f*ck dc, it's nyc week!

So, after I teared up during the closing montage of the XXVIV Olympiad, I realized two things: 1) My life is truly empty, and 2) I really do miss NYC. Now what do the 2008 Beijing Olympics have to do with my missing New York? I'm not entirely sure, but considering I never cried because a sports event ended before now makes me believe that DC has affected me (read: driven me batsh*t crazy). In New York City, I think (or at least I'd like to) that I'd be too busy doing fun and exciting things to care. In DC, I have nothing else to care about. My life is empty, remember?

But you know what's not empty? My fulfilling memories of my times in Manhattan and Brooklyn a few weekends ago. And so, I dedicate this e-week to those two magical boroughs where the khakis are kept to a minimum and the people can actually stand me. I ♥ NY.

To kick off this week of NYC love, I'll start with something to which DC pales in comparison -- the shopping. There are more stores on one SoHo block that match my aesthetic than there are in the entire District. Actually, let's even throw in Bethesda and all the malls in Northern Virginia, as well. DC and its surrounding environs can keep its Caché, Talbots and Ann Taylor Lofts. In fact, it can even keep its H&M's, Urban Outfitters and Barneys CO-OPs, the stores I find myself most often perusing in the District. Of course I could shop (or stare at longingly in the case of the CO-OP) at those outlets in New York, as well, but I don't have to. Instead, New York offers an array of decently priced wares, and often better made, from stores like Uniqlo and Muji, two Japanese brands whose only North American locations are located in Manhattan.

Both stores balk most trends and instead offer stylized basics, paying great attention to fabric and silhouette. Take for instance these looks from Uniqlo. Notice the absense of both pleated khakis and Crocs (shocking, I know):




And here's a Japanese dance crew wearing Uniqlo and doing my favorite dance and hopefully yours, too -- the Robot. Indeed, much like their style, their sh*t is tight.



Muji keeps it even more simple, opting for mostly neutral colors and 100 percent cotton. My favorite item of clothing in Muji was their crinkley T-shirt, which comes in a vacuum-packed cube about the size of a Rubik's Cube. Although, I'm and idiot and failed to photograph my own purchase in the package, Flicker users Colin and Mitch did:


And even though I bought one of these cubes about three weeks ago now, I didn't open it till this morning after I woke up from a sleepless night of Olympic mourning. Capitalism always makes me feel better.


Capitalism, however, does little for my bird's nest-like hair in the morning. Speaking of bird's nest, I'm now thinking this is my coiffure's inadvertent tribute to Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium where Usain Bolt won three gold medals and broke the same amount of records. Dammit...I'm tearing up again.

But eulogistic top-knots aside, I invite you to take a closer look at this permanently wrinkled shirt. It is quite phenomenal. (Again, my life is empty.)


Domo arigato, Japanese crinkley shirt!

And xie xie, Chinese Olympic games. *single tear* I'll miss you.