I Gave Myself an NYC-Girl Makeover—See the Pics

Recently, I traveled to NYC for a trip packed with meetings and dinners with friends. Before I left L.A., though, I spent a few nights staring at an empty suitcase. I've actually lived in NYC before, but it was my first time back in almost two years, and I felt a little out of practice dressing for the city. Would I be able to wear my new strappy sandals? Did I need a puffer coat?

The natural place to start, for me, was versatile turtlenecks and cropped sweaters to wear with skirts, jeans, and high-waisted trousers. Here’s the interesting part: I actually didn’t purchase many new pieces for my trip. I just wore pieces from my existing wardrobe along with a couple of new coats I had ordered before plans for my trip even came together. (Obviously, L.A.’s perpetually 70-degree weather hadn’t allowed me to wear them yet.)

The real lesson in reteaching myself how to dress for New York City and a weekend getaway to Baron's Cove in the Hamptons was to craft outfits from buildable layers. But also, to skip the strappy sandals. Even though I packed them, in the end, I didn’t wear them once. It was all about comfortable boots that could get me from the subway, through Central Park, and anywhere else I needed to go walking over 14,000 steps a day through Manhattan. Ahead, see and shop the NYC fall outfits I wore.

This Réalisation skirt was one of my favorite pieces over the summer, but adding a leather jacket, turtleneck, and boots was the perfect way to transition it to fall in NYC.

Even though I might have paired this skirt with heels in L.A., in NYC, hiking boots were the practical but on-trend choice.

Living out my time on the east coast as a true New Yorker, I booked a weekend trip to the Hamptons for a getaway from the city at the beautiful Baron's Cove in Sag Harbor. A perfect cozy fall hideaway from NYC, I threw on leather leggings and a turtleneck to sit by the fire with a book.

More boots and more layers. I wore a turtleneck and boots practically every day.

I ordered this coat from Reformation last month and have been waiting for a true fall day to wear it. 

Can you get away with crop tops for the fall? You can in my book.

Word to the wise: In the end, fall style really comes down to your outerwear.

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