NYC Style Through the Looking Glass

The Windows of Jay Kos, Kate Spade, Tom Ford, TAGG, Yoya.....And What I Found

*Remembering Elaine Stritch and The Ladies Who Lunch

                **I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy,
                    my reality is just different from yours.

New York City is a window shopper’s paradise and Fifth Avenue from 49^th to 60th Street is its main stage. During the Christmas holidays its store windows sparkle with colorful and festive displays, some traditional, some contemporary and some avant-garde but all capture the wonder and beauty of the season in a unique New York Style. 

Crowds swell in front of the huge windows of Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor further south on Fifth at 39^th Street, and Macy’s gargantuan Herald Square store at 34^th.  Street.

On this stretch of Fifth you will also find the U.S. flagship stores of Tiffany, Cartier, Armani, Gucci, Versace, Henri Bendel, Faconnable, FAO Schwarz, and Van Cleef and Arpel.

I am not a window shopper. I am city walker who walks at a brisk pace. I appreciate the magic of an artistically designed window no matter what time of year. Often I have stopped in midstride drawn by the hypnotic lure of these movie-like sets

My favorite street for window viewing is Madison Avenue from 86^th

to 63^rd Street. Sorry but Barney’s located at 61st street does not make the cut. Madison Avenue loses it intimacy and small town feel as one get closer to get to bustling 57th Street, plus the buildings are much taller.

Most major cities have a street for the luxury or fashion conscious shopper. I have walked several including Milan’s Via Montenapoleone, rue Saint-Honoré

in Paris, the other two fashion capitals of the world. I have also walked Worth Avenue in Palm Beach and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

I first encountered Madison Avenue many years ago when I walked home after a high school baseball game in Central Park’s North Meadow. I discovered an avenue with scores of brightly lit windows, filled with expensive well-tailored and bespoke clothes, shoes, linens, furniture, antiques and paintings created by celebrated designers. That night I felt as if I had I had crossed an imaginary line leaving New York City at one corner and winding up in some far-away place, many stores posted the locations of their stores worldwide.  Madison became my “yellow brick road.” It did not lead me to OZ but to Paris, London, Milan, Saint-Tropez, Portofino, Geneva, Tokyo, San Paolo, and Barcelona.

There are several fashion streets and neighborhoods in the city. Recently, over the course of several days, I searched for fun, stylish windows.  Instead of taking my standard mental photo I snapped over 200 pictures with my iPhone. I share my fourteen favorite windows. Theys are listed by neighborhood. I have excluded touristy Fifth Avenue.

Madison Avenue

Loro Piana  748 Madison Ave. near 65th St

"Your So Vain"  Walking Madison Avenue

Mallet Antiques  929 Madison Ave. 75th St.

Commode by Jean Royere, France 1950

Pair of Art Noveau Wall Light, Belgium 1900

Pair pf Rosso Levanto Columns 1780

"Welcome to My House a Very Fine House"

Ralph Lauren  Madison Ave. at 72nd St.

"Madison Avenue I Am Ready for My Closeup"

Missoni  1009 Madison Ave. 78th St.

Opening Night at the Opera

Tom Ford  845 Madison Ave. bet. 70-71St

"Steppin' Out of the Elevator"

MeatPacking/West Village

Alice+Olivia

431 West 14th St

Summer in the Hamptons

YOYA  646 Hudson St.

Cool Kids of the West Village

Tiziano Zorzan  69 Eighth Ave. near 14th St.

Sunday in the Park with Zorzan

Nolita

Patricia Field  306 Bowery 

Get Your Freak On

Bed Head Pajamas  252 Elizabeth Ave.

Mother and Child Pajama Party

Jay Kos  292 Mott St.

What I  Saw Through the Looking Glass

Tribecca

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada  466 Greenwich St.

Under the Big Top...Send in the Clowns

Hell's Kitchen

***TAGG  720 Ninth Avenue 49th St

Strut Your Junk...Buns in the Oven

*Store window photo at the beginning of the article.

Kate Spade  789 Madison Ave 66-67th St.

**Quote: Lewis Caroll, Alice Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
***Most "Fun" Website - Signals  the "new" Hell's Kitchen. Click on TAGG!

All Photos by Rudi Papiri

Silvano Lattanzi...From Italy to Madison Avenue 

             The Fine Art of Shoe Making

In the1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Marilyn Monroe, whisks about the set pursued by a dozen handsome suitors in tuxedoes as she sings “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.” Richard Burton knew this. In 1968 he gave his wife Elizabeth Taylor a 33-carat diamond, and the following year a 69-carat diamond.

