New York Style

 New York City is famous for it's street style. It is rebellious, classic, wearable, glamorous, designer, vintage, undone, chic, and always unique.

With such a melting pot of backgrounds, people watching in NYC is incredibly inspirational. Anything goes and you are free to express your personality through fashion however you choose - the more interesting and individual the better.

Someone who always creates unique looks, is playful with style and color yet has an acute awareness of her shape, is fashion blogger Idee Geniale (right) who lives in Brooklyn. She mixes together thrift, high street, custom and vintage pieces together to build colorful and inventive outfits that flatter her figure and have an incredible sense of personality.

Recreate her style by pairing brights with neutrals, try a pretty blue vintage floral dress with taupe heels or a pretty patterned, multicolored skirt with a simple monochrome stripe tank and black flats. Add interesting hair accessories like bands and scarves to give it a more preppy or bohemian look.

Start experimenting with your style to make it more unique:

♥ Go vintage shopping to search for old school items of high quality and with a timeless look. Seek out pieces in neutral colours that will last you through every season and be a fantastically adaptable addition to your wardrobe.
♥ Seek out thrift stores and charity shops to bulk up your wardrobe with cheap items, that may have only been worn once and can easily make an outfit more interesting by adding an extra layer.
♥ Experiment with black - the ultimate NYC color - by choosing exciting fabrics and textures. Head to toe or one simple item, black is the most useful 'colour' to have in your closet, as it will go with anything. If you have fair skin try to keep black away from your face to avoid looking too pale, shorts, skirts, tights, shoes, accessories though are a great purchase.
♥ Watch Sex and the City or Gossip Girl for fashion inspiration, with their unlimited designer costume budget the clothes are very impressive and always creatively styled - great for ideas...
♥ Purchase a few pairs of tights, thick black, colored, patterned, etc, to make any regular outfit go from bland and boring to brave and beautiful.
♥ Be bold, and wear something in a new way - reverse it, pin it, tuck it, cut it, fold it - just try it out, and see how it works.
♥ Keep in mind that if your hair and makeup looks done, it makes your whole outfit look purposeful. You can carry off anything if you have really good hair!

 At New York Fashion Week many fashion conscious men and women meet to watch hot young designers debut their latest collections. 3.1 Phillip Lim and Alexander Wang are particular young favorites, but Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs have stood the test of time - check out the runway footage on Elle or Vogue.

The spring / summer collection is out in September, and the fall / winter collection is released in March. Keep your eye open to the new collections, so you can be ahead of the crowd by knowing what trends will be popular in the following year.

 The city itself is buzzing with a hopefulness and excitement, it's the perfect place for new trends to be created and artistic flair to be encouraged. Next time you are in the city head to Beacon's Closet for a spot of vintage/retro shopping. Then make your way over to Trash & Vaudeville for some rocker leather goods, then Forever21 for some girly dresses and last but not least Tiffany's for the experience!