Celebrity stylist Johnny Wujek -- whose clients include Katy Perry, Kate Mara and Amber Heard -- is an LA guy through-and-through. But as an in-demand stylist with jet-setting clients, Wujek often finds himself flying to New York for events, meetings or fabulous parties where he has to get his Big Apple game on. Here Wujek sums up the ten biggest differences between partying in the City That Never Sleeps and the City of Angels. And, on a recent night out in Manhattan, PAPER and Canon equipped him with a new Canon PowerShot N camera so that the stylist could show us how an LA dude gets ready to go out in New York.
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1. GETTING DRESSED: WHEN IN DOUBT, WEAR BLACK
LA: It's more of a laid back, relaxed life -- you'll see a millionaire wearing sweatpants and girls in UGGs and little daisy dukes and tank tops. When I go out, I'll always wear a hat. It's become a thing -- I have too many hats. In LA I don't ever get turned away for having a hat on or wearing sneakers, whereas when I come to New York, they're like, "You need to take your hat off" and I'm like, "No, I'm not going to take my hat off." We end up getting into it and finally I just leave.
NYC: I like to dress up more here and I get excited to wear all of my coats and jackets. I'm from Michigan, so I have a lumberjack-ness in me.
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2. PRE-GOING OUT MEAL: PIZZA IS THE ELIXIR OF LIFE
LA: Sometimes I'll just have a protein shake. Or maybe a chicken-quinoa moment.
NYC: I'll get a slice.
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4. HOT WHEELS
LA: I always take Uber cars when I go out if I'm not driving.
NYC: I take cabs or black cars. In L.A. you can't walk out on the street and put your arm out. I tried that when I first moved there. I was walking down Wilshire and I was trying to get a cab and they wouldn't stop. You have to call and arrange it.
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5. UP IN DA CLUB
LA: There are these clubs like Concorde that are next to a really random apartment building and a strip mall with a Laundromat and a 7-Eleven. And they don't ever really find new venues -- they just redo them and put a new name on the front.
NYC: You can find cool clubs in old churches or warehouses.
6. ENCOUNTERING THE FASHION DISASTERS
LA: The girls are more tragic in LA, they will be wearing awful makeup, a shoe that doesn't fit -- like a huge platform -- and be freezing their balls off outside, but the guys are more tragic in New York.
NYC: I'll see guys wearing a reflective, polyester or plastic shirt, thinking they're fashion-forward and then they'll be in bootcut jeans.
7. AFTER THE PARTY, IT'S THE AFTER PARTY
LA: It's usually a one or two party moment and then it's "Fail. Go home." It's like, "I'm tired of driving or I'm getting drunk and I can't drive." There are a lot more after-hours places though. There's always a house party up in the hills that everybody goes to after.
NYC: In New York, I've been to about three after parties in houses, ever. On the other hand, it's easy to go from one club to the next -- you're just like, "This sucks, we're out of here."
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8. PARTY PEOPLE WATCHING
LA: You can always go to the Chateau Marmont to see some good style or Hollywood Blvd. for some interesting goth punk looks. I love the east side kids in Silverlake, too. In West Hollywood you get the same old thing year-round: tight jeans, T-shirts, freezing queens on the street. I've seen some tragic looks at LA Fashion Week. I saw this one woman who was wearing what looked like a snowsuit, but not. She had on these reflective, shiny neoprene pants and a huge fur coat -- all the same color -- with a crazy boot. She was like this big, blue blob.
NYC: You constantly see different styles all in one place. I love seeing the punk-rock kids hanging out in the East Village, but then some preppies will walk by.
9. DRINK COUNT
LA: I'll have a drink or two -- maybe wine to keep it mellow.
NYC: I'll drink a lot more and end up dozing in a cab on my way home.
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10. LATE-NIGHT CHOW SESSION
LA: I'll go to Carl's Jr. or In-N-Out Burger. The bummer about In-N-Out is that it closes on the early side but some Carl's Jr. locations are open 24-hours.
NYC: It's always about an easy slice -- I don't mind eating pizza five times a day. It's so good.
Check back on papermag.com to see more BE READY moments with The Sartorialist, Chris Benz and Jenny Johnson!
"LA is all about being in loose-fitting, comfy and casual clothes. In New York, I like to jazz it up, and even though I'm a color guy, there are times when I'll go to the dark side. And because there's a lot of walking around and people see your feet, I always wear nicer shoes."
1. GETTING DRESSED: WHEN IN DOUBT, WEAR BLACK
LA: It's more of a laid back, relaxed life -- you'll see a millionaire wearing sweatpants and girls in UGGs and little daisy dukes and tank tops. When I go out, I'll always wear a hat. It's become a thing -- I have too many hats. In LA I don't ever get turned away for having a hat on or wearing sneakers, whereas when I come to New York, they're like, "You need to take your hat off" and I'm like, "No, I'm not going to take my hat off." We end up getting into it and finally I just leave.
