Relocating to NYC - make me over / polished

[newyorknewme]

Relocating in March to NYC with DH work.

We will be living in Manhattan and two kids will go to school (school fees paid for by the company) on the upper east side. It all feels like a very surreal lucky break.

To SATC loving me - this is my dream come true! For legging / fleece loving me - I am out of my depth.

How do I look polished and together? Haven't made new friends in years so need to look the part and feel confident.

What an exciting adventure OP - I’m so envious! Having lived abroad and made the mistake of trying to take far too much tat with me, my advice would be to pack a very limited capsule of quality basics with you based on the life you’ll have (eg will you be working? Or mainly doing school run etc to start with?) A decent coat is the most important, and a few quality smart-casual outfits you feel good in (eg smart jeans and a cashmere jumper; a couple of well-cut casual dresses… that sort of thing). I’d then build up your wardrobe once you’re actually out there as you’ll have a better idea of what you need by then (plus shopping in NYC is bound to be more fun than it is here!) Visit the hairdresser before you go to give you a bit more extra confidence. Good luck!

Not lived in Manhattan but it’s very easy to “keep up with New Yorkers” by having regular mani/pedis (so cheap there), blow drys, hair colour/cuts and so on.

You don’t have to go full on polished, you can dial it down. Lots of brands and shops are cheaper and there are good brands of cheaper makeup. Ulta is like our Boots (sells Boots own brand), Duane Reed, CVS and other drugstores are great too.

Lots of outlet shopping malls around New York (Philadelphia and Delaware are far cheaper on sales tax than New York for clothes if you fancy an Amtrak train trip). Manhattan is good for clothes but sales tax can be higher than you’d expect.

DVF has good ranges for the SATC look. I did find lots of Manhattan types are into designer bags but you can pick up Coach etc much cheaper than in London.

For me I loved Bloomies, Saks, but in Herald Square you can find the new H&M flagship store along with good Zara, Mango, and American brands.

I think the key is some good capsule wardrobe basics to get you started, and then some pre-grooming before you go. Get hair cut and coloured as needed, have a mani and pedi, get any waxing/threading attended too etc. And when in NYC, try to find decent local hair/nail/beauty salons to have sequences of appointments pre booked. My experience of American women is they are groomed regularly and consistently so get into a good habit/cadence. Before departing, consider having colours done to know what tones suit you, and maybe getting that capsule wardrobe started to suit the first few months of life there. Enjoy the experience!

I used to work in New York and I'm jealous too!

Grooming (hair/nails/brows) over actual clothes as everybody else has said - a capsule wardrobe of plain basics with a good coat will get you through for months.

Also, if you're going in the next few weeks be aware that New York is very cold in winter and the wind can be horrific! You'll need thermals, gloves and warm boots - I once walked around Central Park on a beautiful sunny January day and suddenly realised I could no longer feel my toes, because it was -10 .

You can get good deals in Nordstrom Rack.

Thanks all! Groomed is what I'm going for.

Couldn't tell you what the 'fashion' was over there when we visited last - did notice a lot of diamond and Chanel flats.

But groomed hair / eyebrows / nails is what it was. Groomed hair does not come naturally to me