The Shophound

HOLIDAY SHOPPING: A Gold Star For SPACE NK ★

As the Holiday season winds down, we all have a few people we still need to pick up gifts for, and sometimes that means setting aside some time to shop around looking for inspiration. A couple of days ago, while gift hunting on Columbus Avenue on a busy weekend afternoon, The Shophound wandered into SPACE.NK.apothecary thinking, "Lets give this one a shot," and boy did they ever deliver.

It may not surprise you that, as a non-lady, The Shophound is not extraordinarily well-versed in the beauty products that keep so many women happily obsessed. We were certainly familiar with Space.NK, having posted about it several times and occasionally been asked to cover the U.K.-based retailer's openings and events. We knew enough about the place to expect special items and brands that won't be found at every Sephora, but as with many beauty and cosmetics stores, we were walking in there essentially clueless. That didn't remotely matter to the razor sharp sales associate who did everything short of take us by the hand to find just the right gifts we needed at the price we were hoping to pay all beautifully wrapped in less than 20 minutes. What a refreshing change from the all too common experience of arriving at the register holding an item or two and being faced with the usual question, "Did anyone help you with this?", which, if you need to ask it, almost always guarantees a response in the negative. By contrast, earlier in the day we visited the similarly themed Bluemercury on upper Broadway with the same goal in mind, and left the store without so much as a second glance from the staff.

Our only disappointment with Space.NK was that the best service The Shophound has received since we don't know when was in a store that at best we will probably only shop in every now and then at most. It almost makes us sorry we don't wear makeup, but perhaps we can make up for it by sending them some of our readers who do. It's been a while since we have left a store with such satisfaction at having paid full retail, so we can happily add Space.NK to the list of store we wholeheartedly recommend.

★ SPACE.NK.apothecary 217 Columbus Avenue between 69th and 70th Streets, Upper West Side
also in SoHo, the Upper East Side and in both Manhattan Bloomingdale's locations

DECK THE HALLS: Barneys Puts All Of Its Holiday Eggs In Lady GaGa's Tchotchke Basket

So, if you haven't heard, Barneys New York has arranged to focus their Holiday promotion around the still-ubiquitous Lady GaGa. You may be familiar with her. She's this kooky singer...

Anyway, The Shophound is ambivalent about this in much the same way we feel about most of the changes happening at Barneys these days. On the one hand, the former Men's Co-op space on the fifth floor has been impressively outfitted as GaGa's Workshop complete with a series of clever sculptures and installations that turn the place into a wacky Dr. Seuss-ian environment.
On the other hand, it's mostly full of overpriced crap. And we are saying this as someone who generally likes both Barneys and Lady GaGa. We just aren't convinced that they are two great tastes that taste great together.

We refuse to be enchanted by miniature McQueen Armadillo shoes rendered in chocolate if someone thinks that $95 is an appropriate price for perishable foodstuffs. Even if 25% of the price tag is going to GaGa's own charitable foundation, it's still a ridiculous price. You could always argue that luxury stores like Barneys and its ilk are overpriced in general, but, at least most of the time, they genuinely try to justify their high prices by selling special things that justify their steep price tags in some way. Most of what we saw in GaGa's workshop, however, looked like souvenirs that should be sold at a GaGa concert. There are clever items like versions of GaGa's signature hair bow made of hair (around $65) some "cheap" sunglasses $95) and some expensive ones ($295-$465). Well, there was a ton of stuff, really and it included some weirdly, prosaically appealing novelties like a steel Sharpie pen for $18 that could easily be sold anywhere. There was a host of typical gift items like overpriced composition books (the anti-iPads), keychains and wallets. Everything seemed to be touched by shine, glitter or some form of the spiky GaGa workshop logo. The most appealing gift items were a group of plush stuffed monster toys ($48-$95), among the few things offered that we could imagine someone enjoying as more than a stunt gift. Then there were the countless baubles and gewgaws that ranged from interesting to just cheap looking.

