If you’ve ever read our bio on this site, you may have noticed this sentence: “We love fawning over designer handbags almost as much as we love overspending on a Target run for ‘just one thing'”.

That statement pretty much rang true throughout our trip. We did splurge on designer handbags, but we also bought “I Love NY” sweatshirts. This is a summary of our shopping philosophy: We splurge on the items that mean a lot to us and that will last for a long time (that can even be handed down someday) and we’re pretty thrifty when it comes to our everyday wear.

So, here are our fun things to buy:

Dianne

I love making what I call a “signature purchase” on a girls trip. When Jen, my friend Bridget and I went to Paris ten years ago, I bought a Louis Vuitton bag. I went to Toronto for Bridget’s 50th and bought my Chanel bag. For some reason it’s easier for me to make a large purchase that also doubles as a memory from the trip.

My plan was to purchase a Gucci bag in New York. But when Jen showed me the Louis Vuitton bag she had been eyeing, I fell in love with the pattern as well. So I switched gears at the last minute and purchased the LV instead. The Gucci will have to wait for another girls trip.

Back to that first LV bag that I bought in Paris. I really wanted the matching wallet but I hesitated and didn’t do it. I’ve been kicking myself ever since because, as I mentioned, I like to tie big purchases to an “event” so I never bought it. But when we decided to check out the luxury resale shop, The RealReal, I decided this was my chance. So, ten years later, the bag I bought in Paris has its mate.

You might be wondering if I purchased the matching wallet with my new LV bag – I didn’t. They didn’t really have the perfect match. But, who knows, I might be on the hunt again sometime soon.

We had a similar rule for shopping as we did for meals – if we could get it at home in Michigan, then we wouldn’t shop there. The only exception was Macy’s since that is more of a tourist attraction and has some personal attachment for us. We had to ride up the wooden escalators because one time I was there with my mom, she told me those were the same escalators she rode as a girl. So every time I go there, I ride them to “channel” her!

So the two main clothing stores we visited were Mango and Uniqlo. Lavender is my favorite color and was excited to find this blazer at Mango. I really love the buttons – gives a classic jacket a more trendy look.

We spent a lot of time shopping in Uniqlo, I wish they had one here in Detroit. In addition to a couple of basic tops, I purchased this cozy lounge outfit. I am looking forward to curling up in this outfit with a good book this winter.

The other thing I always purchase when I am in New York is something “New York Yankees”. My brother, my niece Brittany (who was on the trip with us) are Yankees fans. So we both added this shirt to our collection. What we love about this shirt is that it is a DKNY, which makes it more unique.

The rest of my shopping was more “touristy” or gifts. I can’t list the gifts I purchased here in case the person(s) receiving them read this post. But for myself, I did (for the first time ever) buy an “I Love NY” sweatshirt. In all the times, I have been in NYC, I’ve always avoided them. But for some reason, I wanted something really touristy (maybe even a little cheesy?) It’s another fun memento.

I also collect Christmas ornaments when I travel, so I did purchase this one – and I purchased it for all four of us to have another small reminder of the trip.

Jen’s Fun Things to Buy

So, as someone who spent a LOT of money on herself, I didn’t really buy myself a lot either. I bought myself some expensive things, some inexpensive things, and a lot of things for my daughter, Eme. Plus some for my husband, ha!

Here’s the thing, when Eme gets older, she’ll probably use these bags. And someday they’ll belong to her too! So I don’t feel too bad about it. I would never overspend to the point I can’t buy groceries, and I deserve to have some nice things every once in a while!

Leading up to the trip, I knew I wanted to buy a tote from Goyard. I had seen the print in different places online, but didn’t know what it was until I did some digging.

Turns out, Goyard is only sold in stores, and similar to Louis Vuitton started out as trunk makers in 1853 (one year prior to Louis Vuitton).

I thought buying a bag from the store in NYC would be the perfect sentimental piece to commemorate the trip! But uh, turns out, I’d buy a couple other sentimental bags before getting to this one!

Our first full day when we went to The RealReal, I was in awe of all the beautiful designer bags, clothes, shoes, jewelry, everything! Not to brag, but I touched a real Hermès Birkin bag. And that’s literally the closest I’ll ever get to one in my life.

Going through the rack of silk scarves, and found this beautiful one from Hermès. I don’t really know how to wear silk scarves like this, but I’ll do some research and report back!

Talking to the associate, she mentioned they have about 1,600 bags in the back room at that location, and I could look through them all on this very convenient iPad on the counter. Well, crap.

Turns out, I landed on this Gucci Ophidia bag and it’s stunning. A hefty gold chain, magnet clasp and signature Gucci print. Love at first sight.

Buying that bag definitely wasn’t planned, but when in Rome, right?

Day two, going to Macy’s and they have a standalone Louis Vuitton store. I thought I would go look around, but you needed to be assigned an associate to go around the store (I’m assuming this is because of Covid, because we had to stay with our group at all times). We were assigned our associate, and I thought “well, crap. I’m in it now.”

One thing I had been looking for, for ages, was the Louis Vuitton key pouch. They are surprisingly really hard to find, so it’s the first thing I asked about. And they had it in a beautiful bicolor Monogram Empreinte leather. Love! Do I want to look at anything else? Suuuuuuure, why not!

I’ve loved the Pochette Félicie (we’ll come back to this one), but when I looked at it I wasn’t 100% sure. Then our associate brought out the Multi Pochette Accessories in the same leather as the key pouch. It’s gorgeous, and really can be worn at least 6 different ways. How efficient! So with a little hemming and hawing, I was sold.

Back to the Pochette Félicie – my sister, Brittany, spotted a Pochette Félicie in their holiday print. A print of Louis Vuitton’s Vivienne mascot on Hollywood Drive, with its LV Diner, palm trees, and a bear in a convertible. A PINK convertible. My sister has always been obsessed with pink convertibles.

As any good big sister would do, I gently peer-pressured her into buying the bag.

My sister is such a smart, hard-working, and amazing badass, that she deserves to have nice things if she wants them. When our grandpa passed this summer we were left with some money, and this is a great way to honor our grandparents with a memory-making purchase in store they made memories in as kids.

Last but not least, Goyard! Day three, we were in the area after going to the MET, and I knew this was it! The store is located on a side street, and is super easy to miss. In fact, I did miss it, and my mom saw it.

We had to wait outside in a line for a little while to wait for an associate to help us. There are no pictures allowed inside, but the store is gorgeous. Everything about it felt fancy and luxurious.

If you’ve followed along with us for a little while, you know I love all things neutral – black, white, tan, etc. So my first inclination when looking at the bag online was to go for black. But, looking at it in person, I fell in love with the orange canvas on the Saint Louis bag. Orange is my favorite color, and I do occasionally buy bags in different colors (like my Telfar bag!).

The other thing I loved is that my maternal Grandpa’s name was Louis, and my maternal Grandma’s name was Lois, so its an homage to them too!

If you liked this edition of our Girls Guide to NYC, then you need to check out our two other guides: