I LOVE NEW YORK

This weekend, I took advantage of the Independence Day holiday for a trip to visit my friend Caitlin who is interning at an advertising agency in New York this summer. While we did have loads of fun shopping in SoHo (Marc by Marc Jacobs store on Bleecker=OMG), scouring Century 21 in the Financial District, exploring the culinary delights of Williamsburg, Brooklyn and dancing at Greenhouse, my field trip to Brown Shoe New York on Fifth Ave. made me truly smitten with the city.

The lovely Regina greeted me as my wide eyes scanned the giant Via Spiga print centered in the floor 11 lobby of the Takashimaya building. Immediately, I got excited to see what and who else lay behind the freshly modern architecture of this classic, Manhattan office. We began a tour where I had the pleasure of meeting the brains behind the Via Spiga, Franco Sarto and Vera Wang Lavender Label lines as well as the PR team. We then strolled over to the Brown Shoe Showroom on 56th and 5th, right across the street from the famed Russian Tea Room (Regina said she watched them film that Gossip Girl scene from the office).

Over Pad Thai and spring rolls, I listened to all of the stories that my new Brown NYC buddies—Regina, Melissa, Jonathan and Camilo—had to tell. While working in the huge St. Louis office has been incredibly eye-opening, coming to New York made me realize how large the scope of the company is and definitely made me proud to be a part of it!

I continued my New York shoe extravaganza with a trip to the Via Spiga store in SoHo (across the street from Topshop, ahhh) where I got to see the shoes live at retail. There was also a great display in the Macy’s flagship store on 34th street that I, of course, felt the need to take a picture of.