New York vs London: Final Outcome

New York vs London… It was always going to be hard to debate between my two favourite cities but there has to be a winner and we all know who that is going to be.

How do you distinguish them? They have as much in common as two twins. Both have around the same same population, both have the big towers and iconic buildings, both have the beautiful parks and tourist attractions, both have the famous airports and well, the list goes on. But we aren’t talking about similarities today, we are talking about what ultimately makes New York better.

1. Better weather


Of course, I have lived in neither city so I’m sure people can argue against this based on personal experience and opinion. But I’m just going to put it out there that I believe New York has better weather. I don’t know about you, but whenever I see England on the TV it always seems to be so dreary, dark and gloomy. I like to think that New York has a bit more colour and life, but hey, I could be wrong!

2. USA vs UK


We are still debating on the best city, but ultimately the city is within the country so that must come into account too. Everybody knows that the USA is the most powerful country in the world with an excellent economy and large population. I’m not trying to down grade the UK here because for a lot of people they would prefer the UK to the USA and the UK is still an excellent place to live. However, the UK lacks what the USA has. It doesn’t have quite as much charisma, charm and pull to be bluntly honest. America has widely been known as “the Country of Opportunity” and the stereotype that surrounds America has a place in everyone’s hearts. It’s got glamour, bright lights, and big cities. But then it’s also got the Grand Canyon, huge native reserves, Route 66 and we can’t forget Hollywood.

3. The landmarks

What’s so exciting about a big clock? Would you rather have your photo standing in front of the Statue of Liberty or a clock? OK, so that’s a little harsh because Big Ben is still pretty cool and iconic and London still has plenty of other landmarks. Like the London Eye. But then New York has the Empire of State building and it used to have the twin towers. Think about it, New York’s skyline does look a lot better than London’s.

4. The Bombing of 9/11


OK, so I know this is not a good thing at all and I wouldn’t wish it on any country. But think about it, New York got bombed because it was seen as a city of importance and fame, and because it was home to the iconic twin towers. They didn’t want to bomb London, they wanted to bomb New York. Surely this means they held New York higher than London. Well, they wanted to bomb it… But you know what I mean!

5. New vs. Ancient


Well, this should be Ancient vs. Very Ancient, because both cities are old, but London much more so than New York. That means London has more history and stories about it which may be nice for some people, but if you want a newer, more modern and vibrant city you would chose New York. This is the city that never sleeps.

6. Times Square and the City of Lights

Every city has lights. Of course they do. But do they have the lights like New York? Maybe Vegas does, but London? I think not. Imagine standing in Times Square at 10 o’clock at night. Would you get that feeling in any other city in the world?

7. Name and Fame

London is a nice word to say but does it have the same ring to it as New York does? Do you see people more often wearing NYC shirts or London ones? Let’s face it, New York is the more famous city, the more popular one. What words do you associate with New York? Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Broadway, Central Park, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty… The list goes on but I don’t think I could say the same for London. I think New York sounds more exciting and fresh anyway.

8. Fashion

Victoria Beckham is a fashion designer that is British and lives in London. Yet she travels all the way to New York every season to display her collections rather than her home city. That’s got to be a sign right? NYFW is more known than LFW. It sounds better, it looks better. I have always held New York more fashionable than London.

9. Culture

Has London ever been the culture capital? I’m not sure, but I doubt any city could match New York on this one. New York manages to be classy, glamorous, wealthy, interesting, exciting, and adventurous for people of every race, age, gender and personality. Diversity and personality are key words in this city.

10. Black cabs vs yellow ones

Well, it comes down to this. With these two cities, both great and powerful, it may be a hard decision for most. Do you like history or modernity? Do you prefer gloomy skies or clearer ones ? Are you after diversity or more inclined for routine? Do you like black cabs or do you like yellow ones?

New York: Trendsetting City

Who takes out the title of the world’s most fashionable city? New York, London, Paris and Milan are regarded as the “Big 4″ in the fashion industry. New York is a big player within fashion, fashion designers, and trends.

According to 2012 rankings these were the industry’s most influential cities:

1. London

2. New York

3. Milan

4. Paris


London took the top spot from New York in 2011and repeated this in 2012.
Each leading city is famous for something different and unique. Let’s look at Paris. Home to Coco Chanel. That’s got to boost the ratings. Paris has always had a history of art and design, and it has a number of famous fashion houses. Parisian designs are famed for being elegant, chic, and formal.
Both Milan and Paris have a standard of excellency in creativity and design.

Adding to the similarities between the two fashion powerhouses is the fact that both offer more elegance than practicality and both cities feature haute couture and high fashion shopping districts. Where Paris relies more heavily on haute couture, Milan fashion can focus more on ready to wear clothes as well as haute couture. Milanese fashion is seen as sophisticated and admired.

London fashion is undeniably known for being quirky and a showcase of old and new British fashion. Take Burberry for example. That’s a fashion brand that manages to mix old fashioned tailored designs like trench coats and give them a quirky, unique, fashionable appeal that feels so very English. Kate Middleton and the 2012 Olympics are seen as major boostings for London’s rankings.

But what about New York?