Not everyone is Elizabeth Taylor. Not everyone can wear Harry Winston diamonds. Not everyone has a husband or paramour like Richard Burton.

After diamonds I say shoes are a girl’s best friend. Think Cinderella and her glass slipper; or Imelda Marcos, and her 2000 pairs of shoes; or Sex in the City’s Carrie Bradshaw who had hundreds of shoes and who made Manolo Blahnik a household name. 

Would Macy’s Herald Square set aside 63,000 square feet of space on its redesigned second floor and offer 250,000 pairs of shoes, if women and shoes were not best friends? Would Sak’s Fifth Avenue open a shoe emporium on the eighth floor and double the size of its inventory? This floor is so big it has its own postal zip code.

Enough about the ladies let's focus on the guys. Recently I stopped into several stores. Dudes like shoe too. They bought Nikes, Vans, Diesel sneakers, Tommy Bahama Sandals, Quicksilver Flip Flops, Timberland, Rockport, Hush Puppies, Geox, Ecco, Skechers; moving up the shoe chain Cole Haan, Allen Edmond, Ferragamo and Gucci.

Silvano Lattanzi Madison Avenue 

Then there are dudes who really love shoes. They visit the sultan of shoemaking, Silvano Lattanzi, a relative newcomer to New York. Lattanzi opened his boutique here in early 2001 but he is hardly a novice. He is a master craftsman and designer. He has created elegant high-end off-the rack and handmade shoes for over 40 years.  He opened his first boutique near Rome’s fashionable Via Condotti in1992. Lattanzi has shops in Milan, Moscow, St. Moritz, Beijing, and Shanghai.

I first discovered Lattanzi footwear while power walking on Madison Avenue one night three years ago. I scooted past Calvin Klein, Barney’s, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren appreciating their stunning fashion displays.

I only stopped when I came to the windows of Silvano Lattanzi’s and his small shop. I was fascinated by the hand-stitched sole of a shoe perched in front of a coffee table sized book opened to a photo spread of an old-time cobbler at work. A work of art, I thought.

Old World Shoemaking High End Prices

Lattanzi’s soles are hand sewn and require more than 240 stitches for each foot. The parallel double stitches have the same length. The miniscule holes are equidistant. It takes seven to 14 days, 30 hours of work and over 200 different steps to finish a pair of shoes.

Bespoke shoes take six to eight weeks depending on the humidity and weather.

About twenty-six cobblers produce 2500 pairs of shoes annually at his factory in Le Marche Italy near the Adriatic. They use century old techniques: wetting the leather on a last, hours of stretching, sewing a leather welt and shank to the upper part and then attaching it to the sole. They are made of alligator, crocodile lizard, ostrich, antiqued calfskin and cordovan shell. His shoes are costly. Off-the-rack wingtips costs

about $3200. Sneakers are a bargain at $1200. Custom made shoes start around $5300 and soar to $18,000. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Eric Clapton are customers.

Lattanzi is not just about men. Uma Thurman and Patty Smith are customers too.

Women’s crocodile boots cost $25,000.

Silvano Lattanzi, 905 Madison Avenue between near 73rd Street; 212-734-2962
Photos by Rudi Papiri

OUTCASTS THRIFT SHOP: A Miracle on Tenth Avenue

When Outcasts Thrift shop first opened on Tenth Avenue in the nineties few shoppers ventured west of Ninth Avenue. After all Hell’s Kitchen's main street always had character. It is a haven for good eating thanks to the annual Ninth Avenue International Food Festival, its many restaurants, ethnic gourmet stores and mom-and-pop shops. Tenth, always the poor-cousin, lacked an identity.

Back then empty or dingy looking stores, auto part shops, gas stations, parking lots, a crime-plagued park, and run down tenements filled the avenue.

Outcasts gave people a reason to visit Tenth. Run by St. Clements Church at 423 West 46^th Street, Outcasts first operated from the church before moving to Tenth. It quickly became a popular stop for area residents looking for bargains even though it resembled a Bowery rummage sale.

In time due to the efforts of co-managers Peter Valentyne and Keith Benedict (both have since left) Outcasts evolved into “The Miracle of Tenth Avenue.”
“We are a place of resurrectible goods,” Valentyne said. “We give one a reason to feel good and gain from other people’s castoffs.”

These efforts have worked.  Customers agree.

“It is a magical place. I remember things I did not buy,”

Kathy Lynwood said. Lynwood, who shops here often, added “This is a place for all seasons. It lifts one’s mood on those somber days even if you leave without buying a thing.”

