NYC Journal: In a ‘Mallified’ SOHO, Bits of Brilliance
If the image above is any indication, (ie. Banana Republic posters on payphones instead of public health warnings on the dangers of syringes, for example), is that the thrill of the “new finds” in relation to downtown shopping in New York City, is pretty much as thrilling as watching “Sister Act” on upper Broadway. New York is now suburbanite friendly.
That said lower-lower Broadway closer to Canal Street still allows some room for play. I originally ventured over there after work to check out a new for-charity boutique called, Treasure & Bond, but found two other cool finds in the process that remind us what venturing Downtown should and could still be.
+ Treasure & Bond; Boutique Makes a Difference
Treasure & Bond is a new for-charity venture by the US luxury department store, Nordstrom. This two-story loft style store features very unique designed knick-knacks and goods that are sourced from cities globally, with a few show-cased goods from New York-based independent designers. That said, I also spotted some interesting accessories and wares from Hong Kong-based design brands such as, Seventy Eight Percent and Fashionary, to name a few.
While the store is connected to Nordstrom, its boutique operations are largely independent. 100% of its after-cost profits go to rotating non-profit charities like the New York Public Library, the Children’s Health Fund, and the New York Young Men’s Initiative, to name a few. Novel idea perhaps, but the original concept apparently came from US Vogue editor, Anna Wintour.
Hong Kong’s Seventy Eight Percent Bags making a major presence in the store.
A lovely accessories wall for scarves and hats.
Hong Kong’s Fashionary Brand of Sketchbooks adjacent to pricey but delicate leather goods from LA’s Alice Park.
Very fierce accessories table featuring Toronto’s Dandi Maestre (above) and ‘naturalist’ jewelry from Connecticut’s Amy Khan Russell.
Proceeds for this t-shirt helps, goes to initiatives of your choice like schooling for children, reforestation programs, and the care of animals in shelters.
I can’t do a piece on retail shopping without buying something. This NYC based shoe brand, Civic Duty, produces Tyvek paper shoes that may not be made for snow, but are good enough for really long walks in the city, even in the rain, which is just ideal for Hong Kong. And at this moment, Civic Duty shoes are NOT yet available in Asia!
It comes in a KED’s style walker.
Of course, I had to get with the ones that were more “JJ” in style.
Happy camper!
LA-based, FIT Educated, Eva Franco makes very modern versions of classic party dresses. They were my favorite from the womenswear collection.
Kids need not feel left out. Treasure & Bond carries peek… aren’t you curious, the only place other than Nordstrom that carries this children’s fashion line.
350 West Broadway, NYC 10013 / most days: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sunday: 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm / 646 669 9049 / Treasure & Bond Online
+ 32 Weatherproof, a Pop-Up Chalet
Meanwhile across the street 32 Weatherproof pops up for a few months (until next Feb/March 2012) and takes over the space of ex-high rise showflat and makes it their own for the holidays. 32 Weatherproof is a fairly new brand using modern cuts with completely neutral color tones and fairly hi-tech light-weight materials that will keep you warm on the slopes. The price point for these seemingly high design collection of winter outwear is quite nice with prices starting at about 800 HKD with the one i’m trying on about 1500 HKD. Not bad.
Apparently you can come in here, charge your iPhone, have a free cup of coffee, glass of wine, drink a chilled beer, watch a game on the TV, use the toilet, relax on the couch, and chat up the good looking tenants of the 32 Weatherproof home.
This collection of winterwear is very much the choice of outwear for President Obama, who wore 32 Weatherproof on his visit to the Great Wall of China.
Seriously smart winter jackets.
345 West Broadway, NYC 10013 / Daily 11am–8pm / (212) 695-7716 / WEATHERPROOF ONLINE
+ Warby Parker, Urban Yurts Pop-UP
From now until the first week of January, you can take a gander down the street at the Warby Parker Holiday Spectacular Bazaar which is set comfortably within a 1940’s era brick Fire House. I’m not sure if they’re familiar with the Hong Kong’s own Shanghai Tang Mongolian Village Yurt-fest on Pier 4, but Warby Parker is definitely making a scene downtown by housing all their goods within Yurts as a nod to the winter season. For those who don’t know, Warby Parker is a US-only e-boutique which sells their own design of glasses complete with prescription lenses at flat 95 USD (800 HKD) for all styles.
The business has turned into a cult hit since their inception early only this year after magazines like GQ and VOGUE immediately covered it since their launch. The idea is, you order the glasses online, and facial recognition technology on their website will make sure that you get the right pair. If you’re still unsure, the company can ship you up to 5 loaner pairs to try out at home, and you just ship it back to make sure you dont get charged. The frame materials are made of a special poly-carbon acetate from the same sources in Italy, as everyone else, like Luxotica frames.
The parts then get shipped to the same Chinese factories for assemblage (the same factories everyone else uses), and then shipped to new york city where the prescription lenses are then fit in and sent to customers in the States. This is exactly why the brand is ONLY available in the states. The process is seemingly too convoluted. Nevertheless, now for every pair glasses you buy, another pair is donated to those who need it in developing parts of the world. So far, Warby Parker has donated about 85,000 pairs of glasses since this program was established this year.
The pop-up in SOHO offers eye exams for 50USD, a bookstore selection from McSweeney’s (another pro-charity) independent NYC-based book publisher, personalised letter pressing via The Arm, sweets from Pappabubble, and hats from Yetstadt Millinery.
For $10,000 you can by a yurt here from the Colorado Yurt Co. The only place in America that makes yurts-to-order. (Of course.)
Eye Exams for $50USD. (In Hong Kong it’s free… but you know…)
These vintage Warby Parker bikes will be making their way to Art Basel in Miami where customers can buy them directly from the bikes.
Personalized holiday cards via Letterpress printing from The Arm.
A bookstore from McSweeney’s. You need glasses to read right?
The bookstore carries work by Miranda July, the indie world’s Tina Fey basically.
I settled on these beautiful specs called the Griffin, a greyish tortoise-shell. Of course I was leaving NYC so I just bought the frame without prescription lenses which is about 10USD cheaper. I’ll look like Harry Potter in them.
They rang up my transaction wirelessly via their iPod. It’s really neat.
The whole process was quick. It was very year 2016. They can email or sms you your receipt!
And done. Got a free tote bag and a poster too! The glasses case it comes with is very nice and chic.
45 Grand Street, NYC 10013 / WARBY PARKER E-STORE ONLINE
JJ.
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