Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

Clean the Tommy's binder, replace them with the Wang's papers, rush to the show, change my shoes in the cab, get back to the office because I forgot the seating charts, and always keep smiling.

This is what I do, or actually this is what I've been doing for the past 4 weeks. Let me introduce myself, my name is Francesca, I'm 23 years old, I work in one of the biggest Fashion PR Agencies in the world and I live in New York. It sounds amazing hey! But guys I will be honest with you... I must admit that I'm not a New Yorker and I'm an intern.

I'm  an Italian girl who moved to the city of dreams a month ago, full of hope. I've always loved fashion and been obsessed with NYC, so when I got offered this internship, I packed my stuff and jumped on the first flight available. As you can probably imagine I'm going to entertain you the beautiful secrets of this city! This column will be a window on my life, a way to communicate to anyone who's interested how an European can fit in a place so unique, exciting as only New York can be. 

 So I guess we can get this started now. At the moment I'm in the middle of the fashion week hurricane, so I never have time for anything but shows, shoots, shows and shoots! Although I love my job and I'm very happy right now, it's kind of hard experiencing a city when you're working (especially if you're working 24/7), but I'm handling it pretty well, also thanks to my job, since working for a fashion company gives you the chance to see the most amazing places ever, not bad at all.

Anyway even if I'm still a rookie, I'd love to share with you some tips and tricks that I consider very useful if you're planning to move here, or even just visit. 

Tip #1: if you wanna be cool you must wear heels. When I'm in Europe flats are my best friends, Converses are my friends, wedges we get along, heels definitely not my friends.  But New York is different, we are talking about the city of skyscrapers! This means you must have skyscrapers shoes! This is why I walk to the office with my hunter boots (because yes it snows and yes you need them, you don't like them: swim in the mud/melted snow, up to you) and then change into heels (mid heels though, the skyscraper ones are only for shows). Easy. You don't have neither Hunter Boots nor heels? No problem, just have a walk in Soho and you'll find everything you need, sometimes also very cheap. I bought a pair of Jeffrey Campbell's for 60$, isn't it good?

Tip #2: Pack light! New Yorkers don't need winter clothes. From Italy I brought sweaters, comfy Ugg boots, cozy wool leggings. Then I stepped into my office and bam! Tropical climate! Americans love heating and I seriously had buy cotton t-shirts to survive. So if you're planning to move here, coat apart, pack summer clothes! Believe me, it's the smartest thing you could ever do!  Though if you get here just with winter stuff (which I know it's pretty obvious), go straight to Urban Outfitters (526 6th Avenue), it has the best t-shirts ever at a reasonable price.

Tip #3: New Yorkers do not cook. I'm Italian and food it's a big issue for me. I'm renting a room in a loft in Chelsea where I don't have a proper kitchen, so I'm living on sushi, thai and Starbucks! And I must also add Chelsea Markets (75 9th Ave), a highly frequented place by myself right now. You can buy REAL Italian food and it's delicious! I also suggest the restaurant Via Emilia (47 E 21st) , I'm from Modena and the food is so good I almost feel at home. It reminds me so much of my Grandma's food...Yum! 

 Tip #4: always look confident. Everybody looks confident here, but me! I mean feel like I'm a very easy going and open person, but if your find yourself in between Tommy Hilfiger and Ed Westwick, I bet you'd get shy too!  Four weeks ago I couldn't imagine I was going to meet Alexa Chung, Cory Kennedy and Ed (!!!), and these are just a few names. I feel very Serena in Gossip Girl at the moment, the thing is that she's glowing, beautiful and very wealthy. I'm pale, with dark circles around my eyes and I'm an intern. Maybe I should just get a good massage, an haircut, get my my nails done and I would look better...Ok nice dream, I'll never have time for it. But if you want to where you can get all of this, check out  www.intothegloss.com, a sneak peek on the new yorkers' beauty secrets.
Now I really have to leave for work, five shows today, I hope I'll survive. See you later, alligator! FDA

Visit Francesca's blog here. 

TAGS: dolce&gabbana dolce & gabbana d&g d & g online luxury magazine swide francesca dambrogio ambrogio alexa chung tommy hillfiger hilfiger tommy cory kennedy gossip girl serena jeffrey campbell soho nyc column columnist italian girl in newyork italian fashion nyfw newyork fashion week fashion week new york trend trends