Wesley in NYC

And the trip has finally come to an end! It was a nice get-away...

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:31:47 -0400

And the trip has finally come to an end!

It was a nice get-away from Montreal, but for my next trip, I think I want to go somewhere a little more relaxing and less overwhelming/busy.

Our train back was going rather slow for some time, so we got into Montreal 2 hours later. Unlike Via Rail, Amtrak doesn’t have Wifi on board, so time went by pretty slow.

The above picture is of what I brought back with me. A bunch of stuff from Muji and Uniqlo (I should have just gone to Japan…), Ralph Lauren and Banana Republic shorts, tea infuser from Design Within Reach, Various teas, and a Kid Robot toy.

And thus concludes the ‘Wesley in NYC’ series.

Hopefully the next trip will be better documented.

I’ll be honest, I really didn’t feel like taking...

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:42:00 -0400

Outside of Printed Matter.

Display Window for Printed Matter.

People infront of Comme des Garcons.

A Poutine... In NEW YORK CITY!!

I’ll be honest, I really didn’t feel like taking pictures today, and thus, only have 4 to post (rather poor ones at that).

I started my day by walking to the Ralph Lauren on West Broadway where they were holding a sale. It was probably the best sale I saw all week. It was stocked with TONS of great stuff at amazing prices! Had I know this the day I arrived, I would have spent all of my money there. I walked out with a pair of shorts for $26 - down from about $120.

From there, I made my way to Century 21 in the Financial District. It was quite a long walk on a pretty hot day. Once there, I had the urge to just walk out and leave, as it was full of bargain shoppers, pushing and shoving for their size and color. The only thing I found that I liked was a bowtie for $8.00 (my first tie-it-yourself bowtie!)

I grabbed some Subway (food) and took the Subway (transit) over to Chelsea to see what all the hype was about ‘Printed Matter’. Printed Matter was pretty cool. It was full of zines by independent, no-name artists. I have to say though, some of the zines were really expensive, so I left empty handed.

A block away from Printed Matter was probably the best store I saw this whole trip. The Comme des Garcons on 22nd street. As you walk down 22nd, you see a bunch of industrial, factory-like buildings until you hit their location. Unmarked and without a sign, the only way it can be identified is through its spaceship-like entrance and uniquely shaped glass door. If there was only once place I could have photographed this whole trip, it would have been there (but unfortunately, the man working there asked me politely not to take any pictures - and how can I disobey a full-grown black man with a beard, wearing a long black dress!?).

After drooling over the PLAY and the JUNYA WATANABE collections, I browsed around the Chelsea area and went into a few small galleries. After which, I walked back to the Soho area to spend the rest of my money. At Uniqlo. On a pair of boxers and a tote bag.

From there, I headed back to my brothers place, took a shower and called it a day.

Oh, and yes, I had a Poutine. In New York City. It wasn’t too bad actually.

Day 4: Wednesday, July 29th. Today, I basically went BACK to...

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:25:09 -0400

Tons of Jeans at Uniqlo.

Barcalona Chairs at Banana Rebublic.

Awesome Vintage Typewriter at J.Crew.

Taking Cover from the Rain.

Moss Gallery.

Design Within Reach: For Tools & Living.

Design Within Reach.

Outside Y-3 Yohji Yamamoto.

Day 4: Wednesday, July 29th.

Today, I basically went BACK to Soho and the surround areas to do some shopping and to take my time looking at things. I started the day pretty late (at around noon). I went back to stores I had already gone to, but this time, I knew where everything was and who had what, so I was ready to pick and choose.

I browsed through a lot of places I couldn’t afford and some places I could, but even then, I was hesitant to spend money, because I wanted everything I saw.

I found a decent pair of shorts at Banana Republic and I went back to Uniqlo to pick up a white V-Neck in my size (they didn’t have any the day before). Before, after and during that, I was basically window shopping the whole day, but once 2:30PM hit, I spent over an hour under a subway station, taking cover from the horrific rain that hit New York. I basically watched as people ran across the streets, holding onto their belongings for dear life, all while trying to remain dry.

I waited until the rain cleared up enough so I could walk by to the closest McDonalds (less than a block away). In an effort to save my money, I ordered a Big Mac snack wrap and a large Powerade. Again, I waited some more for the rain to pass.

From there, I headed to the ‘fancier’ part of Soho (basically, streets that weren’t called Broadway) and browsed around. I went to m0851, Fred Perry, Y-3, Design Within Reach and more. I instantly fell in love and knew that I wanted to win the lottery for a living (is that possible?)

