Suzanne Carillo

What To Wear In NYC In The Summer

This is a small recap of what I wore on my recent trip to NYC.

It was seriously HOT, and humid. Above 100 and I felt it.

I arrived wearing this cotton dress

and had to change immediately into this dress…

which is linen and much looser around the waist. Even then I was still perspiring more than any “delicate flower” should.

The next day we had the special screening of the Fabulous Fashionistas and I wanted to make more of a statement.

I wore my vintage African print dress and got a couple of compliments on it from strangers…always a nice surprise.

This dress doesn’t require a bra which is wonderful when it is so hot outside but not ideal for trying on clothes in thrift stores which is what we did afterwards. (Note to self: never ever do that again.)

That evening we met up for the first blogger supper and I wore this dress, but changed out the necklace and wore one of my own large bib necklaces that I made.

If you want to see a truly hideous photo of me wearing this dress with the necklace that adds 50 lbs onto my frame and 20 years to my age just visit Sylvia’s blog.

I’ve made an infographic to help you understand.

Moving along…

The next day we spent shopping thrift and consignment stores so I decided to wear something that was fitting room friendly. I wore my newest vintage midi skirt that I purchased when I was in Elora at Sweet Trash last week.

This is the day I bought it.

If you are following me along on Instagram you would have seen two other amazing dresses that I didn’t buy that day.

Like this one.

Yes it was gorgeous and fit like a dream but it was also 100% polyester, heavy (as it was fully lined) and too rich for my wallet.

I also tried on this 1950’s hand painted skirt from Mexico which also didn’t come home with me. It was too expensive and had a strange closure that showed large gaps at my hips. Really weird. You could see my skin on either side of the dress. Too bad because I did love it and it was 100% cotton.

BUT I did get an incredible vintage lurex silver jumpsuit that I’ve yet to take photos of. I wore it to a play one evening in NY and Sylvia took a quick photo of me on her phone that she posted on her Instagram but it doesn’t do the outfit justice (the lighting is horrible and yet again I look like I weigh about 300 lbs). You’ll have to wait to see that one when I can manage to take some decent photos.

#yesiamvain

I also wore this silk Tristan dress…another life saver in the extreme heat.

My last day I wore my patterned Anthropologie jumpsuit.

I even wore it home on the plane.

Don’t worry.  I didn’t have to use the bathroom on the flight back. It’s only an hour long plane ride from NYC to Toronto.

This jumpsuit isn’t touching the floor of any airplane or any other public toilet for that matter.

I also took this dress

just as an “extra” just in case but didn’t end up wearing it.

It is always good to have one additional emergency outfit I think when travelling.

Overall I’m happy with what I took.

I managed to cope with the heat and humidity and stayed true to my personal sense of style.

Of course by day two my feet were already covered in bandages, I never seem to manage to get my footwear exactly right for NY. Shoes I swore would be super comfortable, rubbed and gave me blisters in the heat and humidity. I managed to keep moving with the other pair of Clark wedges I’d brought which you can see with vintage midi skirt but I wish I’d taken a different pair of shoes as my alternate.

What worked?

Everything except one pair of shoes.

I fit all 9 outfits (jumpsuit not pictured here) into one carry-on with 3 pairs of shoes.

#imsoeffingproudofmyself

Additional items I had were; my hat, two clutches, jewellery and one black scarf which I wore once at the play as a shawl when the AC was on too high.

What I Kept In Mind While Packing

Shoes

All evening outfits had to work with one pair of shoes.

All daytime outfits had to work with two pairs of shoes (well one in the end).

Weather

Everything needed to be cool enough for extreme heat and humidity. Total opposite of the last time I was in NYC and packed for freezing temps.

Activities

As this was a style blogger meet-up I knew I wouldn’t be needing very casual clothes and didn’t bring any.

Complete Outfits

All outfits needed to be “blog worthy”. I made sure to try on each outfit and accessorize it before I packed it.  Small clutches worked very well for evening and don’t take up space or add weight in the suitcase.

Packing Tips

Pack jewellery inside clutches.

Pack underwear inside shoes.

Carry a backpack for laptop and sundries to avoid opening suitcase at security.

Pack all makeup in one clear ziplock bag.

Wrap silk or linen dresses in tissue paper as it helps avoid wrinkles.

 

Do you have any packing tips you use to keep your suitcase streamlined that you’d like to share?

 

Linking up with What I Wore  Throw Back Thursday  Fun Fashion Friday  52 Pick Me Up