in movies, because of its beautiful historic architecture. I love wandering the area and stumbling upon new places to take photos. This is The Breadenbale, now known as The Ambassador Apartments. It was built in 1909 and has, no doubt, seen far better days, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s still breathtaking. It may not actually be in New York. But since I can’t be in New York this year, it’s a pretty good back-up.

Tell me: New York or Chicago? Vintage architecture or modern?