Designer shopping in USA
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New Orleans Fashion Collaborative
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many local and independent clothing designers banded together and formed this collective and began staging a weekly fashion bazaar at the Maple Leaf Bar in the Riverbend. Many of the vendors here sell their goods in shops around town, particularly on Magazine St, but this big stylish event brings it all together, with a wide selection of women's and men's apparel.
The sensibilities run the gamut from hip to casual, way-in to way-out, with lots of groovy retro styles woven into the fabric. Costumes, hats, shoes and jewelry are also sold. The low overhead means better deals for shoppers, and it's an excellent opportunity to assemble your pa…
reviewed
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Worth Ave
This quarter-mile, palm-tree-lined strip of the highest end shops is like the Rodeo Drive of the east. You can trace its history back to the 1920s, when the now-gone Everglades Club here staged weekly fashion shows and launched the careers of designers from Bonwit Teller to Elizabeth Arden.
Today you'll find more than 200 shops, representing every exclusive brand known to humanity: Cartier, Armani, Gucci, Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Ann Gish, Dana Buchman, Emilo Pucci and Hermes are just the beginning. (Half the shops close for summer.) It's fun to stroll and window shop, whether you want to lay down your plastic or not.
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Highland Park Village
For an eye-rolling, gasp-inducing and credit card–maxing experience, head to Spanish Mission–style Highland Park Village in upper-crust Highland Park, which claims to be the oldest suburban shopping center in the world. If Jimmy Choo and Harry Winston are among your intimate acquaintances, you’ll feel at home. If they’re not, it’s still worth a look around to see Dallas money in action (or just to see who wins when an Escalade and a Jaguar face off for a prime parking spot).
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Gump's
About 150 years before Pier One reduced Asian import chic to wicker papasan chairs, Gump's was quietly outfitting Pacific Heights meditation rooms and Nob Hill Japanese gardens with authentic decor touches. Since 1861, San Franciscan Solomon Gump's posh import and export gift emporium has been the purveyor of a range of high-end-to-overpriced, tasteful-to-bland antiques, decorative arts and Asian home furnishings, all lovingly presented in lavish window displays.
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Inga's Once Is Not Enough
Known as the first lady of retail couture, Inga has all the big names - Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Marc Jacobs - for sale at her fine consignment shop. Herself a fashion consultant for the local Fox channel, Inga takes her customers firmly in hand, showing them what they really want to buy in her very crowded shop thick with designer labels. It's easiest to drive; for parking, try N or Prospect Sts to the north of Wisconsin Ave (around 36th Street).
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Rabat
A frenetic collection of high-end and local designers (some of whom even work in-store), Rabat offers style without sacrificing function, with trim Nanette Lapore jackets and Michael Stars tees. The owner makes frequent trips to Europe to personally select the bounce-in-your-step men's shoes and flat-yet-snazzy women's shoes found at 3909 24th St - be prepared to pay the price for such stylish imports.
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Venus Superstar
Head-to-toe originality isn't an urban legend but an actual possibility with one-off Coma & Cotton screen-printed tees, skirts ruched beyond all recognition by Death + Co, and chunky statement jewelry by designer/owner Rebecca Vandersteen. Call ahead: The hours are erratic, and if you wait on this corner, people will think you're in the market for something more psychedelic than local fashion.
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Propeller
Don't think of it as a design store, but a cocoon where decor metamorphoses occur: a single Wellington boot becomes a cheeky vase, rosy-cheeked porcelain baby-doll heads turn into uniquely sinister candle holders, and meticulous layers of hot glue make a mesmerizing lampshade. For truly original gifts, this design showcase highlights innovation and local designers, not just trendy brand names.
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Lemon Twist
Refresh your wardrobe with a little Lemon Twist, a relentlessly inventive local designer who doesn't wait for the seasons to change, but adds a new outfit every 42 days. They'll whip up any design you like in the fabric of your choice, tailored to fit - check out the swatches and rolls behind the counter. Don't miss Lemon Drop either, the new line for babies in polka dots and bold stripes.
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Nest
Remember the last time you sneaked into a bedroom at a party? That's the thrill of Nest, where this intimate space is dominated by a wrought-iron bedstead draped in teal Chinese silk bedding, celadon petticoats waving in the breeze from their hangers and nymphets skipping across framed Victorian book plates. Even the chandeliers are bound in twigs, indulging their nesting instincts.
