An Editor’s Guide to New York City

Welcome to Out of Office, Who What Wear UK’s chic travel guide that provides you with the most stylish take on any destination by tapping creatives who know where to stay, what to eat and, more importantly, what to pack. This month, Who What Wear UK beauty director, Shannon Lawlor, shares her tips for a memorable trip to New York City.

I’m one of those Londoners who everyone hates to see coming—I’m not quiet about my admiration for the city that I get to call home. I’ll fight anyone who tries to tell me it’s not the best in the world. And if you think I’m bad for it, you should meet my husband, who, despite his U.S. heritage, is a Londonphile through and through. The main difference between the two of us, however, is that I have long believed the only city in the world that can come close to rivalling London’s greatness is New York.

Having been a beauty journalist for over a decade, it’s not uncommon that I find myself in New York—whether it be for work or pleasure—and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I feel at home when nestled amongst its concrete grids. The city’s culture, penchant for local business, up-and-at-’em approach to everything and, frankly, its walkability mean that whenever I land back at Heathrow from a quick jaunt in NYC, my husband knows to expect an obligatory “Are you sure you don’t want to move to New York?” text from me. And yet, despite hailing from just a few hours south of the state, at the ripe age of 33, he’d never actually stepped foot in the Big Apple. So, at the end of last year, I set out to change that.

When my husband informed me he had some admin that would be easier to do in the U.S., I, naturally, used it as an excuse to book us a six-day trip to New York and finally show him what the fuss is all about. Having visited New York as a tourist and for work on different occasions, I like to think I’ve seen most of what Manhattan has to offer, but the joy of New York is that it’s whatever city you want it to be. If you want a trip filled with sightseeing and Broadway shows, you can fill a whole week in Midtown, no doubt, but I know what joy the rest of the city holds, too. So, I went about creating an itinerary that would fill our cultural cups and show off the things that, in my opinion, make New York the undisputed coolest city in the world.

I want to caveat two very important things about New York: it’s expensive and space is scarce. Once you come to terms with these things and accept them for what they are, you’ll have a much easier time. In my opinion, it’s best to keep your base Downtown, and there is no better place to situate yourself than in the East Village—more specifically, The Standard East Village.