Altogether Now

Here's what made me jump up and down and yell in my office last week because, well, I'm a little excitable:

"This is going to be Topshop in all its glory...It's not going to be Americanized. It will be London transferred to New York," said Sir Phillip Green, the retailer's owner....Green arrived in town this week for some advance publicity, and to prowl for other Manhattan sites. On his radar - 34th Street, and ________ and _______ Avenue in the _______. He said he's not close to securing a second site, but things could change during this visit. "I've got 10 sites to look at in three days. If the right deal comes up, I would do it," Green said. "If I find three, I will open three."

-WWD, Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Obviously ______ & _______is not a direct quote. But in order to keep the good Topshop karma coming 34th Street way, I cannot mention any other part of town in conjunction with the T word (karmic law). Not that I wouldn't love to see Topshops all over NYC, I'm just putting my psychic effort behind the ONE street (Topshop 34th Street, Topshop 34th Street). If I could, this post would be like a psychedelic record from the 60's and have subliminal messages. Play it backwards and it would say "Topshop, 34th Street" over and over in a scary voice.

So let's start the universal cosmic chant that Sir Philip Green and associated real estate bigwigs will be unable to resist: "Topshop 34th Street, Topshop 34th Street." Oh, I'm so overcaffeinated this morning.

Who shall be our chant leader? Of course, SwamiLeon!

Macy's Juniors Rocks

I practiced a little self-control the other day and ignored Macy's second floor. Instead I headed right to Juniors on the fourth floor, Broadway side, because there's a lot on sale (mostly 50% off). And in Juniors you can find some interesting trends cheap, like these embroidered tops (grey top $28, Sele black w/white $39) and these dresses, or tunic tops, depending on your height (dark orange stripe $44, grey PinkRose w/pockets $44):
















I'm a big Gwen fan from way back, so when I saw this brown velour Harajuku Lovers zip-up hoodie I had to try it on. Ok, I know this probably looks too junior's but I still really want it:

And, in keeping with the too junior's theme, a tokidoki hoodie:












This reminds me to tell you Le Sportsac fans to look for the new line of highly coveted tokidoki bags to be released in August. Macy's Herald Square usually carries the full collection. In the meantime, go buy this tokidoki hoodie ($40) featuring Adios, the grim reaper, his girl Ciao Ciao, and a skull and bones zipper! OMG, I totally heart them!

Ok, back to adulthood with some almost perfect, long denim shorts by Rerock ($79). The denim is soft and I love the western front pocket detail (sorry, bad picture, the stitching is yellow):

But I'm a little wary of the back pocket detail as I'm an old-fashioned, levi's type of girl and prefer to go easy on the rear-end embellishment:

So what's the theme of the day? Grow up! No, kidding, go check out Macy's Juniors on 4 for some great deals.

* the hat is from Strawberry, Manhattan Mall, $7.99. Very convenient for bad hair days.


Macy's Herald Square, 151 W. 34th btwn Broadway & 7th Avenue

Lela's Baby Shoes

Not only does Lela Rose make great big girl shoes for Payless, but now she's got adorable shoes for the little ones, too.










I really like how her aesthetic stands true in this line. Understated but pretty, these aren't cutesy baby shoes. Although I must say, look at the ones in the middle; how cute is the little flower? Yes, it's impossible to talk about infant attire without saying "cute." All these "Infant Teeny Toes Lela Rose for Payless" (whew!) are $17.

Happy Sunday shopping!

Payless, 484 8th Ave @34th Street
or
Payless, 110 W. 34th @ Broadway

Cynthia's Shoes

Here are Cynthia Rowley's shoes on-stage yesterday at the HGTV Design Star event in Greeley Square:

Beautiful, I'm green with envy. They look a lot like what she showed on her spring 2008 runway. And I'm digging the nail polish, a silvery, dove-grey.

Here's the rest of her outfit, below, with the other hosts:















I like the simplicity of it all: the pretty, basic-black tent dress, the pulled-back hair, the black shades, and then, pow! Great, kickass shoes in a neutral color.

Here's some pictures of the rest of the event in Greeley Square:

The cute little house;












The contestants;














Hmm, does Cynthia has a favorite?













While we're talking Cynthia, it's only fair to remind you to not miss her Target line of outdoor gear. How cute is this madras beach tote for $14.99? I know, we don't have Target on 34th Street. What's up with that? We NEED Target on 34th Street! I'm starting a petition.




