It was 9am on a mild autumn Saturday morning in NYC, when five fashionable ladies gathered around a small table in the corner of a restaurant for tea and pastries. Angie, Tarzy (Tara), Maya, April and Lisa (me) haven’t seen each other in quite a while. For some of us, it’s been a full year. For others, it was meeting for the first time. The conversation ranged from–catching up on experiences from the past year–to YLF’s revised approach to NYFW this year–to why Angie was wearing an adorable monkey pendant necklace (homage to hubby Greg). As is often the case when dining with distant friends, our time together was too short and Tara left to catch her flight home.
The remaining group of four pushed onward to the shopping, first stopping in the MoMA store and then Uniqlo where, on Maya’s recommendation, April, Angie and myself stocked up on heattech tops and pants in anticipation of cooler days ahead. After hearing Zara is looking quite nice right now from Angie, we stopped inside to see what new gems awaited us. On our way we received a delightful phone call from forum member Michelle, who sounds as sweet and kind on the phone as she does in her forum posts. At this point, our time with April ended as she had to leave for her next commitment, leaving just us three ladies to shop.
Maya tried on an adorable pair of zebra striped ballet flats with a flattering green trim and bow and Angie tried on a striking cream blazer that fit her perfectly. After asking Angie how I can break out of my 95% blue wardrobe rut, she quickly pulled garments in multiple colors that I could incorporate into my wardrobe. Then I tried on a black blazer with a navy trimmed lapel with fine workmanship that Angie selected for me. I purchased the blazer and a printed ‘NYorker Magazine’ T-Shirt. As we were finishing up in Zara, Modgrl (Rita) joined us and we were off to the next store, Club Monaco.
Within the walls of Club Monaco Angie showed us how to tie an Obi belt (which is quite comfortable and waist slimming) and Rita picked one up in black. Next stop was Mango where nothing struck our eyes and a white sweater left a considerable amount of lint on the arm of Rita’s black blazer. Angie quickly took command and after applying a few pieces of scotch tape there were no more traces of lint. We proceeded into Miz Mooz where Rita tried on a stunning pair of light colored boots that ended underneath the knee and fit her five foot frame perfectly. I was so delighted with her find after hearing of her lack of success during prior shopping trips to find beauties such as these. Angie tried them on and gave her seal of approval, marking what I consider to be the purchase of the day.
Our pleasant autumn day was interrupted by rain showers along the way to meet the rest of our party for lunch. But we were in NYC where there is no shortage of drug stores, and it wasn’t long before we ducked into a Walgreens to purchase umbrellas. At lunch our group grew in size to 11 people with Janet, Sheila and her hubby, my hubby, and Greg meeting us at the restaurant. The husband’s gathered together while the ladies discussed the purchases thus far this day and various other topics. The rain showers did not last and by the end of lunch we were greeted to the sun and much warmer weather.
Following some photography by Greg, we said our farewells to Sheila and her husband. We pushed along to Nordstrom Rack where Greg joined my husband for some conversation, leaving me to enjoy one last round of shopping with the ladies before we departed! Inside Maya found a pair of premium denim jeans that fit her perfectly, Rita snagged a lovely watch with a purple band for her niece, Janet purchased a gorgeous teal colored handbag and fun wool hat in dark gray, and I picked up a red poncho with a cowl neckline. Angie tried on a gorgeous white L.A.M.B. leather jacket that she photographed for future reference.
By now it was after 4pm and my long, fun filled day was drawing to a close. But not before the lovely Auburn joined our group. As my husband and I walked away hand in hand I glanced over my shoulder to view the ladies walking into a Starbucks, no doubt to refuel and grab their second wind – after all, Auburn had some shopping to catch up on.
It was a delight to spend the day shopping and dining with ladies from YLF. This was my 5th YLF gathering and I plan to keep attending both the shopping days and the swap meets in the future. The ladies are always so kind and fun to spend the day with, and I highly encourage you to consider attending a YLF gathering if one is ever near your area.
