I love pretending to be rich. It's one of my favorite pastimes. I swear I'll be a hobo begging on the street someday in a faux fur shawl with costume jewelry and a Chinatown Prada. So one of my favorite things to do in the world is to strut my Forever 21 stuff around expensive stores and pretend like I can afford their merchandise.
New York City is a hotbed for faking the green. In New York City, being rich isn't necessarily synonymous with big diamonds, designer bags and hot labels. New York City is about cutting edge, about setting the fashion scene, so throwing on some random fashion and strutting the high streets can make you fit in just perfectly.
I like to take my fashion advice from the Olson twins when dressing like a fake Rockefeller: more is more which is better. I layer on jackets, furs, scarves, baggy sweaters, and lots of big jewelry. Throw on some even bigger sunglasses and a pair of extra high heels and you're in the club.
So here are my favorite places to go in New York City and pretend like I'm rich that don't cost me a dime.
Second Floor Tiffany's
C'mon. Every girl has fantasized and likely googled pictures of engagement rings even without the feint prosepct of someone to buy it for you. It doens't matter if you're single, married or somewhere in between, pretending to shop engagement rings in one of the most famous jewelry stores in the world gives you the butterflies, just like you were there for real. Pick a budget (somewhere way out of yours, but still realistic, think $20,000) and have your story ready - I usually stick with "my boyfriend is going to propose and he told me to come up and pick a couple of things out for him to look at." Talk about how lucky you are, how great he is and throw in a romantic story and you'll have them eating out of the palm of your hand. Make sure and ask for a card at the end, take lots of pretend notes and try on the diamonds, baby.
Bauman Rare Book Store on Madison Ave
If you've ever wondered what happens to those signed original copies of CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, here is where you'll find it. There are signed presidential memoirs, personal maps kept by famous explorers, Bibles signed by popes. This is the real deal. This isn't a place you can do repeat runs, as it's small and very low staffed. The people will remember you and you will get caught. Trust me. But the last time I went in with my cousin, we got to actually pretend shop for her husband who is a huge history buff and politician. They showed us all kinds of books and did some searches of other stores to find books they didn't have. The budget for this place starts at about $5000/book.
The W Hotel Bar
This place isn't free. You'll have to buy a drink to stick around. But it's alcohol, and you're already going to be paying an arm and a leg to buy a drink in the city anyway, so you might as well get some scenery as well, right? The W Hotel is great, and sitting downstairs at the bar is a great way to feel like you're a part of the crowd without actually being part of it. It's a nice bar with overpriced cocktails but a great rich people atmosphere.
Calvin Klein on Madison Ave
This ain't your Kohl's Calvin Klein. This is the real deal. This is where Calvin's top designers show off their stuff and the newest fashions from the line will cover the shelves and racks. You know that $10,000 dress SJP was wearing on the red carpet in US weekly the other day? Ya. This is where she bought it. The salespeople here are good sniffers, and they can tell a fake richy like the best of them, so make sure and bring your game face. Saying things like "oh, no, I saw my friend Leighton wearing this the other night" tend to throw them off (after all, associating with rich people means your rich too, right?) Another tip, turn left immediately upon entering and walk down the stairs to the Home store. The guys down here are super nice and looking at CK china and bedspreads can be as much fun as platforms and miniskirts.
Do you have any other places you like to go to pretend you have money? Leave a comment below and I ll add it to the list!
User Submitted Additions:
1. Million Dollar Open Houses: Annette had the FABULOUS idea of going to the open houses of large expensive houses (and apartments, in NYC) and pretending to be interested. What makes me like this idea EVEN MORE, is that at high priced open houses, a lot of times there are cocktails and hors d' oeuvres - Oh how I love free food.
2. The Peninsula Hotel Rooftop Bar: Ok, so I admit, this one is new to me. It looks like here, @gypsydaughter29 is talking about the Salon de Ning on the rooftop of the famous Peninsula Hotel on 5th Avenue. I've checked out their website, and the views do look nice with the rooftop terrace reminding me of some of the trendy bars I used to go to in Hollywood with big comfy couches, private nooks and oversized lounges.