The Shophound

JON CARAMANICA GOES SHOPPING: Super Curated Edition

The Shophound is feeling ambivalent about today's Critical Shopper column. Jon Caramanica has landed at C'H'C'M' (how do we pronounce this? As initials or gibberish?), a new store devoted to curating well-made, classic items from long established manufactures around the world. It sounds like an international twist on the "heritage" movement that has vaulted humble, quality minded brands like Alden Shoes, Red Wing, Quoddy, Woolrich and Pendleton into the forefront for a certain type of clothing geek. C'H'C'M' turns its attention outward, bringing in similar labels from France, Italy and other corners of Europe and beyond. On the surface, it's all basic, classic stuff, but our shopper asks, "How can such incremental adjustments to the sorts of staple garments that have always been around — and seemed perfectly fine — make so much difference?"

The store showcases hardy labels from faraway lands like France's Paraboot, Italy's Valstar and Belgium's Sunspel. Caramanica is especially taken a black, rubberized cotton mackintosh jacket for $1095, which sounds to us like a beautifully tailored perspiration accellerator, but, hey, to each his own.

On the one hand, we have appreciated seeing brands with with real integrity experience such a revival over the past few years (Don't take away our Woolrich Woolen Mills shirts!), but on the other, it seems like this movement has reached a peak of sorts. A visit to some menswear trade shows is starting to look like a vintage fair, and while we will always love brands with a strong history and tradition behind them (and we are pretty sure that we will want to take home plenty of stuff from C'H'C'M'), we can't help wondering what's coming next after an almost fetishistic period of looking back.

Critical Shopper: Basic Tools to Make Your Own Magic By Jon Caramanica (NYTimes)
C'H'C'M' 2 Bond Street at Broadway, NoHo

CINTRA WILSON GOES SHOPPING: Unfortunate, Unexpected Sign-Off Edition

This week's Thursday Styles takes Critical Shopper Cintra Wilson to NoHo's United Nude shoe store where we learn, among other things that there are two Rem Koolhaases. One is the famous Dutch Architect, and the other one is his nephew, Rem D. Koolhaas, the other Dutch Architect. We're still trying to wrap our head around that bit of promotional misdirection, but, in truth, we can't be bothered too much with the dueling Koolhaases and their funky shoes because it turns out that this is officially Cintra Wilson's last Critical Shopper column!

Fans will remember that a while back, La Cintra was unceremoniously excused from her Critical Shopper duties as the New York Times pared away freelance writers like Wilson in favor of staff writers as a cost-cutting measure. Veteran Times style scribe Ruth La Ferla took over the ladies' portion of the column, but after substantial public outcry and a Facebook petition, better judgement prevailed. Wilson was restored to her post a few months later, and all was right again with the Thursday Styles —for a while, anyway.

For those who never quite got her point of view, the departing writer finally spells it out for everyone this week:

It may sometimes seem that my critical approach to retail fashion has been to go in like Laurence Olivier in “Marathon Man” with a tray of power tools intent on performing involuntary dental surgery on designers while dementedly screaming, “Is it safe?!”
But I have been looking for generosity of vision. I ask clothes questions, like: Who are you for? What do you say about the person who wears you? Are you functional? Have you discovered an empowering, liberating new silhouette — like Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent so nobly did in their days — that calls forth strengths never before realized in the feminine character? Or are you bombing women back to the Goldwater era? Does this line help my life or hinder it? In short: Is it safe!?

United Nude, isn't really knocking her out, but, again this is beside the point as she anounces her departure in the next paragraph with understated grace, and this time, it sounds final:

This will be my last dispatch as your Critical Shopper. This column has been a singular joy and privilege to write, and I will miss your readership.

Why this is happening, we don't know. Perhaps she was once again let go, or maybe she simply felt that it was time to direct her rapier wit in a new direction, which (hopefully) would be her prerogative. The Shophound will miss her, it almost goes without saying, and our occasional personal correspondence with her about the column has been a highlight for us. We just love us some Cintra Wilson, and we look forward to seeing where her byline appears next.