Greeley Square, between 32nd & 33rd and Broadway & 6th Avenue, just south of Herald Square

Thursday the 12th

An interesting 34th Street day today. First up, found this while walking to the district, easily the most interesting outfit seen in days:




Bravo, girl! Colorful and a little kooky, don't you agree? Do you think she's meeting the girls for the Sex and the City movie later? Love the side ponytail. I was desperately trying to catch up with her, dying to know what was going on in the front, but she escaped into a building before I could get a shot.




Then, right after I shot the mint-skirted dress, the Forever 21 top I dissed yesterday walks right past me, looking totally adorable. I was so taken aback I cried out, on the Avenue of Americas to lunchtime midtown Manhattan, "it's cute on her!" Totally humbled, I realize the problem was me, not the top.

Next, on my way to the Max Mara sale, I get sidetracked by one of my favorite discount stores, Joey New York. Unable to resist $1 wife beaters, I also shop this:

A big pile of Havaianas sandals, all with little American flags! All $2! Weird, right?! There's also white and blue. I bought the yellow because all the blogging girls have been talking about yellow lately.





($2 Havaianas update: Unfortunately, when I got back to the office I checked with my Havaianas expert, Jeffrey, who immediately proclaimed "Not real!" What a shopping buzz kill. Oh, well, they were just $2 and they match my yellow-framed aviators from Forever 21.)

Speaking of cheap, someone should notify The New York Times that I have found the world's cheapest dress at the world's greatest store, Macy's. After checking out MaxMara (more on that tomorrow), I visit Macy's and am rewarded with this tag:



Dress sale price, one cent. I found this on a 50% off rack on the junior's floor, but this is more like 99.99% off. I'm assuming someone pulled a fast one and returned a worn dress? It looked perfectly fine, but had a nice, laundered smell about it. God bless Macy's for helping us out during this recession.








And just when you think it's gotten really weird, you see this:

A jacket by Paris Hilton, right next to the one cent dress. Which makes a lot of sense. But check out that lining. Does Paris know she's co-opted Patricia Field's silhouette logo (see logo necklace, above right) for her Macy's Barbie collection? Or vice-versa? And will there be a tussle? I doubt Pat would take the time to give Paris a beat-down, but then again, her new Payless shoes are called "Heiress." It would be some great PR if Pat wore her Heiress shoes while kicking some heiress butt.

Tomorrow, being Friday the 13th, will surely be more normal than today, Thursday the 12th.

Joey New York, 500 8th Ave between 35th & 36th
Macy's Herald Square, 151 34th btwn Broadway & 7th

Max Mara Sale & Design Star III

A quick note to remind everyone of the last day of the Max Mara sale at Soiffer Haskin. Everything has been reduced 25%. Why go? Max Mara = stylish, classy & quality clothing. Recent grads, this is your great interview suit resource.

Also, while in the neighborhood drop by Greeley Square today to meet the new cast of HGTV's Design Star III. They'll be there till 3pm.

Soiffer Haskin, 317 W. 33rd just west of 8th Ave

Full Fashion Disclosure: Shake it Off

I just wrote a whole post bitching about an unsuccessful Forever 21 trip. But then I put up the pictures and realized I kind of like the tops. And the jeans and the jackets. I wish now I'd bought something. Could it be that I'm having a grouchy week and am thus hating on everything (like acid wash yesterday and New Yorkers on the subway this morning, thanks to the proliferation of man bags but that's for another post)?

Here are the pictures:


























Here's me being positive:

I LOVE shopping Forever 21 before 10am (on 34th Street it's open 9am every day but Sunday). The racks are restocked, you aren't tripping over teenagers and you can get right into a dressing room. And those black jeans may be the best fitting and least expensive skinny jean in the world. I didn't buy them as I'm already way over my black skinny jean allotment.
Prices: jeans $12.50: black safari jacket $22.80; ribbon top (shown backwards) $22.80; purple blouse $17.80; white top w/red $19.80; print top $17.80. Heritage1981: purple hoodie $26.90 w/blue jacket $24.90; pink sweater dress $24; navy & cream striped dress $19.80.

And the disclosure, a bit of the bitchy stuff:

Everything looked appealing on the rack but after wrestling around for my size (overstuffed racks, grrr), I'd pull it out and ugh, excessive adornment everywhere. Like this:

I wanted to like it, I felt like it reminded me of something, but why? Why stuff on top, and stuff on the bottom? While "referencing" the lovely resort collections this season, can the design team please harken this famous (albeit loosely translated) fashion advice: "remove 1 gee-gaw from your ensemble before you let it walk out the door."



I bet retailers fantasize about controlling our moods....


Forever 21, 50 W. 34th between 5th & 6th