NYC – Jade Seah

Slouchy

It’s been so warm lately here in Singapore! Not complaining (well, not really) as at we’ve had some rain and the haze is no longer a huge problem (till the full wave comes mid-year *gulp*). When I look at my photos from my travels to places like the US when it was cold there, I am especially grateful for the eternal summer situation we have here in the tropics. Sure, you can’t layer as much, and my favourite beanies don’t get to see a lot of wear time, but I’ll take the warmth and sunshine; being able to run out in shorts and a singlet; supple skin that’s not parched from the cold; days spent hanging at the beach – over that any day.

That said, here’s one of my slouchy get-ups from NYC in spring when it was finally starting to get a little warmer. This was in front of the Roman Catholic church, St Peter’s, in the Tribeca area where I stayed. I attended mass here the whole time I was there, and I liked how the priest was very inclusive – he made it a point to welcome everyone and to make mention of the fact that regardless of race, nationality, financial situation and sexual orientation, all were welcome and encouraged to come seek peace and solace there. =)

April 11, 2014April 17, 2014 by Jade Categories: StoriesTags: New York, NYC, winter, fashion, new places, travel diary, ChicPeek, trend, ootdLeave a comment

What to Wear on a Road Trip

Last fall, I took off to road trip around the South West of the USA for a month. Road trips mean many hours spent in the car; for this trip, the shortest drives averaged about four hours and the longest ones went on for more than eight hours. I’m not the most calm or ‘chill’ person, so you would have thought being on the road for hours on end like that drove me mad. On the contrary though – with the right company and armed with an arsenal of good tunes, snacks and drinks, I actually really enjoy ‘enforced chill time’ where I am forced to relax.

Similar situations would be on planes; while I dread being stuck with bad air, not-great food and cramped legs for hours (24-hour flights to NYC, hello!), there is some simple pleasure in being forced to sit still with nothing to do but to find ways to pass one’s time – watching endless documentaries and chick flicks, finishing books and spending good time on my guilty pleasure, fashion magazines.

So while having to sit still for hours demands comfortable attire, the vain ones (like myself!) still want to look good. Packing for this trip proved challenging; outdoorsy stuff for hiking Yosemite and the Grand Canyon; catching shows and checking out nice restaurants in Vegas; chilling in Big Sur and Napa Valley; plus I don’t do well with cold so I had to make sure I packed sufficiently warmly – all this while packing light as we were on the road the whole time!

I found the trick was in bringing a lot of versatile pieces that I could layer and switch around, plus some lightweight outdoor gear and some warmer things to make sure I wasn’t miserable from being cold. That meant things like denim shirts, gilets, scarves, fitted tees (long and short-sleeved) to serve as a first layer, lightweight jumpers I could layer over my shirts, fuzzy jumpers for warmth (and texture!), leather pants, jeans, beanies, hats, woolen tights and cute skirts (they don’t take up much space and it can’t ALL be practical stuff; how boring!).

In this post and in some of the ones before (here, here), you’ll see some of the outfits I put together with all these separates. Please share how you pack when you travel!

April 7, 2014April 7, 2014 by Jade Categories: StoriesTags: New York, NYC, new places, travel diary, tips, trend, How to, travel essential, road trip, USA, US road trip, travel tipsLeave a comment

Travel Essential

I love jumpers, especially fuzzy or furry ones. They have tactile appeal – they feel so soft and cuddly! – and I also love them for adding texture to outfits. Considering the fact that I live in Singapore and spend most of my time in tropical heat (and humidity!)…I have way too many jumpers. In my defence, the air-con in most places in Singapore is crazy enough to warrant wearing something really warm!

Jumpers are also great when travelling as they offer warmth and can also be easily layered; it looks cute with a shirt underneath, collar peeking out; it also works under a trench coat, anorak or heavy winter jacket. I wore this tangerine one to death in NYC!

March 17, 2014March 17, 2014 by Jade Categories: StoriesTags: New York, NYC, fashion, new places, travel diary, tips, How to, ootd, what to pack, travel essentialLeave a comment

Casual Friday

I love boyfriend jeans! Perfect for casual days…and even not-so-casual days, when dressed up with heels and a pretty top!

March 14, 2014 by Jade Categories: StoriesTags: New York, NYC, fashion, denim, travel diaryLeave a comment

Pleats Please

NYC is still prettiest in Spring, when the weather is fine and skirts and shorts can come out to play! Tribeca is one of my favourite areas in the city, and it also hold special meaning as that’s where I stayed during all my trips there last year. There are some great bars and restaurants in the area (Nobu is not bad at all, but my favourites are Locanda Verde, Bouley and Marc Fogione), great shopping and also some lovely places (and random parks!) to explore.

March 13, 2014March 13, 2014 by Jade Categories: StoriesTags: New York, NYC, fashion, travel diary, ootdLeave a comment

West Village Wandering

Hung out at NYC’s West Village with the cousin, and it has a very different feel from a lot of the very neatly-formed grid system in most other parts of Manhattan. Love the quaint, somewhat ‘untidy’ charm of the oddly-angled streets, the shopping’s fantastic, and the bars, cafes & restaurants in the area are pretty cool. =)

We started at this cute little coffee shop called Bee’s Knees, because C needed her java and I needed something sweet. (I don’t know why I am idiotically not looking at the camera, lol.)

The joint is small and cozy, with seating options consisting of just a bar counter by the window, or an angled\roundish-shaped communal table. I had their signature dessert, the Cake-cup. Picked the Red Velvet one, although it was such a close fight between that and the Salted Chocolate Caramel as I love my chocolate (tough life, heh). It was delish!

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the shops, stopping for a drink at this super cute place called Elephant & Castle, which incidentally is also the name of a major junction in London.

The aimless wandering (amidst a LOT of chatter & gossip) brought us to Magnolia Bakery, which I remember coming to over ten years ago, on my first trip to the Big Apple, Sex & the City crazed fan that I was.

It was just before Easter Sunday, and they had the prettiest Easter cupcakes – of course I had to buy some!maryjulian Ombre Denim Shirt; similar here | Knit faux fur cardi from HK | MNG sports-inspired skirt | Uniqlo knit tights | Accessori necklace (coming soon) |

April 4, 2013June 18, 2013 by Jade Categories: StoriesTags: New York, NYC, new places, cupcakes, dessert, New York cafes, Magnolia Bakery, travel diary1 Comment

To market, to market

NYC’s Union Square has this Greenmarket that happens four days a week, throughout the year (yes, even in the bitter cold of winter!). It gives small local family farmers opportunities to sell their fruits, vegetables and other farm products to New Yorkers, which I find is a lovely way to help sustain local produce. I decided it was worth a troop down, and it was beautifully sunny (albeit still terribly cold!) on Saturday, so I bundled up warmly and off I went!

Taking a bite out of the big apple. Heh.

I loved all the pretty blooms on sale, both fresh and dried.And if you like dogs and other furry friends, there were tons of little (and not so little!) cuties out to play as their owners bought fresh milk and cheese.Homemade honey & maple syrup. Mmmm…