After I finished shopping, I headed back to my brothers place - as I needed to be there before 6:45 so I could let him in - and called it a day. A few more items in my possession and a few more visited places under my belt.

Day 3: Tuesday, July 28th. Today was my first day on my own. I...

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:16:00 -0400

Another Ralph Lauren Store.

Inside Ito En Tea Store.

A Movie Being Shot.

Paparazzi for That Movie.

Day 3: Tuesday, July 28th.

Today was my first day on my own. I started the day by taking the subway down to 86th street so I could go to the MET. They seem to have gotten some new pieces since I went last year, but to my disappointment, the musical instrument and japanese art collections were both closed.

After I was done with the MET, I walked down Museum Mile and hit up the Guggenheim, who was holding an awesome exhibit on Frank Lloyd Wright. It was my first time at the Guggenheim, and I have to say, Wright did an absolutely amazing job on its design.

Once I finished there, I took a stroll in Central Park. I was going to go to the Cooper Hewitt, but I was getting tired and needed a break (now that I look back on it, I wish I went, because it wasn’t even that far away - oh well, there’s always next time).

After Central Park, I walked to Lexington Ave. in search of something to eat. Wanting to save money, I bought a ‘$5.00 Footlong’ from Subway. From there, I paid a visit to a Best Buy, a Barnes&Nobel and an H&M.

After that, I went back to 5th Ave. and walked towards downtown. I shortly visited the Apple Store, sat around at the Plaza and then walked down 5th Ave. some more. I went down the side streets but didn’t have too much time because I was supposed to meet my brother on 5th and 69th so we could go to a tea store called ‘Ito En’.

Once at Ito En (10 minutes before it was closing), I ordered an ounce of Water Sprite, Sweet Green Tuocha Pu-Erh and a Dong Ding Oolong.

From there, we took the Subway home, as he was tired from work and I was tired from walking all day. Once home, I passed out (around 8:00pm) and woke up today at 10:00am, hence the late post.

More pictures under this post.

Day 3: Tuesday, July 28th.

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:50:00 -0400

Outside of the MET.

Taxi's Lined Up Outside the MET.

People Sitting Outside the MET.

Inside the Guggenheim.

Outside the Guggenheim.

Tim Hortons!!

Outside Louis Vuitton.

Outside Hermes.

Outside Etro.

Outside m0851.

Day 3: Tuesday, July 28th.

Day 2: Monday, July 27th. More walking today (or yesterday by...

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:17:00 -0400

Outside of Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Giant Bag Outside Jack Spade.

Display for Ralph Lauren Womans.

Inside Ralph Lauren Mens.

Water for Dogs outside James Perse!

Outside of Pink Berries.

Inside Dean & Deluca.

Over Priced Burger at a Restaurant.

LCW Chair by Eames' at Restaurant.

Car Got Owned by Fliers, Ads and Paper.

Day 2: Monday, July 27th.

More walking today (or yesterday by the time you’re reading this). Like yesterday, the day began with hot sun and ended in a downpour.

We started the day by taking the Subway to the Easy Village. We went to Whole Foods and then walked to the West Village where we ate lunch - we woke up late. From there, we checked around the little shops and stores that the West Village had. We then made our way to SoHo, dropped by J.Crew and looked for the nearest Subway.

Once on the Subway, we headed to the MoMA. Unfortunately, we got there an hour before they were closing and only ended up seeing one floor. Tomorrow (today) however, I’ll probably be going back to the MoMa and also going to the other museums in town.

After the MoMA, we met up with my brother after he finished worked and went for some dinner. Although pretty overpriced, I was excited at the fact that most of the restaurants chairs were LCW Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames. From there, we headed to a small stand-up dessert place that had some pretty decent Pie.

We started our day late and ended it early. It’s quite tiring walking around everywhere, in the hot sun, carrying things with you.

Duc and Kathya are leaving back for Montreal in the morning, so I’ll pretty much be in New York on my own for the rest of the week because my brother will be working everyday this week. This gives me plenty of time to see what I want to see and go as slow or as quick as I want. Now if only I had more money…

Day 1: Monday, July 26th. I woke up today, showered and then...

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:26:00 -0400

Dudes from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

EPIC Entrance to Nom du Guerre.

Mural for Nom du Guerre.

70% Off Stuff (Still Couldn't Afford)

Meat & Cheese Plater At Dinner.

Day 1: Monday, July 26th.

I woke up today, showered and then took the NYC Subway for the first time in 8 years. and wow, it really does smell absolutely terrible.

