I haven't seen this bag before. Marc by Marc Jacobs. Well at least he takes the mystery out of who made this bag. I do like the print however. And the fact that it's waterproof. It's important to be fashionable in the snow, right? She probably should have gone with a brown coat though.


I could file this under In Hot Pursuit of a Handbag, but since she was standing still and an easy mark, I will file it under Fashionable on the Subway Platform. Check out both series' if you'd like to see more good outfit ideas walking around on the streets of NYC.

My favorite fashion seasons are the transitional ones, where you can still wear sandals with your coats, sweaters, and the like. I loved the print, fabric and structure of her coat. Perhaps it was neoprene?

Identities obscured to protect the fashionable.

You see? Taupe patent shoes are everywhere in NYC. Everywhere I look, at least. I think the friend is sporting stockings with black monopoly houses on them.

Love her color combo: royal blue knit and taupe patent.


If you ask me, these shoes are a great leg-lengthener.

With my trusty stealth camera, I got this shot on Wednesday evening. Yes, I was totally in plain sight, but luckily she wasn't looking my way. Otherwise she'd probably be pretty creeped out. I have blurred her face to protect her identity, because what I really liked were her shoes. Or at least the color of her shoes paired with her royal blue knit dress. I have an Essie nail polish shade that matches these shoes. And a patent belt too. Okay, off to Endless to hunt them down.


If you like this post, you may also like my In Hot Pursuit of a Handbag series, which I must seriously continue. I like finding the fashionable in NYC. There are so many good outfit ideas walking around on the streets.

My favorite mosaic of Aida on the 1 platform at 66th Street.

I took a lunchtime jaunt up to Lincoln Center to check out the new venue for Fashion Week. I had mixed feelings when I heard about this some years ago, but I think the set-up is so much better than at Bryant Park. Plus we who work in the Garment District get to keep our Lawn and our longer ice skating season. It's a win-win. I got some good shots which I'll post a little later. Stay tuned!

Bryant Park on this beautiful day today, with plenty of Lawn
and happy people on the Lawn.

a subway stop on the g line

Perhaps it is because Brooklyn-based artist Bede Murphy is my friend, and I have loved his work since the moment I saw it one Spring day in 1993 in Boston's South End, that I look at this 'work' in the subway and see it as Murphy-esque. Click on this link to view his art. I call him Matt.

My subject is so far away. I will have to run.
It is worth it to capture this Mount Rushmore Dress.
Mount Rushmore? On a dress? I love it!

You can kind of make out Thomas Jefferson in this shot.

And George Washington's face and hairstyle in this one.
I didn't get a good angle on Theodore Roosevelt
or Abraham Lincoln unfortunately.

Okay, so you are going to have to use your imagination here a bit. Why won't people just slow down so I can snap a picture of their outfit without their knowledge? I know, I don't understand either. So this woman passed me on the way home in the subway yesterday wearing a Mount Rushmore Dress! The dress, as you can see, is black. The streaky lines are rhinestones. And Mount Rushmore woven right into the silky fabric on the front and back hem is in white! You can sort of make out George Washington's hairstyle and jawline. If you squint. Where did she get it!? I almost ran up to her and asked, but then I thought, why spoil the anonymity of the encounter.

I did a little research online. Oddly my search led me to another blurry photo of the Mt. Rushmore Dress. And then I found that it is a Built by Wendy design. How cool.

I could not look away from the matching couple with their matching skinny jeans and their matching boots, seating across from me on the R train. Hers, tucked (r). His, untucked (l).

I could not resist pursuing this bag yesterday. It combines the two trends I recently highlighted: slouchy hobo meets stud-accented segments.

I saw this beautiful studded bag and ran to get right behind her
on the moving sidewalk at Court Square.

The moving sidewalk. You would think it would be easier to get a clear picture.
But I had to keep jockeying to maintain my position. You know how it is.

I'm not normally a fan of studs, but I thought this was done so well.
I love the seams and segments. A very eye-catching detail.
The quality of the leather and the workmanship sold me.

As you may concur, fashion has been foaming at the mouth since the turn of this century, showing every style, color and hemline, all in the same season. The explanation for this collective embrace of every trend always goes something like this, "Women aren't slaves to trends anymore. They are individuals and follow their own sense of style." Yeah sure.

The result is that pretty much every style is "in" all the time. Animal prints are always in (although they should be out), color is in, neutrals are in, structured clutch bags are in, soft and slouchy bags with less surface adornment are in, but so are bags with hardware and structure. Yes, all kinds of hardware, and especially studs, are definitely still in. So why not embrace it all I guess. If the bag fits, wear it.

Is that a map of Brooklyn? Or France? (hee)

My subject stayed nice and still, but I got nervous that she would realize
I was just inches from her, stealthily taking this shot. Oops, blurry. I moved.


But I got a clear shot before the V train arrived. Phew.

