Setting foot into J. Crew's new Tribeca Mens Shop, you might feel like you just walked into a Wes Anderson movie. Housed in the former Liquor Bar space, the store does the preppy, Americana, boarding school style to a tee.
Mixing fantasy and reality, shopping and hanging out, the store envelops shoppers in a secret world of club ties, loafers and booze. The store is J. Crew's first men's only location, and mixes J. Crew products and a selection of partner items. Store designer Andy Spade was inspired by the White Horse Tavern in New York City's West Village and kept as much of the bar vibe as possible. You can even pour yourself a drink while browsing.
The Mens Shop opens this weekend. Future plans include seminars on wine, chess and figure drawing based on Andy Spade's forthcoming book What a Man Should Know.
There aren't many lot of street vendors in New York that we can really get excited about, as they're usually split down the middle between knockoff handbag peddlers and bootleg DVD sellers. Where's the design conscious person supposed to shop on the streets of New York?
Head across the East River to Williamsburg, and you'll find the fantastic Airstream Books. The sidewalk shop specializes in architecture, design, fashion books and, yes, vintage porn. The furniture selection is amazing as well. Good looking modern chairs, desks, couches and shelving are arranged in a sidewalk showroom--weather permitting of course.
The "store" is open weekends and evenings, and some furniture is also listed on Craigslist during the week. If you want to view the full collection of available furniture, the owner will also open up a 1,000-foot warehouse by appointment only.
Any Italy travel guide will advise you not to linger in the dodgier section of Naples near the Napoli Centrale train station. But we decided to ignore that suggestion, and after last night's stroll through the littered area, we did find some redeeming qualities. Like Carmine's fireworks bazaar in Piazza Mercato, your one-stop-shop for pyrotechnics and... kiddie tricycles?
Chic French boutique Colette is teaming with the Gap to bring a pop up store to Midtown Manhattan. Colette's new digs will be open from September 6 to October 5 next to the Gap's Fifth Avenue flagship at 54th Street.
On the style blogs, some of the clotheshorse crowd already seems upset that the high fashion brand would collaborate with a mass market retailer like the Gap, but plans for the pop up store seem tailor-made to silence the non-believers.
The temporary project is called "styledesignartfood," so expect all types of high end goodies to be on sale including several items that will be exclusive to the location. The interior of the pop up shop also promises to impress: It's designed by luxe store specialist Masamichi Katayama who previously created high concept spaces for Bape and Uniqlo.
Planning to spend your Independence Day in Oregon now that you found out Ashland, Oregon's Fourth of July parade will include a naked lady?
You need to get out more! Try dating someone instead of just ogling them in a parade. Find your big love in this small corner of Oregon at one of these hot spots:
One World :: Cheap incense and world music await you at this knicknack store, along with the girl for you "if you routinely use words like caboose." 1600 N. Riverside Ave., Medford
Bambu :: Visit this Asian fusion restaurant if you're hungry for coconut lime soup and pad thai and find yourself "starved for a connection." 970 N. Phoenix Rd., Medford
Twice a year, the world's best dressed descend on New York, London, Milan and other world couture centers to check out what they can buy--and what we will pick up in knockoff form at H&M. But some rogue organizations are changing the game by assembling "pre-season" shows that give fashionistas an early peek at the fall collections.
Right now, designers like Diane Von Furstenberg, Tarina Tarantino and Yigal Azrouel have their wares on display at the Pitti W_Woman Precollection trade show in Florence.
Just like with spring training, pre-season allows die-hard fashion fans to get a jump on what their favorite designers are planning to unroll--and hey, if a trip to Italy is involved, that's just a bonus.
D.B.A Brooklyn is a boutique specializing in the holy trinity of casual fashion essentials: t-shirts, jeans and sneakers. Opened a little over two weeks ago by a trio of New York natives, it's a small space that's packed with wares and boasts a bold, eye-catching design.
The walls are lined with an impressive stock of exclusive designer kicks ranging from neon New Balances and Nikes to dressy Spring Courts to all-leather Converse. Further inside, there are t-shirts, art books and vinyl figurines.
On weekends, D.B.A plays host to hip hop DJs, and people hang out on the stoop outside. The atmosphere is laid back and the wares are treated like works of art. D.B.A has Lucite cases holding ultra-rare Nikes while vinyl figurines from the owners' private collection and sneakers with high-three-figure price tags line the upper shelves.
As Matt Gross recently reminded us, heading to Japan isn't cheap. So how are we supposed to get our mitts on fun little gizmos and cool presents for our friends? NYC's AC Gears has you covered.
The Greenwich Village shop is a retail outlet for AudioCubes, so half of the space is dedicated to headphones from the tiny to the ultra-pro and pricey. The other side of the store is all about little robots, funky toys, USB gizmos and other assorted stuff. (They basically have everything in Japan.) We of course had our eyes on the travel gear like alarm clocks and flashy jump drives.
New products are always coming in from the shop's home office in Osaka, so you can never be quite sure what you'll dig up. If it doesn't already sound geeky enough, check AC Gears' Flickr page for more intel.
