The Shophound

WEEKEND PLANS II: The Pop-Up Flea Returns On Friday

Got enough places to shop this weekend? There's Lanvin's H&M collaboration this Saturday, and Housing Works' Fashion For Action event from Friday to Sunday, but if your tastes run more to the curated rather than discounted or mega-hyped, then you'll be happy to hear that The Pop-Up Flea is making a return appearance at the Openhouse Gallery on Mulberry Street. The folks behind the widely admired style blog A Continuous Lean make their version of the best men's store in the city for just a weekend, and the vendor list including companies like L.L.Bean Signature, Billykirk, and Levi’s Vintage Clothing among many others, perfectly reflects their classic-heritage-conscious sensibility.

The event runs from Friday afternoon to Sunday, so pick out your best flannel shirt, pull on some weathered Red Wing Boots and clomp on down to Mulberry Street.

The Pop Up Flea Friday November 19^th: 3 - 9 PM, Saturday the 20^th: 11 AM - 7 PM, Sunday the 21^st: 11 AM - 6 PM at the Openhouse Gallery 201 Mulberry Street between Spring and Kenmare Streets, NoLita
Vendors to include:
Oak Street Bootmakers, J.W Hulme, Levi’s Vintage Clothing, L.L. Bean Signature, Smith + Butler, Tellason, Billykirk, Aether, Tanner Goods, Scout Original, Wooden Sleepers, Riviera Club, Alexander Olch, Gant, Oliver Spencer, The Hill-Side / Hickoree’s Hard Goods, Grown & Sewn, Stanley & Sons, J.Crew, Gitman Brothers Vintage, Schott NYC, Digby & Iona, Alexander West, Leather Head / Lemon Ball + a few other surprises.

CINTRA WILSON GOES SHOPPING: Outer/Innerwear Edition

Does a vest that "lumps over the knees like a sandwich bag full of wet hair" sound appealing? Well, no, but that seems to be one of the few things that Cintra Wilson, this week's Critical Shopper, doesn't like at the hothouse-like new VPL boutique in SoHo.

"I couldn’t figure out if it was overperforming underwear or underperforming outerwear," she exclaims, and it turns out to be something somewhere in between. Rehearsal clothes for the free-spending ballerina, or those who aspire to be one.

Despite the spanxlike leggings, it sounds like VPL's slinky offerings will not hold much appeal for those not already confident about how they look in their underpants. The petite Wilson, however, is inspired by thoughts of ballerina fairy godmothers. Visions of sugarplums, perhaps? After all, Nutcracker season is almost upon us.

Critical Shopper: At VPL, Wispy Clothes for Your Inner Ballerina By Cintra Wilson (NYT)
VPL 5 Mercer Street at Howard Street, SoHo

TODAY IN FAKE STORES: Dash Draws A Line Of Fans... Are They Actual Customers?

Dash is the store we have been trying to pretend doesn't exist, but like its owners, the Kardashian sisters, it simply refuses to be ignored.

We had been hearing all sorts of stories about how the three would-be Gabors were planning on opening a branch of their boutique Dash in New York as an obvious pretext for moving their reality show to the city, and we pretty much disregarded them because, basically, The Shophound doesn't really care that much about the Kardashian sisters. But then, last week, the store actually opened with a party that brought the predictable crush of crowds, paparazzi and police called to restore order to the tiny sidewalk of Spring Street. The came the press reports about how the event was so chaotic that even Kanye West was left on the curb. Sounds awesome.

Still, we thought we would be able to ban the place from our consciousness, but please see the above scene which we witnessed early last Saturday afternoon. Yes, it seems that, for the foreseeable future, Dash will be forcing curious shoppers who to form a line to get inside that wraps around the corner of Greene Street...because SoHo isn't crowded enough on weekends. The neighbors must be so pleased.

This would all be less irritating if Dash turned out to be the sort of fantastic store that was actually worth standing in line for, but nobody's exactly been raving about the fantastic merchandise that would bring this shop all the way from the San Fernando Valley to SoHo. It looks like there is no limit to the number of people who will go out of their way for a taste of reality show glamor. We don't think the folks at Scoop are feeling threatened, but then they probably wouldn't mind it if their stores were so full that people had to line up outside. We are pretty sure, however, they like their business to be seen as more than a fancy tourist trap.

Are we being too hard on the ambitious Kardashian sisters? We're pretty sure they can take it. Of course, if the store winds up lasting longer than their reality show, then we might have to reconsider our opinion.

