So here I am in New York. I have turned up, expecting gale force winds and driving snow, with my giant Max Mara overcoat (which is much too thick for the blustery spring weather that’s been in residence since my arrival, despite the thick snow just days before) that screams Upper East Side more loudly than I thought possible.

There is a downside to this look: you look completely uncool in SoHo, even if you are wearing ripped jeans underneath (I’m not by the way).

New York feels hugely delineated – more so than most cities – by the districts people live in and the clothes they wear: pearls and a blow dry if you’re on the Upper East Side; edgy, effortless cool is strictly reserved for SoHo (by way of seemingly obligatory skinny jeans and a parker).

So here I am, caught between two worlds: I may not have actually packed my pearl earrings but I own at least three pairs…yet I long to look like I belong in SoHo, where I shop only on Bleeker and Spring, sport disheveled hair, statement jewellery and never, ever, wear cashmere.

Either way, just walking around this city – whether it’s uptown or downtown – when there’s a crisp, clear blue sky (we got lucky yesterday) is such a treat that it doesn’t really matter what you are wearing…as long as it’s warm.

A beautiful New York based blog (one of my all-time favourites) worth following wherever you live, is the visual diary of French fashion photographer, illustrator and writer Garance Doré who lives in NYC. Her site is here.

New Yorker/SoHo Girl image courtesy of Jacab Pritchard; NYC cityscape via wikipedia