I love the city. I often say the city is one of my great loves: God, my family, the city. It’s one of the essential characters in my life and a crucial part of my story.

I am most myself surrounded by thousands of strangers, walking down avenues elbow-to-elbow or jostling for a seat on the subway. My first great love as far as cities go is New York. I moved there as a girl fresh out of college and spent my 20s working as a magazine editor in that great urban jungle. A friend refers to that time as the glory years. I left a huge piece of my heart in NYC and I don’t think I’ll ever be as at home anywhere else.

That said, I love Chicago, too, especially now that I’m no longer a girl and there are other essential characters in my story. My husband is a native Chicagoan who loves this city and sees no reason to live anywhere else. I see Chicago as a place that allows me an incredible urban lifestyle with a husband and 3-year-old daughter.

Those who love cities often have a romantic view on things that others find unseemly: alleys, taxi cabs, going hundreds of feet underground for the train. We city dwellers complain about these things but love them fiercely. They give the city its character and make it pulse with the excitement we wrap ourselves up in every day. This alley is right near my apartment and was the perfect place to tuck into for a few photographs on a recent cold day. Isn’t it chic? I love the lights and the brick walls.

The outfit: I found this 3.1 Phillip Lim dress on sale at Saks Fifth Avenue before the holidays. The jacket is also from 3.1 Phillip Lim and was purchased on sale at Barneys New York right after Christmas. I immediately fell in love with the sweater/jacket because I knew it would be that versatile topper in my wardrobe. I wore it with this dress since it was so cold on the day we shot this. I look forward to wearing the dress in all its sleeveless glory now that the weather is warming up.

I found these Christian Louboutin glamazon pumps on sale at Barneys a few years back and just wore them for the first time this winter. I knew the perfect time would come to wear them. I had no idea a snowy day in January when I first pulled them off the shelf would be it, but it just popped into my head to wear them with black tights one evening. I never like to wear things too literally and wouldn’t really think to marry them with something too dressy.

The coat is Joseph Altuzarra, found on sale last year at Barneys, and the sunglasses are Dior.

Here’s to the city and dressing for the street in every season…let’s hope we can lose the tights this week. xo

Photos by the brilliant and beautiful Ashley of Sed Bona.