New York City is chock full of premium stores that cater to fashion-forward tastemakers. However, there are eight buzz-worthy stores that should be added onto your shopping trip to-do list while frolicking around the Big Apple:
• Cream is located in the Upper East Side at 1124 3rd Avenue. This established boutique carries both the tried-and-true brands along with haute new designer frocks. In addition to offering quality styles, the boutique offers alterations that are done in a quick yet tailored manner. If you are unsure on what to wear in order to feel confident in acing an interview or need assistance with recreating your wardrobe, you can make an appointment with one of the in-house personal stylists. As if that isn’t incentive enough to add a spoon full of Cream to your shopping destination, last minute, after-hours shopping is offered for the moments you are stuck in a fashion bind.
• Steal the hot looks from your favorite on-screen girlfriends, Samantha, Miranda and Carrie at the Patricia Field store. The Sex in the City & Beyond Collection created by Field is full of modern pieces for the femme-on-the-go. The colorful and edgy store creates an atmosphere that’s conducive to spending time on finding fashion. You can never go wrong with buying a piece from Emmy-award winning costume designer and native New Yorker Patricia Field. The renowned boutique is located at 302 Bowery, between Houston and Bleeker Street, in the East Village.
• Odin is the oasis of all things hip for the special guy in your life. Contemporary designers such as Rachel Comey, 3.1 Phillip Lim and other fashion-forward designers blended with designer newcomers are carried in the store, located at 199 Lafayette Street between Kenmare and Broome in SOHO. You can even snag great men’s grooming and bath products here. Whether you stop in to just pick up a new screen print tee or need a head-to-toe look, Odin has separates and hook-ups that will transition you from a day to night look.
• After you’re done shopping with your boyfriend at Odin, take a stroll over to the sophisticated boutique, Calypso St. Barth. It is nearly neighbors with Odin, located at 191 Lafayette. Calypso offers styles that reflect grown-up maturity with a youthful and feminine touch. The boutique started out 16 years ago as a strictly resort-wear collection but has now blossomed into a lovely garden of luxury styles that can be worn beachside as well as at an evening rooftop party. The array of accessories, shoes and sportswear offer a selection of lavish looks at fantastic prices. This is also a great place to pick up a gift as Calypso carries fragrance and far-from-ordinary jewelry.
• Jeffrey is located at 449 West 14th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues. This swanky store offers celebrity treatment by sales assistants in the form of personal shoppers. The owner, Jeffrey Kalinsky, and the buyer, David Rubenstein, work together as a cohesive team in bringing in fresh styles for both men and women. An added bonus to your store visit is the resident DJ, who sets your shopping off to a musically appealing start.
• Blue & Cream (B&C) carries multiple designers along with its exclusive private label brand that can be seen on a long list of celebrities. The boutique caters to both men and women jetsetters by offering well-known luxury brands along with stylish and travel friendly loungewear. The one-of-a-kind styles offered at the store set them apart from the plethora of shops throughout the New York City area that may carry similar styles. For fashionistas, dresses cut in sexy silhouettes by Herve Leger and Helmut Lang are featured in the store. For gentlemen, quality Japanese denim and fresh colors of high-top Nike sneakers are offered. Check out B&C at their 1 East 1st Street location.
• You are sure to leave with something fabulous after visiting What Comes Around Goes Around, located at 351 West Broadway. Nothing is more satisfying than finding an authentic vintage find! The store’s offerings are based on the owners’ ten-years-plus experience in the vintage clothing industry. The Custom Vintage Collection consists of styles that are made from bona fide vintage fabrics. Everything from intricate detailed pieces from the Victorian era right on down to the various denim washes offered from the 1980s can be found in this store.
• Although relatively young as a brand in the fashion industry, Alice+Olivia continues to host collections based off of the whimsical inspirations of its designer Stacey Bendet. The boutique’s inviting layout of well-dressed mannequins serves as the perfect muse for a shopper that is in need of learning how to put together the season’s hottest looks. This is also the perfect place to find the must-have dress for a planned engagement or for finding everyday pieces you can wear to the office. Alice+Olivia is located right outside of the scenic Bryant Park at 80 West 40th Street in Manhattan.
Don’t be surprised if, while you’re on your shopping excursion, you encounter even more fanciful treats outside of the eight we’ve just mentioned; every it girl has to have her own, secret favorites, of course!