Shuga Ohashi is visiting New York for the first time in a year.

She left her belongings in the apartment when she returned home to Japan, but as her roommates would soon be moving out, she needed to clear her space too.

She had been living in an apartment in Hamilton Heights, near Columbia University and City College. The area is popular with students, researchers and artists, particularly creatives within theater and music scenes. Her roommates were also involved in theater work. This place was her base in the city - from here she went to auditions, worked on stage, and made the most of her days in New York.

Shuga spent most of her two-week visit tidying up the room, disposing of furniture, choosing the books and clothes to bring back to Japan, and cleaning. In the evenings, she caught up with her friends.

It was clear that New York’s cultural scene, where classic and contemporary elements traditionally coexisted beautifully, were changing.

She had wanted to live in New York ever since her first visit aged 15. That desire has not wavered.

But between visa hurdles and other practical considerations, she has chosen to work in Japan even though she has few connections. She does not necessarily regret that decision.

Having packed up two large suitcases to bring home and emptied out the room, Shuga traveled to Connecticut to visit her alma mater.

She studied in the Theatre Division of the Hartt School at the University of Hartford. The spacious campus, with its beautifully manicured lawns, is home to buildings devoted to music, theater, and dance.

With its state-of-the-art theater, the program is open to the public. Students must audition to be cast in the shows. While studying there, Shuga appeared in five productions.

“I guess I was lucky because I was able to appear in both plays and musicals. I really learned a lot from performing on the main stage, albeit incredibly demanding at times .”

For this visit, Shuga chose to wear a blue PLEATS PLEASE dress that she bought in New York in 2023, over which she layered two gray and black haoris from the BASICS series.

“This dress is one of my favorite PLEATS PLEASE items. I wear it everywhere. I love how the whole look changes completely depending on what I layer it with.”

As a student, Shuga worked in the costume archive shop on campus, known as one of the largest and finest in the United States. When she returned to campus and reconnected with staff members and instructors, she was reminded just how deeply the four years there had shaped the person she had become.

That feeling returned when she reconnected with her mentor, Philip Rittner.

Rittner began his career as a classical pianist at the age of 14 and went on to teach vocal technique at Hartt. He recently purchased a historic 19th-century house in Hartford and is now in the midst of a self-renovation project.

The house has a troubled past reminiscent of the 1975 documentary Grey Gardens. “It will take another 14 years to complete the renovation,” Rittner says cheerfully as he guides us through the house.

“Phil and I have similar personalities and ways of thinking, so our relationship is very easy-going and never bound by formality. He told me, ‘Sure, you have some challenges, but it sounds like you have a pretty good life.’”

For this occasion, Shuga wore a brown PLEATS PLEASE top that once belonged to her mother and had been left in their New York apartment.

“When I first received it two or three years ago, it felt a bit too subdued for me. But trying it on again now, I think it suits me better now. It even reminded me of a scene in Grey Gardens, where Edith Bouvier Beale wears a brown top.

Her final day in New York.

Shuga headed to the apartment to pick up her suitcases. The living room where her roommates had often gathered, wine in hand, to share the day’s events, was now completely empty.

“I thought, ‘So this really is the end of this place.’ It's sad, but that’s just how things are sometimes.”

She had one final errand to run, collecting her violin that a friend had been keeping for her, before heading back to Japan. It truly was, at least for the moment, the end of her time in New York.

But endings are what make beginnings possible. In a few years, Shuga will quite likely be saying hello to the city again.

So how is the short film coming along?

“I’m having a hard time with the script. The protagonist’s situation hits so close to home that it’s been hard to keep a bit of distance and stay objective, but I’ve been slowly making progress. I really want to finish it. Here’s my idea for the opening line. The main character has just gotten into a taxi, and the driver says, ‘Where are you headed?’”

Her future seems limitless and PLEATS PLEASE will be there to carry her through.