The New York Times now has some big but very chic shoes to fill —probably a pair of sleek and sexy stiletto pumps with a pointy toe that hides a tiny but lethal blade that will pop out if you don't pass muster and the rest of us are very lucky.

Critical Shopper: A Safe Walk in the Dark By Cintra Wilson (NYTimes)
United Nude 25 Bond Street (between Lafayette Street and the Bowery)

JON CARAMINICA GOES SHOPPING: Khaki Double Header Edition

Critical Shopper Jon Caramanica is settling into his role by embracing the 'critical' aspect of his responsibilities in the Thursday Styles this week. He has taken a tour of the city's khaki specialists and landed in Tribeca's Grown & Sewn, which we discovered last March, and the Lafayette Street branch of the burgeoning mini-chain, Save Khaki.

While the past couple of decades has seen denim transumted in every possible way for every potential customer, khaki, despite the best efforts of the Gap and J.Crew, has remained a distant second, probably due to its inherent rumpledness.

Khakis are the dress pants of the uncertain, a compromise between comfort and rigor, between insouciance and dignity. Worn right, khakis should solve all of life’s problems. Mostly, though, they’re just masks, something we put on when we’re scared to try harder.

Well, that doesn't make them sound too appealing, and neither featured retailer appears to have come up with a definitive product. Ultimately, Caramanica astutely concludes that Grown & Sewn's rugged and artisanal but limited product range would be better served by Save Khaki's intimate NoHo location, while Save Khaki's beachy, sun bleached range would be far more suited to Grown & Sewn's cavernous Tribeca space. There seems to be a clever merchandiser hiding inside that journalist.

Critical Shopper: Khaki Still Struggles With Commitment Issues By Jon Caramanica (NYTimes)
Grown & Sewn 184 Duane Street between Hudson and Greenwich Streets, Tribeca
Save Khaki 327 Lafayette Street between Houston & Bleecker Streets, NoHo
Previously:
New In Bottoms: Grown & Sewn Pushes Khaki To The Front

A Word From The Owner: DNA 2050 Responds

Recently we reported that NoHo boutique DNA 2050 had quietly exited the scene, and naturally assumed that it was a result of the general economic conditions that have closed so man shops in the past year or so.
In response we heard directly from the owner, Iraklis Karabassis of the Washington, DC based IK Retail Group who wished to clarify the reasons for the store's closure. IK runs a burgeoning mini-empire of shops and restaurants around the country including boutiques for Max Mara and Piazza Sempione as well as restaurants like Washington power lunch standby Café Milano. Mr. Karabassis wanted to make it clear that the DNA 2050 retail concept was in fact doing just fine, but that it had evolved into a higher priced format than the area around Broadway and 8^th Street was able to support, which is, frankly, not difficult to believe at all. In fact, we suspected that the store might be too pricey for the neighborhood when it first opened. He assures us that the Chicago store is actually doing well and the one that closed was a temporary location. A new unit will be opening later this year at the Arches in Long Island that will reflect the new, revamped concept.
Our thanks to Mr. Karabassis for the clarifications. Excerpts from his communication can be found after the jump.
Previously:
Departures: A Quiet Exit For DNA 2050
DNA2050 Gets Boutique-y in NoHo

Departures: A Quiet Exit For DNA 2050

It looks like we are a little more follow-uppy this week than usual. In fact, we might not have immediately noticed the closure of NoHo boutique DNA 2050 if we hadn't received a couple of recent comments on a post from almost two years ago that ran when the shop opened.
We're low on specifics regarding the closing, but these days, one can unfortunately guess fairly easily why a shop in a desirable location might shutter after only a couple of years. Initially, we thought that DNA 2050 might have been a bit pricey for the NYU/8^th Street/Broadway corridor, and we may have been right, but the store did develop something of a small yet devoted clientele. The DC based mini-chain (operated by the multitasking IK Retail Group) had just begun to branch out. Though the recently opened Chicago store appears also to have been closed, the Tyson's Corner VA and Bellevue, Washington locations seem to remain open... for now anyway.
Previously:
DNA2050 Gets Boutique-y in NoHo

