Today’s post on the recent YLF gathering in Manhattan was written by uber-stylish forum member Tanya. A Euro native who lives in Boston, Tanya travelled to NYC to grace us with her fabulous presence and kind persona once again. What a treat!
The YLF gathering in New York City was absolutely incredible! The meeting felt intimate since there were only five of us: Angie, Maya, Laura, me and my wonderful, long-time friend who lives in Manhattan (she chose to stay out of the photos but participated in all of the activities). Maya was the coordinator and she chose a great restaurant in Soho called Balthazar. Laura, my friend and I all met up with Angie at her hotel and caught a cab to the restaurant where Maya was meeting us. Unfortunately she was delayed because of the bad weather but managed to catch up with us fairly quickly.
The weather was freezing and required proper winter clothing. Despite that, the style quotient was amazing! Compliments were flying over our table. We all wore jeans and boots, some skinnies tucked into tall boots and some bootcut jeans worn over shorter boots. Angie wore an amazing black turtleneck and even prettier biker jacket. Laura was sizzling in a sparkly sweater and gorgeous necklace. Maya looked lovely in a beautiful fitted black jacket over a funky tee. I wore my favorite grey boyfriend cardigan over a ruffled black blouse. We braved the weather and took turns quickly dashing out outside sans outerwear to have our photos taken by Greg, who joined us towards the end of the brunch to capture our ensembles for the blog.
The food was wonderful. We all chose either waffles or egg dishes. The conversation was very easy, as if we had known each other forever. Strangely enough, we didn’t talk much about clothes and fashion. Instead, we mainly discussed our lives, careers and plans for the future. We touched on the difficult subject of dressing for women in science and my friend was very interested in a detailed description of what Angie does as a fashion stylist.
Around noon we got to call forum member Inge in Belgium to wish her a happy birthday and “meet” her over the phone, which made an already great event even better. The activities continued with a big swap fest and even bigger shopping expedition till the early evening, but you will have to stay tuned to hear about that later in the week.
It was such a delight to meet Maya and Laura, spend some time with my old friend, and see Angie and Greg for the second time. I feel truly blessed to be a part of the YLF community which allows me to meet such amazing and inspiring women from all over the world. If there is a YLF meeting in your vicinity, don’t miss it. This was my second one and I am now addicted. I will definitely try to attend other gatherings that are reasonably close to my home in Boston.
Finally, I would like to thank Angie and Greg for creating a warm and inviting place online, and all the YLF members for making it what it is. I hope to meet more of you at future gatherings!