A FAVORITE RETURNS: KM for UNIQLO Reappears

As usual, the hype at UNIQLO has been centered on the Jil Sander designed +J collection, which at this point is almost completely sold out on the men's side aside from jeans and coats. There's still good reason to stop by the store, however. On our practically weekly visit to the SoHo flagship yesterday we discovered that one of our favorite finds from last year, the special collaboration with Japanese designer Kiminori Morishita, has returned! Like last year, the KM for UNIQLO label (seen above) has been given little fanfare, and is mixed in with regular men's merchandise on the second floor, so it takes a sharp eye to find it all. The images below are form the Taiwanese website Cavernus.com, which is all I can tell you about them. We have no idea if they are official photos, but they show the items we found yesterday. The staff, though unfailingly polite, were generally unsure if more was coming, and what it might include, which has typically been the response since it appeared last Fall. So far, we have discovered two outerwear jackets, two military style sweaters and a smart asymmetrical zip hoodie, though there may be more coming...we hope?

We plan to return to see if more pieces have appeared to round out the collection, and if you are a fan of the line's military-inspired sportswear, then keep an eye out for the tiny bumblebee insignia. We'll be hunting along with you.

Previously:
Collaboration Alert: Kiminori Morishita's KM For UNIQLO Has A Quiet Launch

CINTRA WILSON GOES SHOPPING: SoHo Extravagance Edition

In this week's Thursday Styles, Critical Shopper Cintra Wilson finds herself at the improbably opulent new SoHo boutique, Realm. Wilson's shopping companion is an opera singer willing to break into an aria at the slightest provocation, so an extravagant boutique would seem to be the perfect shopping destination. Never mind that conventional wisdom would suggest that this is not the moment to open a shop brimming with sumptuous, staggeringly expensive clothes. Sometimes it is the counterintuitive business idea that flourishes, and the typically perspicacious Wilson is charmed by Realm, in no small part because owner Randi Jacobson is there to personally tempt her into the dressing room with a sleek leather dress.

Realm is essentially Randi Jacobson’s own closet writ large, with the doors thrown open. The black leather Jitrois dress I was trying on was directly related to her own wedding gown. I realized it would be ungenerous and arrogant of me not to share my enjoyment of it. So, I zipped myself in, got over my gothically self-conscious bad self, and submitted to being a blushing Cinderella.
“Oh!” Ms. Jacobson enthused.
“I’ve never looked this good in my life,” I said, stupefied at my reflection. “I look like Jane Birkin.”

Did she actually buy the $3,825 dress? No, but from this report, we're guessing that if Jacobson stays on the scene to work her charms, someone else will will snap it up along with a lot more.

Critical Shopper | Realm: The Meaningful Luxury of Paying Attention By Cintra Wilson (NYTimes)
Realm 98 Greene Street between Prince and Spring Streets, SoHo

WITH A LOWER CASE "N": Nordstrom To Launch New Store Concept In SoHo

Some people got a little overexcited yesterday upon learning that Nordstrom was opening up at 350 West Broadway in Soho.

Huh?

If that makes no sense at all to you, then you are exactly right, because what is opening is not a Nordstrom store exactly, but a new store owned by Nordstrom. Clearly, there is no building on West Broadway suitable for the full-line Nordstrom flagship the company would like to open in Manhattan one day, but what they are building is a two level, 11,000 square foot store between Grand and Broome Streets under another as yet unannounced name. In an intriguing development, its earnings will be specifically funneled to non-profit organizations. There will be no evident connection to the Nordstrom name much like the way most customers at Jeffrey are unaware that they are actually shopping at a division of the chain.

As this information comes from the real estate folks who brokered the deal, Nordstrom has not yet released extensive details on the new store concept, beyond that it is expected to open sometime next Fall. Merchandising strategy and, of course, what it will actually be called, have yet to be determined. Of course, when a great big honest-to-goodness Nordstrom store finally comes to Manhattan is anyone's guess, but until that happens, we'll just have to settle for dumb old Bergdorf's, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Saks.

Wait, why are we so cracked up about Nordstrom again?

Charitable Nordstrom store slated for W. B’way (Crain's)
BOMBSHELL: Nordstrom to Open on West Broadway in Soho (Racked)

JON CARAMANICA GOES SHOPPING: Door Policy Edition

This week's Critical Shopper, Jon Caramanica informs us that something has arrived in SoHo that we all need like a hole in the head: a boutique with a door policy.

Yes, it turns out that the new Moncler boutique on Prince Street can accommodate only a select few customers at a time, leaving others eager to acquire a glossy, puffy down jacket with a four-figure price tag waiting outside for space to free up in the shop.