The whole endeavor feels like a stunt, however. Barneys will undoubtedly reap the benefit of the enormous amount of publicity the whole promotion has created, but how will it translate into more meaningful business down the line? Contained on its own floor, GaGa's workshop bears little relation to the rest of Barneys as a whole. Even the members of its sales staff, who are way more pierced and mohawked (and young) than even the more daring members of Barneys' regular staff, appear to be specially hired, or more likely cast, for the event. In fact, aside from the Madison Avenue windows (which were not fully completed yesterday), there is little indication that the Holiday season is underway at all in the rest of the store. Having focused all of their attentions on this one project, Barneys has left the rest of its departments entirely bereft of any decorations beyond a few neon signs directing customers to the fifth floor. These signs did not exactly vibe with the elegantly conservative men's main floor department even though its 60th street entrance is graced with the elaborate entrance installation that covers up its display windows entirely. Wandering through the rest of the store, it's hard to imagine that the people who go there to buy their Lanvin, Alaïa and Goyard would really care that much for the glitzy novelty items offered in GaGa's Workshop. What we saw of the windows looked clever, if a bit obvious. Yes, there's an entire window meant to look as if it is made out of hair. It is well executed if not especially unexpected, which pretty much sums up the whole project. It only made us imagine how much fun the now "creative ambassador at large" Simon Doonan could have had with the likes of Herman Cain and Michelle Bachmann this year if he were still in charge of the Holiday windows.

While the GaGa department wasn't packed with customers yesterday, we did notice former Barneys chief Gene Pressman looking through the shop. We can only imagine what he may think of all the changes hapening in the store he had such a strong hand in creating a couple of decades ago. On the plus side, the women's side of Barneys' main floor has been completed. We still hate it, but the fishtanks and mosaics in the fine jewelry section have, so far, been left intact, so we haven't lost hope for the place entirely.

THE WINDOW WATCHER: Tiffany's Builds A Christmas Carousel

Fittingly, Tiffany & Co. has always been a model elegant understatement when it comes to window display, even at Christmas when its neighbors on Fifth Avenue pull out all the stops. Partly, this has to do with the store's little windows, meant to create little jewel boxes of wonder outside the imposing jewelry store.

Not this year.

The windows are still the same size, with displays that are as fanciful and masterfully composed as ever, but around the windows on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, Tiffany has added what appears to be sections of an antique carousel in gold and signature Tiffany Blue.  Inside the store, the famous main floor is festooned with more traditional garlands and tinsel, but the store's visual team has added a gilded archway at the main entrance that echoes the scrolls and curlicues of the outside decorations. It's a striking look, especially if you are used to the store's usual, less flashy style, but, hey, it's the Holidays. Why not have a little bit of fun?

HOLIDAY KICKOFF: The Shophound's Black Friday Shopping Guide

Christmas creep has been in effect earlier than ever this year what with with chains like TJMaxx and Marshalls running their Holiday TV commercials a full two weeks before Thanksgiving. Black Friday, an industry term that has seeped out to the public over the years, continues to be a focus of Holiday shopping promotions with more stores than ever choosing to open their doors at 12:00 AM on Friday if not earlier, not willing to waste a minute of precious selling time. Here's our advice for how to handle the shopping frenzy this weekend.
Just stay home.
Really.
Stay out of it.

We would admit that it seems counter-intuitive for The Shophound to actually encourage our readers not to shop, but we have to draw the line somewhere, and it has gotten to the point where Shopping is threatening to ruin Thanksgiving. Not for us, but for the thousands of people who work for Target, Macy's Walmart and all the other stores that insist on ruining their employees' holidays by forcing them to go to work at midnight and work through the night. The Gap has announced that it will open more stores than ever this year on Thanksgiving Day. These are some of the country's largest employers. What the hell kind of holiday is that?

What's the rush? This year, we have an unusually long Holiday Shopping Season of 30 whole days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Hannukah is pretty late this year beginning on the night of December 20th. There should be plenty of time to find gifts and bargains this year, and the notion that you won't find any good deals if you don't cram yourself into an overcrowded store as soon as possible is a myth. Retailers will be offering sales and bargains during the whole season just like they did last year and the year before that.

