Uptown New York, the New York I don’t belong in. I don’t mean it in a really bad way but when I hear uptown, my mind immediately goes to a picture of the Upper East Side. Fancy apartment buildings, a doorman standing watch, or a celebrity walking their dog. I remember waiting to take the train downtown with a friend once and looking at the map of Manhattan. Looking at street numbers like 81st and 92nd and wondering what it’d be like to go there. Yet even with the prospect of such adventure exciting me, the idea made me nervous. I felt I would get in trouble there because I did not belong. That’s because for me Uptown New York City is a place only for the wealthy to live a life of luxury and ease.
The opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Blake Edwards where Audrey Hepburn’s character Holly Golightly stops outside the jewelry store, calmly drinking coffee and eating a danish is an image that displays this perfectly. That’s because it speaks so much about the way she lives. First of all, we need to talk about her amazing outfit. I imagine that the only time I would need to wear Givenchy were if I had to meet the Queen of England. The way that she is dressed in Italian satin, wearing the sparkling necklace, and Manhattan glasses shows that she lives to a certain standard. She’s wearing this just to get breakfast and take a walk. For many of us, jeans and a t-shirt do just as well.
Her behavior and environment also says something about her lifestyle. It’s early in the morning and she’s just relaxing, drinking coffee and window shopping. It’s very quiet and peaceful, she’s taking her time. New York City is very famous for its images of crowded streets, people rushing to get to work, people rushing to get home. They do this because they all have things to do. There’s always something to be done, somewhere they need to go, and a hurry to be on time. Yet for Holly it’s very different. She is in no rush to get to a 9 to 5 job or take a train somewhere because she doesn’t have to.
This image for me was the first to come into my mind when thinking of ‘uptown’, wealthy New York. That’s because it shows the obvious difference between the kinds of people that live in the city. For wealthy New Yorkers there is time to walk, eat, and meet with friends. Whenever they go out they wear fancy dresses and jewelry because they can afford to. For middle class New Yorkers we live in a very hectic environment. Constantly on the move to get to places we need to be and get things done. Rarely do we have the time to take a moment and relax because we have responsibilities.
Who knows if I’ll ever take that adventure to 81st street or how it’ll go. Either way I’ll have the notion that I’m in the New York of the wealthy. Where the people are happy and living a life of simplicity and luxury.
