I can't just throw an extra pair of shoes and a jacket in the backseat of my car and drive off. This is also in part because I live so far uptown that it is really inconvenient and a waste of time to go back home if I've forgotten something. Thus, I need to bring with me anything that I might need for the entire day - or evening, depending on where the day goes. And a means to carry those things, without looking like a bag lady.
Since moving here I've needed to purchase several critical items. Surprisingly, not coats, as I already had a peacoat, two car coats, a couple of trenches, and raincoats (why? I am not sure since I had no use of them in L.A.). Such critical items include:
- Large, stylish handbag - It needs to be large enough to hold all the basics, but also an umbrella, water bottle, an extra sweater, scarf, gloves (depending on time of year), reading material (because there is a lot of waiting around) yet is also stylish (not touristy or grandmotherly).
- Comfortable, versatile shoes - something you can trek all over the city in, yet keeps your feet warm and dry in the winter (like flat, waterproof boots), and cool and dry in the summer (am still searching for these), that is yet again, stylish.
- Puffer coat - OK, actually yes, I did buy a coat. It looks like a sleeping bag with a fuzzy hood. I held out for the first year, but it was such a miserable winter that I went ahead and bought one. Technically I could've survived last winter without one but I had bought it in preparation. It's hard to be stylish in one of these (they are inherently frumpy) but they are so warm! Necessary because putting on lots of layers, as I quickly learned, is a pain in the butt. Turns out that everywhere indoors is overheated, so the minute you step inside, you are sweating and want to remove your five layers. Sweaters are not even practical here. I found the best thing to do is to just wear regular lightweight clothing underneath a giant puffer coat, and just remove that one layer and put on that one layer. Convenient and efficient.
- Rain boots - People wear these for style in L.A., rather than function. Here you need them for both. I never owned rain boots before. But since it rains here every week, there really is a need.
There is also, the obvious reason for diversifying your wardrobe that I don't need to go into detail - there are seasons here. Yes, seasons! (People dress differently - and in different colors! - depending on the season! Shocking for this native Angeleno).
I like this "identifying gaps in my wardrobe" principle, because it prevents me from constantly buying the same thing over and over again. I think I've read in magazines that people have a tendency to buy the same things because they like those things, rather than thinking about what they might need to keep their wardrobe diverse. This has totally been true for me - I have probably about 30 skirts, 30 dresses, 30 pairs of pants, all of which I wear only about 10% of. More than half of which are currently hanging in the closet at my parents' house...in L.A.! This proves to me that I didn't need those clothes at all!
A friend told me right before I moved that I was probably going to buy all new clothes in NYC because there are different needs here, and she was right! I didn't know what those needs were until I got here...