The Shophound has spent many years working in stores, and one of out least favorite aspects of the job was having to work on nearly every weekend while the rest of the world seemed to be off. Conversely, our free time happened while everyone else was at work, which made it tricky to make social plans with people who weren't in retail. The idea that we might travel out of town for a family Thanksgiving was out of the question. We were lucky early in our career to work for a famous store that observed holidays like the 4th of July, Labor Day and Memorial Day, and even closed on Sundays for eleven months out of the year, but by now even that store has bowed to market pressures, and is open about 363 days a year just like everyone else. Imagine how the huge chains' employees must feel knowing that one of the last holidays they could count on not having to work along with the rest of the country was being ripped from them no matter what kind of family plans they may want to make. At least Macy's executives expressed some remorse at having to interrupt their employees' holiday, but but not apparently enough to keep his stores closed until an appropriate hour.

Actually we don't have to imagine. A Target employee has started a campaign on Change.org to try to get the giant retailer to reverse its choice to open at Midnight. As of this morning it has gained nearly 200,000 signatures. We aren't really sure that it will have any real effect on the chain, but it may remind tham that not everyone feels the need to rush to the mall right after Thanksgiving dinner.

So what should you do this Friday (assuming you don't have to work yourself)? Relax. Sleep late. Go to the movies (preferably not at a mall) or maybe to a musem. If you must shop, go find an independent store to patronize, or go online where there will probably be just as many bargains and you'll be able to shop in your pajamas.

HOLIDAY PREVIEW: Barneys Announces A GaGa Holiday

It's the height of Summer, so naturally it's time to talk about Christmas Shopping!

Over the weekend, Barneys announced through its blog, The Window, that its theme for this year's Holiday Season will be GAGA’S WORKSHOP.  It's out with the clever Simon Doonan windows of the past as the store will present a collaboration between Lady Gaga and Eli Sudbrack and Christophe Hamaide Pierson of Assume Vivid Astro Focus (AVAF), and the singer's close collaborator and persona stylist Nicola Formichetti who has also recently become Mugler Creative Director. together, they will create Lady Gaga’s interpretation of the iconic Santa’s Workshop.

Installations will be placed throughout the store and in the store's iconic windows, but the centerpiece of the effort will be the fifth floor of the men's store in the Madison Avenue flagship, which will be transformed into the titular workshop which will include exclusive gift items man available only at that particular location. It sounds like Santaland for grown-ups... or at least Lady GaGa fans... or something.

By that time, presumably, the men's section of the Co-op, which is what one would normally have found on that floor, will have been move to another part of the store where it will be connected with the women's Co-op as part of CEO Mark Lee's sweeping reconfiguration of Barneys main Madison Avenue store.

How New Yorkers will take to lady GaGa's taking over the store's Holiday promotions which have previously been themed more whimsically, remains to be seen. Is she too overexposed of a celebrity to be associated with the exclusive retailer, or will her constantly evolving avant-garde fashion sensibility continue to resonate with Barneys' more directionally minded customers? We will find out in Mid-November when the efforts are unveiled, and it's a pretty good bet that GaGa herself will be on hand for at least part of that publicity bonanza.

Lady GaGa's Workshop (The Window/Barneys New York)

POST HOLIDAY REPORT: Snowbound Shoppers Storm Midtown Stores

That blizzard thing you've been hearing about threw a big ol' wrench into most Northeastern retailers' post-Christmas sale plans. Even by mid-afternoon many (but not all) major stores in midtown Manhattan had signs on their doors informing passersby that they would reopen on Tuesday. While SoHo was practically impenetrable, and most uptown side street were effectively blockaded by snowdrifts, midtown was the only part of town where the many tourists unexpectedly stranded in New York were able to shop at all.... and boy, were they ready.