Both Valentyne, a poet from Michigan, and Benedict, an actor, painter and native of Wales shared a passion and vision for Outcasts. Together they created a warm and inviting place.  It is a boutique minus the pretentiousness and high prices a some of the nicer looking shops in the city. It’s a place for people with and without money.

People come here not only to browse but chat with the personable Messrs. Valentyne and Benedict. Both have worked at Outcasts for about eleven years. People bask in the store’s soothing visual displays, aromatic smells and eclectic music before leaving with a bag of goodies or that one terrific find.

The small storefront window is hard to miss. Its theme- oriented setups contain eye-catching displays. Stylishly dressed mannequins in full makeup offer a glimpse of what to expect inside.

Despite its cozy size Outcasts is not cluttered, “We position things and layer colors to give it a life of its own,” Valentyne said. 

Browsing the racks as I did I found silk jackets, men and women’s suits, sport jackets, Italian mohair and cashmere sweaters, evening and casual dresses by Willi Smith, Barney’s NY, Liz Claiborne, Jones Street, Anne Klein and Sag Harbor.

Outcasts sells decorative lamps, hand painted vases, framed paintings and photographs, ornaments, jewelry, tableware and much more. There is a huge CD, DVD and book collection.  The two-dollar “Mystery Brown Bag” is popular and filled with Valentyne’s handpicked “curiosities .”

St Clement’s uses the monies earned here for its ministries: a volunteer vet clinic,  food pantry, homeless outreach, and assisting needy neighbors. It also has a highly regarded theater ministry.

Founded in 1830, St. Clement’s Episcopal Church has long advocated social activism. Its ministry has included women, gays and people of diverse backgrounds for years.  In 1962 St. Clement’s reconfigured its church to include a theater, which is it calls the second oldest Off Broadway house.

Outcasts customers are from Hell’s Kitchen, actors and set designers from local theaters and Broadway, and tourists from the cruise ships docking at Westside piers.  Once actor Alec Baldwin, after admiring the front window, popped in and bought all their snow globes and alarm clocks.

Katherine Consuelo-Johnson, a Texas native and a St. Clement’s congregant, is the new manager. She has ten years of experience with antiques and online auctions. She first learned of Outcasts as a shopper. when she bought a television after moving to New York.

Major changes are underway. St. Clement's board sought change as controversy existed with the prior management.  But Outcasts under Consuelo-Johnson's leadership and with her energy and ideas the shop has blossomed and is thriving. “We want to make it more accessible for the elderly and women with strollers. We plan to sell more items from boxes and sell personal goods that will suit the tastes of our visitors,” Consuelo-Johnson said. “We need more volunteers. Eileen cannot do it alone.”

“This is a very neighborly place,” Eileen Hardy said. A Hell’s Kitchen resident and a volunteer of several years Hardy added “What makes it special and fun is we get new things everyday. When someone finds that one-of-a-kind piece that cannot be found anywhere else then we all smile.”


Even with change Outcasts is a treasure chest filled with wonderful things.
OUTCASTS is at 660 Tenth Avenue between 46 & 47th Streets. Hours: 
Mon - Sat 10:30-6pm; 212-974-0121 Donations accepted.

Couture du Jour: STYLISH VINTAGE CLOTHING IN HELL’S KITCHEN

Christine Fellows knew she needed her own shop when her work began spilling out of her spare bedroom into the rest of the apartment. "I came home one day and Kevin, my husband, cried 'You have to do something about this,'" referring to the clothes and boxes piled throughout their Hells Kitchen flat, she said. For a time she worked out of a storage unit before opening Couture du Jour, her vintage clothing and luxury goods boutique, in the basement of a tenement in Hell’s Kitchen.

Undaunted by its location, six-steps below street level and two doors away from a troubled SRO, Fellows took a shabby space and created a bright stylish shop. This attractive 450 square foot shop is cozy yet spacious for a handful of visitors to browse comfortably. Wood floors, track lighting, a huge mirror, shelves and racks filled with an amazing collection of dresses, blouses, pins, earrings, and much more create a toy land-like experience for adults.

For many people vintage means worn and cheap. At Couture everything is in mint condition. Fellows buys clothes and accessories with today's woman in mind. “If you need an accessory to complement a work outfit or if you need a dress for a picnic or evening wear, I have it."

Born in Miami Beach, Fellows grew up in Atlanta and attended school in the south. She identifies closely with her southern roots but is very much a New Yorker. "This is my city and where I want to be. Paris is the only place that could take me away from here," she said.