Holiday Previews: Brooklyn Flea Branches Out To NoHo For The Holidays

The Holiday season typically brings a whole series of temporary gift markets that pop up all over town, the most notable being the ones at Grand Central Terminal, Union Square and Columbus Circle. This year, The Brooklyn Flea has a hipper alternative in the works with Gifted, which will be taking over the Annex section of what used to be Tower Records at Lafayette and West 4^th Streets. Those of us who are too provincial to bother schlepping out to Dumbo or Fort Greene will now have the city's preferred flea market conveniently located in NoHo for about a month starting on November 27^th, Black Friday.
Gifted promises about 50 vendors including a special corner which will be curated every week by Lucky magazine. We hear there is still room for a couple more vendors, but those signed up reportedly include Lotta Jansdotter, Thistle + Clover, and Brooklyn Brew Shop among many others. Come at the right time and there will be beer and music.
If this whole thing works out, maybe we can get them to come in more often just for us lazy Manhattanites.
Brooklyn Flea Brings Its Holiday Market to Manhattan (The Cut)
Gifted November 27^th through December 24^th at 20 East 4^th Street at Lafayette Street, NoHo

Corrections: Superdry Not Going To Tower —Taking Canal Jeans Spot Instead

Now that we are back in New York, we can see for ourselves that the British Abercrombie clone sportswear label Superdry is not in fact taking the former Tower Records space. We assumed as much since it was reported that they were coming to Broadway at West 4^th Street. In fact, they are taking a spot a block north of that where Washington Place hits Broadway —a space that housed Canal Jeans Co. after it left SoHo a few years back. Thanks to a commenter who gave us a heads-up. Interestingly, the folks at Superdry also left a comment, but rather than clarifying the upcoming store's address, it instead promoted their Twitter and Flicker pages.
Nice to see that they're using the Google.
They just don't seem to be paying much attention to what it says.
Meanwhile, The Tower Records corner remains sadly, conspicuously available.
Previously:
NoHo News: Superdry To Finally Take Tower Records Space?

NoHo News: Superdry To Finally TakeTower Records Space?

Last week, RACKED told us that British sportswear label Superdry was heading to NoHo at West 4th and Broadway, so we went all the way to Hollywood to see what this brand is all about.
Aren't we dedicated?
It turns out that the only Superdry store in America is at the Hollywood & Highland shopping complex right next to Graumann's Chinese Theater. Yes, that's basically in L.A.'s version of Times Square, but since everyone should go there at least once (if only to see how tiny Olivia de Havilland's feet were) we stopped in to check out the store, which is in a temporary spot until a better location in the mall opens up.
What we found was a sort of Abercrombie-ish sort of line with a touch of Japanese by way of Great Britain. Frankly everything we saw would have been greatly improved by removing the huge labels and logos, but perhaps this brand is simply not that adventurous
In other words, nothing terribly groundbreaking, but plenty that should sell easily to the tourists and NYU kids in the neighborhood. The staff was charming and pleasant, so points to them for that, but if you are coming all the way from England, we would like you to bring something more than plaid shirts, cargo shorts and rugby tops. We got plenty of that already. On the other hand, it will be nice to see that Tower Records space filled, since that whole Steve & Barry's thing obviously didn't work out.
Superdry 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood
Storecasting: Superdry Brings a British Take on Japanese Style to NYC (RACKED)

