New York: East Village & Lower Eastside

May 14th, 2010 | Posted in: travel

Round 2 of my New York city places to see. East Side, here we go!

Tokio 7
First up is Tokio 7. This place looks like your average vintage store, the only difference being that it is packed with only designer products. Marc Jacobs, Margiela, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, you name it, they’ve got it. And at good prices. As it is all real deal designer products it is more expensive, but still a bargain for those beauties you can fiend there.
83 east 7th street.

Fabulous Fanny’s
Fabulous Fanny’s has the greatest vintage eye- and sunglasses collection I have ever seen. Really. Browse around the racks and don’t forget the little drawers (yes, you may open them yourself!) to find that one frame that you have been looking for forever. The beauty is, the prices are very friendly too. A must see store.
335 East 9th street.

Cobblestones
Right across the road from Fabulous Fanny’s is Cobblestones. This small little vintage store is a must see too. Besides the large collection of womens vintage clothing, hats and shoes, there always are interesting bags to be found there which makes it worthwhile for guys like me. Even if you’re not going to buy anything, just have a look and chat with the always friendly owner Delanee Koppersmith. She nows everything and everyone in fashion New York.
314 East 9th street.

Dave’s Quality Meat (DQM)
Moving back into the sneaker realm, has quickly become one of my favorites. The collection is heavily influenced by skateboarding, so expect a lot of Nike SB, Vans and Adidas. Their collection of apparel is awesome too. Those chino’s and seersucker shorts where an instant classic in my wardrobe.
7 East 3rd street.

CBGB/ John Varvatos
CBGB, the legendary club where the Ramones started, along with Blondie, Talking Heads and Sonic Youth closed down in 2006. When the  club  closed down, John Varvatos got hold of the property and turned it into a store. Ever since, it has there has been a discussion going on whether this was a good thing or not. Varvatos has kept the walls and the stage intact, to keep some of the authenticity of the club. Trying to see through the expensive apparel, it offers just a glimpse into the place it once was but it still offers that glimpse. It could have been lost forever, never to be seen again. You decide what would have been better.
315 Bowery

Self Edge
If you are in to jeans, Self Edge is the only place you need to go in NYC. Only the finest denim combined with traditional production methods is good enough for these guys. Every garment has a story. And they are more than happy to share these stories with you.
157 Orchard street.

Kim’s Video and Music
So much for the clothing and shoes. This one is somewhat of a loner in these posts, but a must see nevertheless. Kim’s is the best movie store I have ever seen. If you have ever seen the movie High Fidelity, these guys are the same but on movies. All movies are arranged exactly the way you can recognize a good store: by director and country. Just go in and have a look. You won’t be disappointed. The fact that these guys are still alive in the era of Amazon and downloading says enough if you ask me.
124 1st Avenue.

Only one piece of food advice for this part of the city, but you won’t need anything else after you have been there. Trust me.

Katz’s Delicatessen
One word: Wow. Katz’s Delicatessen has been around since 1888, and will be there forever I guess. This is the place where you can buy the best sandwiches in town, if you are not a vegetarian that is. Don’t be scared by the gigantic crowds inside. There is always another spot to sit, and those pastrami sandwiches are to good to miss: I have never seen that much meat on one sandwich. Just make sure you are famished when you go in, because on of these babies will last you the rest of the day.
205 E. Houston street.

More NYC tips? Also see:
Nolita, Soho and West Village
Williamsburg & Brooklyn

Svpply

November 24th, 2009 | Posted in: fashion, websites

Like the ffffound of e-commerce, SVPPLY is a retailing bookmarking site, allowing selected users to recommend a wide range of products, all presented in a clean, uncluttered space. The result is an amazing place to go for some inspiration. Stuff you’ll find there include Apparel, Accessories, Shoes, Technological stuff, Media and Home-decoration.
Mouse-over and you immediately see the price and where to buy. Real easy. To make your surfing even more convenient (and more productive), you can browse by category, price and gender. I’m surely checking this site daily from now on. Go check it out!

One for the ladies: Jimmy Choo for H&M

June 19th, 2009 | Posted in: fashion

HAARLEM-LOGO-H&MNow that I’m at it, here’s one more: News just got out that Jimmy Choo will be designing a collection for H&M. Following other great names like Karl Lagerfeld, Viktor & Rolf and Comme des Garcons the famous shoe designer is the next to make his work available to the masses.

Jimmy Choo’s shoes, bags and accessories will be available in 200 H&M stores worldwide sometime this November. Expect some lines by then…

One for the ladies: Citisoles

June 18th, 2009 | Posted in: fashion, misc.

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Pretty unexpected if you ask me, but I am becoming a womens shoe expert slowly! :-) After my earlier post on the vending machines by Afterheels and Rollasole, I was contacted by Citisoles that they have taken out the limiting factor in the vending machine business model: the vending machine.

Citisoles have made a small fold out bag which slips right into your purse. Check the site here. Nice take on the same product. They do deserve a better website though. Keep going at it!

Update: The website has had a makeover and looks so much better!

One for the ladies: After Party Shoes

May 29th, 2009 | Posted in: fashion

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As a guy I can totally respect a pair of good high heels on a girl. However, every guy who has ever taken out a girl on high heels also knows the moaning, growning and complaining about their feet hurting after a couple of hours of partying. But no longer! Rollasole and Afterheels have both developed a vending machine selling compact ballerinas.

The machines will be placed in clubs and are both selling the shoes at about GBP 5. The only difference is that Afterheels claimes their shoe is made out of sustainable material. However, I guess when the feet hurt the ladies will not give a damn about sustainability! Nice innovation. Currently placed in the UK only, I wonder whether we wil ever see these around the rest of the world…