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Loopy Mango
The brainchild of crochet designer Waejong Kim and artist Anna Pulvermakher, Loopy Mango features Waejong's one-of-a-kind crochet clothes and accessories, and Anna's series of woodcuts and crochet jewelry and accessories. The two women, both artists, opened a second DUMBO store on Front St; they carry other designers like Cynthia Rowley and Vera Wang.
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Stella McCartney
More showroom than full-fledged store, McCartney's Meatpacking outpost has a minimal selection on hand, but oh what a selection it is. Drapy, gauzy, muted in color yet high on femininity, the delicate, ethereal clothes shine in this pared-down setting. Of course, McCartney's clothes are animal-product free, in keeping with her vegan philosophy.
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Il Negozio
You might be fed up with closet-sized boutiques with a selection of three dresses all in size zero, but you needn't avoid this stylish store. It's a large old house, converted into a large store, with a lush garden out front. The merchandise includes an assortment of dresses, skirts, pants and blouses by European and American designers.
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Fashion District
Heading east on Olympic Blvd takes you into the heart of the Fashion District, a 90-block nirvana for bargain hunters, even if shopping around here is more Middle Eastern bazaar than Rodeo Dr, and haggling is ubiquitous. There's a head-spinning selection of samples, knockoffs and original designs at cut-rate prices.
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Laku
Hair clips with cherry blossoms in kimono fabric, baby hoodies in reclaimed cashmere with bunnies in built-in pockets, and velvet rosebud slippers you'll wish came in your size - hey, you're in luck. Owner and designer Yaeko Yamashita brings whimsy to everything she makes, including the brown paper packages tied with striped string.
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Pieces Of
Owned by the husband-and-wife duo who opened the first Pieces in Brooklyn, this new outpost has the same eclectic, handpicked collection of clothing and accessories from local and national designers. Find funky, sexy halter dresses, flouncy blouses and Pucci-like tunics, plus a range of hip accessories and unique outerwear.
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Betsey Johnson
Shameless flirting is the natural reaction to putting on a Betsey Johnson number, cut for dangerous curves, nights out and high kicks. Since the '60s, the American designer to rockers and rebels has been adding trademark playful feminine touches to urban designs. Couches welcome the fashion-weary.
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Mary Adams The Dress
You can pick a lacy, romantic Mary Adams off the rack, or ask the designer to make one just for you - prices start at around US$1500. Adams' designs are eye-catching and innovative while remaining classically romantic. She's a favorite among those shopping for wedding gowns.
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Nellie M Boutique
Located off Madison Ave, this inviting boutique carries upscale-but-hip clothing from smaller designer labels (such as Rebecca Taylor) that are found at most Upper East Side (UES) giants. There's also plenty of evening wear and accessories, as well as more sporty finds.
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Dear Fieldbinder
Located on big-name Smith St, this white-walled store more than holds its own with some big name designers - A Cheng, for one - while making sure to showcase some raw talent too (Wendy Hil, Para Gabia, Tom K Nguyen). The clothes are eclectic, but classically feminine.
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Clothes Encounters Of A Second Kind
If it's not in style this season you won't find it at this high-end consignment shop. Each item is carefully selected and you can find some designer classics discarded by Washington's upper crust at reasonable - although definitely not bargain basement - prices.
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Otto Tootsi Plohound
All the labels you love - Miu Miu, Cynthia Rowley, Helmut Lang, Paul Smith and Prada Sport among them - dangle like candy before your eyes. Otto Tootsi's comfy Soho store takes window design to a new level--it's worth stopping by just for the 'wow' factor.
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Pure Detroit
Local artists create stylish products for Pure Detroit that celebrate the city's fast-cars-and-rock-music culture. This auto-centric outlet in GM's headquarters offers clocks made out of pistons and handbags cut from Camaro upholstery.
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Chanel Boutique At The Willard Collection
One of the world's largest Chanel boutiques, this shop inside the classy DC hotel offers the classic designer's signature line of shoes, suits, purses and sunglasses. It's also one of the few major designers to have a shop downtown.
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Mustard Seed
A Bethesda stalwart, this shop has been around for decades. Skip the overpriced new clothes displayed up front and head straight for the better deals in the middle. You have to dig a bit, but you can come up with designer finds.
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