New York grew as a fashion powerhouse in the 20th century. Its unique blend of entertainment, business, culture, language, cuisine and lifestyle meant it made sense for it to take its place of dominance in the fashion world. New York has, and has seen, some very famous and well known designers walk it’s stylish streets. I’m not just talking about the twice a year occurrence of New York Fashion Week, but the designers New York can call its own.
Here are three highly regarded fashion designers born and bred from New York:


1. Marc Jacobs


Marc Jacobs, born April 9, 1963 is easily one of the most recognisable fashion designers in the world. However residing in Paris, it is sometimes forgotten that this fashion guru was actually born in New York and is American. He has over 200 retail stores in over 80 countries. He was also the creative director of French design house Louis Vuitton from 1997-2013.

2. Ralph Lauren


In 2012 Forbes estimated this fashion designer’s wealth at 6.5 billion dollars. This would make the 74 -year-old the 162nd richest person in the world! Not bad for somebody who started out selling ties to his classmates and was born in NYC to a house painter. Not only is he known for his clothing brand, Polo Ralph Lauren but also for a rather impressive collection of cars, some of which have been displayed in museums!


3. Calvin Klein



Calvin Klein founded the fashion house Calvin Klein Inc which is currently owned by Phillips-Van Heusen. The popular brand is headquartered in New York City. Calvin founded Calvin Klein Limited a coat shop in York Hotel, in 1968, with just $10,000. By 1971 Calvin had already made a cover debut on Vogue and added sportswear, classic blazers and lingerie to his women’s collection. The rest, as they say, is history.


New York Fashion Week:

Let’s face it, there’s no other Fashion Week like New York. It’s the week every fashion guru and fashion designer alike plans. It’s written on their calendar, they work towards it all season. This is the time to shine.  Some big designers decide to showcase their designs. Victoria Beckham, Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren are some of the designers that flock to New York.

Famous trends:

Every city is responsible for at least some fashion trends, and New York, being the powerful city is it, has had its fair share of fashion trends. Every fashion week brings new trends and styles. Prints, colours, flares, polka dots, baggy, tight, ripped. New York has seen it all. After this year’s fashion week these are some of the trends that evolved:

1. High Karate. Designs that may resemble karate kits, but are actually “stylish.”

2. Quirky. Designs that were fun and free.

3. Sunny. Yellow and orange hit the cat-walks.

4. Picnic prints. That old picnic rug in the cupboard? That print could be right on trend.

5. Crop tops. Time to show off that pancake flat stomach.


Fashion District:

You can go to New York just to shop. You could spend days just shopping. But, be warned, you may need a lot of money! New York is home to many huge fashion houses, just about any fashion house you can imagine has retailers in New York. The biggest fashion district in New York is the Garment District, in Manhattan. It is considered the centre for fashion manufacturing and design in the United States, and even the world.

So there you have it. New York is a fashionable city that has grown amongst the world’s finest. It has all the ingredients for a fashion powerhouse, and will only continue to compete amongst the best. If you love fashion, New York is the place to be :)

 

New York: World Capital?

When you think of the world’s most powerful cities, you associate New York, or at least you should. In my mind these are the most powerful cities in the world:

1. New York

2. London

3. Tokyo

4. Paris

5. Los Angeles

Of course that is just my opinion and far from the truth. But I have come up with a few reasons to back up my number 1.


1. New York, besides Paris, of course, is one the most fashionable cities in the world. Home to New York Fashion Week twice a year, it hosts a wide range of some of the finest fashion designers, and stocks all the best. Many brands chose to make New York their home, and New York in itself, is very fashion orientated and trend-setting.

2. New York is consistently ranked the best shopping city in the world, and for all you shopping gurus, you will agree.

3. New York is an international city, with over 800 different languages spoken, and look at the size of Chinatown! There are hundreds of different cultures and lifestyles that people from all different walks of life can fit in.

4. Business! What aspiring business professional wouldn’t want to take up a job on Wall Street? Graduates right out of college made their millions on that mad money street. Investment banking is huge, and there is so many other business oppurtunities as lots of big banks and companies are based there.

5. All big cities have entertainment, but surely New York must rate highly among them. Of course, it’s not Vegas, but you don’t go there to gamble and play poker, New York is so much more than that. New York has Central Park, Broadway and huge amount of theatres, arcades, malls, zoos, museums, everything you could imagine. And if you don’t want to splurge the cash, then there are plenty of free, public places.

6. Thinking of travelling but not sure where to go? Chances are you, and millions of other tourists are considering New York. New York attracts millions of tourists every year, and from the minute you arrive in JFK airport, you will be swept off your feet with the tourism and sight-seeing opportunities.

7. The sky-scrapers. I know what it’s like to come from a small town, and the only chance you get to see sky-scrapers is on the TV or the rare miracle you do get to visit a city. Sky-scrapers are continually popping up all over New York. OK, so the twin towers aren’t available anymore, but you can ask your grandparents about that. Some of the big tourist attractions are the Statue of Liberty and the Empire of State building.

8. Traditional American sports. Football, baseball, basketball, you want it, New York has it!

9. Times Square and those trademark yellow cabs. Let’s face it, there’s only one Times Square, and all those bright lights! And who hasn’t dreamed of tottering out of a New York cab laden with designer bags?

10. The brilliant schools, job opportunities, plush neighbourhoods, unique cuisine…the list just goes on and on! Just do yourself a favour and go to New York xx

This post was copied from my other blog: Code Manhattan. Check it out codemanhattan.wordpress.com