Karen’s Quirky Style is all about expressing our inner joie de vivre through color and fun combinations of clothing and accessories from different sources and time periods. I love walking down the street and seeing people’s faces light up with delight at the unexpected sight before their eyes. (Namely, moi. Haha.) The outfit I’m wearing in this month’s column in WestView News brought quite a few smiles, and made me feel moments of connection with fellow New Yorkers as I walked along Christopher Street. Even these statues seemed to come alive!

Pink and Green Ruffled Plaid Tea Dress

I fell in love with this green and pink plaid tea dress with the ruffly skirt a few summers ago when I was working at Krystyna’s Place on Cornelia Street. Krystyna was away on vacation, and I was covering the store for her, including dressing the windows and photographing clothes to put on Etsy. I fell sway to my own marketing efforts as I looked closely at the clothes to write their descriptions. I ended up buying numerous dresses when Krystyna returned. I was literally her best customer that summer! Ah well, my closet is the happier for it, with vintage gems like this ’50s dress, possibly home-made, with beautiful details like lace over the seams on the interior of the dress. I’ve never regretted this purchase.

New York Fashionista Handbag by Nicole Lee

The Nicole Lee handbag was an unexpected commemoration of moving to New York. I first saw the handbag at the Montreal airport, when I traveled there for my immigration interview. Montreal is the only Canadian city where the US Citizenship and Immigration Services holds green card interviews. The handbag caught my eye, but I resisted the urge to go closer. Then, a few weeks later as I was actually immigrating, at the Vancouver International Airport point of entry, there was the handbag again! I looked closer, and saw there were images of the Statue of Liberty, yellow cabs, Broadway, and the US flag. It was meant to be. I had to have it as a memento of one of the most important days of my life, immigrating to New York. It remains my favorite handbag, and this month it so happens that my hair is the same shade as that of the woman on the purse. Resolution!

Style Notes

• Pink and green plaid tea dress with fluted tutu crinoline skirt. Krystyna’s Place, 12 Cornelia Street. (Now closed.)
• Futuristic Specchio silver rod and mirrored resin cube earrings. Diana Broussard, 19C Christopher Street.
• Amethyst, leather, and silver bead bracelet. UNOde50, The Oculus at World Trade Center, 185 Greenwich Street.
• Red suede open-toed cage boots by Ivanka Trump. The Bay, Vancouver.
• New York fashionista handbag by Nicole Lee. Vancouver International Airport.

First published in my “Karen’s Quirky Style” column in the WestView News, the Voice of the West Village.