We met up with my brother whom we later ate brunch with in (the east village?). It was actually a really nice brunch. Very artsy place.

After that, we roamed around that area, visited the old CBGB’s, the New Museum, a store that carried any and every beer you can imagine, a small donut shop and some more, but I can’t think of what at the moment.

From there, we headed to SOHO where we visited some really ballin’ stores. Le Labo, Nike ID Custom Labs, a small designer chair shop (they had tons of Eames pieces), Muji, CB2, J.Crew, Uniqlo, Prada, APC, Apple, Kid Robot, Paul Smith, Nom du Guerre, Crate&Barrel and a few others that I’m probably forgetting (seeing at it’s almost 2:30am).

The day started out nice and sunny (although, it was a little too hot), but ended in rain and thunder, so we hid in a McDonalds for about an hour to bypass the rain. Once the rain passed, we made ourselves to High Line park (which was super sweet) and from there, to Dinner at an Italian restaurant.

You can check out pictures of today above and below this post (unfortunately, tumblr has a limit to the images you can post, so I had to split them up). Also: excuse the quality and composition of the photos. Some stores frown upon picture taking, so I had the camera at waste level and blindly shot all the images.

Regarding the pictures: I will pretty much be on my own from Tuesday to Thursday, so I’ll probably be passing my time by walking around the city and actually taking quality photographs, so things SHOULD get more visually pleasing.

Anyway, we’re probably going to head to the MoMA tomorrow, but I gotta’ go to bed now, so I’ll catch you guys tomorrow.

More pictures under this post.

Day 1: Sunday, July 26th.

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:03:00 -0400

Inside of Uniqlo.

Prada in SOHO.

APC Sign in SOHO.

Clothing Rack in APC.

My Dream APC Shoes.

Inside the SOHO Apple Store.

Outside KidRobot.

100% & 400% Dissected Kaws Bearbricks.

Row of KidRobot toys.

Outside of Paul Smith.

Day 1: Sunday, July 26th.

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:51:00 -0400

Exterior of The New Museum.

Le Labo - SO Baller.

Outside Nike ID Custom Lab.

Inside of a Beer Store.

Small Shop with Designer Chairs!

T-Shirts Packed into Cubes at Muji!

Inside CB2.

Inside J.Crew Mens.

Inside J.Crew Mens.

Outside J.Crew Mens.

Day 1: Sunday, July 26th.

Day of Travel: Saturday, July 25th. I left for New York this...

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:53:00 -0400

Day of Travel: Saturday, July 25th.

I left for New York this morning! After having slept only 2 hours, I boarded my train and to my dissapointment, found out that it didn’t have any WiFi. Having hoped that it did, I came unprepaired. So for the first 6 hours or so, I tried to fall alseep, but had no sucess. Thankfully, at around 4:00PM, Duc was kind enough to give me some Jimmy Carr and Louis CK comedy videos.

Once we got into the city - just before 9:00PM - we checked into our hotel, dropped off our bags and roamed Time Square in search of food - which I have to say, is probably the worst part of New York City. Way to many people, mostly tourists, etc.

We were looking around for a KFC, but after about an hour of walking and no KFC in sight, we settled for the McDonalds with the fancy lights and security guards - who only granted you access to the upstairs if you had purchased a meal from there! Althought all I really wanted at this point was a drink, I indulged and ordered a Delux Angus burger trio.

Unfortunatly, due to the length of the train ride, I wasn’t abel to really take any pictures or report on anything interesting, but tomorrow, the adventures really begin!

I’m going to go get ready for bed - which I’m sharing with 2 other people. So goodnight and see you tomorrow!

It’s currently midnight and I’m doing some last...

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:09:00 -0400

It’s currently midnight and I’m doing some last minute packing for my trip to New York City tomrrow - I have to wake up in 7 hours from now.

Because I probably won’t have time to search around for and write about stuff over at wyendrys.com, I figured I would at least make up for that by taking you guys with me on my trip to New York.

I’ll be bringing my camera around everywhere I go, and when I get in at night, I’ll transfer those pictures to my computer, pick the ones that highlight my day the best and then write a little bit about what I did, saw and experienced. You can find those posts on here, wesleyinnyc.tumblr.com.

I’ll be basically be gone from July 25th-July 31st, so you can either subscribe to this via RSS, Twitter or just follow through Tumblr’s follow system.

Anyway, I’d love to stay and chat, but I still have stuff to do before tomorrow. So good night and I’ll speak to you guys when I get to New York!