I pursued the 'Brooklyn Map Tote' and my subject to the end of the V platform at 23rd Street. I had half a mind to ask her where she bought it, because I kind of want one. But I didn't. Why spoil the wordlessness of our interaction.

Details from Passing Through, the 115-foot mosaic mural by Al Held (2004) inside the Lexington Avenue-53rd Street station. Each section is an incredibly strong composition on its own; seen altogether it is spectacular. Take the E, V or 6 and come up for a viewing. Enjoy your Friday.

a seat on the V train

I am always pleased when I can ride the V instead of the E train in the morning, not only because it is less crowded and cooler, but because it has a better color scheme. Yes, that may sound strange. That I love the color scheme of a subway.

But think about it. The orange and the faux woodgrain color scheme that you can find on the V and a number of other lines is gloriously modern. Take a look at the lobby (pictured below) at the Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel in Midtown.

You may remember that I have written about this hotel before, singing the praises of the mosaic door handles on the 51st Street side. There are many nice juxtapositions of orange and woodgrain in the lobby, recently redone to reflect the Mid-century modern look in which the hotel was originally designed in 1961. And when the lobby gets crowded, it looks somewhat like the V. Except I can always get a seat on the V.

the Doubletree lobby in a rare calm moment, bathed in warm orange tones

the orange George Nelson clock against the woodgrain wall


the lobby at rush hour, and not a seat to be had

Once again, chasing someone down the stairs while fighting to stay in position on the way to the E platform makes for some seriously blurry pictures. But my subject finally came to rest, and I got a nice clear(ish) shot. Doesn't this bag remind you of one at YLLI? (see my article from March) The eye-catching 'spin-tuck' detail is very similar to the black leather Carrington bag by Goldenbleu ($759), don't you think? I'll bet my subject shops at YLLI. She has good taste.

Readers please note: YLLI is currently having an 'up to 80% off sale' right now! Don't miss it. I personally won't be missing it. I can't wait!

It is easy to capture my subject because she is sitting across from me on the subway.
Although I have my camera pointed directly at her, she does not protest.
I find it hard, however, to get a clear shot of the bag,
because she keeps it scrunched on her lap.

Well I finally saw one today. An 'I'm NOT A Plastic bag' bag by Anya Hindmarch. We know that the victorious proud owner, depicted above, went to great lengths to get this now-collector's item. Somehow I get the feeling that she does not intend to carry groceries in this bag... Just a hunch.

My feeling on the whole matter: This bag doth protest too much.



Spotted on the 7 Train at Times Square. Identities of the fashionable always protected on this blog. gee

I was so fixated on her perforated slouchy boots
that I didn't realize her handbag wasn't in position for the shot.


She adjusted her bag just before she got on the train.

This outfit was another one that struck me. I would have never put the slouchy boots with the black dress. And then the denim jacket was good too. Along with the bag: a really nice canvas tote with yellow leather trim. It all worked somehow. Luckily she was engrossed in conversation with a co-worker, so she didn't notice me taking the pictures.

I have similar perforated boots. And a similar black dress: my Tuxedo Dress. And a denim jacket. And a new yellow bag. I'll keep it in mind. I don't know about the boots with the dress for me though. I'd probably go with sandals. Or espadrilles.

Continuing my "Ghosts of Subway Advertisements Past" series, I found this one on the Manhattan-bound E platform. You must visit this piece before it gets papered over. It delights me that others appreciate the abstract remains created from ripped off subway posters.


Map of the U.S.A., artist unknown, 2007; photographed in sections so you can see the details.

Running after my subject. Oh no, stairs!
That doesn't work. Too blurry.


Someone rushes past. Kind of neat looking though.


Almost, but she moved.


Oh no, train coming. Aha! Good enough.

Yesterday morning on the subway, I noticed a fabulous bag with a tassel. I pursued my unknowing subject from the G to the E, trying to get a good clear photo of the bag in question, so I could investigate the maker later. At last, a clear photo. The things I do for fashion. Sheesh.

I have been wanting to get a shot of this mosaic on my transfer from the G to the L, but taking this shot means missing the train. And so I did yesterday. Miss my train. But I caught the next.

It has an eco message and an existential message all rolled into one, don't you think? You know where I mean.

subway abstraction, detail 1

subway abstraction, detail 2

Coming home from the Met one day, I saw these "Ghosts of Subway Advertisements Past" in a new light: as Abstract Expressionist paintings. There are so many beautiful 'works' of this nature in the various stations.

The image at the top with the single red dot reminds me of a work by Clyfford Still in the Museum's 20th Century galleries. (Still's paintings also remind me of Turkish kilims, or an ikat-dyed cloth.)

Next time you're down there, in the subway or at the Met, take a look. I also love the 'minimalist works' of heavy black enamel paint on board. As I think I have mentioned before, they remind me of Robert Motherwell's The Bull, that I saw at the ADAA Art Show last February.


Art in the Everyday is a regular column for the blog. gee

Clyfford Still, 1947


kilim detail


ikat-dyed cloth

the subway work, in situ