Above, see throngs of people crowding into Saks Fifth Avenue as the store belatedly opened its doors at noon. Big stores like Armani|5th Avenue, Tiffany and Banana Republic's Rockefeller Center flagship remained shut not because they didn't think there would be customers, but with dodgy subway service for most of the day, they couldn't count on enough staff making it in to open up properly. Though Saks opened late, its fine jewelry departments remained roped off and closed to shoppers. Others were more tenacious. Bergdorf's, Gap and most of Time Warner Center managed to open for business. Tourists were as enthusiastic as ever about their favorite pastime of waiting outside Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch (below) forming extra long lines as the snow seeped into their soggy sneakers. We didn't actually check the UGG store, but its fairly safe to assume...

TODAY IN HOLIDAY MARKETS: Jingle Rings Again At Chelsea Market

We are at the crest of the Holiday shopping season with an early Hanukkah over but still about a week and a half until Christmas. Just in time to catch the last weeks of gift-hunting, Chelsea Market has launched its annual Jingle holiday market. While Union Square, Columbus Circle, Bryant Park and Grand Central Terminal famously all set up vast colonies of booths and vendors, Jingle typically goes for a pared down roster of purveyors that is thankfully manageable. Essentially, they weed out all of the "loving hands at home" booths in favor of more upscale but still offbeat resources.

Several favorites form previous years have returned, but chief among the new additions this year is Fred Flare, occupying a prime spot near the entrance filled with its signature quirky novelty gifts (giant Gummi Bears on a stick, anyone?). Other standouts include Fine & Raw's artisanal chocolate, colorful bags and quilts from Utility Canvas, 1178 Design's handcrafted glassware and many others.

There's about a week left for Jingle, which should give you just enough time to get all of your stocking stuffers.

Jingle at Chelsea Market through December 23 at 75 Ninth Avenue between 15^th and 16^th Streets, Chelsea

THE WINDOW WATCHER: Bergdorf's Brings It With Full Credits

Bergdorf Goodman has set a pretty high bar for itself when it comes to Holiday Windows, but this year with a contest and a lavish new book to flog, the store has pulled out all the stops. We love to report on the windows, especially for those of you readers who may not get a chance to see them in person, but it is always difficult to photograph them adequately, especially with glass reflections, lighting issues and pesky passersby who insist on pressing their faces against the glass for what seems like hours to drink in every tiny detail.

Now that they have their own blog, however, the folks at Bergdorf's have solved our problem by publishing their own, professionally taken images of their windows. This year, the Fifth Avenue vitrines are a bit cleaner and crisper in composition, but no less beautiful than they have ever been. To give everyone a better idea of exactly what goes into creating the windows, the store has made a charming music video of sorts (below) starring its visual staff that shows the hard at work. Better yet, it even has a title card at the end full of credits, making Bergdorf Goodman the only store we are aware of that gives full credit to every person who worked on their anual magnum opus.

Bravo, Bergdorf's!

Wish You Were Here: Follow Me & go Behind the Scenes (5th at 58th)

HOLIDAY POP-UP: COOL HUNTING X GAP Will Be Your Favorite Gift Shop

Is there anythign more frustrating than shopping for gifts and being faced with the same old crap everywhere you turn? A few months ago, the folks at the GAP began addressing this problem by approaching Josh Rubin and Evan Orensten of Cool Hunting to fill their Fifth Avenue Concept Shop with Holiday Gifts. The pair quickly got to work squeezing about six months of work into four weeks and wound up with a collection of items that perfectly encapsulates their website's endless quest for the unusual, the intriguing and the just plain cool.

Rubin, Orensten and their editorial team's assortment ranges from brands you'll recognize like OXO, Moscot and Jonathan Adler, who made special limited edition merchandise for the shop, to obscure artisans and even friends and family. Special focus was given to local sources, and there are an abundance of items under $100, and quite a few under $50.

Orensten walked us through the store last week as the finishing touches were being applied just before their opening party. There are tons of items to browse from the practical and utilitarian like Jawbone's hot new Jambone speaker in an exclusive Cool Hunting green to specially commissioned flights of fancy like working skateboards completely covered in kimono fabrics by Tokyo's Zillion ($650-$750). There are toiletries, jewelry, accessories, food items, home items, toys for kids and even some for pets. Is it a random assortment? In a sense, but as in any good store, the merchandise is tied together with its collective appeal and Cool Hunting's dedication to innovative design, artisan craftsmanship, social and environmental consciousness.

