Tag Archives: socialite

Dealing with Psycho Friends

Recently on Gossip Girl, Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) became the fairy god cousin to her long lost relative, Charlie (Kaylee DeFer.) Needless to say, no good deed goes unpunished because this seemingly sweet girl is completely psycho. Charlie doesn’t just want to be like Serena because let’s face it we all do and that’s completely normal, she wants to actually be Serena. Or so we thought.

Two episodes ago, the crazy, Charlie finally succeeds in seducing Dan in Serena’s gold cotillion dress. But, her insane fantasy is short lived when Dan freaks out after she asks him to call her Serena. In tonight’s season finale, Charlie drunkenly tried to jump out of an open window. After that, she seemed to calm down a bit. Or was she faking it? It turns out the whole thing was a complete lie and their was a sketchy handoff in Miami. It looks like this whole estranged relatives act may just be a plot to extort money from the great van der Woodsen clan of Manhattan. I guess we will have to wait until next season to see what this screwy blonde is really up to.

Even of you have not yet found socialite status, you have probably had your share of psycho friends and acquaintances that could have come straight out of the movies. However, if you plan on being on the front page of every society page, get ready for three times the crazy. Your devotees copying your every move and the paparazzi’s interest in your casual brunch can be fun at first, but living in a fishbowl where you often encounter people looking to take advantage of you is enough to make anyone check into rehab for a month or two. Why do you think Canyon Ranch is so popular among with world’s elite? However, being a socialite is all worth it to me. It’s just good to know what you are really getting into.

Why Be a Socialite?

Everybody knows that being a New York socialite is far superior to climbing the city’s unforgiving corporate ladder. There is simply no comparison when you look at a typical day in the life of a socialite next to one of your average young professional. Perhaps, it is time you started climbing the gilded social ladder instead of the rocky corporate one because the life of a socialite has no glass ceiling. Discovering your socialite alter ego is one thing, but becoming one is quite another.

A Typical Day in the Life of a Young Professional:
7:45 a.m: Sadly, it’s wake up time. Maybe you shouldn’t have had that extra martini last night because it is only making it that much harder to get out of bed.

8:40 a.m: Wait in line at the Starbucks around the corner from your office for a much needed coffee fix.
9:05 a.m: Run to get through building security in the lobby because that coffee line just made you 10 minutes late.
9:15 a.m: Race through the doors of your office and smile at your CEO. Both corporate and social ladder climbers need to get in good with the powerful.
10:00 a.m: Catch up on endless emails and client calls
11:35 a.m: Second coffee run of the day
12:45 p.m: Lunch meeting with the boss and co-workers to go over something you already went over.
2:00 p.m: Crunch numbers and put together a solid plan that is sure to get you promoted or at least get you a bonus.
3:05 p.m: Still writing up the plan. Time to make a chart.
4:00 p.m: Pick out the best template for your Power Point presentation
6:15 p.m: Time to leave the office for some much needed yoga
8:00 p.m: Eat and relax in your tiny 5th floor Manhattan walk-up and get ready to do it all over again tomorrow.

A Typical Day in the Life of a New York Socialite:

11:00 a.m: Wake up rested in your tastefully decorated penthouse
12:00 a.m: Hit the gym with your girlfriends and your personal trainer
1:30 p.m: Meet with your publicist and the show’s PR team to plan out your appearance on a major television program.
2:15 p.m: Pick up a new eye kit at the Bloomingdales makeup counter. You then decide to pick out a new Fendi bag while you are there.
3:30 p.m: It’s off to hair and makeup followed by a photo shoot with your fav photographer.
5:00 p.m: Stop by your stylist’s office to get fitted for a dress for the next charity event.
6:00 p.m: Downtime
9:00 p.m: Get ready for a hot high profile date consisting of dinner, clubbing, and a spur of the moment trip to the Hamptons bound to make it onto Perez Hilton.

Socialite Prep Work

Once upon a time, I was an Abercrombie & Fitch wearing teenager who spent all of her babysitting money on A & F polos bearing the moose emblem. I did so all in the name of preppiness. This was a precursor of the Aspiring Socialite journey I would embark on as a young adult in New York City. Over the years, I have found preppy style to be as timeless as a tennis foursome. Preppy fashion is not a requirement of being a socialite, it is an inevitability of the high life.  These looks are as classic and versatile as men’s suits or the little black dress.

Popularized by the Kennedys, America’s Royal Family, preppy fashion with its iconic collars, plaids, and argyles is as distinctive as the East Coast Ivys where it originated. Even if you have never played tennis or golf, you have probably worn the clothes or at least an inspired style. These virtually unchanging looks give us a much-needed element of dressy casual. If it were up to me, we would all participate in athletics photo ready with a color coordinated collared shirt and matching bottoms? If there is anything I have learned in my 24 years on this Earth, it is that it is always better to be overdressed than under dressed. What separates a true prep from the rest of society is that a true prep is never under dressed no matter what the circumstances may be.

For a photo tutorial on how preppiness has stood the test of time check out Take Ivy:

Top 10 Best Places in New York to Enjoy a Starbucks

Starbucks is and always has been a socialite staple. On uneventful mornings that for socialites never begin before 11:30 a.m., your favorite cup of Starbucks coffee is the perfect accessory to carry on the same arm as an oversized designer handbag. For those of you who have read my bio, you already know that I go to Starbucks daily for a Grande Unsweetened Soy Iced Coffee. Like everything in the tabloids, coffee is a great source of controversy. As a friend to some and foe to others, nothing says attitude more than those candid shots of celebs in Us Weekly walking the streets of L.A. or New York with a Starbucks in hand. So here you have it the top 10 places in NYC to enjoy your favorite brew:

10.  In front of the Yale Club: When you are done shopping on 5th Ave, take some time to shop for eligible Ivy Leaguers as you enjoy a coffee. The Harvard and Penn clubs are only a block away.

9.  In the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria: I have always been a fan of the old world style of the guided age and the Waldorf has it.

8. Central Park: It’s cliche, but always fun.

7.  Bloomingdales: Enough said!

6.  The Met Steps: They may have eaten yogurt on the Met steps in Gossip Girl, but I prefer to drink a Starbucks.

5.  14th Street in Meatpacking: I enjoy drinking coffee in the presence of designers such as Alexander McQueen and Yigal Azrouel.

4.  Standing in line at Marquee: Not that I ever stand in line at a club, but if I did, I would totally sip a Grande Soy Iced Coffee as I waited.

3.  Driving in a BMW down Park Ave: It always helps to have the top down.

2.  Strolling the Streets of SoHo: I love going from shop to shop in SoHo sipping on my signature iced coffee.

1.  30+ Stories High: You can’t beat a brew with a view.  Heights aren’t just for heels and the city lights are always brighter from up above.