6 Beloved New York City Style Icons

Audrey Hepburn created a signature look in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. {credit}

We love talking and writing about fashion in New York City, but if we’re honest – not all of our style inspiration comes from the city itself. Everyone has his or her favorite NYC fashionista –– after all, no two New Yorkers have the same style. We’ve compiled a list of six beloved New York City style icons who continue to inspire us. They may not all be from the city, but they’ve contributed to New York’s savoir-faire.

Iris Apfel
The subject of a 2014 documentary, Iris Apfel is as successful a businessperson as she is a style icon. Her company, Old World Weavers, allowed her to travel the world to purchase non-Western fabrics and clothes. Iris’s influence in fashion by bringing these styles back to the United States has not gone unnoticed, as her personal effects have been featured in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, the Costume Institute at the Met in NYC, and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.

Iris Apfel became famous for her irreverent style. {credit}

Patti Smith
If you’ve ever wondered why the style of the 1970s never seems to go away, you can thank rock goddess Patti Smith for that.  A prominent figure in NYC’s music and art scene for years, she is known for bringing her unique perspective and authenticity into her wardrobe – today’s popular androgynous styles (boxy blazers and “mannish” shirts) have her to credit as inspiration.  We’re lucky that she’s still based in NYC so we can see what trend she starts next.

Rock goddess Patti Smith brought us the boxy blazer trend. {credit}

Sarah Jessica Parker
She might have been introduced to us as Carrie Bradshaw, but SJP is a name (and acronym) worth remembering. Not only did she teach a whole generation how to properly pronounce “Manolo Blahnik,” but she has married fashion staples with unexpected, avant-garde pieces. Plus – Sarah Jessica Parker has moved from style icon to fashion designer, having created her own line of shoes and bags, available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Zappos.

Diana Vreeland
It’s no secret that the people who know fashion best are the ones who are consistently immersed in it, so columnist and editor Diana Vreeland has played a large role in defining NYC fashion. Having worked at Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and even the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she holds a place on the International Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame. Her legacy lives on through her website, where you’ll find her namesake fragrance collection.

Diana Vreeland’s fashion legacy lives on. {credit}

Tim Gunn
Though he’s best known as a mentor on the fashion design series, Project Runway, Gunn’s career came from working as faculty at Parsons the New School for Design and serving as the CCO for Liz Claiborne. He has defined taste for not just NYC, but for viewers of his show across the globe while also inspiring them to dress in whatever style makes them comfortable. In other words, he’s taught us all how to “make it work.”

Tim Gunn inspires fashionistas around the globe. {credit}

Audrey Hepburn
Who hasn’t dreamed of having breakfast at Tiffany’s in Audrey Hepburn’s classically simple style? Hepburn embodied a New Yorker’s need for practical fashion (as evidenced by her shoe choice – basic, easy-to-walk-in black flats) and timeless classics. (High-waisted slacks, anyone?) No word yet on whether she was the one to encourage New Yorkers to wear all-black, but odds are, the answer is “yes.”

Posted on 01/11/2016