NYC: I like to dress up more here and I get excited to wear all of my coats and jackets. I'm from Michigan, so I have a lumberjack-ness in me.
"Every time I go to an event, I make a new hat. I made this one for the Victoria's Secret fashion show."
2. PRE-GOING OUT MEAL: PIZZA IS THE ELIXIR OF LIFE
LA: Sometimes I'll just have a protein shake. Or maybe a chicken-quinoa moment.
NYC: I'll get a slice.
"Since people go out later in New York, there's always extra time for a #selfie pit stop where you can snap a look with the Canon PowerShot N."
"The Creative Shot mode gives you cool filters that other photo apps don't have. It also gives you a different take on a selfie and it's so easy to use."
3. GETTING THE PARTY STARTED
LA: Things definitely start earlier and they're done earlier. You'll go out at 10:30 p.m. and be back home by 2 a.m. or 2:30, after a stop at Carl's Jr.
NYC: I go out at 11:30 p.m. or midnight and sometimes I'm out until 4 a.m. There have been times when I've done Good Morning America with Katy [Perry] and I've literally shown up to the set at 6 a.m. having been out all night.
LA: Things definitely start earlier and they're done earlier. You'll go out at 10:30 p.m. and be back home by 2 a.m. or 2:30, after a stop at Carl's Jr.
NYC: I go out at 11:30 p.m. or midnight and sometimes I'm out until 4 a.m. There have been times when I've done Good Morning America with Katy [Perry] and I've literally shown up to the set at 6 a.m. having been out all night.
LA: I always take Uber cars when I go out if I'm not driving.
NYC: I take cabs or black cars. In L.A. you can't walk out on the street and put your arm out. I tried that when I first moved there. I was walking down Wilshire and I was trying to get a cab and they wouldn't stop. You have to call and arrange it.
"The Victoria's Secret show was a lot of fun -- you go to other fashion shows and they're super serious but the VS shows get the crowd riled up."
5. UP IN DA CLUB
LA: There are these clubs like Concorde that are next to a really random apartment building and a strip mall with a Laundromat and a 7-Eleven. And they don't ever really find new venues -- they just redo them and put a new name on the front.
NYC: You can find cool clubs in old churches or warehouses.
6. ENCOUNTERING THE FASHION DISASTERS
LA: The girls are more tragic in LA, they will be wearing awful makeup, a shoe that doesn't fit -- like a huge platform -- and be freezing their balls off outside, but the guys are more tragic in New York.
NYC: I'll see guys wearing a reflective, polyester or plastic shirt, thinking they're fashion-forward and then they'll be in bootcut jeans.
7. AFTER THE PARTY, IT'S THE AFTER PARTY
LA: It's usually a one or two party moment and then it's "Fail. Go home." It's like, "I'm tired of driving or I'm getting drunk and I can't drive." There are a lot more after-hours places though. There's always a house party up in the hills that everybody goes to after.
NYC: In New York, I've been to about three after parties in houses, ever. On the other hand, it's easy to go from one club to the next -- you're just like, "This sucks, we're out of here."
"The good thing about New York is that I take cabs or black cars or I walk everywhere so when I see cool street style, I can snap pics with my Canon PowerShot N and share them on social media right away. It's a lot safer than trying to do that while I'm driving in LA."
8. PARTY PEOPLE WATCHING
LA: You can always go to the Chateau Marmont to see some good style or Hollywood Blvd. for some interesting goth punk looks. I love the east side kids in Silverlake, too. In West Hollywood you get the same old thing year-round: tight jeans, T-shirts, freezing queens on the street. I've seen some tragic looks at LA Fashion Week. I saw this one woman who was wearing what looked like a snowsuit, but not. She had on these reflective, shiny neoprene pants and a huge fur coat -- all the same color -- with a crazy boot. She was like this big, blue blob.
NYC: You constantly see different styles all in one place. I love seeing the punk-rock kids hanging out in the East Village, but then some preppies will walk by.
9. DRINK COUNT
LA: I'll have a drink or two -- maybe wine to keep it mellow.
NYC: I'll drink a lot more and end up dozing in a cab on my way home.
"Who can beat a $1 slice? It's a nice late-night snack during my walk home."
10. LATE-NIGHT CHOW SESSION
LA: I'll go to Carl's Jr. or In-N-Out Burger. The bummer about In-N-Out is that it closes on the early side but some Carl's Jr. locations are open 24-hours.
NYC: It's always about an easy slice -- I don't mind eating pizza five times a day. It's so good.
Check back on papermag.com to see more BE READY moments with The Sartorialist, Chris Benz and Jenny Johnson!