Over a span of 15 minutes, at least 10 people left the store, but none of the dozen or so who were clustering at the door, some in mild shiver, were allowed in. There was griping, but little resistance, all of us resigned to the absurdity of waiting outside in winteresque temperatures to be allowed into a store that exclusively sells cold-weather gear.

Of course, once our shopper is finally admitted, he discovers more cold truths about the status ski shop. Sizes are limited, and not everything you see may actually be for sale, including functional apparel items like hats and shoes.

We groan just thinking about the pretension, but apparently it hasn't held the store back. There is, apparently, no shortage of customers willing to suffer to buy into it.

Critical Shopper: Moncler, Where the Parkas Need a Bouncer By Jon Caramanica (NYTimes)
Moncler 90 Prince Street between Broadway & Mercer Street, SoHo

AT YOUR LEISURE: Levi's Photo Workshop Opens A Free Studio For Everyone

Photographers of all kinds are welcome at the newly opened Levi's Photo Workshop at the bottom of Wooster Street in SoHo. Open through December 18^th, studio is available to all levels of practitioners and offers studio space, hi-tech printers and computers to basically anyone who wants to use them. The program is billed as a community-based venue for collaboration and creative production, and a different communications craft is featured at each Levi's Workshop. This one follows a two-month Print Workshop that served San Francisco earlier this year.

You might think that this is just another opportunity for the clothing giant to promote its product line, but clothes and other items for sale including books, are relegated to an upstairs loft. The focus here (no pun intended) is on photography, and creating a fully functioning resource center during its brief tenure. We saw workers at the site explaining to incredulous visitors that the studio space, which was being used for a group photo (above) when we visited, was available to anyone, and cameras and other equipment could be rented based on availability all at no charge (though off-site use is subject to a small security deposit). Basically, Levi's along with its fellow sponsors, is offering a free professional photo studio to anyone who wants to use it for the next couple of months.

In addition to that, there are a host of workshops, classes and panel discussions as well as a few performances on the calendar, and of course there will be photo exhibitions. Currently the walls are festooned with "1,001 Images" taken by Yeah Yeah Yeah's guitarist Nick Zinner over the band's past ten years of touring. And for those who just want a break from an afternoon of heavy SoHo shopping, there is always that source of endless entertainment, the Photo Booth.

Levi's Photo Workshop open through December 18^th (closed Mondays) 18 Wooster Street between Grand & Canal Streets, SoHo

SoHo SWITCHES: Is The Gap Ditching SoHo?

After only a year of using the space as a 1969 denim store, The New York Post suggests that the Gap has had it with the two level space at the corner of Broadway and Spring Street. The highly trafficked corner was originally a Banana Republic Men's Store, but when that chain consolidated its stores last year in an expanded location up the street, Gap converted the location to showcase its newly revamped denim line. Now, the Post is reporting that Gap has subleased the 15,000 square foot space to the Canadian contemporary women's chain Aritzia. By our count, the chain has 46 locations in Canada and the U.S. including one in the Short Hills Mall, and could be described as a potential Scoop-Killer featuring a host of familiar contemporary and denim brands (Acne, J.Brand, Marc by Marc, Current/Elliott, Rag & Bone, Rebecca Minkoff, etc.) as well as its own fashion lines. A prominent corner like this one could be a major beachhead for further U.S. expansion.

The question is, with 4 years left on its lease, why would the Gap ditch such a good location? Perhaps they feel it cannibalizes the NoHo stores around Astor Place, or maybe the denim focus of this location is overkill for such a big store. Is the store being divided? So far, nobody is talking officially, but it's an intriguing development for Broadway's ever-growing collection of international retail chains.

3 Suitors For Fashion Site (NYPost via RACKED NY)

THURDSDAY PROMOS: H&M; To Reopen SoHo Stores With Prizes & Giveaways

You may not be planning on standing in line at an H&M store until next month when the LANVIN ♥ H&M collaboration debuts, but tomorrow, the 21^st of October, marks the relaunch of the Swedish fast fashion giant's SoHo stores after extensive renovations and expansions. To celebrate, the first 200 shoppers in line at each store's opening tomorrow at 10 AM will receive an H&M T-shirt and Access to Fashion Pass, valued from $10 to $300. One lucky winner at each location will receive an All Access Fashion Pass, allowing them first shopping dibs in the store before doors open to the public. Set your alarms. This sounds like a mandatory event for H&M fans.