Cintra and Mike Go Shopping:Catch-Up Edition

We have been a little slow on the uptake following the New York Times' Critical Shoppers for the past few weeks. We usually don't have time to follow up during Fashion Week, and this past week, we decided that it was high time we made a visit to the stores they covered ourselves, which we haven't done in a while. Of course, we went to a different branch of Bird than La Cintra did, but more on that later.
So here's how it went:
Earlier this week we found ourselves in NoHo, and it seemed to be a good time to stop into Billy Reid, which Mike Albo visited last week.
Reid has been on our list of stores to check out for some time, but we kept missing it.
Mike saw the store as "the closest approximation in this city to that kind of dressy-casual whiskey-soaked style" he discovered on drunken students from below the Mason-Dixon line in college. We immediately recognized this subgenre of drunkard flair, and yet we found Reid's vaguely vintage-inspired clothes enormously appealing without benefit of cocktails. There's lots to like there, particularly the subtly detailed shirts in quirky fabrics. The scrupulously appointed interior made everything all the more appealing, but naturally, what struck our eye was the cupcakes.
Strategically placed around the store were plates of red velvet cupcakes, a tantalizing décor choice. Suddenly we felt like a vampire in a blood bank. The we spied a note next to one of the plates inviting us to help ourselves. The attentive sales staff was momentarily preoccupied with other things, and we could totally have made a break for it with a whole plate full of baked goods, but restraint (and concern over our halfhearted dieting attempts) kicked in, and we actually left without any cupcakes at all, although we will be keeping Billy Reid in mind for afternoon snacks.
After reading Cintra Wilson's assessment of the new branch of Bird in Williamsburg, we went right to the store's website. We knew of Bird as the archetypal independent, newly upscale Brooklyn boutique serving up designer goods in slightly humbler surroundings, but we hadn't actually visited the store. We didn't even know they carried men's clothes at all, but when we saw a pair of Earnest Sewn jeans in our favorite cut on sale for less than $50, we sprang into action. What a fortunate find since we had just discovered our current pair had developed a hole in a most unseemly location. Why wait to have them delivered, when we could simply get on the F train and pick them up ourselves? Off we went the Park Slope branch where we had the last pair of Kyrre XX jeans in raw, unwashed denim in our size reserved for us. We didn't encounter the “Ocean chewed” atmosphere that Cintra found in Williamsburg, but rather a cozier ambiance on Brooklyn's Fifth Avenue. The long single bar rack holds labels like Vena Cava and Trovata among the more recognizable labels for women, and Loden Dager, Acne Jeans and Steven Alan for men. We can see how the store's artsy, bohemian luxe style wouldn't quite jibe with La Cintra's more urbane tastes, but it's the kind of small shop that seems more curated than merchandised, which is an agreeable change from the ever more corporately directed stores in Manhattan. The staff couldn't have been more cordial despite the fact that all we were buying was a single pair of jeans marked down below cost. We really were planning to stop in at the Williamsburg store as well, but when it was decided that the easiest subway route there was to go back through Manhattan, we wound up back at home instead, but thoroughly satisfied that we had gone out of our way. The right jeans will do that.
Critical Shopper | Billy Reid: Dressed to Impress, With a Southern Drawl by Mike Albo (NYTimes)
Billy Reid 54 Bond Street at Bowery, NoHo

Critical Shopper | Bird: When Your Clothes Have a Backstory by Cintra Wilson (NYTimes)
Bird Williamsburg: 203 Grand Street near Driggs Avenue
Park Slope: 316 Fifth Avenue between 2^nd and 3^rd Streets
Cobble Hill: 220 Smith Street at Butler Street

Steve & Barry's Confirmed For NoHo Tower Records Space

It's been rumored for a while, but today's New York Times confirmed that Steve & Barry's will take up residence in the long empty space at Broadway and West 4^th Street that was once home to Tower Records.
It would seem like an unfortunate transformation for those like us who used to love exploring Tower's bins and listening stations, but we have to face two things:

1. It's better to have something in that space than to just leave it empty as it has been for the past couple of years.
2. The CD/Record business has almost totally collapsed, and wishing Tower Records would come back is akin to continuing to mourn the disappearance of the Automat.

So, the still young chain poised to become a mega-retailer will take up residence deep in the heart of NYU territory in a multi-level location sure to give it a higher profile and allow it to depart from it's signature hangar-like store design for something that will better showcase its growing roster of celebrity branded private labels.
It certainly beats schlepping up to the top level of Manhattan Mall.
Tightening the Belt Is This the World’s Cheapest Dress? by Eric Wilson (NYTimes)