Having lived for several years and operated a business in New York City, I can testify to the fact that there is, indeed, a distinctive style and attitude to New York. A native Mississippian and graduate of one of the South’s most prestigious design schools (Auburn) the contrast between the Southern vernacular and tastes – gracious entertaining, casual and relaxed in both formal and informal settings. pride in heritage good manners and tradition – and New York’s “uber” urban and exciting rhythms and curiosity about the newest and latest and greatest trends became quickly evident when I moved there from the South. It is also true that many Southern architects, interior designers and artists of all kinds have made an aesthetic, if not literal, home in New York and brought their heritage and tastes as part of their artist language to the New York scene.
In a simplistic way, New York heralds the future, the South venerates the past. Both share the others qualities, however. and the New South, as it is called, has become the home for the most ambitious and progressive acceptance of technology and urban trends. New York has embraced its past and made remarkable strides in preserving the landmarks of its urban fabric and the intellectual freedom that welcomed people from all over the world for generations and genrations.