Where's the FASHION, where's the STYLE?

It's right here in the big apple! When you're designing and producing jewelry, you've got to know who is wearing what, and there is no better way to see what is in style all around the world than to stroll the streets of Manhattan.

The city is never prettier than it is on a friday evening, the weather just right, and people are all in a relaxed mood. New York City is an amazing tourist destination, and it really inspires me. There's no need to journey to Paris or Berlin, just walk the streets that the tourists tend to visit. Want to see what's popular in Brazil- head over to "little brazil" on 46th street in Manhattan and see what the women of brazil are wearing right in your own back yard.
See my Greenwich Village Slideshow

I had to run some errands and decided to pick up some food for dinner. Yes, in a city with a million restaurants I do cook dinner at home, at least once in a while. In Greenwich Village, you'll find plenty of "old italian stores" that still make suasage in the back, and import cheese from Italy you can't get in a supermarket anywhere. I love Faicco's and remember when we had a latticini on our own block in Queens. This storefront might look familiar, it's been in lots of movies and TV shows, but I go for the sausage and the rice balls. On the way back, you can buy some pickles right on the sidewalk, now tell me where else you'll see this?

I took my little camera and had my iphone too, so I could snap discrete photos of women on the street who were wearing jewelry that I thought was interesting. It's so nice to see a group of french women on the street, waiting for their tour bus, and check out what they've got on. Of course, not everybody likes being photographed, so I have to be careful. The New Yorkers don't mind, and unlike the people in some foreign lands who ask for money after you've taken their picture, our people smile and pose for you!

Every now and then, I'll see an earring from robertachiarella.com, and that always is a treat! There was an elegant lady on the corner of Bleeker Street today who seemed to be wearing my Brava Bib Statement Necklace, but the traffic light changed and she disappeared before I could cross the street.

Then I saw this artist, and he was quite involved in his work to see me and my camera. He might be the last of the Greenwich Village street artists. When we were kids, there were summer weekends devoted to art festivals on these streets, with countless artists showing their stuff. My father, who was a painter and sculptor, would take us and walk the streets till we were exhausted.

He'd always buy a painting or two, and if it was an amateur artist, he'd put it on HIS easel when we got home and set about 'improving' the painting.  We've got a couple hanging on the walls to this day, dad was never satisfied with the improvements, and was constantly re-painting a shadow or the color of the sky on his acquisitions. They don't have these festivals any more, and it's too bad. I guess if they had one for digital pics I could enter the shots I've posted here, so tourists could take home a bit of Roberta's Manhattan. Ciao!