In Brooklyn Boutiques We Trust

At some point I’ll publish a guide to the best Brooklyn (Ok, probably just Williamsburg) boutiques, but until then, I NEED you to see what I spy from my kitchen window every night (and for which I have developed a platonic love):

Ok, this bag is actually part of a much more fabulous display at the tiny, almost-never-open-for-business Shana Tabor’s In God We Trust boutique on Wythe Ave, near Bedford Ave. (I understand they have other locations that are more accessible.)  The imaginative blurb on the inspiration for the boutique reads: “the spirit of the boy who refused to grow up pervades the warmly lit, inviting space. Here, both men and women can find clothing and accessories that suggest wistful whimsy and Tabor’s belief in ‘uniting the adventure, play, and fantasy of youth with grown-up ensembles that can be taken seriously.'”

Pair that tote with this mini-duffel…

…combine with Standard Finery looks (see previous post) and you are all set for a dandy spring getaway weekend, whether you’re traveling to Nantucket or Never Never Land.  Hurray! Shop here.

[mairin]

Update: I purchased the weekender for my globetrotting brother after weeks of pining.  I hear that they’re made in Portland, Oregon, by a company that specializes in heavy duty canvas wear & tents: indestructible and irrestible!   On my visit, I noticed that if you want the whole set, there are two other smaller bags, including a shaving case + toiletry bag, perfect inserts for the larger carry-alls.

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Finery at Fashion Week

It’s almost the end of New York fashion week: Marc Jacobs has stunned the fashion world (again) by NOT wearing a kilt (ok, ok, his quality show/celebrity-free afterparty at the Standard were factors, too) and Donna Karan celebrated her label’s 25th anniversary of pumping out designed-by-woman-for-women urban chic with luxurious fabrics in a mostly black color palette.  [Though I would live in the bat-sleeve fitted-yet-baggy DKNY sweater I’ve recently acquired, I DIE for Bessie Afnaim’s collection (par example) at Donna Karan’s alt store, Urban Zen.  It’s layering at its most fearless; a single garment has its own layers and those in turn are designed to be layered upon each other.  I love this young designer!  Of Turkish descent, Bessie trained at Parsons.  She has tremendous energy and a fabulous British accent. I can’t find a picture that does her work justice, so visit the store at 705 Greenwich St. in the West Village.]

I digress.  Fashion week is an awesome circus (snow! Rachel Zoe!) but not entirely tangible for most of us:  Fall 2010? $5,000 for a single item?  What I really wanted to write about is a smaller label called Standard Finery created to “marry understated feminity and function.”*  The superb Jessa Blades, a friend who does their organic makeup, introduced me to the line, which is produced in New York’s Garment District with organic fabrics whenever possible.  I have taken a gander at designer Caron Callahan’s superb spring 2010 collection, a reinterpretation of “classic New England weekend wear” and meant to capture a “sensual mood” with “urban appeal.”  It’s still fashion, but slightly more accessible, and totally to die for.  Look & be inspired for fashion for warmer temperatures:

Lolita-esque top, a la Urban Outfitters/Lolita (see prior post!)

Can’t quite grasp the fabric, but it looks like a totally live-in-able, March-to-May transition piece that goes with everyyything. Loves. LOVES.

Must.have.shorts.  Just about the only tasteful, fashion-forward midriff peek-a-boo I’ve seen.

Yay for Standard Finery!  More small(er) label finds to come…

*P.S. As a writer for Festo, I must include Standard Finery’s thoughtful & eloquent manifesto-like vision:

“Standard [stad-derd] 1. a rule or principle that is regarded as the usual or most common size or form of its kind 2. an average or normal requirement, quality, quantity, level, grade, etc.

Finery [fahy-nuh-ree] 1. fineness, beauty 2. adornments, especially fine clothes and accessories

Standard Finery is a collection created for women who love beautiful clothes but don’t need to make a fuss about them. As the name suggests, the company ethos is rooted in well-made, feminine clothes, while keeping in mind that they should be playful, purposeful and wearable.”

[mairin]

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Lolita, outfitted

What’s up with Urban Outfitters spring ’10 look book being all Lolita?  From fetish-ized shots of awkwardly bent little girl legs & their shoes (mimicking the iconic cover of the novel) to the photos of a very lithe young thing, dressed in culottes and frilly 1950s bikini tops, the inspiration is hit-you-over-the-head obvious.  In theory I’m in favor: I love the book and like the reinvention of its esthetic, but something feels odd about a store for young girls marketing to their audience with tween erotica.  Honestly, then, mission accomplished: the photographer has realized visually what Nabokov elaborated verbally- uncomfortable, voyeuristic beauty.*

Check out the looks here and judge for yourself.   (Oh, and P.S. towards the end, more too-young-for-comfort borderline porn with their night-out looks, but I loves it anyway, especially those vampy, pointy shoulders! Viva los 80s silhouettes! Even if they are tired and blah blah…)

[mairin]

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