Of course, they didn't just ship a bunch of stuff to the Gap and stack them on the shelves. ByKenyan was engaged to transform the white space of the shop into something of a general store with reclaimed wood from upstate barns, wall paintings by Evolving Image and an Ian Hundley quilt based on a map of the city ($2,500). Even the elaborate chandeliers are available for purchase.

There are too may items to recount, but our personal favorites included a limited edition Cool Hunting collaboration with the newly rejuvenated Swiss watchmaker Marvin, a charming avocado salt & pepper shaker for $40 from Daina Platais Ceramics, Tech Gloves from Freehands ($18-$80) with thumb and index fingers that peel back so you can use your iPhone without removing them, a Special Edition Marker Set ($500) from artist Tom Sachs and Krink, a build-it-yourself Bamboo Bike Studio Kit for $496, a limited edition Mast Brothers chocolate bar ($10), a special edition wool cycling cap from Outlier ($90) and so much more.

In addition, Gap and Cool Hunting will be hosting a series of events throughout the season to spotlight special designers and products. The schedule of events will be available on Gap's Facebook Fan Page. The Cool Hunting shop will be open every day (except Christmas) through Sunday, January 2^nd, but we are guessing that much of the limited edition merchandise will be sold out well before then, so don't dawdle. So far this is one of our favorite things to hit Gap's Concept Space in quite some time. Maybe if we are very, very good it will become a regular seasonal event.

GAP X Cool Hunting Holiday Pop-Up Shop through January 2^nd, 2011, 680 Fifth Avenue between 53^rd & 54^th Streets, Midtown
Cool Hunting (Official Site)

After the jump, a few more of our favorite items:

THE WINDOW WATCHER: Lord & Taylor Gives Us A Holiday Sneak Peek

Click all images for a larger view in a new window

Lord & Taylor will unveil its famous Holiday windows this Monday, November 15^th, but yesterday, The Shophound got a rare sneak peek at one of the windows that the store's visual team has been working furiously to prepare for next weeks debut. We were ushered downstairs to the workshop (part of which is actually underneath Fifth Avenue) and allowed to view one nearly finished window as it was being assembled in the store's unique hydraulic lift system, a small, officially sanctioned portion of which is pictured above.

This year, Vice President of Visual Merchandising Scott Devine and his team broke from tradition just a bit. Instead of dreaming up another nostalgic Victorian-era theme, they turned to the Lord & Taylor's Facebook fans and asked for stories about their holiday memories. After sifting through a torrent of response, favorites were chosen and incorporated into the store's Holiday window designs titled "Share The Joy". Nine months in the making (just like a baby), the windows will stand out this year by including more modern scenes and contemporary families, but still framed with the store's beloved, animated Holiday flair.

Monday's unveiling extravaganza will be an all-day affair with special appearances from Candy Queen Dylan Lauren, her almost in-law FEED Projects co-founder Lauren Bush and restaurateur Sarabeth Levine, culminating at 5:30 PM with a performance by The Young People's Chorus of New York City featuring Emmy and Tony winning "Promise, Promises" star Kristin Chenoweth. We would totally go out of our way for a free Cheno appearance, and she will sing a specially composed song for the occasion.

If that's not enough to get you to 39^th and Fifth on Monday, then you might consider that the store will be offering $5 tickets that will get you a 20% savings on any single item as well as a 15% savings pass on nearly everything in the store including the cosmetics and fragrances that are always excluded from these kinds of offers. Ticket proceeds will go to the American Red Cross in Greater New York, so you're really kind of a stingy ogre if you don't go, aren't you? Something to think about while you are calculating your savings on a Chanel lipstick.

Lord & Taylor Holiday Windows debut November 15^th at 424 Fifth Avenue Between 38^th & 39^th Streets