Fashion with a New York Attitude

On your first day in New York, you’ll spend some time getting acquainted with the city. Tour the states in style by making your first stop Bryant Park. Every year, Bryant Park hosts New York Fashion Week, one of the most high-profile events in the fashion world. When it’s not hosting the event, it’s rife with activity, so you can grab a cappuccino and sip while you walk around modeling your most stylish outfit or gather fashion inspiration watching other fashionably dressed folks walk about.

New York City’s Garment District is home to some of the most recognizable names in fashion and some of its most storied tales. You’ll experience its rich history as you walk the streets, passing ateliers showing off names you’ve seen on the runways and the silver screen. A self-guided walking tour will allow you to see just about everything there is to offer, but if you want to dig deeper, you can also book a walking tour where a trained guide will tell you everything you’d want to know about the Garment District’s past.

Every year the Met Museum plays host to the Met Gala. After the event, the fashions worn there go on display in the Met itself. In addition to the rotating display from the Met Gala, the Met has a permanent exhibition of fashion through the eras, and offers two tours. The first, “Fashion in Art,” is led by docents from the Costume Institute and discusses costume history. The second, “Costume: The Art of Dress,” is an audio tour led by Sarah Jessica Parker that walks you through the various fashion on display throughout the museum. You can easily fit both into one afternoon.

The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology has an incredibly expansive permanent collection comprised of almost 50,000 items. You’ll see something on display from nearly every designer you could think of and made from almost every textile you could imagine. The museum focuses on more contemporary avant-garde fashions, but does feature some historical pieces and has the occasional retrospective exhibit. 

Located on the Upper East Side, Cooper Hewitt focuses on the historic to the contemporary, covering almost 240 years of fashion and design. You won’t just get to see styles though; you’ll get to see the fabric that made them. They have an impressive display of textiles on display as well that you can look at, and get a sense of just how the clothing of yesteryear and the clothing of today are made. 

The Museum of the City of New York’s Costume and Textiles collection holds its own against the more prominent museums and collections peppered throughout the city. You’ll get to see garments from the 1700s through the present on your visit. There are over 25,000 of them for you to see. What sets it apart from some of the other museums is its focus on costumes from the theater as well as accessories and gowns. 

Before heading out, you must see Bergdorf Goodman. There is only one Bergdorf Goodman, and although it has changed ownership many times over the years, it has remained undeniably the most luxurious of luxury stores. At 120 years old, the fashion house stands as one of the oldest in Manhattan and still retains much of the charm and sophistication that it had at its inception. Take a stroll around the departments to see where high fashion came together as one and served some of the most prominent names in society. You might also recognize it as a location from “Ocean’s 8.” Then head to the airport for your departure home, full of memories and shopping bags from your epic adventure in fashion, New York style.