Fellows started as a deejay and arts critics at Florida State's public radio station. Then she worked for independent and punk rock labels in Los Angeles. Tired of the cutthroat entertainment business and in desperate need of change she went to Hawaii for vacation. She fell in love with the island's beauty and stayed for several years. She worked as a mortgage broker but soon opened a consignment shop. Having worked at Bloomingdale's Fellows loved retail and interacting with people, plus Hawaii had only three consignment shops.

She is the ultimate people person. Friendly and gracious with an engaging personality and a warm beautiful smile, Fellows has a sharp business mind and a keen eye for fashion. She attributes this to her Bloomingdale days. "I learned how women shop, what they like, how they expect to be treated and how they spend money,” she said.

In 1999 she sold her shop and moved to New York with her husband, who she met in Hawaii. Fellows worked for a research group when she moved here but grew bored. "I like making change for a living and meeting people" she said.

She attended a vintage clothes show with
avant-garde artist Julia deVille.
"I fell in love with it all," she said. "I knew I could do it." She researched the business, frequented shows and felt the city had a large enough market.

Fellows has a discerning eye for quality and style.
On a recent visit Fellows showed off her Bangle bracelets, Boucher costume jewelry, Donald Brooks evening wear; and cotton Shaheen MUMU's with colorful floral patterns.

Vintage looks expensive but there is something for all tastes. Prices range from $20 to $1000. "There is always the sale rack," she said. _

Fellows loves Hell's Kitchen. It is a socially active, creative community. It is vibrant and full of many interesting people, she said. Her clients are locals, theatergoers, tourists, garment center, Broadway and a few celebrities.

One day several ladies from the Midwest stopped in. A voice
from behind the dressing room curtain asked Fellows for a certain dress. A minute later a six-foot-tall drag queen in high heels walked out from behind the curtain. "The looks on their faces were priceless," she said. Visiting Couture is also priceless.

Couture du Jour, 349 West 44th; Hours Wed-Sat. 12-7 Hours; Available for private appointments; 646-595-6351; Christine@Couture-duJour.com Photo by Straycat

A PASSION FOR FINE TASTE AND SOCIAL AWARENESS

Perhaps it's the red storefront with large picture postcard windows filled with eye-catching merchandise. Possibly it’s the fragrant scent and the eclectic mix of music that embraces one upon entering this homey setting filled with many colorful and splendid items.

One thing is certain Domus; a home/lifestyle boutique is a retail experience unlike any in midtown. Domus, Latin for home, is the creation of Luisa Cerutti and Nicki Lindheimer.

"We enjoy entertaining friends. Domus is an extension of our home," Cerutti said.

Cerutti, from northern Italy, and Lindheimer, a Californian, got the idea for Domus after visiting a boutique in Connecticut. Intrigued by the concept they thought about opening their own store but the economy soured after 9/11.

Cerutti, who worked in fashion, and Lindheimer, a chef, left successful careers and gambled. Their efforts paid off. O, The Oprah Magazine, Country Living and In Style have featured their products. Lucky Magazine placed Domus on its list of 100 city boutiques and praised its “reasonably priced decor and hostessing accoutrements."

Their mission is twofold: share their passion for good taste and improve conditions for marginalized people through fair trade. They do this by traveling to places with rich traditions of art and crafts and buy directly from cooperatives.

Domus prefers handcrafted to mass produced goods.
They are one of twenty shops in the U.S. to sell Arghand soaps from Afghanistan. Creamy, rich in natural oils these long-lasting, hand-molded soaps resemble polished stones. Sarah Chayes, a former NPR correspondent, and author of The Punishment of Virture, started the Arghand co-op to help the local economy. When Oprah featured these soaps and mentioned Domus on her tv show orders orders flowed in for weeks.

Domus carries La Chamba cookware from Colombia. Baking dishes, plates, pots, soup bowls and tureens all made from black clay, burnished and suitable for stove, oven and microwave.

From Kenya they sell stuffed animals made by a six-year-old women’s cooperative. The village has built a clinic, school, and offer literacy classes with the monies earned.

"This is empowering. We help the people who need it most." Cerutti said.

At Christmas they sold ornate glass ornaments from a co-op in India. These women support families and avoid working long hours in sweat shops for far less money.

Domus has table runners, blankets and decorative merino wool pillows with vibrant colors from a Peru cooperative. Four men work nine months to weave one blanket. "We have seen them work. They use only natural materials: flowers, tree bark, leaves, insects and flowers," Cerutti said.

