TRAVELING IN STYLE.....NYC August 2011: McQueen Exhibit, Dream Downtown Hotel

A Pool in a Manhattan, a balcony in a NYC Hotel, a 2 1/2 hr Wait for McQueen and DELICIOUS Pizza? Read on...

Nick Verreos, Dream Downtown Hotel Pool NYC

A couple of weeks ago--between my crazy schedule of co-running my NIKOLAKI design company, designing, draping and making patterns for the next collection, filming TV Show Pilots, and trying to AVOID answering questions of "Why Are You Not on Project Runway All Stars?"--I had to fly to NYC with my design-and-business partner David Paul for an important business meeting. Well, let's just begin with how much I love NY. Love. I have many friends there so I can't wait to arrive. But I was a little bit scared since, well, for the last few weeks, it had been like 10,000 DEGREES HOT. I don't do HOT HUMID WEATHER very well! My T-zone doesn't "likey". But--thank goodness--the weather had "cooled" down--to a respectable 80-something degrees. I really didn't have an option, since this was the only time we could have this business meeting.

Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty Exhibition, Metropolitan Museum NYC

Also, I remembered that the FAB Metropolitan Museum Alexander McQueen "Savage Beauty" Exhibition was going to close soon and my partner, David, had not gone...so, this would be the PERFECT opportunity! David and I booked ourselves into the newly-opened Dream Downtown Hotel, which is located near the "Meatpacking District"/Chelsea area. It had a pool. Enough said. Done and done. Upon arrival, we went to our Deluxe Room and I just about SCREAMED... We had a balcony! (above photo) Who has a balcony in a NYC Hotel? Well, we never had. It even had a little chair as well. Yes, it was a vertiginous balcony about 18" wide but still, it was a balcony. The room was spacious--for NYC standards. The room also had a interesting "Girl Scout" painting which I was obsessed with. But the "piece de resistance" (besides the balcony, pool, painting), was that there were ETRO bath and grooming products in the bathroom: I LOVE me some Etro! After our business meetings, we returned to our hotel and enjoyed a day in the Pool:

Dream Downtown Hotel Pool

Dream Downtown Hotel Pool Beach area

The next day we headed off to the Metropolitan Museum to see the Alexander McQueen "Savage Beauty" Exhibit. I had been to it when it first opened but David had never been. And it was THE LAST WEEK!!!! So, No Should've, Would've, Could've...Just Do It!!!

Metropolitan Museum Alexander McQueen "Savage Beauty" Exhibition, Final Week lines

Metropolitan Museum NYC

We braved a 2 1/2 hrs wait (when I first went, I barely waited in line!) hanging out in the Met's immense entrance upstairs balcony area (in line of course!). Finally, we made it in. It was PACKED and not so comfortable of an experience (for both David and I) to be 10 people-deep from the actual clothes and trying to read what they were.

Alexander McQueen "Savage Beauty" Exhibit, Metropolitan Museum NYC

Since I had already "been there, done that", I really didn't care. But, yes, I felt bad for David. He even rented the Audio Equipment (my suggestion) which well, if you can't even see the displays, what's the point?

Alexander McQueen "Savage Beauty" Exhibit, Metropolitan Museum NYC

After it was all said and done, we did it, and more importantly, David got to see (kind of) the Exhibition: The dresses, gowns, shoes, videos...were AMAZING!!! (the accompanying book is A MUST BTW!) We will really be PISSED if it comes to Los Angeles and the almost-three hour wait and barely-seeing-anything (for David) was for nothing!!

David Paul and Taylor Schultz, Maritime Hotel La Bottega NYC

After our trip Uptown to the Exhibition, we capped off our time in NYC with drinks and dinner with our very good friend Taylor--first at the Maritime Hotel's "La Bottega" for cocktails and then Artichoke Pizza: Yum and Yummier... PS: I LOVE NY!