Uniqlo +J on Sale

Anne, our archivist and 34th Street building history expert, just dropped by my office to talk sexy cornices and Uniqlo's +J. The sexy cornice post is for later this week. The +J is today because it's on sale right now.

She picked up this impeccable +J cropped peacoat at Uniqlo on 34th Street for $99, reg. priced at $199. DEAL. I'm going by tomorrow to check out the entire stock (regular brand and +J), but it sounds like it's a perfect time to buy some of the +J final collection.


Uniqlo 31 W. 34th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues

Long Vests and Wedding Dresses

My colleague Anne and I went shopping the other week for weddings. She has two weddings to attend, and both are evening events. Anne was hoping she could find one dress that could do for both, or two that wouldn't break the bank. We went first to H&M Herald Square and got stuck there, but in a good way.

I got distracted immediately by all the trend pieces by the door on the first floor, and found a long, furry black vest that says "fashion week uniform" to me. Anne tried on this purple lace dress as she was trying very hard to not buy black, and we both liked it. Till she tried on a black dress.

Click to see the pleats. More perfect. And it's the perfect amount of sheer for an evening wedding (not enough to be trampy but enough to make it dressy). After I drooled over this long motorcycle vest I took a little time to shoot Anne. But not enough time to get a shot with her eyes open. Sorry, Anne! My excuse is I was reliving my '80's metal days. And I always get excited with the (millionth) resurgence of the motorcycle jacket trend. Anne got the black dress and a soft pink dress as a back up, so she's set for weddings. Me, I'm still thinking about long vests.


H&M Herald Square 34th Street and Sixth Avenue

Going 80's at H&M

Favorite subject line of all emails received last week: kati goes 80s at h&m.

And attached are photos of some not-too-80's looks Kati tried at H&M on 34th & 7th.

Pink top with exaggerated shoulder, $12.95. Love. Green pants with modified drop-waist, $49.95. Almost love. I want the waist to be higher, and, as Kati pointed out, the side view is all "mom jeans." Bad 80's.


















Two dresses, the ever-present black bandage dress ($24.95), and a really great winter white dress. Click to check out the cool rope pattern on the shoulders ($34.95).


















Kati was a little horrified by all the 80's styles in H&M. We commiserated on how "it's everywhere" and wondered "how are we going to wear this?" By "we" I mean "her" because I'm hoping maternity leave will help me escape from fall/winter 80's, and by spring we'll be onto some other decade. I don't hate the 80's, I was just expecting it to die already. And all 80's all the time is, in my grouchy, post-holiday weekend opinion, yuk. But I was comforted by Kati's reaction to the 80's takeover in H&M, as our 80's experiences vary greatly: hers being the decade she was born in, and mine being the decade I discovered black rubber bracelets, big hair, Naf Naf, and really tight jeans.

H&M, 435 7th Avenue @ 34th Street

1969's: The Men's

I took Martin to Gap Herald Square to try on the new 1969 men's denim. Naturally I was pleased when Martin choose the style my favorite male model in the campaign is wearing, Mr. Skinny Jean: Sell those skinnies! Here's Martin in his, also doing an admirable job of selling us some jeans:


Front view, side view.









And a few shirts. Left is a shirt/jacket hybrid we both found interesting, and to the right is a grey chambray, denim-look shirt ($44.50) which also comes in blue. We preferred the grey with the jeans. I wasn't thrilled with many of the men's shirts, but these two are definitely worth a look.

(Below left, my favorite shot! Thanks, Martin!)



















Martin bought the skinny, raw denim jeans and is wearing them today at work. They look great on him and he's happy with the fit. He also got the $20 off Gap is now offering for the new 1969's, which was a good incentive, as he felt the jeans were more than worth the final price of $68 (after the $20 off). And Martin is no casual denim buyer. Nope, this is definitely a guy of discerning denim taste.

Gap Herald Square, 60 W. 34th at 6th Avenue

The Man Bag

George got a lovely man-bag at Fossil a few weeks ago. Oops, should not say "lovely" when talking about men's bags. But still, it's very pretty. I mean handsome.


Looks like you can put a lot inside. George likes it for his laptop. It's also got that handy little outside pocket, good for keys and subway cards.










Although it is quite large. Have you noticed us girls now have some competition on the subways? With the emergence of the man bag and its popularity, men no longer exclusively carry the compact briefcase that is set on the ground between the legs. No, now we've got shoulder room competition with ensuing glares. All the more reason for us girls to visit Fossil on 34th Street and buy him a nice, small man bag for him to sling around on subway cars. Besides, today is the debut of Fossil's new line of shoes in-store, so you can also check out all those cute new shoes IRL.

Fossil, 38 W. 34th between 5th & 6th

Lela Rose for Payless, IRL

KT bought these Lela Rose flats during the last BOGO session at Payless. I think they are adorable:

Chic! Of course she has a perfect tan so they look fabulous.














KT said they are comfortable but chafe a little at the heel. I find most of my new Payless shoes need some breaking in, and the Lela Roses are generally the most comfortable flats. KT also said she's always looking for a wide, comfortable toe in her flats, and these fit the bill. Her other BOGO selection:








American Eagle flats, all cuteness. They are, as KT said, a great running-around summer shoe ($17.99).

And don't miss Lindsey's favorite flat (she's wearing them here), also American Eagle, which she has worn almost daily for work since BOGO'ing them a few weeks ago. She's even wearing them right now, with a broken toe! $19.99 on sale.


Payless, 110 W. 34th @ Broadway & 484 8th @ 34th

Bona Fide 34!

Lindsey is almost 100% bona fide 34th Street today:


Dress she just bought at H&M, $29-ish, sunglasses from Forever 21, $6-ish, leggings from Strawberry, also $6-ish, and, I quote, "crappy ballet slippers I have had forever."

Her outfit makes me want to wear cute plaid dresses all summer long. And it has inspired me to finally jump on the ballet slipper bandwagon. Late, I know, but sometimes I'm contrary like that.

H&M, 435 7th Avenue @ 34th Street
Forever 21, 50 W. 34th between 5th & 6th
Strawberry, Manhattan Mall level 2, 33rd & Broadway

Staff Support, Day 2

These walked into my office yesterday to brag:
















Black buckle boots from Daffy's Herald Square for $40. And check out the whole ensemble:


Lindsey in her vintage 80's Valentino dress with her Daffy's boots. I love how she matched up the boots with this very feminine, 80's dress. Lindsey, too, works outside a lot, and these boots are, in her words, perfect to run around the city in. Exactly. Thanks for doing my work for me guys! I have such great co-workers. Just don't ask me to paint any trash cans or nothing in return, kay?

Daffy's Herald Square, 1311 Broadway @ 34th Street

Staff Support

Here I sat at my desk, all wondering "What to blog?" when I looked over and saw this:

Martin, aka officemate, in his Nike Airmax boots. Colorful and waterproof, really good for Martin as he works outside. Bought last year at Shoe Mania on 34th Street but you can still find similarly colorful ones there now, and everything is 50% off (restrictions apply, etc.). I also saw a black pair at Foot Locker on 34th Street if color is not your thing.

What I really love about these is they are men's outdoor boots that don't look like hiking boots and aren't super dull. They don't even really look like boots.

Yeah, my officemate and his boots are #1.

Shoe Mania, 11 W. 34th between 5th & 6th
Foot Locker, 120 W. 34th between Broadway & 7th