My Personal Style Aesthetic: Four Cities and Counting

I love cities. As a child I grew up in a very tiny town in Jamaica before I moved to the U.S. where I spent my teenage years in the suburbs of New York. At 17, I packed my bags and moved to NYC to attend college and fell in love with the city life. In the past 10 years, I've lived in 4 different cities and all of them influenced my style in some sense. It has been almost four months since I moved to Los Angeles, and already I see  the fabric of L.A. unfolding into my style aesthetic.


NEW YORK
I've spent the majority of those 10 years living in New York.  In NY,  I gained a love for vintage pieces, funky accessories and black. You hear all the time that New Yorkers love black. At first I tried to resist becoming the stereotypical New Yorker, telling myself that as a Caribbean woman with a love for color, black would probably not become a staple in my closet. It's funny how things sneak up on you without you even realizing it. After living in NYC for years, I have developed an affinity for black. It makes sense, in such a fast-paced city where at times you have a moment's notice to get ready.  Black is the easy option. It goes with everything and always looks sophisticated. It's the norm to have a bunch of little black dresses, skirts, blouses and pants in New York. You also learn that a little black dress worn with a statement piece of jewelry and the right heels make one "boss" outfit. 

LONDON
When I lived in London for six months, I noticed people experimented with fashion a lot more than I was used to in New York. Mixing prints and colors seemed like the norm in London before the rest of the world made it a fad. I absolutely enjoyed "style watching" in London and noticed a freedom of expression that I hadn't seen before. I loved seeing the risks people took with clothing. Londonites seem to have a knack for putting together the most unlikely pieces that blossomed into a fashionable whole. It was in London that I began to experiment a lot more with my style, and to this day, most of my real life style icons are British. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.
In D.C. I developed a love for J Crew and pearls. Living in a political city where you're surrounded by Staffers, Lobbyists and the like,  you'll gain an appreciation (or dislike) for the All American preppy look. Pearls are a women's best friend in D.C. and J Crew is her dream closet.

LOS ANGELES
I already had something in common with L.A. before I moved here. I LOVE bright colors and the city embraces it. In L.A. you will notice "clashes of color," as I call it.  People here boldly pair colors together (it's the norm) in a beautiful eye-catching clash.  I also enjoy that people in L.A. have a knack for making jeans and t-shirt look extremely fashionable by pairing the look with the right blazer, vest, jewelry or shoes. I also love that the women here embrace wearing skirts and dress ( I think the weather has a lot to do with this). 

Photo: I've been in New York for the past week  and met up with friends for cocktails. What city do I seem to be channeling here?

Cheers,
Nika