We All Look the Same, or: What Would New Yorker buy?
When I first moved to NY, I thought everyone here was entirely unique and that literally everyone looked different. The longer I live here, the more I think we all look the same. I’m not talking about the skin color, hair type, or face of course. I’m talking about the way we dress. I already wrote on Just Like NY about two basic colors New Yorkers love – black and white – often with a touch of beige (a coat or a hat) and jeans. And now I want to talk more about the actual stuff we chose, rather than colors itself. There are things that you constantly see out in the streets.
For example, everyone here seems to wear sneakers all year long. The most popular ones are white Adidas (with green stripes) and Converse. You will also spot beige Timberlands everywhere. When it rains, most women wear Hunter’s boots (I will probably buy a pair myself, too).
A lot of teenage girls wear sweatpants (people wear sweatsuits on regular basis here) by Pink or Abercrombie&Fitch. Women (especially white Americans) usually carry a Longchamp bag (more visible during warm months, but you can spot them in the winter, too).
When winter hit us last year, most New Yorkers seemed to be wearing the same jacket, namely a black North Face (still popular). Now it’s usually Canada Goose jacket (available in different models, the price tag starting with $600). When it comes to winter shoes – UGGs are still really popular. I tried not to buy them, but there was this one day last winter that my feet were just freezing, so I walked into the first available store and got them. And it was the best decision I made last year – every time I put them on after a long day at work, it feels like I’m walking on a cloud. I don’t even mind that my feet look a bit ridiculous.
I won’t even mention all the Apple products with iPhone on the top of the list (not many people use Android here) and headphones by Bose.
I didn’t quite get it at the beginning, but now I think I understand where the secret lies – New Yorkers value things that work well. That’s why, every time I see that one thing is just constantly popping up around me, I know it just works. It’s not only about good marketing – New Yorkers value both quality (that they can afford, btw) and the practical side of things: they just has to work. If you have a product like that, don’t be afraid to launch it on this market – it will definitely bring you a lot of profit.
