Thursday, April 30, 2015

Desigual: Free Shipping until Sunday

If you can't shop one of our two Desigual stores in the 34th Street District, this is your time to shop the vibrant Spanish retailer online as shipping is free until Sunday! Time to get a new bag, maybe?

Clean and classic with a tassel. San Francisco Neograb, $124

So much going on with this bag that it is making me love it. SUMMER. London Medium Art, $99

Rotterdam Urban Luxe, I am totally digging your hippie metal vibe. $104


Desigual
958 Avenue of the Americas at 35th Street 
358 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street


Tuesday, April 28, 2015

From the Archives: From Mail Bags to Designer Bags

Today, in honor of New York Fashion Week's move to Moynihan Station, our 34th Street archivist Anne Kumer shares some history of the building also known as Farley Post Office. This post also appears on NYC Circa.

In the early 1900s, much of Midtown Manhattan west of Seventh Avenue was residential. Situated between the city's dirty ports and arguably just as dirty as the Tenderloin district, the area was home to low income families and the generally disenfranchised. Developers saw it as the perfect location for a new railway station that would connect Manhattan to the state of Pennsylvania. They purchased property, and most of the residents were pushed out of the area and into neighborhoods farther north.

When Penn Station was built in 1910, it brought commuters, pleasure seekers, and commerce straight into Manhattan from across the Hudson river and farther west. The Farley Post Office building, then known as the Pennsylvania Terminal Building, just to the west, was built right after completion of Pennsylvania Station, and opened to the public in September, 1914. Both buildings were designed and built by McKim, Mead &White, and both played a significant role in turning the neighborhood from residential to commercial.

Overview of Farley and Penn Station, looking west. Smaller apartment buildings and brownstones are still visible to the buildings' north (right of the frame). Photo: MCNY

N.Y.'s new Post Office (LOC)
Image: LOC

Image: Pisark's Cards

In 1914, Ira Schnapp, who at the time was designing stamps for the Postal Department, was hired as a stone carver by the US Post Office Department to design, and hand-carve the famous quote on the building's front facade:

NEITHER SNOW NOR RAIN NOR HEAT NOR GLOOM OF NIGHT STAYS THESE COURIERS FROM THEIR APPOINTED ROUNDS

The quote comes from Herodotus' Histories 8.98, and refers to Angarum, the royal riding post in the Persian Empire. Schnapp had previous experience carving, having completed the front facade of the New York Public Library in 1911 when he was just 19 years old.

Around 1918, Penn Terminal was renamed General Post Office Building.

General Post Office Building, 1920. Photo: NYPL Digital

In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed James A. Farley as the 53rd Postmaster General. Under Farley's leadership, a western annex was added onto the existing building in 1934, and The General Post Office building was extended all the way to Ninth Avenue, giving it superblock status. Farley served until 1940, successfully managing the postal service during the Great Depression, and greatly improving trans-continental mailing services.

Farley Post Office Mail Sorting Room, [1914-1915]. Image: LOC 
Now the site of the future Moynihan Station, the Farley building may soon be converted back into a functioning train station and civic center. The project has its own history dating back to the 1990s, when New York State Senator Patrick Moynihan first suggested the conversion. For now, it continues to adapt yet again, to the city's changing needs, as the new location for New York Fashion Week.

Friday, April 24, 2015

34th Street Weekend Pick: Mango

Mango
It's a great time to shop Mango and get 50% off select sale styles. Two reasons why I love shopping Mango on 34th Street are below: see chic, stark simplicity, and well-done trends. 7 West 34th Street just west of Fifth Avenue

   

Monday, April 20, 2015

Macy's Herald Square's Friends & Family: Shop Pre-Sale Now!

Just in time for Mother's Day, and just in time to refresh your wardrobe for spring and summer: Macy's Friends & Family is back! The official sale fun starts this Sunday, April 26.


But pre-sale has already begun, so between now and Saturday, April 25, you can shop Macy's Herald Square, ask your sales associate to hold your items, then pick them up after the sale starts on Sunday. April 26 to get 25% off (see flier above for exclusions). For a little inspiration, below are several lovely items spotted last week on the fourth floor. Happy friends & family shopping!

Kiind Of really adorable.
Max Mara Weekend: always love items from this line.
More Kiind Of. New line to me and a new favorite.

Macy's Herald Square
151 West 34th Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Lilly Pulitzer for Target

Get out your wallets, and get ready for some shopping fun, because for a limited time only Target will be home to the much anticipated Lilly Pulitzer clothing and accessories line, created exclusively for Target. This collaboration hits stores and is available online Sunday, April 19, and features 250 items including clothing, shoes, jewelry, accessories, home and beauty.

Lilly Pulitzer was a New York socialite who created her iconic line in 1959. Her clothing and accessories are famously known for featuring bright, colorful, bold prints. Pulitzer, who initially opened and operated a Palm Beach juice stand, found that squeezing the juice made a mess of her clothing. She created a dress with bright, colorful patterns in order to camouflage the juice stains. She found that customers loved her clothing so she decided to start making more dresses to sell. As the popularity of her dresses took off, she decided to focus solely on her clothing and leave the juice business behind.

