East Village – Karen's Quirky New York

Manhattan model Karen Rempel outside Lucinda's Bar on Avenue A

Hoedown on Avenue A

October 12, 2025

The East Village just got a double dose of country twang and redneck fun at Lucinda’s Bar at 169 Avenue A. Lucinda’s is a honky-tonk juke joint and cocktail lounge, featuring live music, line dancing, karaoke, and happy hour specials, all with a true Southern vibe. In case you’ve been a Sleeping Beauty for the past few […]

West Village model Karen Rempel - Karen's Quirky Style - Waiting for Mick

Waiting on Mick

April 1, 2022

West Village model Karen Rempel waits for Mick Jagger on St. Mark’s Place. He’s late. Photos by Philip Maier. This corner is obviously the coolest spot in New York City! I’m sitting by a graffiti’d doorway at the corner of St. Mark’s Place and Avenue A. It looks like the bar might be deserted, but […]

Karen's Quirky Style August 2020 - Basquing

Basquing on the Bowery

July 1, 2021

All photographs by Philip Maier unless noted otherwise. My fashion sense was influenced by the ’80s glam metal scene, which was fomented by the punk rock scene in NYC in the ’70s. The Velvet Underground was Andy Warhol’s house band, spawning Lou Reed’s shattering Rock n Roll Animal in 1973. At the same time, Jean-Michel Basquiat […]

Karen Yvonne Rempel New York fashion model at VNYL in the East Village

Quirky Style at VNYL Party

February 1, 2019

I saw Advanced Style at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2014, right before my first trip to New York, and writer Ari and writer-director Lina were there to talk to the audience. All the women in the audience showed up wearing their couture and outlandish rigs, and it was a celebration of our unique […]