Domus is a treasure chest of wonderful ideas. They sell elegant but moderately priced silk blend shawls from a family in China, and finely-crafted stone boxes, ideal for jewelry and keys, from Vietnam.

They have Vosges chocolates from New York, single-sliced pies from Beatrice Bakery, Treleela teas, beautiful letterpress greeting cards, classic Italian throws made of merino wool or washable acrylic, Voluspa candles, picture frames constructed from broken doors designed by a California artist, stationery, music CD's, sweaters, blankets, cotton organic hoodies and shoes for tots, and much more.

Finding an affordable space and good location proved difficult. It took Domus three months to locate their current landlord and even longer to finalize a lease. They worked around the clock for weeks, up until the night before their 2002 opening, painting, hauling bags of debris, reconfiguring the store, laying new floors, ordering and stocking shelves. “That first day we wondered if anyone would show up,” Lindheimer said.

Each year at the West 44th Street garage sale, Domus, with help from neighbors, raise thousands of dollars for charity. This year they raised over $6,250 dollars for the Global Medical Relief Fund which arranges transportation to the U.S. for children from war ravaged countries in need of prosthetic limbs and medical help.

When asked about doing business in Clinton, Cerutti said, “This a community of artists who appreciate and understand creative work. Even before we opened people offered to help us. This is where we want to be. "

Domus Unaffected Living, 413 West 44th St., 212-581-8099
(Stop by and check out Luisa and Nicki's wonderful new selections from their recent trip to India)
Photo by Straycat

PHIL LADUCA: INNOVATIVE DANCER TAPS NICHE WITH HOOFERS

Phil LaDuca has taken many steps in his twenty-six year career. As a performer he has danced on Broadway for Agnes de Mille in Brigadoon, and played the understudy for the Gene Kelly role in Singin' in the Rain.

He has toured nationally and internationally with Richard Harris in Camelot and Ann Reinking with the American Dance Machine. As a choreographer and teacher he has worked all over the world. But when LaDuca wanted a "venue" for his latest production he settled in Clinton. This time instead of wearing dance shoes LaDuca sells and designs them.

In the wake of September 11th, LaDuca, a gutsy twenty-year Clinton resident who hails from Chicago, opened his store, LaDuca Shoes, on Ninth Avenue near 40th street, on a gritty block south of the bus terminal.

Success did not come easy for LaDuca. It took plenty of footwork, He trudged from stage door to stage door selling his shoes out of a large canvas bag.

"Dancers have supported me. I am where I am today because of them," LaDuca said. "I started from scratch. I had no partners. I put up $20,000 of my own money."

His clientele reads like a "Who’s Who" of show business - Chita Rivera, Eddie Murphy, Michael Crawford, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, Uma Thurman, and Meryl Streep along with the casts of Broadway hits Mamma Mia, Spring Awakening, and Hairspray, and the film Chicago.

His decision to design shoes happened fairly quickly. After teaching a ballroom workshop in Germany a dancer asked LaDuca "Why don't you design a dance shoe." He replied " I am a dancer and not a designer but the thought lingered.

"Dancers are athletes. They run, jump, dance on tables, do somersaults and everything you can imagine. Their feet take severe abuse and pounding. I understood the need for a flexible but sturdy shoe," he said. He took his etchings to Italy in search of a factory to make his shoes.

Amy York, a Radio City Rockette, and a customer, as are many of her co-dancers said, "They're soft, light. You can point your feet so effortlessly."

LaDuca, who designs the shoes at his store, is constantly on the phone with Italy cajoling them to stick to his specifications. "They are expert shoe makers but I taught them how to make shoes for dancers."

The owners and workers are third generation. The factory produces only 250 pairs of shoes a day for all its clients, of which LaDuca is the biggest. Twenty-three people work on each shoe which is made of soft, Italian leather.

“Craftsmanship is very much part of their heritage. They take great pride in their work,” he said.

LaDuca likes the diversity and history of Clinton. Many theater posters, signed celebrity photos, and shoes decorate his shop, but a gold framed black and white photo is the first thing LaDuca showed a visitor. Dated 1978, it shows LaDuca 's shop, when it was the Castelli Meat Market and Groceria.

"Castelli's son gave it to me. Their family owned this store for generations before they moved." LaDuca said. "He told me the area was in decline then and many Italian shops closed. Now it's good to see one come back." LaDuca is proud he is that one.

•••LaDuca Shoes has moved. The new address is 319 West 47th Street. Phone  (212) 586-2079)