What's the hype? Lilly fans are everywhere. This collaboration brings the iconic and always fun Palm Beach brand to everyone for great prices.

We were lucky enough to get a sneak speak of this exclusive line that features 15 prints, created specifically for Target, that will turn anyone into a Lilly fan.

Here are some of our collections favorites: 

Houseware: The collection features the perfect bar-ware to host your next party. The swizzle sticks and giraffe bottle opener will be sure to spruce up any drink. 


      

Clothing: A wonderful thing about this collaboration is the fact that it features the traditional signature shift dresses, as well as fun and flirty rompers and jumpsuits.

      


      


Accessories: The headband, which comes in two patterns, is a perfect accessory for any beach look. The blue seashell pattern also happens to be our favorite of the 15. 


      

Outdoor: No poolside party is complete without these patterned lounge chairs and hammock. Not only is the hammock beyond adorable but it is so comfortable. 

      
All Photos Target

Every Target store will sell the collection so don't worry about missing out. Also much of the collection will be online only, including plus size and most of the shoes and jewelry. We recommend having a list of what you want ahead of time to optimize your shopping time, but there are so many cute clothes and accessories, it will be hard to not get lost in Lilly Land. If you've got housewares on your list, head for them first as they went fast at Target's NYC launch in Bryant Park. So go check it out, have fun, and happy shopping!  

#NYFW Finds a New Home in the 34th Street District

When the rumors were swirling earlier this year about Fashion Week's new home, we were of course hoping New York Fashion Week would land in Moynihan Station. This week we got the great news: indeed, the spring 2016 shows will kick-off in Skylight Studios Moynihan Station in Midtown, and in Skylight Studios Clarkson Square in Soho.

Eighth Avenue steps of Moynihan Station
Why is this such a great location? Further downtown might be hip, but Moynihan keeps it central. Multiple subway lines, buses, and close proximity to the Garment District means ease of travel for fashion pros and clothes alike. Once again, designers will be able to roll racks to a show, like one would sometimes see near Bryant Park, fashion week's home before Lincoln Center. Moynihan Station sits at the southern edge of the Garment District and toward the western end of the 34th Street District, both neighborhoods that still act as home to designers and clothing companies.

Which brings us to shopping. What makes waves on the runways will soon make its way into stores on 34th Street. Styles and sometimes designers seen at Moynihan will make their way around the corner to the stores that New Yorkers and tourists shop. Contextually speaking, this is really bringing fashion to the people. Just don't try crashing a show ;)

Also, Moynihan Station is a beautiful, dramatic structure with soaring ceilings and a history linked to one of New York City's most mourned and beloved buildings. Once known only as New York City's general post office, portions of the landmark building are being adapted and converted to a new Amtrak concourse.


Let's end with the post office's fabulous steps. While currently under repair, one can dream that the steps to Farley Post Office will become a grand entrance to New York Fashion Week. The lobby is still used for postal services, but wouldn't the steps be a perfect setting for dramatic, street-style photography? Reminiscent of the Sixth Avenue steps once lined with paparazzi at the tents in Bryant Park, bloggers et al. will hopefully next be posing on Eighth Avenue. Perhaps with packages, that can then be dropped off in the lobby for mailing on one's way to a show. Multi-tasking at its most fashionable.

Welcome to Moynihan Station and the 34th Street District, New York Fashion Week.





Thursday, April 9, 2015

34th Street Weekend Pick: Desigual Friends & Family

25% off the entire collection at Desigual this weekend, today through Sunday only! It's going to be a party so bring your friends and family, but you know it's always a party when you shop the colorful and joyous collections of Desigual. 358 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street




Friday, April 3, 2015

34th Street Weekend Picks: AEO, Levi's, Express

American Eagle Outfitters
Buy one get one 50% off AEO and Aerie collections. Yes, this includes festival-wear, kids. And everyone already knows how much I love Aerie everything, right? 40 West 34th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, see store for sale details




Express
40% off everything (except gift cards and watches, see store for details), including a lot of great flats, floral, strappy heels, and adorable dresses. Manhattan Mall, level one, 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue




Levi's
40% off $250, 25% off $150. I am nuts for Levi's classic denim, all the time. When they do these percentage off total purchase sales, I stock up for the family. See store for sale details. 45 West 34th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues






Thursday, April 2, 2015

Joe Fresh Spring Basics and the Animals

We are here today to peruse Joe Fresh's really cute spring basics. We are also here today to say: animal print tops. Because they are totally cute, and we need them. But also because Joe Fresh says cat, we say camel, and Joe Fresh says bird, we say whales. Really, we had a whole debate on this in the office yesterday. "That one looks like a kitty, and that one looks like a camel." "Birds? No way, those are whales."

Personally, I see a camel/elephant hybrid frolicking with kitties. And yes, totally whales. Those in no way resemble birds.

Maybe this is a really cute, wearable Rorschach Test and Joe Fresh is just helping you break the ice at parties. Or maybe they're about to go viral.

As for the rest of Joe Fresh for April, it all definitely looks like great basics.


         


Bonus? Get up to 70% off clearance for a limited time. Visit soon!

Joe Fresh
215 West 34th Street just west of Seventh Avenue